The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum announced the premiere of the video special “American Currents: Celebrating the State of the Music” at 7pm CT, Friday, March 19th, 2021, on the museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. “American Currents: Celebrating the State of the Music” takes music fans inside the museum’s upcoming exhibition “American Currents: State of the Music,” which not only recognizes artists’ industry accomplishments, but also delves into the extraordinary events that shaped country music amid a global health crisis and a renewed push for social justice.

Country Music Hall of Fame Member and Museum Board President Vince Gill will introduce the exhibition and the program. Additionally, CEO Kyle Young will share remarks highlighting the artists, musicians, songwriters and stories featured in the most recent installment of the American Currents: State of the Music exhibition, which is located in the museum’s ACM Gallery.
The video special “American Currents: Celebrating the State of the Music,” underwritten in part by City National Bank, kicks off a year-long series of programming and online content in support of “American Currents: State of the Music.” The video will remain available to view on the museum’s YouTube channel after the premiere.

During the video program, Luke Combs and Rissi Palmer will discuss the past year – how it changed their perspectives and how they managed to stay creative and positive during troubling times. Combs, Palmer and Billy Strings, who are each featured in this year’s exhibition, will also perform.

Presented annually, “American Currents: State of the Music” is based upon the ongoing research and analysis of curators and museum staff to document and interpret significant developments in country music over the previous year. Those recognized in this year’s exhibition, in addition to Combs, Palmer and Strings, are: Gabby Barrett, Casey Beathard, The Chicks, Eric Church, Dan + Shay, Mickey Guyton, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Country Music Hall of Fame member Dolly Parton, John Prine, Sister Sadie and Eddie Stubbs.

The exhibition’s Unbroken Circle section illustrates the connection between country music’s past and present by pairing artists with those who have influenced them or share musical perspectives. Those included are Jimmie Allen and Darius Rucker; Ingrid Andress and Faith Hill; Charley Crockett and Freddy Fender; and Dierks Bentley’s Hot Country Knights and the Statler Brothers’ Lester “Roadhog” Moran & the Cadillac Cowboys.

For more information about American Currents: State of the Music, visit www.CountryMusicHallofFame.org.