Kenny Rogers will bring his signature soulful voice, his catalog of hits and the stories behind the music when he takes the Ford Theater stage as the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s 2012 Artist-in-Residence. Rogers will present two intimate evening performances on May 9th and 10yh at 7:00 p.m.

Established in 2003, the museum’s residency program annually honors a musical master who can be credited with contributing a large and significant body of work to the canon of American popular music. Honorees are given a blank canvas—the museum’s acoustically pristine, 213-seat Ford Theater—and are encouraged to lend their own creative brushstrokes to an up-close-and-personal musical experience. Previous honorees include Cowboy Jack Clement, Earl Scruggs, Tom T. Hall, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Douglas, Vince Gill, Buddy Miller and Connie Smith.

“Kenny Rogers is the consummate entertainer,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “As a member of a band or duo or as a solo artist, he has conquered the jazz, folk, pop and country worlds—not to mention his success as an actor and photographer. Kenny has the gift of telling stories and making you believe he lived them. We are thrilled that he will help us celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Artist-in-Residence program by bringing his stories and songs to the Ford Theater for two unique shows.”

For the next couple of years, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition enjoyed mild Top 40 success. From 1971–73, the band hosted their own TV series, Rollin’ on the River. The rock, blues and folk-oriented variety show included musical guests such as Jim Croce, Bo Diddley, Ronnie Hawkins and Ike and Tina Turner. By the mid-1970s, the First Edition had run its course, and its members, ready to pursue solo careers, parted ways.

A limited number of Kenny Rogers residency event tickets can be purchased by museum members at a discounted rate of $40 per show beginning Tuesday, April 3rd, at 10:00 a.m. by visiting www.countrymusichalloffame.org. (A one-year museum membership is $40.) Tickets will go on sale for $50 per show to the general public at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 5, and can be purchased at www.countrymusichalloffame.org. Tickets sales, limited to four tickets per show, are available on a first come, first served basis and are non-refundable. Additionally, the Pinnacle at Symphony Place garage is offering attendees an $8 parking option on each of the performance evenings.

Museum doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. shows. In addition, the museum’s galleries will be open to all ticket holders prior to each performance, beginning at 5:30 p.m., as will the museum’s Two Twenty-Two 2Go bar, serving a variety of food and beverages.

The 2012 Artist-in-Residence program is made possible, in part, by RJ Young. Additional support is provided by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame®and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org

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