FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             

Colby Jordan
The Cirlot Agency
601-664-2010
Colby@cirlot.com

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (Aug. 20, 2024) — This afternoon, Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music announced a collaboration with the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum. This partnership represents a significant development for the Congress of Country Music and the state of Mississippi, marking a major step forward in the preservation and promotion of country music history.

“This is a top of the world moment for me,” said Stuart. “To have my collection live alongside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s is monumental, to be a part of a ceremony and witness the Congress of Country Music and its people formally welcomed into the family of country music is a spiritual high. And, to share such a gathering with family and friends from both Nashville, as well as Mississippi, is just the best. Such a day only comes along, once in a lifetime.”

Stuart’s collection of more than 22,000 items is the largest private assemblage of country music artifacts in the world. Items in the collection include significant artifacts from Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and many others. Additionally, Stuart’s collection includes items from his own career, including his expansive collection of photographs taken by Stuart himself, which have been exhibited at museums and published in books.

With the Marty Stuart Collection joining the world’s largest public assemblage of country music artifacts held by the museum, a broader array of collection items will be available to the Congress to illustrate the genre’s pre-commercial roots in the nineteenth century to present day. This enables the Congress to share a deeper and more complete story, while positioning Philadelphia, Mississippi, as a beacon that not only presents musical performances but also broadly embraces education and cultural history.

The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will also serve as an organizational advisor, enhancing aspects of the Congress’s museum operations – from education and exhibition presentation to care, administration and management – supporting the success and longevity of this cultural treasure.

“Marty Stuart’s roots in Mississippi go deep. He became steeped in the sounds of country music there as a child,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “Appropriately, Philadelphia is where Marty is showcasing his deep love for our artform. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is happy to collaborate with the Congress of Country Music to further share the story of this music and its cultural significance.”

This collaboration is not only a win for Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music, but also a monumental win for the state of Mississippi. The service and impact of the Congress will be bigger and better than anticipated, thanks to the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum and the collective effort of Mississippians who have rallied together. This announcement would not be possible without the citizens of Philadelphia, Miss., Mississippi statewide elected officials and the legislature who supported the infrastructure of the museum, the Congress of Country Music Board of Directors, Stuart’s friends in the industry who have supported the Ellis Theater, and Stuart’s wife, Connie, for her unwavering love and support through it all.

For more information, contact Colby Jordan at colby@cirlot.com, or visit the website at www.congressofcountrymusic.org.

About Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music

Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music is the spiritual home of country music, committed to touching lives by sharing experiences, through exhibits, education and performances that inspire dreams for generations.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s Collection:

For more than five decades, the nonprofit Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has amassed a collection of country music artifacts and archival items that is the finest and most comprehensive of its kind in the world. The museum celebrates and showcases a rich American art form, preserving and interpreting items that document the history of an American musical experience rooted in Southern culture. The museum’s diverse artifact and archival collections comprise more than 40,000 moving images on film, video and digital formats; 500,000 photographs; more than 300,000 sound recordings, including commercial music releases, interviews and demonstration recordings; nearly 800 oral history interviews; 2,500 items of clothing and accessories; 600 musical instruments; 75,000 posters; 5,000 linear feet of print materials; and thousands of additional objects illustrating the lives and careers of performers, industry figures and the culture of country music. Read more about the museum’s collections. 

###