An exhibit offering an in-depth look at the Delmore Brothers will open September 21 at Athens State University in Athens, AL. Truth is Stranger Than Publicity – Delmore Brothers 100th Anniversary will be hosted in the university’s Nazaretian Alumni Welcome Center, and is designed to guide guests through Alton Delmore’s autobiography, from which the exhibit gets its name.
The university has acquired Alton’s typewriter and original autobiography manuscript on loan from the Country Music Hall of Fame. The exhibit will also feature the brothers’ awards, photographs, records, and other memorabilia from Athens State’s Delmore Brothers Collection. Much of the memorabilia comes from a 2008 collection donated by Alton’s daughter, Debby Delmore, and it is usually on display in the university’s Delmore Brothers Museum. According to museum curator Lisa Hoffman, “This will be the first time the collection has moved from its original home in McCandless Hall since 2008, and is being curated in a fresh and exciting way.”
The Delmore Brothers grew up in Limestone County, Alabama, and made their public debut as a musical duo at the Athens Fiddlers Convention in 1926. They are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and their song, Blues Stay Away From Me, is in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The new exhibit will coincide with the annual Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention, held each year at Athens State during the first week of October.
Truth is Stranger Than Publicity – Delmore Brothers 100th Anniversary will be open to the public on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Extended hours will be available during the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention. Admission is free.
For more information, contact Museum Curator, Lisa Hoffman at 256-233-8184 or [email protected].
