For everyone in Raleigh this week for the World of Bluegrass Convention, IBMA Awards show, or Wide Open Bluegrass, be sure to save some time for a stroll down Fayetteville Street to the City of Raleigh Museum, just a few blocks from the center of activity downtown.
They have a new exhibit opening on Tuesday (September 24) called Seeds of Grass: Radio and the Rise of Bluegrass in Raleigh, which follows the rich history of our music in the North Carolina piedmont region. Focusing on the role of WPTF, where many early pioneers performed on the radio, the exhibit will include rare instruments, recordings, and artifacts from performers at the city’s early radio station. At various times in the 1940s and ’50s, both Flatt & Scruggs and The Stanley Brothers were broadcast on WPTF, along with dozens of other regional bluegrass and string band favorites.
Then on Saturday (9/28), the museum will put on a humorous live tribute to the early days of radio called The Mighty Fine Farm Family Style County Music Show at 2:00 p.m. The show is free and open to the public.
The COR Museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday. They are located at 220 Fayetteville St. in the converted Briggs Building, built in 1874.
