Tomorrow, May 1, 2025, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, VA is offering a rare treat for lovers of the first generation of bluegrass artists.
They are holding a listening party at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum for a digitally restored recording of The Stanley Brothers performing live on WCYB radio’s Farm & Fun Time sometime in the 1940s or ’50s. Attendees at this free event will be able to see the actual transcription disc from the show, which has remarkably survived the intervening time, and was donated to the Museum by Glen Harlow.
The disc had been broken, but thanks to the assistance of the Virginia Association of Museums, and their Top 10 Most Endangered Objects efforts, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum has been able to extract the audio from the damaged artifact.
The chance to hear live Stanley Brothers music seemingly lost to history is a momentous occasion in itself, but there will also be a presentation of the storied past of Farm & Fun Time, a show that brought in top country and bluegrass artists starting in the 1940s, to perform live in the studio each morning for months at a time. Flatt & Scruggs, Jim & Jesse, Mac Wiseman, and many other pioneers of our music took up residence at WCYB in those days, doing the morning radio program, and booking evening concerts within the reach of the station.
WBCM Program Director and host of the revived Farm & Fun Time show host, Kris Truelsen, will deliver the presentation.
There is no charge to attend, but with limited space available, attendees must register in advance through TIXR.
One hopes that, in time, this music will see a commercial release.
Well done Birthplace of Country Music Museum!
