In conjunction with the premiere of KEN BURNS' COUNTRY MUSIC documentary, SDPB and the National Music Museum (NMM)are partnering to showcase South Dakota’s own rich heritage and connections to country music.
Storied instruments once owned and played by Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Marty Stuart and Earl Scruggs emerge from the National Music Museum’s unrivaled collection to be played by some of South Dakota’s finest country music musicians.
Join SDPB and the NMM for three incredible events at three locations across South Dakota. Learn the backstories of these priceless instruments from Arian Sheets, NMM’s Curator of Stringed Instruments. See a sneak peek of Ken Burns’ COUNTRY MUSIC. Then sit back and listen to local artists play a piece of country music history. All events are free and open to the public.
CHRIS GAGE - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 7pm, Ramkota, Pierre. FREE.
Chris Gage, a guitarist and songwriter born and bred in Pierre, is an alum of Hee Haw and Roy Clark’s band, and a founding member of The Red Willow Band.
Now a musician and studio owner in Austin, Texas, Gage returns to his hometown to play the 1969 Martin D-28 guitar customized for country artist Merle Travis and passed down, respectively, to Marty Stuart, Johnny Cash, and Travis’ son Thom Bresh.
BOYD BRISTOW, KAIJA & BRIAN BONDE - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 7PM, SDPB Sioux Falls Studios, 601 N. Phillips Ave. FREE.
Join guitarist/songwriter Boyd Bristow and Kaija and Brian Bonde, of “Always, Patsy Cline,” and Americana/bluegrass group East of Westreville.
The trio will perform with Johnny Cash’s 1971 “Bon Aqua” Martin D-28 guitar, which Cash used while writing songs during the last 30 years of his life at this farm near Bon Aqua, Tennessee, and with June Carter Cash’s 1967 Gibson “Hummingbird” guitar – one of Carter Cash’s favorite and names for the delicate hummingbird on the pickguard.
JAMI LYNN - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 7pm, SDPB BLACK HILLS STUDIO, 415 MAIN STREET. FREE.
Jami Lynn, Americana banjoist/songwriter performs live on the 1980 Gibson RB-250 banjo given to Johnny Cash by Earl Scruggs, penciled with “To my friend, Johnny” on the head.