News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Stories of Cookeville’s musical history will be on display at the Cookeville History Museum starting Saturday.
Museums Manager Beth Thompson said new music to the city’s musical roots will be highlighted until September. Thompson said music is growing into one more point of pride for the area.
“Of all the great things that we have that come out of Cookeville, music is definitely one of them,” Thompson said. “I know that everyone’s heard of the Cluster Pluckers and Frazier Moss but what about Jake Hoot? He became this huge sensation last year that our whole community got behind.”
Thompson said a big part of making the exhibit possible has been the donations and loaned items for the exhibit. She said Tennessee Tech opened up its archives for the exhibit and so did local musicians.
“Dale and Kris Ballinger from the Cluster Pluckers and The Ballinger Family Band have an absolute treasure trove in their home of things,” Thompson said. “That they let us just take our pick from, they’re so wonderful. In fact we’d like to do an exhibit with just them sometime, that’s how much stuff they have, it’s amazing. They could open their own museum.”
Thompson said the music venues of the city will have their own place in the history display. She said the hope is that the community gains a deeper appreciation of their home tradition.
“That hometown pride and sometimes we don’t realize what we have because we’re too close to it,” Thompson said. “I think it’s important for all of us to remember some of the best things out there are from right here in Cookeville. Look at Judah Akers from Judah & The Lion.”
The exhibit is free to the public, officially opening at 10:00 AM on Saturday. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday until 4:00 PM.
