Dec. 5, 2016

MIM Unveils New CMA Awards Display

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hunter Hayes.

Musical Instrument Museum recently unveiled a new display celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Association Awards, the longest-running annual music awards program on television. MIM worked closely with the CMA to create the exhibit, which features instruments on loan from several CMA Musician of the Year nominees and winners.

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern traveled from Nashville to attend the display opening, along with singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hunter Hayes, who spoke at the unveiling. The display, which is located in MIM’s Artist Gallery, showcases some of the legends of country music and will rotate on a periodic basis.

The initial installment of the CMA Awards display highlights instruments owned and used by some of the most respected musicians in country music, including the vintage Fender electric guitar that seven-time CMA Awards winner Roy Clark used on his 1962 debut album The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark. The fiddle that seven-time CMA Awards-winner Mark O’Connor played on hundreds of Nashville recording sessions is also featured, as well as a dobro from Jerry Douglas, three-time Musician of the Year winner.

Winners of the CMA Awards are chosen by their peers. Country legends Eddy Arnold, Loretta Lynn and Chet Atkins were among the inaugural CMA Awards-winners in 1967. Since then, “Country Music’s Biggest Night” has continued to showcase the sounds, styles and artists that define country music history while charting its future course.

In the spirit of encouraging artists of the future, children from Rosie’s House, the music academy for underserved youth of Greater Phoenix, performed prior to the display unveiling. Rosie’s House is one of two organizations in the Valley that receive grants from the CMA Foundation; Phoenix Conservatory of Music is the other recipient.