The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum is pleased to debut the show titled Uncle Josh. The production was created to honor Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame member Uncle Josh Graves. Presented as a free concert, the Hall of Fame offers the event as a way for the local community to experience the new Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum and Woodward Theatre at the new location downtown. However, space is limited, so those wishing to attend must secure a free ticket at www.bluegrasshall.org or by visiting the box office at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Free admission to the exhibit area is also included with each concert ticket.

As a pivotal member of Flatt and Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys, Josh Graves created a place for the Dobro slide guitar.  He truly put the “blues” into bluegrass, and over the course of many road-tested years re-defined his chosen instrument forever influencing some of the greatest musicians of our day. Uncle Josh is the story of a sideman, a musical supporting player, who left the hardscrabble mountains of East Tennessee as a young man with a slide guitar and a hunger to make music.

The evening features the band Graves Bloodline, an amazing group of artists featuring Josh Graves’ son, Bryan Graves, as well as his nephew, award winning Dobro player Tim Graves, in a show that tells the Josh Graves story and begins a new chapter in the Graves legacy.

Hall of Fame Executive Director Chris Joslin comments, “This free concert event is a great way for local residents to explore what the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum has to offer.  We focus on preservation and education, but live music drives everything we do.  The Uncle Josh show is great entertainment, but it also tells the story of one of the most influential musicians in bluegrass music.  Josh Graves is a member of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and defined the Dobro guitar (slide guitar) in bluegrass music much the same way Earl Scruggs defined the 5-string banjo and Bill Monroe the mandolin.

We highlight Josh Graves in several areas within the new exhibit space at The Hall of Fame featuring several of his iconic guitars, so hosting Graves Bloodline and the show Uncle Josh is an opportunity to truly experience the music behind the exhibits.”

This celebration of Josh Graves tells his story through his words, images and music.  Featuring songs that inspired Graves, this multi-media program showcases the music he made famous and helps explain who he was and what he might have been thinking and feeling as he evolved from Tennessee mountain boy to Bluegrass Legend.

Doors open at 5pm, and the concert begins at 7pm.  Ticket holders are encouraged to arrive early and explore the Josh Graves exhibits as well as enjoy live music in the lobby before the show.