Visitors can join the museum for a harmonica salute and lesson in celebration of Country Music Hall of Fame member DeFord Bailey, one of early country music’s most popular performers and the genre’s first Black star. Bailey was a talented musician who played numerous instruments. He was best known as an expert harmonica player, earning the nickname the “Harmonica Wizard” and becoming one of the most famous harmonica players in the United States during the 1930s. Participants will enjoy Bailey’s music and story and try the harmonica themselves in this interactive musical demonstration, hosted by the Museum’s Adam Ollendorff and led by Carlos DeFord Bailey, grandson of DeFord Bailey, a harmonica player in his own right; Jake Groves, a harmonica player who tours and records with Colter Wall and hosts WXOX Louisville’s Faint of Harp Radio Hour; and Ketch Secor, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and leader of the band Old Crow Medicine Show. Program attendees will receive a free Hohner harmonica, DeFord Bailey’s preferred harmonica brand, to use during the lesson and take home. (All ages)

Attendees can learn more about DeFord Bailey inside the museum and use the Discover DeFord Bailey Country Music Seek and Find guide to explore his life while traveling throughout the exhibits. For more information about Bailey, visit the museum’s Discover DeFord Bailey webpage.

This program is made possible by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission.