The Jimmie Rodgers Foundation Music History Seminar, ‘Jimmie Rodgers: Blues to Bluegrass, ‘which is free and open to the public, will be held on May 13, 2024, at The Mississippi Arts & Entertainment Experience (The Max). The purpose of the Seminar is to inform and educate the audience on how, in spirit, Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, and Jimmie Rodgers, the Father of Country, held musical hands and why the listening population grabbed hold and never let go. Rodgers and Monroe’s songs portrayed their understanding of the working man and the impoverished, which evoked a deep emotional connection to their listeners.
Panelists will also be interviewed for an episode of the growing Jimmie Rodgers podcast, thus widening the Seminar’s learning audience into global participation across genres and cultures worldwide. In addition, the Jimmie Rodgers: Blues to Bluegrass Music History Seminar will be videoed, and the video will be placed on the Jimmie Rodgers website for educational purposes and classroom use, enhancing the Museum’s innovation strategies to develop a diverse and
inclusive museum through digital technology.