ICMC Opens on Thursday

Category: News

The 25th annual International Country Music Conference (ICMC) opens at 1 PM on Thursday, May 22. The three days will commemorate the following:

• The 25th anniversary of ICMC, featuring two presenters from the first ICMC in 1984.
• The 40th anniversary of Bill Malone's groundbreaking work Country Music USA. The book will be the subject of the Charles K. Wolfe Memorial Panel and will include Dr. Malone.
• The 60th anniversary of Hank Williams' classic song "Lovesick Blues."
• The 60th anniversary of the Louisiana Hayride.
• The 75th anniversary of the death of Father of Country Music Jimmie Rodgers.
• The 80th anniversary of the first Cajun recording.

Belmont University is the host site this year, and the "special feature" will be a tour of Owen Bradley's legendary Quonset Hut.

Presenters include host Dr. James Akenson, Ronnie Pugh, No Depression magazine's Barry Mazor, and Dr. John Rumble of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Other topics will include Kinky Friedman, the last years of Tommy Collins, Vernon Dalhart, and a comparison of the music of Faron Young and Marty Robbins.