Marty Stuart groundbreaking Monday
Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Dec. 16, celebrating a world-class museum and cultural center dedicated to preserving the legacy of country music and its impact on American culture.
The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. outside the future museum entrance at 311 Byrd Avenue, near the old NAPA Auto Parts building, and include remarks from Marty Stuart and other special guests.
This event marks the beginning of a major new cultural development that will celebrate and preserve country music’s rich heritage.
A special acknowledgment will be made to Miss Cynthia Lake and the Cynthia Lake Charitable Trust of Reno, Nevada, who honored the Congress with her kindness and generosity. In turn, a part of the campus will be named the Cynthia Lake Green Room and Administration Building in Miss Lake’s honor.
The Congress of Country Music will feature Marty Stuart’s extensive collection of country music artifacts, enhanced by a newly formed partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame. This collaboration will bring additional artifacts to the museum here, offering visitors an even more comprehensive exploration of country music history.
Following the ceremony, the celebration will continue inside the Ellis Theater, where attendees will enjoy a reception, hear from guest speakers, and experience a few live songs performed by Stuart.
Marty’s Stuarts Congress of County Music aspires to touch lives through a real diversity of offerings in an authentic place unlike any other. Unique live performances, exhibits that honor legends and newcomers, and substantial educational offerings reach audiences across the state and country.
Major performing artists will be regularly featured alongside a solid season of events, integrated with revolving exhibits in collaboration with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
Stuart donated his entire private collection of country music memorabilia to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, it was announced in August.
Officials have said the collection is the most extensive private collection of its kind in the world.
Phase II of Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music was made possible by $10 million appropriated by the Mississippi Legislature.
Phase 1 of the Congress of Country Music was completed in December 2022 with the re-opening of the Ellis Theater.