Knoxville, Tennessee – The Museum of East Tennessee History at the East Tennessee History Center in downtown Knoxville will host a travelling exhibition organized by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. This exhibition honors the hidden heroines, activists, and commercial success stories of women who have impacted the roots and branches of old-time music in a new special exhibit, I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music, on display October 18, 2025 – April 19, 2026.
“Music, and especially old-time music, is at the heart of many of the resources that we preserve at the East Tennessee History Center,” says Adam Alfrey, Assistant Director for Historical Services. “Hosting this exhibition, which explores women’s roles in the preservation and advancement of old-time music, provides a meaningful pathway to these resources and our shared past.”
Created by a women-led content team, I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music spotlights commercial success stories and iconic musicians like Mother Maybelle and Sara Carter, Ola Belle Reed, Elizabeth Cotten, Lily May Ledford, Hazel Dickens, Etta Baker, and Alice Gerrard. It also includes women who have impacted the genre in other ways, such as Audrey Hash Ham, Florence Reece, Helen White, Anne Romaine, and Bernice Johnson Reagon. By showcasing today’s torchbearers and innovators, the exhibit also illuminates the ways that women are carrying the old-time genre forward and the work still to be done to open it up to other underrepresented communities. Women like Rhiannon Giddens, Martha Spencer, Carla Gover, Suzy Thompson, and Amythyst Kiah are but a few examples of students of old-time who are blazing new trails. The content development team interviewed dozens of contemporary female old-time musicians and industry professionals as part of the exhibit.
I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music is a look into the past, present, and future of the genre and the integral role women played in the development of country music as we know it today,” said Head Curator Dr. René Rodgers, Birthplace of Country Music Museum. “In many cases women’s stories have been left out of old-time music or overshadowed by the achievements of male artists through the impact of gender roles and bias, unequal access to financial independence, not having access to decision-making roles, and more. We’ve done our best to include as many of these fascinating women and their stories as possible in the exhibit, and reserved an area for feedback from the community to tell us who we may have missed.”
Old-time music has been passed down through generations. A commercial career in music may never have occurred to many women tending large families and domestic responsibilities. Women were frequently tied to the home. Others were discouraged or even forbidden by their husbands to keep their music going at home, or to play in public. Some women were influenced by their church leaders to stay away from dancing and the music that surrounded it. In many cases women had fewer opportunities than men to make a viable career from their music. Nonetheless, several found ways to work within these challenges – and move beyond them – in order to pass on old-time music, and the related genres of country and bluegrass, as performing musicians or in other roles in music.
“The first songs I learned on the guitar were those Carter Family songs, taught to me by Helen Carter. Musical matriarchs like her have played such a pivotal role in the development of early country music, and so many of their stories aren’t well known or often told. It’s thrilling to see their contributions to our shared music history honored in this exhibit, so that we can more clearly see the path they have forged for those of us who have followed after.” ~ Rosanne Cash
At its heart, old-time is mountain folk music with strong ties to Appalachia and the diverse peoples who have called it home. It is one of the melting pots of American culture, connecting to multiple influences, instruments and genres, primarily country and bluegrass. Defined by upbeat, instrumental dance tunes played with acoustic instruments, including the fiddle, banjo and guitar, old time music often incorporates dance traditions like clogging, flatfooting and buck dancing.
I’ve Endured: The Women in Old-Time Music serves as a starting point for anyone who wishes to delve deeper into music history and women’s great contributions to the soundtrack of our lives. Extensive related programming, along with an in-depth website, will also be part of the exhibit experience.
This exhibition is presented by Jenny Boyd with support from Donna Davis. For more information, visit https://www.easttnhistory.org/
