NASHVILLE, Tenn., September 14, 2009 – Hank Williams III, like his father, blends the honky-tonk and country blues sounds of his grandfather with the rock & roll sensibility of his own generation. The result – hard-charging musical arrangements and swaggering, bluntly personal lyrics that probe relationships and southern culture and challenge contemporary mores – can be heard when Williams visits the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, October 10, for a special performance in the Museum’s Ford Theater. The program, which is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company, will begin at 1:30 p.m. The program is included with Museum admission and is free to Museum members.
Hosted by Family Tradition co-curator Michael McCall, the program will feature an acoustic performance by Williams and members of his touring band. The concert will draw on Williams’ four solo albums released on Curb Records since his 1999 debut, Risin’ Outlaw. His most recent solo album, 2008’s Damn Right, Rebel Proud, debuted at #2 on the Billboard country album chart and at #18 on the overall all-genre album chart. Williams also released the first album under his band name, Assjack, in August 2009, emphasizing the heavy metal side of his music.
Please note that this program may contain mature content.
Shelton Williams, who performs as Hank Williams III, was born December 12, 1972, the first child of Hank Williams Jr. and his second wife, Gwen. In his mid-teens, Shelton played drums and guitar on stage with his father, Hank Williams Jr. By high school, the Nashville resident shifted to punk rock, touring regionally with the bands Buzzkill and Bedwetter. In 1996, Hank III began performing country songs in Branson, Missouri, to raise money for child support payments. That year, he recorded an album, Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts, which merged his voice in a trio with his grandfather, Hank Williams, and father. Since signing with Curb Records and recording his own albums, Williams has gained a passionate underground following and tours internationally to wildly enthusiastic crowds.
These programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional promotional support is being provided by the Museum’s official Family Tradition media partners: Great American Country Television Network, Cumulus Broadcasting and The Tennessean.
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.
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