BRISTOL, TN-VA- Saturday, April 10, Radio Bristol held the first-ever Radio Bristol Record Expo at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, and the event was an all-around success.
Music lovers from around the Tri-Cities spent the morning digging through crates of records, hunting for old favorites to add to their collections, and listening to a discussion behind the Rich-R-Tone Folk Star Story, produced by Bear Family Records.
"The Radio Bristol Record Expo was a great success thanks to our wonderful community of DJs, volunteers and listeners," said Kris Truelsen, Radio Bristol's program director. "Folks from as far as Florida came to be a part of the festivities and we saw almost 400 people come through the doors on Saturday."
Twenty-five vendors from all over the region gathered in the special exhibits gallery to network and sell records across all genres.
“It's exciting to see the continued importance of recorded music here in Bristol,” said Hank Collie, co-owner of Smokestack Records. “We had a wonderful time at the expo and can't wait for next year's event."
Radio Bristol was thrilled to have had the privilege to present a panel featuring musicians, historians, and collectors Lonnie Salyer, Abe Partridge, Dr. Ted Olsonand Matteo Ringressi on the making of the Rich-R-Tone Folk Star Story Box Set, a 12 CD deluxe box set containing over 300 tracks that have been restored and remastered and is described as a treasure trove of musical heritage.
Family members of Jim Stanton, the producer and owner of Rich-R-Tone, came to celebrate the music he was a part of, creating another layer of heartfelt sentiment to the event.
Following the panel, community members were delighted with performances of Rich-R-Tone material from regional artists, Lightnin' Charlie, Abe Partridgeand Bailey George.
"We are proud to create high quality in-demand events for our community," said Kris Truelsen. "We hope this is the first of what will become an annual event to help raise funds for Radio Bristol."
The Radio Bristol Record Expo served as the kick-off for the annual Radio Bristol Fund Drive. Radio Bristol is proud to lift the voices of our region and offer a multifaceted platform to an internationally spanning and ever-growing audience. As a community station, support from listeners is a crucial part of the continued success of this important project. The Radio Bristol On-Air Fund Drive is May 13-14, but listeners can begin supporting Radio Bristol today by dialing 1-833-458-8274 or online atListenRadioBristol.org/Give.
