(Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame)
The final phase of Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music is finally moving forward, with a groundbreaking ceremony held last week (12-16) in downtown Philadelphia, Mississippi. Construction set to commence in the first quarter of 2025.
The Congress of Country Music in Marty Stuart’s hometown is a $30 million project encompassing some 50,000 square feet of total space that will include an expansive museum to display Marty Stuart’s massive collection of over 22,000 individual pieces of country music memorabilia, as well as internationally traveling exhibits.
Stuart’s collection was the largest private collection of country music artifacts. In August, Stuart officially donated his entire collection to the Country Music Hall of Fame while entering into a partnership with the Hall of Fame so that both institutions could exchange artifacts to populate displays. Stuart had been loaning items to the Hall of Fame for many years previous.
Along with a museum, the final phase of the Congress of Country Music will also include an education center where lessons, lectures, presentations, and other events will be held. The project has been endorsed by the Grammy Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the Library of Congress.
The first phase of the Congress of Country Music was the opening of the 500-seat Ellis Theater in 2022, which is currently hosting shows on a regular basis. First opened in 1926, the Ellis Theater has been completely renovated. John McEuen, Pam Tillis, and Frank Foster are all scheduled to play the theater in early 2025. A warehouse where Marty Stuart’s artifacts are stored was also completed on the Congress property in 2016.
“This is a big day for the Congress of Country Music,” Marty Stuart said. “This has been an idea that is long been in the works. Of course the Ellis Theater was Phase 1, and it is up and running and doing great. And now we start to build the rest of it. So the first quarter of next year, dust will fly. We’re gonna build the rest of this thing, and then there will be museum space, educational space, and a community hall. So it will be a beacon for Philadelphia, for Mississippi, and for the nation.”
Helping the final phase to move forward was a donation from the Cynthia Lake Charitable Trust out of Reno, Nevada. In recognition, the Congress of Country Music will coin a portion of the property the “Cynthia Lake Green Room and Administration Building.”
“This is more than just a museum project,” says Marty Stuart. “It’s about the preservation and furtherance of our musical history and culture. With the support of incredible partners, we’re creating a space that will inspire, educate and connect generations through the stories of country music.”
