NPT Teams up with Country Hall of Fame and Americana Music Association

NPT is joining The Americana Music Association and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum to present a packed weekend of special programs during the upcoming Americana Music Festival and Conference (Sept. 17-20). Events include a film screening and Q&A with Country Music Hall of Fame member Glen Campbell in the Museum’s Ford Theater [...]

Ken Burns at the DNC and on Your Summer Vacation

Last night’s video tribute to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention was directed by Ken Burns and Mark Herzog.
Meanwhile, as we told you here last month, Burns has been working on “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” a new 12-hour documentary that traces the origins and growth of the national parks system [...]

A Friday Afternoon Cup of Chai

Kat over at Reveries and a Cup of Chai caught “The Journey of Man” on NPT earlier this week.
“To say that we all have stemmed from one Man out of Africa is…well, for me, believable.” she writes. “With that being said, I was inspired by the idea, the probability that we, you and I, [...]

Giancarlo Guerrero Goes One on One

Wondering how someone goes from being a violinist to a percussionist to a conductor? Nashville Symphony Music Director Designate Giancarlo Guerrero recently sat down with John Seigenthaler for our ONE ON ONE series to discuss working with the Symphony, how he got his start as a conductor, and more. Guerrero, of course, is getting ready [...]

The Electric Company to the Literacy Rescue

Here’s a sobering statistic. It’s 2008 and more than half of 6-9-year-olds in America can’t read at grade level. A national crisis, no doubt. Public broadcasting, because it’s freely available to most if not all Americans, is often uniquely positioned to deliver the educational resources needed to address a crisis. Over the past few years, [...]

Shakespeare in the Park Starts Tonight

It’s become a rite of summer — the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare in the Park production — and it kicks off tonight, Thursday, August 14. This year’s play, a production of Naked Stages in collaboration with the NSF, is the seldom-performed Coriolanus. The Tennessean’s Bill Friskics-Warren gives us the back story in a great interview [...]

We Want Your Memories of Opryland

Following in the footsteps of our popular Memories series — Memories of Nashville, Memories of Downtown Nashville, Memories of High School and Memories of Sulphur Dell — NPT is working on Memories of Opryland. From Program Manager Justin Harvey:
“Do you miss the Grizzly River Rampage or the Screamin’ Delta Demon? If you do, you’re not [...]

When a Little ONeill Met a Big Ali in Baltimore

I can hear a collective “Aaaaawwwwww” rising up in Nashville. The above picture comes to us courtesy of Brian O’Neill, our director of brand management and creative services. Monday’s Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami reminded him of an amazing moment for him and his family years ago in Baltimore. He tells us:
“The champ came [...]

Sesame Street Spoofs 30 Rock and More in Season 39

Sesame Street’s 39th Season kicks off on Monday, August 11 with new segments, musical performances, parodies and cast members. Broadcast in HD, this season will feature new street scenes that will bolster a child’s math vocabulary. In one notable segment, Will Arnett plays Max the Magician, whose tricks may not be magic, but math! Indeed. [...]

Foo Fighters and Bettye LaVette on New Season of Austin City Limits

The Foo Fighters, Bettye LaVette, Jakob Dylan and Gnarls Barkley are among the artists that will make their debut appearances on the Austin City Limits stage this season, it was announced today. The 34th season of ACL, which begins this October on NPT and PBS stations nationwide, will also include first-time appearances by Manu Chao, [...]