Martina McBride Exhibit Opens at Country Music Hall of Fame

Martina McBride
(Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum just opened its newest exhibit- Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice. The exhibit showcases the singer’s journey from performing in her family’s band as a child to becoming an award-winning country music artist. Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice opens July 30, 2021, and runs through Aug. 7, 2022.

Items featured in Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice include awards, stage wear, handwritten lyrics, and personal artifacts. Some highlights:

  • Shirt, vest and pants ensemble worn on stage by McBride, when she performed at age seven with her family’s band, the Schiffters
  • McBride’s 1984 Sharon High School yearbook
  • 4-H ribbons awarded for her accomplishments in cooking and singing, along with judges’ notes about her performances
  • The wedding dress, beaded headband and tulle veil worn by Martina at her wedding to John McBride, May 15, 1988
  • An envelope marked “Requested Material,” which contained the unsolicited demo tape McBride sent to RCA Records when she was seeking a recording contract. The record label had not requested the demo recordings, but ultimately signed her to a contract in 1991
  • Songwriter Gretchen Peters’ original handwritten manuscript for “Independence Day”
  • A letter from Dolly Parton to McBride, congratulating her on being named the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year in 2003
  • Jenny Packham dress—embellished with rhinestones, beads, and sequins—worn by McBride on the cover of her 2007 album Wake Up Laughing
  • CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards presented to McBride in 1999, 2002-2004
  • ACM Female Vocalist of the Year awards presented to McBride in 2001-2003