He’s considered one of the most influential songwriters and musicians of his generation, often called the Mark Twain of songwriting. John Prine was raised in the blue-collar suburbs of Chicago by parents from Western Kentucky. His debut album in 1971 featured songs such as “Paradise,” its roots in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, the home county of Prine’s parents. Join us as we celebrate this musical icon with author and LA-based music critic Erin Osmon, who’s written a book on Prine’s debut album. Brigid Kaelin and Steve Cooley will pay musical tribute, and we’ll raise a glass to Prine with Muhlenberg Bourbon from the Bard Distillery in Graham, Kentucky. Owners Tom and Kim Bard knew Prine and will share their memories, too.

L’s up as we welcome Coach Pat Kelsey to the Frazier History Museum on Tuesday, September 17. Another Cardinals chapter begins as Coach Kelsey prepares for his debut this fall, declaring U of L basketball is back!

He will tell you John Boy Walton, a country boy who wanted to be a writer, was his hero. Silas House was living that same life in Southeastern Kentucky, and when a teacher told him he was a writer, he believed her as she had believed in him.

With his many novels, Silas House is among the strongest voices of Southern writers. He is a New York Times bestselling author, a Grammy finalist, Kentucky’s current poet laureate, and a faculty member at both Berea College and Spalding University’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program, from which he received his degree. His working-class upbringing and deep roots in Appalachia helped shape him. And it wasn’t always easy as a gay man. Even so, you won’t find a greater advocate for Kentucky.

Come hear Silas House tell his own story in his most eloquent voice.

You will learn. You will be moved. You will be inspired.

The Frazier History Museum strongly believes that every county possesses a unique and incredible story deserving to be shared with the rest of Kentucky (and beyond). Premised on this conviction, the 120: Cool KY Counties project has collected hundreds of stories from across the Commonwealth—including histories, legends, and oral traditions curated at the local level. As an addition to our immensely popular Cool Kentucky exhibition, we believe that by sharing these “hidden stories,” we will be able to encourage empathy, promote exploration, cultivate mutual respect, and bridge divides on the basis of Kentucky's extraordinary history and heritage.

He is Kentucky’s preeminent storyteller of our people and places, and now many of those stories have come together in a new book and for a special program with Byron Crawford. The book, The Back Page, is a compilation of his back page essays for Kentucky Living magazine celebrating rural Kentucky. But the Lincoln County native has been telling stories his entire life with WHAS Radio and TV with his On The Road series, a column in The Courier Journal for 30 years, his series Kentucky Life on KET and for the last 12 years his columns in Kentucky Living. He is “one of us,” as folks like to say. Crawford says his unique gift is finding the little story within the big story. And no matter what it is, it’s magical and full of life lessons. Join us as the Frazier History Museum partners with Kentucky Living and Kentucky Electric Cooperatives for a night of good old-fashioned story-telling with Byron Crawford—and a surprise or two.

Join us as we gather as many Brohms as we can for a family affair at the Frazier: we’ve confirmed Jeff and Greg, sister Kim, as well as their parents Oscar and Donna.

Moderators Andy Treinen and Rachel Platt will talk to our special guests about a new chapter for U of L football, coaching, rivalries, family, brotherhood, and hometown.

Join us as the Frazier History Museum celebrates the 231st birthday of the Commonwealth on Saturday, June 3. Museum admission will be pay-what-you-wish from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be a fun day to learn and explore the state’s history in our Commonwealth exhibition and its pop culture in our Cool Kentucky exhibition. Be among the first to see new items on display in Cool Kentucky. Browse our shop for unique and Kentucky-centric products. We also have special programming for the entire family.

Join us as we showcase the Kentucky-made Corvette as part of our Cool Kentucky exhibition with special guests from the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

Several Corvettes will be on display, with free programs at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. detailing the history of the Corvette and a family-friendly session on designing your own sports car.

There will be some giveaways—and you’ll have a chance to win a family membership to the National Corvette Museum and to the Frazier.

If you want to know anything about Louisville, you call Tom Owen. He is “the” noted historian of Louisville: he’s been giving tours and talks for decades, teaching thousands about our city, our neighborhoods, and ourselves. He is a professor at the University of Louisville working with their archives, a former politician, a minister, a preservationist, an environmentalist, a family man . . . the list goes on and on.

We are commemorating Elvis’s birthday with local author Alanna Nash, who has spent forty-five years writing about the King in four books and dozens of articles.

She’ll discuss one of her books, The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley, which was published in 2003 but sold out on Amazon following the release of director Baz Luhrmann’s movie Elvis this past summer.

Join Buffalo Trace Distillery VIP Visitor Lead Freddie Johnson, brewer Tim Luscher, and authors William Hinkebein and Art Lander for a spectacular evening of Bourbon and beer tastings and fishing tales. Ticket prices include a signed copy of their new lavishly illustrated book, A Brief History of Baitcasting, Bass Fishing, and the Kentucky Reel, along with light hors d’oeuvres and a tasting of some of the toughest-to-find Bourbons and beers in Kentucky. Stagg Jr., E. H. Taylor Jr. Small Batch, Blanton’s Single Barrel, and Sig Luscher Beer will be on every single tasting mat for every single guest.

SOLD OUT!!! Find out about our next program by subscribing to Frazier Weekly.

HIS LIFE

The first event will be an intimate night at the Frazier History Museum talking with Ed about his life, growing up in Louisville on Walnut Street, what and who shaped him into the artist he has become, and a revelation that changed his life. Ed’s wife Bernadette and their daughter Kendra will share stories and discuss Ed’s impact on our community and beyond. You’ll also hear from several special guests, some of Ed’s contemporaries, as well as those he has mentored, who have an inside glimpse of why he’s an American treasure. Join us as we raise a glass to Ed Hamilton. Andy Treinen and Rachel Platt will be our moderators.

For more information, click the event picture.

SOLD OUT! Join us as we talk with explorer Tori Murden McClure and musician Dawn Landes. In 1999, Tori became the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean solo. Her initial attempt in 1998, foiled by Hurricane Danielle, is the subject of ROW, a concept album and musical Dawn wrote and produced in 2020. Named for the ship that rescued Tori, “Independent Spirit” is the first of 18 tracks on ROW.