Alabama Music Hall of Fame spotlights ‘Star Player’ Kerry Gilbert in new exhibit

Kerry Gilbert, performing here at the Franklin County Watermelon Festival, will be the first musician to be featured in a new, rotating exhibit at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia.

The Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia is set to begin a new rotating exhibit featuring Star Players from Alabama – the first being Franklin County’s own Kerry Gilbert.

The display will be located in the lobby of the AMHOF and feature biographical information along with pictures and memorabilia about the current achiever being honored. In addition to the exhibit, a special interview will be conducted by Sherry St. John-Clark, from Kix 96, with questions from the public, and be made available online during the three months honoring the individual. The display will rotate after three months.

The first exhibit will open Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. and will spotlight Kerry Gilbert, a long-time fixture in the North Alabama music scene.

“I’m very humbled and honored by this,” Gilbert said.

AMHOF manager Dixie Griffin said it was an easy decision to choose Gilbert as the first showcase. Gilbert has been involved with Alabama music for decades, dating back to the 1980s, and has enjoyed great success with groups such as Mountain Breeze and his own group, the Kerry Gilbert Band, formed in 1992. “With this band, Gilbert has shared the stage with such greats as George Jones, Marty Stuart, Tammy Wynette and Billy Joe Royal, among many others,” proclaims a release about the new exhibit. “Gilbert is a veteran of the regional fair and festival circuits but spends much of his time singing at nursing homes and for hospice patients.”

He won the 2014 Citizen of the Year award in Franklin County for his devotion to the community, which includes raising awareness for the Roxy Theatre, a historic venue for the arts in Russellville, at which the KGB performs monthly.

Griffin said AMHOF is excited about this rotating exhibit, which will hopefully enable the facility to put the spotlight on an ever-greater number of Alabama musicians.

“We’re running out of room at the Hall of Fame, and that’s a good thing,” she said. “There are so many talented people from Alabama that we just haven’t been able to showcase or reach out to.”

At the beginning of each new quarter, AMHOF will reveal the newest musician to be featured in the Star Players exhibit and host a kick-off event to open the exhibit.

Griffin said she is thrilled to be kicking of the exhibit with Gilbert, who she praised for his voice as well as his personality and “kind heart.”

“We’ve called on him many times to help us out with different projects and events, and he is always willing,” Griffin said.

The community is invited to the opening of this event, which is free to the public and will start at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Griffin urged all friends and family of Gilbert to attend.

Call 256-381-4417 for more information.