{"id":29260,"date":"2020-11-19T16:12:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T22:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=29260"},"modified":"2020-11-19T16:12:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T22:12:05","slug":"tennessee-honors-clarksvilles-roxy-regional-theatre-charlie-cushman-with-tennessee-music-pathways-markers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2020\/11\/19\/tennessee-honors-clarksvilles-roxy-regional-theatre-charlie-cushman-with-tennessee-music-pathways-markers\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Honors Clarksville\u2019s Roxy Regional Theatre, Charlie Cushman with \u201cTennessee Music Pathways\u201d Markers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"VisitClarksville, TN <\/strong>– The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Visit Clarksville honored the Roxy Regional Theatre and Grammy award winning banjoist Charlie Cushman in his hometown with the unveiling of \u201cTennessee Music Pathways\u201d markers.<\/p>\n

Local and state leaders, Roxy supporters and the Cushman family gathered in two ceremonies to mark the special commemorations on Thursday, November 19th, 2020.<\/p>\n

\"Clarksville<\/a>

Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, Visit Clarksville Chair Ginna Holleman and TDTD Commissioner Mark Ezell at the Roxy Regional Theatre’s \u201cTennessee Music Pathways\u201d Marker.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cClarksville has truly done so much work on being that one-of-a-kind destination for visitors, and it\u2019s in that keeping that the Tennessee Music Pathway started in 2018,\u201d said Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Mark Ezell. \u201cTennessee is the home of seven music genres.”<\/p>\n

“The idea that came up was, \u2018How do we, across the state, remind visitors of locations where they can come and listen to live music and entertainment and learn about our legends that only Tennessee can offer?\u2019 When they come to the Roxy, we want them to stay and enjoy Clarksville and spend their money here. We\u2019ve now tied the Ken Burns music pathway into the Tennessee Music Pathway and we know that\u2019s going to drive hundreds of thousands of people to our state over the next few years,\u201d Ezell stated.<\/p>\n

The Roxy has been the cornerstone of entertainment in Clarksville since the early 1900s. What was initially The Lillian, built in 1931, served as the city\u2019s first movie theatre. After two fires and a dark period during the Great Depression, the theatre was rebuilt in 1947 and became the Roxy of today with a sleek interior and new neon lighting. The Roxy entertained Clarksvillians with first-run movies until 1980.<\/p>\n

After sitting vacant for three years, The Roxy Regional Theatre opened for live theatre in 1983. In 1995, a professional company was created to supply the great demand for Shakespeare, other classics, school curriculum-based productions and holiday shows, and to enlarge the Roxy\u2019s outreach services to the community.<\/p>\n

The Roxy Regional School of the Arts was also born in 1995 and has since then offered some 850 teens extensive training in modern theatre and the opportunity to work alongside professionals. Over the decades, more than 500 productions and more than 2,000 actors and musicians have graced the Roxy\u2019s stage. The building has also served as a backdrop for music videos for artists like Sheryl Crow and Craig Morgan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Roxy is iconic in our community,\u201d said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts. \u201cIt separates our community from so many others and we\u2019re so grateful to have them here. We believe in performing arts and there\u2019s nothing more important in our community that being Art City USA. We have an abiding interest in making sure this is preserved, not only as a building and a fa\u00e7ade and a marquee, but as an institution because that\u2019s what separates us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Friends, family and community leaders next gathered at Planters Bank, 325 Commerce Street, which was the site of the former Collins Music Store, to honor Clarksville Native Charlie Cushman.<\/p>\n

At the early age of four, Cushman first expressed interest in the banjo. After a few lessons at Collins starting at age seven, Charlie was showing his teacher things he had learned at home from his Earl Scruggs records. His \u201cformal\u201d lessons were over. Charlie began playing the banjo in talent contests and at parties around Clarksville, then at age 10 began playing each Saturday night on the \u201cTennessee Valley Jamboree\u201d in Waverly, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

\"Commissioner<\/a>

Commissioner Mark Ezell, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, Charlie Cushman, Visit Clarksville Board Chair Ginna Holleman with the Cushman \u201cTennessee Music Pathways\u201d Marker.<\/p><\/div>\n

By age 14, Charlie began playing the banjo six days each week on \u201cThe Carl Tipton Show\u201d on WLAC-TV in Nashville. He played with James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers, Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, Mel Tillis and the Statesiders, along with sessions in Nashville and at Opryland, USA.<\/p>\n

He later played with Mike Snider on the road and at the Grand Ole Opry until 2004. Throughout his 40-plus years in the business, Charlie has performed and recorded with numerous country and bluegrass artists. His artistry graces more than 20 Grammy-nominated projects and 15 winning projects. He was awarded a Grammy in 2014 for Best Bluegrass Album.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we get to honor one of Tennessee\u2019s legends \u2013 those people in the business that have made such an impact \u2013 Clarksville\u2019s own Charlie Cushman,\u201d said Commissioner Ezell. Addressing Charlie directly, the commissioner told Cushman that his music has been a \u201ctremendous gift to the state of Tennessee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m truly honored today \u2013 that\u2019s an understatement,\u201d said Cushman. \u201cTo reflect on Commerce Street in my hometown, basically where it all started for me at age seven by taking lessons, this is truly a full circle event and moment. That means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Since 1931, entertainment has been in the Cushman family, when Charlie\u2019s great-grandfather owned a dry goods store on Franklin Street and hired an escape artist for a store sale. He also conveyed how much downtown has meant to his entire family. \u201cAll of my relatives have worked within one mile of here \u2013 made their livings here. I\u2019m so appreciative that this is taking place right here where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cushman family is synonymous with Clarksville,\u201d said Mayor Pitts, acknowledging relatives with police service and who owned businesses. \u201cThis is a great day in Clarksville, Tennessee because we are recognizing one of our own in Charlie Cushman. We thank Visit Clarksville for partnering with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in making these markers happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee Music Pathways connects visitors to the people, places and genres that make Tennessee the Soundtrack of America. A statewide driving tour, the Pathways represents hundreds of landmarks across the state and spans seven genres of music: blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll. In addition to the Roxy Regional Theatre and Charlie Cushman, Montgomery County\u2019s designees include Dunbar Cave State Park, Clarence Cameron White, and Jimi Hendrix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clarksville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Visit Clarksville honored the Roxy Regional Theatre and Grammy award winning banjoist Charlie Cushman in his hometown with the unveiling of \u201cTennessee Music Pathways\u201d markers. Local and state leaders, Roxy supporters and the Cushman family gathered in two ceremonies to mark the special commemorations on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[35000,6121,512,1759,825,1847,8317,168,1982,1579,22431,3787,33894,160,1711,2328,73,21561,1758,14055,35001,24551],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-7BW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29261,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29260\/revisions\/29261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}