The CMA Board of Directors and nearly 400 Washington luminaries attended an intimate evening of acoustic music in the Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress' Jefferson Building with performances by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, Bob DiPiero, Lorrie Morgan, John Rich of Big & Rich, Randy Scruggs, and Victoria Shaw. (l-r) U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Morgan, CMA Board President-Elect Gary Overton, Shaw, and Rich. Photo: Mitchell Layton, courtesy of CMA.

Libraries are meant to be quiet, but John Rich and Kix Brooks helped a passel of country figures make some important noise Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as the Country Music Association presented a show in conjunction with the Library of Congress.

“Story Tellers And Story Keepers” featured Kix, John and Lorrie Morgan, as well as ace musician Randy Scruggs and noted songwriters Victoria Shaw and Bob DiPiero, representing voices from several sectors of Nashville’s best-known industry. Delivered to a room that included influential lawmakers, the concert also allowed the music-makers to mingle with their guests in a pre-show reception.

“I truly believe that country music has become America’s music,” John told The Washington Post. “It’s wonderful to see D.C. and our lawmakers recognize and respect what we’re doing.”

The CMA presented the Library of Congress with some useful historical documents celebrating country music, including a leather-bound collection of DVDs featuring more than 40 years of CMA Awards shows. The Library of Congress already contains numerous country artifacts, including pioneering recordings from the 1920s and hand-written documents by the likes of Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard that accompanied their applications for copyrights.

CMA execs toured the library and also used the occasion to look for new ways that the organization and the Library of Congress might work together. Country music tells the story of many heartland Americans, and part of the CMA’s mission is to make sure that narrative is recognized by other agencies that catalog history.

The experience in a building that represents America’s scrapbook was particularly impactful to Kix, who’s chairman of the CMA’s Artist Relations Committee.

“On my tour bus,” he said, “it’s all History Channel and ESPN.”

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