Hank Williams Museum Plans 103rd Birthday Celebration
Moe Bandy and Alex Miller will headline a Sept. 12 concert in Montgomery honoring the Alabama-born country music legen
The Hank Williams Museum will celebrate what would have been the Alabama music legend's 103rd birthday next month with a memorial concert and the museum's annual graveside service in Montgomery.
The celebration is set for Saturday, Sept. 12, five days before Williams' Sept. 17 birthday. Country music veteran Moe Bandy will headline the afternoon concert at Troy University's Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts. American Idol-standout Alex Miller will also perform.
The museum will begin the day's events with its traditional wreath-laying and memorial service at Williams' grave in the Oakwood Cemetery Annex.
“Though he died at just 29 years of age, Hank left a lasting musical legacy that continues to be appreciated by each new generation, and we feel it is important to celebrate and recognize the birthday of one of Alabama’s favorite sons and greatest legends,” Hank Williams Museum Director Beth Petty said. “Our memorial concert features entertainers who perform the traditional country music that Hank and his contemporaries played, and it serves as an appropriate way to honor his 103rd birthday.”
Bandy brings decades of traditional country music to the event. His career includes such classics as “Bandy the Rodeo Clown,” “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life,” “Barstool Mountain,” “I Just Started Hatin’ Cheatin’ Songs Today,” “Just Good Ol’ Boys” and “I Cheated Me Right Out of You.”
His 1979 duet with Janie Fricke, “It’s a Cheatin’ Situation,” won the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year award. His work with Joe Stampley also earned the pair the Country Music Association's Vocal Duo of the Year award in 1980.
The choice of Bandy also gives the concert a direct musical link to the man it honors. His 1976 hit “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” reached the country charts and became one of Bandy's signature recordings.
Miller represents a much younger generation of traditional country artists. The Kentucky native drew national attention in 2021 when he appeared on Season 19 of American Idol. He auditioned with his original song, “I'm Over You, So Get Over Me,” earning yes votes from judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.
Miller later received an invitation from Bryan to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Since his television appearance, he has continued to build a career centered on the traditional country sound.
Arty Hill, Wyatt Aleman and Dalton McSwain are also scheduled to appear at the birthday concert. The museum's current lineup also lists Larry Darnell among the performers. Jay Dean, host of “Country Legends Jukebox,” is scheduled to return as emcee.
The concert begins at 3 p.m. at the Davis Theatre, 251 Montgomery Street in downtown Montgomery. Doors open at 2:15 p.m.
General admission tickets are $35 and are available online through Eventbrite. Reserved VIP seats are $45 and must be purchased through the Hank Williams Museum. The museum can be reached at 334-262-3600.
Purchase Hank 103 general admission tickets
The day's events will begin earlier at Williams' final resting place.
The Hank Williams 103rd Birthday Wreath Laying and Memorial Service is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Oakwood Cemetery Annex, 1304 Upper Wetumpka Road in Montgomery. The Sheppard Family Band, whose members are cousins of Williams' former wife, Audrey Sheppard Williams, is scheduled to perform beginning at 8:45 a.m.
Williams was born Sept. 17, 1923, in Mount Olive in Butler County, Alabama. His short life produced a body of work that helped shape country music for generations. The Country Music Hall of Fame describes Williams as an artist who “almost singlehandedly” set the course for modern country songwriting.
His songs include “Your Cheatin' Heart,” “Hey, Good Lookin',” “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Cold, Cold Heart” and “I Saw the Light.” Williams recorded 35 singles that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard country chart, including 11 that reached No. 1.
Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 1961. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1987 in recognition of his influence on generations of musicians well beyond country music.
Today, he is among just 18 people who have been inducted into both halls of fame.
Williams died on Jan. 1, 1953, at only 29 years old while traveling to a New Year's Day performance in Canton, Ohio. More than seven decades later, his songs remain standards of American music, while his life and career remain closely tied to Montgomery and his home state of Alabama.
