Les Leverett CollectionBill Monroe on the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, c.1958. 

Producers of Ken Burns’ upcoming 16-hour documentary series, Country Music, have scheduled two screenings of exclusive clips of the film for Mississippi audiences and question and answer sessions in Philadelphia and Meridian.

The film, due for release on public television in September, features Mississippi artists such as Jimmie Rodgers, Elvis Presley, Marty Stuart, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette and Bobbie Gentry, among others.

The Philadelphia session is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Ellis Theater and the Meridian session is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. March 29 at Peavy Headquarters, according to a news release from the promoters.

Scheduled to attend both sessions are Dayton Duncan, producer and writer of Country Music; Julie Dunfey, producer of Country Music; Pam Tubridy Baucom, producer of Country Music; and Ronnie Agnew, executive director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

The Philadelphia session will include country music artists Marty Stuart, Philadelphia native and found of Congress of Country Music, and Connie Smith.  A performance by Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, and The Fabulous Superlatives will precede the film screening, and Stuart and Smith will join the filmmakers during the audience Q&A following the screening, according to the news release.

The Meridian session will include Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation; and Betty Lou Jones, former president of the Jimmie Rodgers Foundation. The MPB Foundation will host a “punch and brunch” reception following the screening.

The film Country Music premieres Sunday, Sept. 15 and continues through Wednesday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 22, through Wednesday, Sept. 25, on PBS. It will be shown locally on MPB Televison from 7-9 p.m. on those dates, according to the news release.

Tickets are available for purchase by the general public at www.ardenland.net/listing.

The Ellis Theater is located at 311 Byrd Ave., Philadelphia. Peavey Headquarters is located at 5022 Hartley Peavey Drive, Meridian.