Holly Williams was born 28 years ago in rural Cullman, Alabama, to Becky and Hank Williams Jr. The lengthy separations imposed by her superstar father's touring schedule (roughly 300 shows per year) took a toll on the family, and Holly's parents separated when she was three. Holly and her big sister, Hilary, moved to Nashville with their mother, while Hank Jr. moved to nearby Paris, Tennessee. Though she was acutely aware of her father's success, and had a vague understanding of her late grandfather's status, Holly as a child had no thought to follow their career path (although at age eight she did write lyrics in a notebook she called "Holly's Song Folder"). But nine years later, when 17-year-old Holly picked up a guitar one afternoon and wrote three songs, she knew immediately that this was something she wanted to do. She began booking her own gigs and playing open mic nights at Music City songwriter venues such as 12th and Porter and the Exit/In. Influenced by artists as diverse as Robert Johnson and Radiohead, and literary works by Jack Kerouac and Oscar Wilde, Williams wrote prolifically and forged her own musical viewpoint, combining naked emotion and singer-songwriter sensitivity with the full-tilt swagger of country rock.

By early 2002, Williams was regularly opening shows for artists such as John Mellencamp, Ron Sexsmith, Train and many others. In 2004, Universal South Records signed her to a record deal and she recorded her critically acclaimed debut album, The Ones We Never Knew. The disc's songs, all penned by Williams, explored addiction, commitment issues, codependency and other frank themes with unflinching truth and raw emotion.

Holly kicked off 2005 with a successful club tour of the U.S. and Europe, and then headed home to Tennessee to begin writing songs for her sophomore album. In March, while traveling to a family funeral in Louisiana, Holly and sister Hilary were involved in a near-fatal car accident, and for months both women fought their way through an arduous recovery.

Now fully healed, Williams is pursuing her music with renewed focus. Her second album, Here with Me, which will be released on June 16 by Mercury Nashville Records, finds Williams heading in a more contemporary country direction while continuing to draw on her own experiences for songs that unite personal and universal themes. Williams is proud of her family's legacy, but not content to live in its iconic shadow. Instead, she has taken her history and experiences and crafted her own sound … a fitting next chapter in the family tradition.

These programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional promotional support is being provided by the Museum's official Family Tradition media partners: Great American Country Television Network, Cumulus Broadcasting and The Tennessean.

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