Bradley Hanson, Director of Folklife

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A man in a white suit and cowboy hat plays a banjo in a dressing room, seated at a counter with a mirror. Another person in a suit is visible in the background, taking a photo in the mirror.Bradley Hanson, Director of Folklife

Bradley Hanson has served as Director of Folklife at the Tennessee Arts Commission since January 2015. During his tenure, he has worked to strengthen opportunities and support for traditional artists, culture workers, organizations, and other cultural stakeholders across Tennessee. His major accomplishments include launching and rapidly developing the state’s first Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program; developing the Tennessee Folklife Institute training program in partnership with Humanities Tennessee; expanding grant support for folklife projects in rural communities and among underserved populations; supporting the recognition of three consecutive Tennessee recipients of the NEA National Heritage Fellowship; and increasing public engagement with fieldwork and documentation through social media, online video, photo essays, and exhibitions.

Hanson earned a PhD in Ethnomusicology from Brown University in 2014. Prior to joining the Commission, he worked seasonally as a cultural interpreter for Tennessee State Parks and the Friends of the Cumberland Trail. In 2011, he received the Blanton Owen Fund Award from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to support fieldwork in East Tennessee. From 2007 to 2012, he produced and hosted sixty episodes of the Cumberland Trail radio show on WDVX-FM. In 2013, Hanson produced Fallen Country Star, an album of songs and performances by country singer and songwriter Jim Fagan, released by Sandrock Recordings. In 2014, with support from the Campbell Culture Coalition and Humanities Tennessee, he created Jamboree Time, a documentary project exploring the history of LaFollette’s Tennessee Jamboree radio program through rare and recently uncovered archival film footage, recordings, photographs, and oral history interviews. In 2024, he completed Appearing in Person, an award-winning documentary about East Tennessee musician Wade Hill.