Hellhounds and Salty Dogs: Dudley Memorial Lecture with John Troutman

Wednesday, April 17 at 6:30 PM
Corcoran School of the Arts & Design
Flagg Building, Hammer Auditorium (500 17th Street NW)

The 17th Street Doors will be open for the event. Our accessible entrance is located at New York Avenue. Reception following the talk, 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM.

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John Troutman is Curator of Music and Musical Instruments at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, and is the museum's chair of the Division of Culture & the Arts. He is the project director and lead curator of , the museumʻs award-winning permanent exhibition on the history, power and politics of entertainment in the United States, and is the co-editor of the exhibitionʻs accompanying catalog. Troutman edited music researcher and folklorist Robert "Mack" McCormick's manuscript, , published in 2023. His co-curated exhibit on McCormickʻs legendary archive opened at the museum in the same year. He co-produced a six-LP box set from the field recordings of Mack McCormick, released on Smithsonian Folkways. For this project, Troutman received two 2024 Grammy nominations for "Best Album Notes" and "Best Historical Album."
His book , won the Western History Association's biennial 2011 W. Turrentine Jackson Prize for a first book on any aspect of the American West. His book , won five book awards, including the Organization of American Historians' Lawrence W. Levine Award for the "Best Book in American Cultural History," the IASPM-US Woody Guthrie Award for the "most outstanding book on popular music," and the American Musicological Society's Music in American Culture Award. Troutman's essays have been featured in several anthologies, magazines, and journals.
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Troutman served as a consultant on , a Robert Redford/ Jack White/ T-Bone Burnett executive-produced PBS/BBC documentary on American music, and is featured on the prize-winning Rezolution Pictures documentary, . He has been interviewed for features by , d, , , and more.
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Troutman was raised in Dothan, Alabama. He studied anthropology at Emory University, and earned a master's degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona. He earned his PhD in history from the University of Texas at Austin. A semi-professional musician on pedal steel and guitar, he contributed steel guitar to the album Grand Isle, by Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, which was nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Regional Roots Music Album." He has performed on stage with numerous musical luminaries including CC Adcock, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Dr. John, Willie Nelson's Band, David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Ani DiFranco, and Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine).

Dudley Memorial Lecture Series

The Dudley Memorial Lecture is an annual lecture series established in 1984 to commemorate and perpetuate Argentina Dudley's life work and interests. This lecture series was created by her husband Robert Whittier Dudley and their six children. The lecture provides memorable and enriching cultural experiences through talks given by a notable artist, curator, critic or educator in the arts. Previous speakers include artists such as Nao Bustamante, Wendy MacNaughton and Art Spiegelman; curators and critics such as James Cuno, Vincent Scully, Robert Hughes, and Valerie Cassel Oliver.

The NEXT Festival showcases the talents and scholarship of graduating Corcoran students. The festival highlights work from across the visual, performance, & research programs. For a full listing of all NEXT Festival events check out our festival guide.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Hammer Auditorium, Flagg Building, Corcoran School for the Arts and Design, George Washington University, Please use New York Avenue Door, 500 17th Street Northwest, Washington, United States