Award-winning songwriter Tom Brown and 10-time International Bluegrass Music Association award winner Becky Buller have joined forces to write a brand-new two-act Southern musical comedy set in rural Tennessee in the early 1950s.

Set in the fictional town of Gribbleville, Ten., The Great Skillet Killin’ of Jericho County stage production blends early 1950s music, small-town humor, and colorful small town characters in a lively story built around an annual county fair cornbread contest—and the unexpected chain of events that follows.

The musical centers on Irene McGibboney, the long-reigning champion of Jericho County’s coveted cornbread competition. After winning the contest for the eleventh year in a row, Irene returns home to face her hard-drinking, abusive husband Dan. When a moment of frustration leads to a fatal skillet blow and a hasty cover story involving a mule, the town’s well-meaning but earnest Sheriff Ron Pursley must untangle the truth—leading to gossip, courtroom drama and an unlikely romance.

True to the traditions of classic Southern storytelling, the show mixes heartfelt moments with sharp humor, culminating in an unusual wedding that takes place inside the Jericho County jail.

Mr. Brown, a retired educator from Whitfield County Schools in Northwest Georgia, is widely known in bluegrass circles as a songwriter, performer and longtime community music advocate. A founding member of the regional bluegrass band Spatial Effects, Mr. Brown’s songs have received national recognition in competitions such as the Woody Guthrie Songwriting Competition, the John Hartford Memorial Songwriting Contest, the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and the WWALS Songwriting Contest. His previous theatrical work includes the internationally performed bluegrass musical comedy Fat Shirley’s: A Trailer Park Opera and composing the music for Twisted Roots, a stage production inspired by the life of Appalachian writer Emma Bell Miles.

Ms. Buller, based in Manchester, Tn., is one of bluegrass music’s most celebrated contemporary artists. A ten-time IBMA award winner—and the first woman to receive the organization’s Fiddler of the Year honor—Ms. Buller is also a songwriter whose work has appeared on Grammy-winning albums by Molly Tuttle, The Travelin’ McCourys and The Infamous Stringdusters. Her 2024 album Jubilee debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart. In addition to touring extensively, she teaches music and serves as an adjunct professor of Roots Music Marketing at East Tennessee State University.

The collaboration between Mr. Brown and Ms. Buller grew naturally from their shared love of traditional music, Southern humor and storytelling rooted in real community life.

“Country and bluegrass songs have always told great stories,” Mr. Brown said. “A musical comedy gives us the chance to let those stories unfold with larger-than-life characters, a little mischief, and plenty of music.”

Ms. Buller added that the project combines two things she loves most: songwriting and theatrical storytelling. “It’s got everything—great characters, a bit of scandal, a lot of laughter, and of course plenty of music.”

Development of the musical is currently underway, with plans for staged readings and a theatrical production in 2026.