The National Museum of African American Music is the only museum solely devoted to Black musical traditions and genres in the U.S. It opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2021. I recently visited for the first time, and really enjoyed it. Here’s why you should venture into downtown Nashville to check it out, too.
🎟️ Details
- Where: Fifth + Broadway
- Cost: $33.33 a ticket; check to see if you qualify for discounts.
- Parking: There’s a Metropolis garage directly beneath the building that partners with the museum for $22 parking. There’s also a designated Lyft pickup spot in front, which is what I used.
🎵 Learn More About African American Music
After purchasing tickets at the front desk, the museum’s first stop is the Root Theater to watch a short film exploring the history of Black music, from its African roots to the creation of jazz and rock and roll. The theater leads out into the “Rivers of Rhythm” gallery, which provides a broad overview of four centuries of Black music and features interactive stations where visitors can listen to music from different time periods, and read more. This is the central room for all the museum galleries. It’s very easy to follow along in a circle, visiting each gallery chronologically.
Galleries explore religious music, the origin of the blues, the evolution of jazz, contemporary music, and so much more. Lining the walls are numerous photographs and quotes, and there are also exhibits centering Nashville’s music history.
The interactive elements were a lot of fun. (Margaret Kingsbury / City Cast Nashville)
🎤 Create Your Own Music & Playlists
I loved all the museum’s interactive elements. A wristband you receive upon entry allows visitors to create their own playlists at numerous touch tables with thousands of songs. I had trouble getting the wristband to work at all stations, though, and sometimes had to move to a new one, or jot down the name of the artist I wanted to listen to more of instead.
Visitors can also sing along with a virtual recording of a choir, create their own songs, dance along to a music video, and record music. I was pretty impressed with how interactive the museum is — more so than other museums I’ve visited.
💸 More Tips
There’s no separate children’s area, so if you have younger kids, you might want to wait to visit until they’re a bit older and can enjoy the interactive elements. While tickets are a bit steep, every first Wednesday of the month is free. It’s smaller than the Country Music Hall of Fame, and with less memorabilia, but I really enjoyed the diversity of music and history at NMAAM, and will definitely visit again.
🍽️ Where To Eat
The Assembly Food Hall is right by the museum, with a plethora of eating options. After exploring the museum, I went to Sixty Vines, which has a fantastic view of the Ryman. There’s also Desano, Honeyfire Barbecue, PokeNash, Prince’s, and lots more.
