National Museum of African American Music

You’re standing in front of the only museum in the nation dedicated to the history and legacy of African American music. Opened in 2020, this museum holds over 1,500 artifacts in seven interactive exhibition spaces in a massive 56,000 square-foot space. Guests begin their journey in the Roots Theater with an overview of African American history and the emergence of spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, R&B, and hip-hop. At the core of the National Museum of African American Music is the Rivers of Rhythm corridor. Have you ever wondered how America’s earliest traditions of blues and southern religious music are connected to contemporary hip-hop? Rivers of Rhythm traces the development of American music and the Black creativity that fueled it. For example, One Nation Under a Groove, follows the development of rhythm and blues and its relationship to the Civil Rights Movement. Listen to the words of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”...

Picket lines and picket signs

Don't punish me with brutality

Talk to me, so you can see

Oh, what's going on

What's going on, what's going on

Tell me what's going on

According to journalist Ben Cates: “When it was released in May of 1971, “What’s Going On” not only rocketed up the music charts, it also shook the collective consciousness of a nation at a crossroads, one that was battling with its sordid past and the direction of its future.”

Other exhibits highlight specific themes in African American music history. For example, A Love Supreme, reveals how indigenous African musical traditions influenced the creation of jazz in the 1920s and Wade in the Water, which explores music and the African American religious experience. Other galleries include Crossroads, a showcase of blues music related to the Great Migration and The Message, which looks at today’s youth culture and activism in hip-hop and rap. Visit their website for more information on taking a tour.

Why Nashville, you might ask? The NMAAM sees itself as the “final jewel in [Music City’s] crown,” and it is a much-needed addition to the symphony of music history in the city. Additionally, significant African American artists have called Nashville home. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers, for one, are central to religious and African American music history and were founded at Nashville’s own Fisk University. But it doesn’t end there. Did you know that Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, and Little Richard were all part of Nashville’s music scene early in their careers? If you started this tour thinking Music City only meant country, think again!

After walking up Broadway, take a RIGHT onto Seventh Avenue and you will see the Barbershop Harmony Society building on your right. Stop in front of the entrance to the building, and click “Arrived” to begin the next stop.