Rendering Courtesy of The National Museum of African American Music
The National Museum of African American Music is set to open near the end of 2019 on a date to be announced; a grand-opening ceremony will follow in 2020 in Nashville Tennessee
The museum is slated to occupy a 56,000-square-foot corner of the mixed-use Fifth + Broadway development, facing Bridgestone Arena on one side and the Ryman on the other. CEO Henry Beecher Hicks III and his team are focused on making the museum a place to look closely at the threads of black musicians’ influence and to follow them in the many directions they extend.
To serve that mission, the museum’s exhibits will be organized into five galleries. “Wade in the Water” tells the story of gospel music and its evolution into soul and other related genres, while “Crossroads” outlines the blues’ history and its effects on a huge variety of music. “A Love Supreme” traces the deep roots of jazz, while “One Nation Under a Groove” looks at R&B and its myriad offshoots, from funk to techno and beyond. “The Message” looks at how hip-hop became an integral part of the past four decades of popular music.
Rendering Courtesy of The National Museum of African American Music
The story is massive, so patrons will have some navigational help from an app called Rivers of Rhythm (preview it at rofr.nmaam.org). It’s similar to a streaming music service — users can choose an artist, and the app will suggest other musicians to check out: those who influenced that artist, as well as others who were inspired by their work.
The museum has about 1,000 artifacts in its collection now and expects to have some 1,400 by the time it opens. Items displayed at a media preview in August included movie posters, instruments and stage costumes.
In addition, some 25 technology-enhanced interactive features are planned, including one that will allow visitors to sing in a choir (with a little green-screen magic) under the direction of Nashville gospel legend Dr. Bobby Jones.
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