A tent pole of our recent "girls weekend" to Nashville included a half day at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. We all purchased the museum pass with audio guide, and the docents were also kind enough to point us toward the VIP songwriter's spotlight event that was happening that day and free with admission. Turned out that the songwriter's spotlight was the highlight of our time there.
Both of the songwriters in the spotlight event shared some of the songs they wrote and stories about their time in Nashville. They were very generous with their time and really kept the audience involved. After their 45 minute session, both of them also stayed to do a "meet and greet" with fans. Very classy, Country Music Hall of Fame!
After that we decided to tackle the museum in earnest with our audio guides. There was a nice timeline with exhibits that began with how country music came to be and then progressed to other styles of music influencing the country music sound. A few exhibits included audio clips and other displays showed video clips. I honestly did not notice that there were exhibits on both sides of the floor at first because everything seemed to flow along the back wall with the display cases.
Once we got near Elvis in the country timeline, the floor plan was literally "all shook up". You could not concentrate on the exhibits that were before it when Elvis and his audio and video clips were on display.
There were some unique, one-of-a-kind items out to view and I really liked the memorabilia and signage on the main wall of the 2nd Floor denoting upcoming concerts, acts, and places of note that can still be found in Nashville (Tootsie's Orchid Lounge as just one example). My favorite of the displays was seeing the cornfield that had been used for countless episodes of "Hee Haw" during my childhood. Gold and platinum records were also featured on the wall near the wrap up of the 2nd Floor and you could hear snippets of those songs as well.
After descending a set of stairs, you walked into the more modern age of country music. There was more pizzazz surrounding the displays on the 1st Floor but the disparity between the floors felt significant - like it was two separate museums rather than two different eras. I was also disappointed at how many artists who helped usher in the current country music sights and sounds were missing entirely...
The most disappointing part of the museum to me was the amount of detail and the expanse of room on the 1st Floor dedicated to Kacey Musgraves. I think Ms. Musgraves must have gifted every dress she ever owned to the Country Music Hall of Fame as they basically displayed a whole wing of her. (All of that space that they could have displayed dresses, instruments, or even accessories from important people through the many years of the Country Music Hall of Fame, yet they give her the lion's share of a floor and she just came into country music importance in 2013? You've got to be kidding me!)
In any case, I did enjoy seeing the inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame and all of that information in the rotunda at the very end of the tour. I just did not feel that the museum did a very good job of relaying the full story of how the music has progressed, much less the talented performers that helped it along the way, through its walls and halls of displays.
NOTE: The audio guide was not that helpful, so I would encourage people to just enjoy the exhibits without it. Even the order of the exhibits (and thus the audio guide numbering) was confusing!
Response from Host
Mar 2020
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the songwriter session, but sorry to hear that your museum experience was mixed.
We update and rotate exhibits on a regular basis, so not all artists are featured at all times. For this reason, the museum does not follow a chronological order. Our "Sing Me Back Home" exhibit provides guests with the early origins of country music and a basis for which to view the other featured exhibits.
As for Kacey Musgraves, she has a featured exhibit that shows her already expansive career and success in country music that actually began in her childhood years (much earlier than 2013).
The audio guides are recommended for guests that would like more of a guided feel as they walk through our galleries, since we do not offer guided tours of the galleries.
Thanks again for your feedback.