Nobody goes to Nashville without visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Well some people might, but the very concept and reality of Nashville is entwined with its country music history and thus the museum seems to embody all that is Nashville.  It doesn’t really.  There is lots to Nashville’s history and even its music that extends beyond country music, but for most people this is the place and this is the museum.  

It has an imposing presence in downtown Nashville and symbolically portrays its inner information in the facade which looks like musical instruments.  The main walls look like a piano keyboard and to one side it resembles a drum kit and somewhere in there, which I didn’t really see, there is a replica of a radio transmitter tower.  It’s all quite pretty and inviting, personable and customer friendly at the door.  There is a little bit of wandering around on the bottom floor before you realize everything starts on the second floor so up we went.  

They had so much information they didn’t know what to do with it all.  It’s jam-packed from start to finish with photos, costumes, notes, letters, shoes, sheet music and even a car.  Accompanying you along the way is the appropriate music for the diorama you are looking at.   The museum does present its wares in a historic pattern, starting with the oldest known country artists, how and where country music evolved and who its biggest players were.   It’s fascinating and overwhelming.  We were exhausted when we left.  I found it unfortunate that the accompanying music for each artist overlapped as you moved from one to the other, creating a rather loud cacophony.  Sometimes I felt like they skipped over some important parts and unfortunately women country music artists are few and far between.  However the information given is robust and fun. The costumes are intriguing (who knew some of these people were so tiny or huge?).  The notes, letters and sheet music are nice openings into the artists private and public lives as well as their creative efforts.  

All in all it’s quite a lovely museum.   We would recommend you take the Studio B Tour, which is associated with the museum.  You meet in the front lobby.  A tour guide shepherds you to a bus, which transports you to the original RCA Studio B recording studio in the Music Row area.  This is where Elvis and many others recorded.   Our tour guide was excellent, providing not just history, but anecdotes and stories about the many recording artists who graced those walls.   It’s not long, but it is SOOOO worth it.  We had a blast!  

If you do nothing else in Nashville please visit Studio B, The Country Music Hall of Fame, The National African American Music Museum and Ryman Hall.  You will leave Nashville satiated and crammed with music history knowledge.