Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: where the genre’s story lives
If you visit one museum in Music City, make it the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It holds one of the largest popular music collections in the world: stage costumes, instruments, handwritten lyrics, recordings and photographs that trace country music through more than a century. You’ll find everything from Elvis Presley’s gold Cadillac to Webb Pierce’s silver-dollar convertible, and the artifacts behind the songs you grew up with.
Sing Me Back Home: country music through the decades
The museum’s core exhibit, Sing Me Back Home, tells the story of country music from its roots in Appalachian folk songs, African American blues and gospel, and cowboy ballads. From there it moves through the honky tonk era of Hank Williams, the Nashville Sound of the 1960s and the outlaws of the 1970s, all the way to today’s stadium-filling stars. Listening stations and film clips bring each era to life, and the walls are filled with Grammy-winning names and the instruments they played.
Kenny Chesney: Living in Fast Forward
Rotating galleries spotlight individual artists. Through June 2027, the featured exhibit is Kenny Chesney: Living in Fast Forward. It follows the East Tennessee native from his college bluegrass band to one of the biggest touring acts of the century, with guitars, stage wear and handwritten studio charts along the way. It’s included with museum admission.
The Hall of Fame Rotunda
The tour ends in the Hall of Fame Rotunda, the emotional heart of the building. Bronze plaques honor every one of the Hall of Fame members, from the Carter Family and Hank Williams to Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and the newest inductees. The circular room, with its soaring ceiling and quiet light, is a moment of reverence after the energy of the galleries. Fans often take their time here, reading the plaques of their favorite artists.
Hatch Show Print and Historic RCA Studio B
Inside the museum, Hatch Show Print still letterpresses concert posters by hand, as it has since 1879. Its bold designs have advertised shows at the Ryman Auditorium and across Nashville for generations. Book a Hatch Show Print tour to watch the presses in action, and pick up a poster to take home.
Add the Historic RCA Studio B tour to your visit. A shuttle takes you to the Music Row studio where Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and the Everly Brothers recorded hundreds of hits. It’s one of the few places in Nashville where you can stand exactly where the music was made.
Theaters and education
The museum is more than galleries. The 800-seat CMA Theater hosts concerts, award ceremonies and special events, while the more intimate Ford Theater presents panels, film screenings and live music programs. The Taylor Swift Education Center offers hands-on workshops for kids and families, from songwriting to instrument building.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum tickets
Buy Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum tickets in advance at countrymusichalloffame.org, and bundle in Studio B or a Hatch Show Print tour if you can. Plan two to three hours for the museum alone.
Getting there from Noelle
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, sits at 222 Rep. John Lewis Way South, across from the Music City Walk of Fame and next to the Music City Center. It’s about an eight-minute walk from Noelle, an easy morning outing before Broadway wakes up.