So my mom and I drove to Nashville to visit The National Museum of African American Music’s grand opening. I’d been keeping up with their opening since 2018 when I was leaving Detroit and passed through Nashville (for the Childish Gambino show).
The museum is open for everyone and here are a few things I learned (along with my thoughts):
- Legislators feared the power of music to inspire and unite people. It was literally illegal to beat drums. They enacted slave codes because obviously music needed to be regulated. Just wow.
- Swing music was used to fight fascism. This is slightly an oversimplification but it led me to think…who will lead the swing or what will the next era of music be?
- Jazz and entertainment evolved in the 10’s (1929). Movies added sound and people were able to buy home radios. Soooo can the same be said with streaming and Covid-19 forcing us to get on the digital train or be left behind?
I’m obviously VERY biased but my favorite section in the museum is the Detroit/Memphis — Motown/Stax section. Both cities and record labels have a special place in my heart so seeing their huge influence in African American music is everything and more. Also, seeing the Detroit/EDM highlight was great because it’s a story not often told but extremely influential. I don’t remember if I saw anything about Chicago and House music but I’m sure it was there.
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