During our recent trip to Nashville for The Trazees, I decided to do some exploring before all the event fun. After doing some research, I learned that our hotel was right down the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and as a big country music fan, I felt like I had to go.

I arrived a couple minutes before my timed slot, so I got in line for the elevators to head up to the start of the museum on the third floor. Most tours are self-guided, but you can choose to use a hand-held audio device to hear the displays instead of reading them. I opted out of the audio tour and decided to just wander around and stop at the displays I was interested in.

The top floor takes you on a journey through country music’s timeline. You’ll start at the beginning and see how country music has evolved throughout the years. Highlights include one of Elvis Presley’s cars, Hank Williams’ guitar, a wall of Gold and Platinum records lining the wall and more.

On the next floor you’ll find things from Dolly Parton, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and more artists from that time period. Each display includes outfits, guitars, notes, original lyric drafts and more from the artists. My favorite part on the second floor was the new, limited-time Luke Combs: The Man I Am exhibition. Along the back wall, I walked along learning facts about Luke Combs from his early years to his current life. Artifacts such as class pictures, baby stuffed animals, report cards, early song lyrics and ideas, college memorabilia, awards, instruments and signage from current tours and more were on display. I highly recommend you take your time walking along this exhibition, as Combs has lived an interesting life thus far.

Next I headed down to the bottom floor, which was more about the current country artists; this was the part I was most excited about. I found displays on some of my favorite artists such as Tim McGraw, Kelsea Ballerini, Morgan Wallen and, of course, Taylor Swift. After walking around looking at the displays, I stood and watched a short video compilation on what the current popular artists have been up to. One thing I didn’t expect to see was Jason Kelce and Jalen Hurts from the Philadelphia Eagles on the screen, but the video highlighted Chris Stapleton singing the National Anthem during Super Bowl LVII, which the Eagles played in. Other musicians highlighted in the video included Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and Jelly Roll’s inspirational Best New Artist acceptance speech.

I recommend all country music fans visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum while visiting Nashville.

— Mary Melnick, social media & editorial coordinator