The Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM) further explores America’s roots music through New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music. Originally a traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution, New Harmonies will be on view beginning March 8, 2015 and continuing through September 30, 2015.
Music is all around us—at a local festival, a dance hall on a Saturday night, or on your radio or .mp3 player. Whether you’re hearing blues, country, folk, or gospel, American roots music reveals the American story. As Americans from a variety of backgrounds and shared cultural influences, musicians found new ways to play unique sounds learned from new neighbors or traditional instruments. The inevitable intermingling of musical influences created exciting new sounds.
Through a series of photographs, recordings, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music will explore the distinct cultural identities of American roots music forms. The exhibition will examine the progression of American roots music, as rich and eclectic as our country itself. Other musical genres profiled include zydeco, tejano, bluegrass and klezmer.