Nashville is rich with sacred sites for music fans, and Music Row is one of them.
Students at John Early Museum Magnet Middle School have been studying the history of Music Row and created a museum exhibit on the iconic area’s history.
“It’s basically a showcase of how far country music has come in Nashville,” said Savannah Rae, an eighth grader at John Early.
Rae and classmates spent months studying the history of Music Row, including the artists, recording methods, and songs that made it famous.
The exhibit walks people through the timeline of Music Row from the 1950’s to today.
“The students picked out all the artifacts and the layout for the museum, and we picked it based on the decade we picked for each section,” said eighth grader Jamie Watson.
Friday, history came alive for students who gave a private tour to Music Row legend Brenda Lee.
Lee is profiled in the museum.
“I think we artists as a whole love things like this, and we love that the students are getting educated on our music and all the other music out there,” said Lee.
Music producer Mike Curb also toured the exhibit and joined Lee in telling students stories from the past.
“It’s so exciting to see the students researching things in such depth, but then to be able to also tell them how right they are, but then maybe add some things they may not have known,” said Curb.
John Early Museum Magnet Middle School is one of the only sanctioned museum schools in North and South America.
For students, the unique learning opportunity also gives them pride in their hometown.
“It’s always important to know about your history, and once you see all the history from the 50s, 60s, to 70s and today, you can see how it makes you proud to live in Nashville,” said seventh grader Safiyah Suara.
You can visit the museum for free any week day through May. During the summer the students will prepare a new exhibit for the fall.
