I’ve lived in Nashville for over 20 years, and yet, I had never been to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Country music is what brought me to Nashville many years ago and when I moved here, it was to study Music Business at Belmont. It’s amazing how you rarely take advantage of many of the local attractions just because you live here.
This week, that all changed. As we approach Spring break and our “staycation” planning, we were looking for things to do. That’s when we discovered the Community Counts program with the Country Music Hall of Fame.
There are 3 ways to get FREE admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame:
- Free Youth admission for residents of Davidson and surrounding counties youths ages 18 and under. See website for a complete list of qualifying counties.
- Free admission for up to 2 adults is available by checking out the Community Counts Passport at any Nashville Public Library.
- Residents of Davidson and bordering counties who receive SNAP and Families First benefits may purchase a discounted membership for $5.
The Country Music Hall of Fame website has all of the details and it’s very easy to navigate. Details about the Community Counts program can be found at https://countrymusichalloffame.org/communitycounts
On this visit I took my husband and two teenage boys. It should be noted that the two boys that accompanied us, had absolutely no interest in country music. And it’s important to note that because they actually had a good time!
The exhibits were well maintained and there were interactive exhibits everywhere. Wide aisles with plenty of room to move around other attendees and even though it was busy, we never felt “crowded”. The exhibits were well organized with classic country on the top floor and outlaw and modern country on the second floor. There were tons of videos, awards, gold and platinum records, costumes, cars, instruments and even an older version of a studio to view.
Some of the things we found interesting were:
- Webb Pierce’s car. It was very interesting to say the least!
- Some of the original CMA awards were made out of wood. And I’m sure there’s a story behind the one on display that looks like someone took a hammer to it!
- The interactive recording studios and mixing stations.
- The educational center. On the day we went they were teaching people how to play the banjo.
There were lots of activities for little ones, including scavenger hunts and activity sheets, costume designing, digital touch screen mixing boards and more.
The building itself is amazing. While we were waiting to go in, they had a student group singing in the lobby. The acoustics were amazing! There are many beautiful and well thought out features and a lot of the architectural design revolves around musical instruments (piano keys, violin necks, etc.) It is a beautiful building, and an asset to the Nashville skyline.
While we were downtown, we hopped next door to the new convention center and rode the escalators to the top and got a fantastic view of downtown! The skyline is changing fast and we took few pictures to see how it will change 20 years from now.
Overall it was a really fun day and I’m glad we got to go. We all had fun and I’m thankful that the Country Music Hall of Fame offers this free program to local residents. If you’re looking for something to do on your Spring Break and plan on staying local, it’s worth putting this free activity on your families “Staycation Ideas” list.
Looking for more family fun in Nashville? Check out our Destinations & Entertainment blog for more ideas!
