National Museum of African American Music — Museum Review | Condé Nast Traveler

"Zoom out. What’s this place all about? The NMAAM is the new cornerstone of Nashville 's mammoth Fifth + Broadway complex, a destination with restaurants, live music venues, and shops. Its high ceiling-entrance way is a contrast to the intimate rooms you’ll find inside. Each modern space is designed for optimum interactivity and immersive audio experience. A museum's permanent collection is its defining feature: How was this one?   NMAAM covers the whole of the Black music experience. The collection, which includes audio and video files, costumes, posters, instruments, photographs and more, is organized by genre and chronology. The material is designed to be interactive, and visitors can see where musicians got their influences and then who influenced them. The museum goes in-depth, covering both well-known performers and those whose names are otherwise lost to history. Exhibits keep us coming back. What can we expect?   NMAAM’s collection is permanent, but because so much of it is how you interact with it—do you try to record your own song, listen to different artists—it never feels like the same place twice. What did you make of the crowd? While NMAAM is one of Nashville’s most popular attractions inside one of its most visited buildings, the museum typically doesn’t feel overcrowded, in part because the museum issues timed tickets. That way everyone will get to experience the interactive stations. If you want a little more elbow room, purchase your tickets for earlier in the day on a weekday. Some Wednesdays are sponsored free days, which is either a day to attend or a day to avoid, depending on your budget and feelings about crowds. The museum does not allow people in with less than one hour before closing. Allot at least 90 minutes to visit NMAAM. On the practical tip, how were the facilities?   Once you are inside the lobby, all of the museum is one level. It is designed so that you move fluidly from one exhibit to the next, starting with a film in the theater. There are limited places to sit and rest in the galleries. Any guided tours worth trying?    When you pay for admission you’ll get an RFID bracelet that then syncs with the various exhibits. Registering your email allows you to send yourself the media you experience in the museum. Then you’ll have a playlist of your new favorite music when you get home. Gift shop: obligatory, inspiring—or skip it?    The gift shop is not the highlight of the museum. There’s nothing wrong with it; it features NMAAM branded merch and some musical themed items, but doesn’t have the depth of some other museum gift shops in town. Is the café worth a stop? There's no cafe in the museum, but you can go upstairs to Assembly Food Hall and literally find any food you want, from sit-down to fast-food. The Fifth + Broad complex also includes a number of vendors of classic Black owned restaurants (including Prince's Hot Chicken and Slim & Husky's Pizza). Any advice for the time- or attention-challenged? See the film, go to each of the galleries, and stop to watch Prince play Purple Rain, in the pouring rain during the 2007 Super Bowl, when it comes up on the projector." - Margaret Littman