Jazz, blues, country — the South isn’t just rich in storied music. Some of the most iconic and influential genres of the art form were born right here, So, clear your travel schedule; it’s time to visit some unforgettable Southern music museums.
From the Country Music Hall of Fame in Tennessee to Mississippi’s B.B. King Museum, here are five travel-worthy spots to celebrate the South’s musical heritage.
Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, Tennessee
At 350,000 square feet, Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame is a big local draw. It’s one of the most visited history museums in the country according to the National Endowment for the Arts. The “Smithsonian of country music,” it was even awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Joe Biden in 2022.
For country music fans, there’s hardly a better place to visit this year. The museum’s performance spaces, the CMA Theater and Ford Theater, regularly host live performances. The Taylor Swift Education Center offers educational activities for toddlers, school groups and families, while the Frist Library and Archive holds more country music artifacts than anywhere else in the country.
The museum also features an impressive array of ever-changing exhibits. “Writers, Pickers and Stars: The Photography of Ed Rode” is a free exhibit on display through July. “Sing Me Back Home: Folk Roots to the Present,” on the other hand, is a permanent exhibit that serves as a great introduction for first-time visitors. The newest exhibit to hit the museum will be “Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising,” which kicks off Nov. 14 and will run for three years.
For more information, visit countrymusichalloffame.org.
New Orleans Jazz Museum
Ragtime, blues, spirituals and jazz — New Orleans is home to some truly mighty music. Hosting over 365 concerts and 15 festivals each year, the New Orleans Jazz Museum tries to cover it all.
History is in high supply too, with a bevy of themed exhibits on the storied past of jazz always on rotation. The museum features more than 25,000 historical artifacts, ranging from instruments to local artwork.
According to its website, the museum’s current exhibits are “Congo Square to the World: Early Jazz in New Orleans,” “It All Started in Jane Alley: Louis Armstrong in New Orleans,” “Drumsville: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat,” “Bourbon Street Black: The Photography of Eric Waters,” “Shake Your Hips: Louisiana Blues” and “Face Value: The Illusions of Power and Money.”
For more information, visit nolajazzmuseum.org.
Hank Williams Museum, Montgomery, Alabama
If you’re a country music fan, it’s high time you visited the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. It boasts the “most complete collection of Hank Williams’ Memorabilia,” including the late singer’s baby blue 1952 Cadillac, his Steinway piano and much more.
“Everything we have here is authentic,” Hank Williams Museum volunteer Jeff Petty told local news outlet WSFA 12 last year. A significant portion of the museum’s pieces were donated by the music legend’s son, Hank Williams Jr.
Having moved to Montgomery in 1937, Williams formed the Drifting Cowboys band in his teens and eventually began playing regularly on local radio station WSFA. By 1947, he was signed with MGM Records. His life was cut short by heart failure at just 29, but his musical legacy lives on.
“We have a corner of country music that can’t be found anywhere else,” Petty said. “You can’t find it in Nashville. You can’t find it in Texas. You have to come to Montgomery, Alabama, to see it.”
For more information, visit thehankwilliamsmuseum.net.
B.B. King Museum, Indianola, Mississippi
The B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi, is celebrating a century of the music icon’s legacy this year. Throughout 2025, it’s hosting special exhibits, live music, community celebrations and more to honor the 100th anniversary of the blues legend’s birth.
Born on a cotton plantation near Indianola in 1925, King honed his musical skills while working as a farmhand. His first big break came in 1947, when he completed a radio performance as the “Beale Street Blues Boy.” Over time, his moniker would change from Blues Boy King to the iconic B.B. King.
Referred to by the National Endowment for the Arts as a “profound influence on both rock and roll and rhythm and blues,” King would go on to become one of the most influential guitar players and Southern musicians of all time.
The museum covers King’s career, personal life, stories from the Delta, local music, literature and more. From his life as a sharecropper in the 1930s to his final decade, King’s hometown museum is a must see for blues fans.
For more information visit bbkingmuseum.org.
Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum
Created by the Smithsonian Institution in 2000, the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum has been celebrating local tunes for decades. It struck a high note this year, chosen as one of 2025’s top music museums in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Covering hits from the 1930s well through the ‘70s, the museum’s seven galleries feature costumes, instruments and information on more than 100 songs from the city’s rich music history. The popular audio tour takes a little over five hours.
“It tells the story of musical pioneers who, for the love of music, overcame racial and socio-economic barriers to create the music that shook the entire world,” according to the museum’s website.
For more information, visit memphisrocknsoul.org.
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