The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Bristol

Lovely museum - a must-see if you’re in the area (FREE if you’re staying at the Bristol Hotel next door!!). I’m a music lover and enjoy learning music history; admittedly, I don’t know much about country music or the Bristol Sessions, so I learned quite a bit and had a great time! The displays are laid out well - lots of things to watch, listen to, look at, tinker with, etc. It’s very interactive. Seeing the instrument exhibits and videos inspired me to want to take out my instruments at home and relearn them. Also— it wasn’t really on display, but a piano used during the Bristol Sessions is tucked away near the coat rack behind the “main” stairwell in the lobby. We thought it was neat and surprised it wasn’t displayed out. Check it out! The volunteers are very friendly and knowledgeable. Ask them anything and they have an answer for you or will find out the answer to your question. They love hosting out of town guests and will share recommendations for the area. It’s well worth your time and money to visit this museum, even if country music isn’t your thing. We had a great experience and highly recommend it.

What a fantastic museum! The high quality interactive exhibits tell the story so well! My favorite parts of the museum: 1) the mini studio where you could rehearse the vocals from a Bristol Sessions song, then record it so you could hear your voice with the background music, 2) the timeline at the top of the stairs with 3 merged timelines of historical events, Bristol area events, and audio technology developments, and 3) the video with current artists playing Sessions songs and discussing in detail the music and techniques the musicians used to play the instruments.