The National Museum of African American Music

Though it's a mouthful, this museum might be one of my favorites that I've ever visited. When going to Nashville, people are going to recommend tours of The Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium, and probably the Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline Museum (or both).

As someone who doesn't enjoy country music, for the most part, I was only mildly interested in the Johnny Cash Museum and even the Music Hall of Fame. The price tags for both seemed higher than I was willing to pay - $25+ per person, so I decided to visit a different, one-of-a-kind museum, showcasing African American music.

Part of my reasoning was that Black people created what we know as soul, bluegrass, and country, so if be getting a much more authentic experience than that at just ONE of the other music museums. I wasn't prepared for just how amazing this museum was though.

First of all, the NMAAM is on Broadway, or The Honky Tonk Highway. It's literally like Bourbon Street, but every bar has live, and loud, country music that, literally, everyone knows. You'll find honky tonks owned by Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Jon Bon Jovi, Dierks Bentley, and more, with drunk people spilling out onto the street. That's absolutely not our vibe, but it's something to experience at least once, even if you don't go inside any of them to have overpriced mediocre food and drinks. I highly suggest Assembly Food Hall instead, or going somewhere else entirely.

This museum takes you from the roots of music during slavery, all the way to modern day hip hop and rap. You'll see and learn about the most influential people in music history and then those that came before and influenced them. Did I know about Koko Taylor before I visited? No, I did not, but now I do and know she was awesome.

Throughout the museum are music stations where you can create your own songs, beats, or listen to Black artists through history, see who their contemporaries were, who were their inspirations, and who were inspired by them. You can save all these playlists and interactions by purchasing a $5 wristband that gives you access to most of these interactive elements, including doing a rap battle with a friend and dancing to music through the decades.

Do you want to see outfits from influential musicians like Tina Turner, LL Cool J, and Whitney Houston? Or instruments from people like Louis Armstrong? An actual Grammy belonging to Ella Fitzgerald? Or see a truly wild quote from Jimi Hendrix? This museum has all that and more.

Learn who Elvis watched and listened to for some of his best songs, like Hound Dog, and moves. I know many people say he stole everything from the Black community, but he was always forthcoming about his inspirations and giving credit for the community who allowed him to thrive in the industry.

We probably spent a good 3 hours here and could have spent longer. It's not all feel good music, but it's interesting and beautiful and fun. If you love music, you should check it out. If you love history, you should check it out. If you love fashion, you should check it out. If you want to know more about production, you should check it out.

Helpful tips:

There is a parking garage under the block that houses Hattie B's, Tecovas, a bunch of other shops and restaurants, and the NMAAM, with an entrance on Broadway. It's expensive, but you can save $20 off the whole day by using the kiosk inside the museum (even if you aren't visiting the museum, but you should).

Go first thing when they open, so you don't have to fight to get to exhibits and interactive elements. Then, go eat, see more of what Nashville has to offer, and then go check out your playlist when it downloads (it might be the next day to be there in its entirety) and relive some of your favorite moments and artists.

Don't forget to watch the short movie at the beginning or your tour, check out the art gallery in the lobby, and visit the gift shop to see some other things not in the museum proper.

Have you been to a specialty museum or one that showcases a certain people? Tell us where it was and what you loved about it.

Walk Among the Stars at Astra Lumina

A few weeks ago, I learned about a nighttime walking light tour called Astra Lumina that was going to be coming to Seattle, because nothing seems to come to Portland, even though we have spaces for them. I was going to purchase tickets for next month, but then decided to look at the other cities it was going to.

It seemed like kismet that the event was currently on display in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, just a 10 minute drive from where we're staying outside of Pigeon Forge to visit Dollywood, so I booked a pair of tickets and admission to the adventure park hosting it, which I can't review, because we dawdled too much driving from Nashville and showed up 30 minutes before the park closed, just in time to take the lift to the top of the mountain and show up for our Astra Lumina time slot. It was still more convenient and cheaper than a separate trip to Seattle.

So, what is Astra Lumina? It's an interactive, multi-sensory light installation that you walk through. It has 10 stops along the route, including a "photo booth" at the end, with different cosmic vignettes that all follow a story that consist of stars and space and planets. It takes about an hour to experience, even if you stay at stops longer than expected.

Each stop has a theme and you'll see a lighted sign before you get to them with the name of it and the time each experience lasts. The lights are all different and has music that goes along with them. Each musical accompaniment is soft and ethereal and different, but also very similar, but it's perfect and really brings you into the story.

The walk up to the entrance of Astra Lumina is lined with lanterns that have astronomy patterns and a piece of the prologue to the experience. The mood is perfectly set by the time you arrive, and then you enter a cosmic archway into the Astra Lumina space and witness falling stars, that then serenade you.

You walk through starlight, and I'm pretty sure this is everyone's favorite part, because it's like you're underwater, but also in space, and like a very gentle rave. You feel like you are walking through e most beautiful spiderwebs that never touch you. I loved it and we all just stood, staring around us in wonder, like we'd never seen light beams before. The way it's done is so magical and impossible to describe or capture on film, though I tried.

At one point, you are there to see a star being born, and ascend into the cosmos, and accepted by the other stars up there. There's a literal wave of light, the fallen stars return to the skies, and your are in a forest carpeted with dancing light. If you've been following me here and on IG, you know I enjoy light installations and interactive art and this one went beyond my expectations and imagination. I was emotional at times and completely in awe.

Everything is centered on where you are. There's just enough light on the trail for you to keep your footing and follow it to the next stop, almost like they don't want you to see anything outside of the path in between stops, and it is pretty impactful and mesmerizing.

It's not often I'm speechless, but this got me. You can spend as much or as little time as you like on the trail, so if you find you've entered in the middle of an experience, then make sure you wait around for it to start again to see an entire rotation. You'll know when it's over without timing it. It's very obvious.

Wear good walking shoes and dress warmly, if it's cooler out. Take a lot of pictures, or don't. It's okay to just enjoy the experience. The photo op at the end is unmanned, so be cool and offer to take photos (yes, more than one) for people ahead or behind you, so they can also have a great photo memory. 

Do you have a must-see light experience or interactive art exhibit to share?

Knoxville's World's Fair Park and the Sunsphere

During our time in Tennessee, we took 3 days to visit the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area. On our way, we stopped in Knoxville to have lunch and visit the Sunsphere. You're probably wondering "WTH is the Sunsphere?" Well, I'm going to tell you, just like I told the concierge at our vacation rental (it's a timeshare).

In 1982, Knoxville was the site of the World's Fair (why don't we have these anymore?!) and like all World's Fairs, they needed a gimmick, like Paris had the Eiffel Tower for theirs and Seattle had the Space Needle for theirs. The theme of this fair was Energy and what better way to represent energy than to create an homage to the Earth's greatest source of energy than the sun?

So, Knoxville built a 75-foot golden sphere, atop a 266-foot tall column where people could go up to the observation deck, inside the sphere, and see the whole city in 360 degrees. The entire outside of the sphere is golden glass, where 24k gold dust was used to create an opulent and unique landmark. It cost $2 per person to visit in 1982 and today it's barely much more at just $5 per person.

as you can see, the gold glass doesn't make for great pictures

Outside you can see the river, the whole park, and downtown Knoxville. The entire structure is enclosed and you take an elevator to the "top". Back during the World's Fair, this deck was a restaurant that served things like the sunburger and the sunburst drink, but not anymore. It's not big enough for any concessions, because the space not used for public viewing is commercial space and offices. At one point it was considered the headquarters of a basketball team, because it looks like a basketball!

Fun fact: You can actually see a huge basketball on the top of a building from Sunsphere, and it is home to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Even so, there is a selfie station that doubles as tourist information, there are also Knoxville brochures there, a small gift shop, and an even smaller gift shop at the entrance that is basically the register and info booth, a wall with the story of the Sunsphere, a glass case with items from the World's Fair and construction of the Sunsphere, and a wall with fun art of the World's Fair with the Sunsphere in it. For some reason, there's also a miniature Mrs. Pacman arcade game, but at least two people played it while we were there, so I guess it's popular.

The employees of the Sunsphere are super nice and have a lot of helpful knowing the area. If you have time, you can pick up a walking map and check out some of the public art in the area. We planned to do it on our way back, but it was pouring, so we only stopped for breakfast and to visit a salt room (more on that later). Maybe we'll make another trip out there to explore Knoxville a little more besides seeing the university campus on our drive to get food on the riverfront.

It's not the tallest structure we've ever been in to see the city from above, but it's pretty unique and it defines the Knoxville skyline. Part visitor center, part gift shop, part time capsule, part museum, part tourist attraction, the Sunsphere and World's Fair Park is something different and interesting to break up a road trip or just see a bit of Tennessee's past in the present.

The park has a playground, a war memorial, fountains, an amphitheater, a festival lawn, a stream, walking trails, and a splash pad for the kids. You need to buy timed tickets, since only around 80 people are allowed on the viewing platform at a time (and it seemed crowded at one point with around 15 people up there). We were visiting on a weekday in the off-season, so we purchased tickets when we got there with no problem, but if you're going on a weekend or during the summer, plan ahead.

click to make this full-size to read more

Ever wonder what the heck they do with the other buildings and structures they built for the World's Fair when the fair is over? Sometimes they are torn down and sometimes they stay up at tourist attractions, but other times they get repurposed. Sometimes, like here, they take old buildings and breathe new life into them, and then they become even ore useful after the fair is over. So, not only does the World's Fair bring is a ton of visitors and money to the area, but it also creates opportunities afterwards. 

While America seems to have fallen off hosting World's Fairs, they continue on in the rest of the world. If you have a chance to visit one of the sites or landmarks, it's a fun way to learn history and see some cool stuff. 

Have you visited a special structure or building that was built for an event and now is just there for tourism?