What kind of place stimulates creative minds and sparks a surge of invention and innovation? The Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History traveled across the country to Nashville, Tennessee to explore the “Music City” and speak with artists such as Kings of Leon, Ben Folds, Eric Church, Marty Stuart, and others about the innovative history of music in Nashville.
Next, The Smithsonian filmed the listening rooms in the Bluebird Café to show the history of American songwriting at this famous venue in Nashville, TN.
Musician and composer Ben Folds in Nashville, TN gives a tour and history of Chet Atkins’ original RCA Records Victor Studio A.
Rudy’s Music in Soho, New York City is a full-service shop with an amp room, bass room, and their renowned repair/build shop on-site. This is the background for the invention of the archtop guitar with historian Rudy Pensa and world renowned archtop builder John Monteleone.
The Smithsonian next traveled across the country to San Francisco, California, to talk with the thrash band Slayer about the the innovative history of thrash metal.
