Music History

A museum within a former train depot tells the true story of a distinctly French-Louisiana musical genre.

One of the last remaining venues on the Old Chitlin’ Circuit is a kaleidoscopic music hall at the end of a dirt road.

This 19th-century benevolent society and jazz hall was rescued from abandonment to again host live music.

One of the last Depression-era bandshells still standing was the site of Elvis Presley’s first live concert.

The centerpiece of the Delta Blues Museum is a wooden sharecropper’s cabin that once housed a titan of blues music.

The oldest active juke joint in the state sustains a niche school of blues guitar.

A 1980s tour bus that traveled millions of miles to facilitate a superlatively rigorous performing career.

“The Cajun Music Capital of the World” has kept things French in a Louisiana prairie town for over 75 years.

This record shop and unofficial black metal museum is an ode to Oslo's heaviest musical export.

This century-old site established by King Mwezi Gisabo preserves the art of Burundi's ancient drum rituals.

A Wild West saloon that helped define a generation of psychedelic rock.

In the 1950s, two women saved this grand theater in the Colorado mountains from demolition.

The humble beginnings of one of America’s greatest songsmiths.

Located inside a former record pressing plant, this recording studio pays homage to the techniques and gear of a bygone age.

Washington D.C.'s most famous pianist, composer, and bandleader still tickles the ivories outside Howard Theater.