The museum is open Tuesday—Saturday, 10am—6pm and Sunday, 1—5pm. We are closed on Mondays and major holidays (check out our Facebook page for specific holiday hours).
Tickets to the museum are $13.65 for adults; $11.55 for seniors, college students, military, and children ages 6—17, and groups of 20+. Children 5 and under are free. Admission prices include Virginia admission tax.
We recommend allowing at least 1 ½ to 2 hours to visit the core exhibits, and at least half an hour for any special exhibits. Giving yourself this much time means that you will have ample opportunity to participate in the many films, interactives and sound experiences, and also to fully appreciate the text, images and artifacts on display.
Your ticket gives you admission to the museum for the full day so if you want to leave for a lunch or shopping break and then come back on the same day, you are welcome to do so!
Yes. You are welcome to shop in The Museum Store without visiting the museum.
The museum allows still photography for non-commercial use only. Video and flash photography are not permitted, and we also ask that you do not use tripods or monopods for safety reasons. We encourage you to share your personal photos from your visit to the museum on social media, tagging the Birthplace of Country Music Museum (@BCMM, #BCMBristol, #BristolRhythm). If you are a commercial photographer, please contact our staff (info@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org) to discuss permission for taking photographs in the museum.
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum is very proud of its state-of-the-art sound design and so to provide the best audio experience, we ask that visitors move outside to make or take cell phone calls.
We hope to bring music to all audiences, and we will do everything we can to accommodate our visitors. All exhibit spaces and theaters are wheelchair accessible, and all of the films are closed captioned. We have an elevator and we have three wheelchairs available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have any special needs and would like to discuss these before your visit, please call us on 423-573-1927 or email us at info@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
Small purses, diaper bags, and strollers are welcome in the museum. Please do not bring outside food or drink with you for your visit; water bottles with tight-fitting lids are allowed, but may not be opened in the museum galleries. If you get hungry or thirsty during your visit, we are conveniently located downtown within walking distance of several restaurants, a bakery, and two breweries. Your museum wristband is good for the entire day, even if you choose to leave and return on the same day. Use of tobacco products and tobacco substitutes (i.e. vaporizers) in the museum building is strictly prohibited.
There is ample parking in Historic Downtown Bristol and near the museum. A paid city parking lot (honor box system) is available across the street from the museum on the opposite corner of Cumberland and Moore Streets. Free two-hour street parking can be found along Cumberland Street, Moore Street and Birthplace of Country Music Way. There is also a paid city parking lot (honor box system) on the corner of Cumberland Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard – it is located across from the historic train station and is only a short walk to the museum. State Street and the nearby side streets also offer free one or two-hour on-street parking during business hours.
We offer tours to groups who schedule in advance. For our adult and motor coach groups, we offer two levels of guided tour: a shorter introductory tour and a one-hour tour; both guided tours give ample time afterwards to explore the many multimedia aspects of the museum and to visit the Special Exhibits Gallery. Tours focus primarily on Music History stemming from the Bristol Sessions; if your group has a specific interest, such as Technology and the role it played in the Bristol Sessions and the development of country music or History of Bristol as a hub for Appalachian music and culture from 1927 until today, we can bring these topics more fully into the tour.
Guided group tours must be scheduled in advance and are available from 10:30am Monday—Saturday and from 1:30pm on Sunday. To schedule an adult or motor coach group tour, discuss your group’s needs, and learn about special group rates, please contact Erika Barker, Sales and Business Development Manager, with the date, time, and focus of the tour you desire: 423-573-1927 or ebarker@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
To learn about student group tours and to schedule a tour for your school, please visit our K-12 Education Program page or email education@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
We do not offer general visitor drop-in tours at this time, though we have gallery assistants and front-line staff who are available for questions and to help you during your visit. We hope to offer daily drop-in tours in the future.
The museum hosts a variety of educational programs, music performances, workshops, lectures, films, and community events throughout the year. For a listing of museum events, check out our museum events calendar.
There are several different levels of museum membership – students, seniors, individuals, couples, and family. Benefits include unlimited museum visits during your membership year, discount in The Museum Store, one-day passes to share with others, and special email notification of events, sales, and more. For more information about museum membership or to become a member, go to our Membership page.
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum is located in Historic Downtown Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. There are a variety of restaurants along nearby State Street and the neighboring side streets – from barbecue and burgers to bistro food and Italian, all within walking distance of the museum. A full listing and details for the downtown restaurants can be found on the Believe in Bristol website: www.believeinbristol.org. The Bristol Convention and Visitors Bureau has a listing of local hotels, motels, and camping sites.
We do not offer an AAA discount.
In 1927, Ralph Peer, a record producer from Victor Talking Machine Company, traveled to Bristol, Tennessee/ Virginia and set up a portable recording studio in the Taylor-Christian Hat Company on State Street. Over the course of two weeks, Peer recorded 76 songs by 19 different acts, including The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and Ernest V. Stoneman – recordings that were influential in shaping the sounds and practices of early commercial country music.
While there were early country music recordings prior to the Bristol Sessions, particularly in New York and Atlanta, the Bristol recordings were the largest sessions at the time and met with huge commercial success. Later musicians and scholars have acknowledged and celebrated their impact on country music and beyond, and based on this music heritage, Bristol was designated as the “Birthplace of Country Music” by the states of Tennessee and Virginia, a designation later recognized by the US Congress.
Country music recording moved in later decades to Nashville, and the city also became significant due to the Grand Ole Opry.
Unfortunately the site of the Bristol Sessions recordings – the Taylor-Christian Hat Company building – no longer exists. However, you can visit a commemorative plaque at its original location at 416 State Street, Bristol, Tennessee. The building where the 1928 Bristol Sessions were recorded is still standing, and you can see it on Bank Street (the alley between KP and Misty Mountain on State Street).
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum does accept artifact donations. For more information on donating or loaning items to the museum, go to our Donating Artifacts page.
The Smithsonian website says: “Smithsonian Affiliations is a national outreach program that develops long-term, collaborative partnerships with museums, educational, and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. There are more than 180 Smithsonian Affiliates in more than 40 states, Puerto Rico and Panama.” As a Smithsonian Affiliate, we have access to a vast range of Smithsonian resources that we can share with our visitors – from educational materials and traveling exhibitions to expertise and artifact loans. It also means that we have a network of other museums to tap into for resources, and that we can share our own story more widely. We are so excited to have access to these opportunities and are looking forward to bringing a range of interesting exhibitions, programs, and objects to our community.
Vision: To be an acclaimed, respected, popular, self-supporting institution having a significantly positive impact on Bristol and its surrounding region.
Mission: The Birthplace of Country Music Museum seeks to explore the history, impact, and legacy of the Bristol Sessions through educational, engaging, and fun experiences.
We will achieve our mission, and progress towards our vision by pursuing the following broad strategic initiatives.
We will:
MUSEUM:
520 Birthplace of
Country Music Way
Bristol, VA 24201
(423) 573-1927
info@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org
BUSINESS OFFICE:
416 State Street, Suite A
Bristol, TN 37620
(423) 573-1927