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Songbirds Guitar Museum revamped + reimagined in 2021

Photo of a red brick building with stairs leading up to the door and a large sign above the building that reads "Songbirds." There is a smaller sign under this one that reads "Experience Music History."

The Songbirds Museum is now owned + operated by the Songbirds Foundation | Photo by NOOGAtoday

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Remember the heartbreak of Songbirds Guitar Museum closing back in August, and the subsequent excitement when the Songbirds Foundation announced that it was purchasing + reimagining the space?

In case you missed it, the museum + foundation are separate entities, and now the space formerly occupied by Songbirds Guitar Museum is owned and operated by the foundation.

We got the inside scoop + a tour of the space as it undergoes renovations — read on for what’s to come.

What’s happening

  • Songbirds Foundation took over the museum + is revamping it
  • There are still a lot of the cool guitars you’re used to (~300 vintage guitars, including BB King’s)
  • The goal is to make the space more accessible — essentially, they want to humanize the guitar to show that it’s for everyone
Photo of a glass display case showing an image of BB King and the words "BB King" displayed prominently. The display case also features a red electric guitar.

The reinvented space will feature displays on well-known musicians like BB King + lesser-known, but just as important musicians like Hank Snow — also, yes, that was BB King’s real guitar | Photo by NOOGAtoday

What changes are being made

  • More color + art
  • Tours will be self-guided
  • Implementing interactive elementslike a visual feedback simulator, guitar video game, buttons that play a recording of musician Andy Wood on different amps + pedals, and a scannable Spotify code for every song that’s mentioned in displays
Photo of a large, mural-like artwork display featuring mountains, a river, a large sun in the left corner, a variety of unknown creatures, and a large peach sitting in a truck in the bottom right corner.

The Songbirds graphic designer drew + enlarged the insert artwork from the Allman Brothers Band’s “Eat a Peach” album | Photo by NOOGAtoday

What else you can expect

  • A new stage, which will make its debut at Songbird’s first show on Aug. 25
  • Exhibits on a variety of musicians + music history (from the Impressions and The Big 9 neighborhood to Hank Snow and Mary Kaye)
  • Classes for adults + children — including master classes with well renowned guitarists like Eric Johnson
Photo of a wooden stage with a stool, drum set, guitar, and several mics + amps scattered across it.

The new Songbirds stage | Photo by NOOGAtoday

When to mark your calendar

  • Aug. 25 | First show at the new Songbirds guitar museum space
  • Sept. 18 | Grand opening of the new, reinvented guitar museum
  • March 28 | The first master class with “Cliffs of Dover” musician Eric Johnson (this class was announced yesterday + will likely fill up fast)
  • Various dates | A new music series called Songbirds Rising, which will feature artists that Songbirds thinks you should know about

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