The Grammy Museum Mississippi facts for kids
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GRAMMY Museum Mississippi pictured in 2018
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| Established | March 2016 |
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| Location | 800 W Sunflower Road, Cleveland, United States |
| Type | Music museum |
The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is an exciting place in Cleveland, Mississippi, United States. It's a big museum, about 28,000 square feet, where you can learn all about music. This museum is super interactive, meaning you can touch and play with many exhibits! It teaches you about the history of The Grammys and celebrates the amazing musical talents from Mississippi.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's Story
How the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi Started
This cool museum first opened its doors on March 5, 2016. Many people helped make it happen, including the mayor of Cleveland, Billy Nowell. A group called the Cleveland Music Foundation started planning the museum way back in 2011. They built it and have been running it ever since.
Connecting to Other Music Museums
The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi has a sister museum in Los Angeles, California. It's called the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live. Both museums share a goal: to show how important music is, both in the past and today. The museum in Cleveland has a special focus on the Mississippi Delta. This area has a very rich history of creating famous music. About 20% of the exhibits here are all about Mississippi's musical heroes. They highlight both Grammy winners and other musicians who shaped the music world.
What You Can Do at the Museum
The museum is full of different exhibits for visitors to explore. You can learn so much as you walk through them! Besides being a museum, it's also a popular place for events. People hold parties, awards nights, meetings, and even weddings here.
Modern Design and Technology
This museum cost nearly $20 million to build. It's a smaller, but very modern, version of the Los Angeles museum. Its design mixes the fancy look of the Grammys with the rustic feel of the Delta region. It uses high-tech touch screens and interactive displays. This makes it one of the most advanced museums around! For example, the outside of the museum uses corrugated metal. This reminds people of the simple homes where many blues musicians lived. The big front porch also looks like classic Southern homes.
Exploring Interactive Exhibits
Celebrating Music Through Time
The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi wants to celebrate all kinds of music. Its main goal is to teach and inspire young people to create new music. It shows how music has grown in America over hundreds of years. The museum uses modern technology like touch-screens and interactive dance floors. You can even try out interactive instruments!
Seeing Famous Outfits and Artifacts
You'll also see real musical items, like instruments and clothes worn by past Grammy winners. There are also 13 other displays that show different parts of Grammy culture from over the years. Many outfits worn by artists at the Grammy Awards are on display. These include clothes from artists like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Count Basie, Bobby Rush, and Charli XCX. There's a special section for Mississippi artists too. You can see outfits from Elvis Presley, Faith Hill, and Charley Pride. The outfits on display change often, so there's always something new to see!
Past and Current Special Displays
The museum often features special exhibits for a limited time. For example, "Pride & Joy: The Texas Blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan" was on display from June 30, 2016, to February 19, 2017. It showed guitars, photos, outfits, and handwritten song lyrics.
| Display Name | What You'll Find |
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| Great Grammy Performances | A mini theater where you can watch past GRAMMY shows with amazing sound. |
| History of The Grammy Awards | An interactive timeline of GRAMMY history. See past Album of the Year winners and explore the GRAMMY archives. |
| On The Red carpet | Original clothes worn by artists on the GRAMMY Red Carpet. |
| Dance to the Music | Learn dance moves from GRAMMY winner Ne-Yo on a colorful dance floor. |
| Mono To Surround | Discover how recorded sound has changed from 1877 until today. |
| Singing & Songwriting/ Producing Pods | Keb' Mo' helps you learn about writing and recording blues songs in an interactive pod. |
| The Roland Room | A fun room where you can play electronic musical instruments. |
| Legacy of The Electric Guitar | Learn about the history of the electric guitar. |
| Culture Shock | An audio and video timeline showing the last 50 years of modern music. |
| Mississippi Music Bar | An interactive radio where you can pick and listen to hit songs by Mississippi artists. |
| Mississippi Music Table | An interactive display showing artists, their songs, photos, awards, and more. |
| Sanders Soundstage | A modern 140-seat theater for performances and events. |
| Iconic Instruments | See instruments used by some GRAMMY-winning musicians in their performances. |
Previous Exhibits
| Exhibit | Date | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles! | March 5, 2016 – June 12, 2016 | Real items, interviews, letters, instruments, posters, photos, and interactive displays about The Beatles. |
Special Events and Programs
The museum hosts many exciting programs. These include "spotlight" events for new artists and shows featuring classic musicians. They also have special programs just for museum members. Examples include celebrations of "Pride & Joy: The Texas Blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan" and "Celebrating Prince". These programs are designed to interest everyone, from music fans to students.
Why Cleveland, Mississippi?
The Perfect Location for Music History
The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is located on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. It's at 800 West Sunflower Road. People often ask why Cleveland was chosen for the museum. The main reason is the Mississippi Delta's deep musical roots. Famous musicians from Mississippi, like Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley, helped create popular music styles. These include the blues, jazz, hip-hop, and rock n' roll.
Mississippi's Grammy Success
Mississippi has a surprisingly large number of Grammy winners, especially for its size. As of 2025, the state has the most Grammy winners in the United States! It also has many nominees, Lifetime Achievement winners, and Hall of Famers.
Cleveland's Special Connection
Cleveland, Mississippi, was chosen because of its great location and local university. Cleveland is right in the heart of the Delta. It's also on Highway 61, which is exactly between Memphis and New Orleans. Plus, Delta State University in Cleveland has the only college program in Mississippi for music industry studies. It's called the Delta Music Institute (DMI). Students there can study Audio Engineering or Entertainment Industry Entrepreneurship. The museum works closely with this department. Artists who visit the museum often meet with the students at the institute.
See also
- List of music museums
