The Birthplace of America’s Music

King’s Landing

Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and lived there with his parents in a modest two-room “shotgun house.”  Today, the Elvis Presley Birthplace complex offers visitors a glimpse into Presley’s early years and his ongoing legacy at the birthplace complex which also includes his childhood church, a museum, and events center. Statues throughout the complex document Presley’s rise from an ordinary boy to a global sensation, one of the most popular musical performers of all time.

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Biloxi Blues

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Music to Your Ears

Mississippi’s newest music venue, The Sound, is a state-of-the-art 8,000 seat music amphitheater located in the city of Gautier on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The Sound is a cornerstone of the city’s new Gautier Town Commons project, a mixed-use development currently in development.

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Down to the Crossroads

Clarksdale is best known among music fans as the “birthplace of the blues” and the city where Robert Johnson, according to a popular legend, sold his soul to the devil in exchange for supernatural guitar playing talent. While the story is fictional, it has nonetheless captured the imagination of blues fans around the world. Travelers often come to take a photo near “The Crossroads” sign that marks the spot (one of them, anyway) where this exchange is said to have taken place.

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Giving the Delta its Due

Established in 1979, the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale is the state’s oldest music museum. Permanent exhibits include the core section of a cabin where Muddy Waters lived while working at Stovall Farms; a “Muddywood” guitar made from salvaged wood from the cabin that was donated by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top; guitars that belonged to John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, and Big Joe Williams; and a piano, shoes, harmonica, and other memorabilia from Charlie Musselwhite.

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Hello, Cleveland!

When it opened in 2016, GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi was the first GRAMMY Museum to be built outside of Los Angeles. The Cleveland, Mississippi, museum’s displays and interactive exhibits highlight numerous Mississippi GRAMMY winners – and the musical artists they’ve influenced – including many blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and country legends. Look for information about traveling exhibits and live performances on their website.

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The Singing Brakeman’s Final Stop

Though he lived only 35 years, Jimmie Rodgers had an immeasurable impact on the formation and development of country music, earning him widely accepted recognition as the “Father of Country Music.” The Jimmie Rodgers museum, located in Rodgers’ hometown of Meridian, displays his original guitar and other memorabilia of his life and career. The museum’s collection also includes railroad equipment from the era of steam-engine travel, reflecting Rodgers’ work as a rail worker and his nickname “The Singing Brakeman.”

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