A new National Blues Museum opens April 2 in St. Louis, Mo., telling the story of the blues through interactive exhibits that emphasize the genre’s roots and worldwide influence.
One exhibit explores the blues’ roots in the rhythms of Africa brought to the American South by slaves. An introductory video at the museum has rocker Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin explaining how the blues of the Mississippi Delta sparked the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and other British bands. A quote in another exhibit from Muddy Waters says, “The blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll.”
The Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the Midwest and North during the first half of the 20th century also helped spread the blues, as the museum tells it. St. Louis was one of the cities where some of those migrants settled.
Visitors will begin their tour by writing their own lyrics on a screen and then adding musical riffs on guitar, harmonica and piano at different stations as they go through the museum. The unique compositions are emailed to their creators.
In the Jug Band Room, a studio invites visitors to play rhythm instruments like spoons, shakers and washboard. A computer adds your face to a real jug band performing on a screen.
The $14 million museum’s 23,000 square feet also includes an art gallery, along with a performance stage and full bar in a nightclub setting that hosts live music.
The museum is in a refurbished downtown department store building at Washington and Sixth streets, walking distance from the Gateway Arch. It will be open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday-Monday, noon-5 p.m. Admission: adults, $15, seniors, $12, students and children, $10. www.NationalBluesMuseum.org
