Downtown Nashville’s honky-tonk district has spent the past decade filling with bars linked to major artists, including Garth Brooks, Eric Church and Blake Shelton. The next phase of that artist-centered development is increasingly taking the form of museums.

The Alan Jackson Museum and Distillery opened in June in part of a building that also houses the Johnny Cash Museum, which unveiled a second-floor expansion on Oct. 13. Dolly Parton’s Life of Many Colors Museum and her SongTeller Hotel held a joint ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 9.

These venues face practical limits. Newer artists may not have enough material for a substantial museum, while some performers have not preserved many items from their careers. Even so, the attractions are aimed at country music tourists seeking experiences beyond nightlife, including families with children who cannot enter bars.

“We need more family attractions,” said Bill Miller, founder of Icon Entertainment Group, which owns the Cash Museum. “We need more non-food-and-beverage attractions.”

Artist museums are part of a broader downtown museum network. The National Museum of African American Music opened in 2021, the Museum of Christian & Gospel Music launched in 2025, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has served as a major district attraction for 25 years after more than three decades on Music Row.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has also demonstrated how cultural attractions can diversify their income. Alongside admissions and merchandise, it operates Hatch Show Press, maintains a publishing division and rents several spaces for outside events. Regular exhibit changes give visitors reasons to return.

The Alan Jackson Museum applies a similar approach through its distillery, private events and tavern. Visitors can fill a personal bottle of Jackson’s Silverbelly whiskey, while drinks created by his daughter, master blender Mattie, provide another connection to the artist. CEO Robbie Goldsmith said visitors often spend extended periods sharing stories about Jackson’s music with strangers from around the world.

Artifacts also offer fans a more personal connection to performers. Carlene Carter, the daughter of Johnny Cash’s wife, June Carter Cash, said private letters and worn clothing can reveal aspects of artists that audiences might not otherwise see, potentially turning visitors into fans.

The Cash Museum’s expansion adds interactive features connected to the singer’s interest in trains, including sound effects and seats that rumble like a rail journey. Visitors can also record a Cash song in a small studio and receive it by email, or perform in front of a camera on a “Johnny Cash Show” stage.

Parton’s museum incorporates hospitality and event facilities through the multi-story hotel that houses it. The property includes a performance stage called Parton’s Live, while the lobby outside the museum is designed as a flexible event space for weddings, parties and other gatherings.

The museum displays expected memorabilia such as dresses, photographs and awards, alongside custom elements built around Parton’s image. These include a sparkly floor, butterfly decorations and butterfly-shaped books suspended from the ceiling in the Imagination Library section. Creative director Steve Summers said the design was intended to let visitors determine how the space could be used.

Nashville has also seen artist museums close. The Patsy Cline Museum previously occupied the space that became part of the Cash Museum. The George Jones Museum opened in 2015 but was affected by a Christmas bombing on Second Avenue and the COVID-19 pandemic before closing in 2021. The Glen Campbell Museum opened in 2020 and shut down in 2023 after the pandemic severely damaged tourism.

The newer venues are looking to convention traffic as well as music tourists. Music City Center has helped establish Nashville as a convention destination, creating opportunities for corporate events, private parties and museum tours. The Alan Jackson Museum, for example, hosted a wedding party of 300 whose guests were able to tour the exhibits.

Goldsmith also pointed to Nashville’s scheduled hosting of the Super Bowl in 2030 as a potential source of visitors and official events. He expects artist-linked attractions to continue evolving and predicts that more artist distilleries will open in the city over the next five years.

Sources: Billboard.