Nashville, Tenn. – April 19, 2024 – The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has updated the display in its Taylor Swift Education Center with several new artifacts from Swift’s early career. Items on display include key musical instruments used by Swift that illustrate her origins in country music, as well as educate audiences on the musical traditions of the genre. Beginning today, these objects will be on view for museum visitors through spring 2025 and are accessible with general museum admission.
Swift got her professional music start in country music, writing songs and recording in Nashville as a teenager. She released her first album, titled Taylor Swift, in 2006 when she was sixteen. On her first four albums (released between 2006 and 2012), Swift’s sound often included traditional country music instruments, such as acoustic guitars, banjos, dobros, fiddles, and mandolins – sometimes playing acoustic guitar or banjo herself on the tracks.
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Artifacts now on display include:
- The custom-built Taylor PSGA Koa guitar with Swift’s name inlaid in mother-of-pearl on the fingerboard she played during her acoustic set on “The Red Tour” (2013–2014).
- The Deering Boston B6 six-string acoustic-electric banjo Swift played when she performed her song “Mean” at the Grammy Awards in 2012. The song won Grammys for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. She drew “13” on the banjo head and inscribed it with handwritten lyrics to “Mean” along with drawings of clouds and stars.
- The BCBG Max Azria silk handkerchief dress, accented with sequins, and BCBGirls metallic bronze-colored boots with decorative stitching Swift wore in 2006 at both the ACM Awards and when she performed at the CMA Music Festival.
- A special artwork commemorating the 2023 U.S. leg of Swift’s 2023 “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” incorporating friendship bracelets that Swift received from fans.
The Taylor Swift Education Center is located within the museum’s galleries. The two-story, 7,500-square-foot center opened in 2013 and was made possible through a generous donation from Swift to the museum’s capital campaign, which doubled the size of the nonprofit cultural organization.
Tennessee children ages 18 and under from Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties receive free museum admission as part of Community Counts: Museum Admission Program for Locals. Up to two accompanying adults receive 25% off admission. Proof of residency required.
Source: Read Original Release
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