The Parthenon, in partnership with Centennial Park Conservancy, will present, Music in the Park: Songs and Stories from Centennial Park 1896 – 2020. The exhibit, takes place in the Parthenon’s East Gallery from August 7, 2020 through December 6, 2020, and celebrates Centennial Park’s historic association with song.
“Centennial Park has been an outdoor music venue for over 100 years and has hosted everything from military brass bands and symphonies to country singers and rock bands. Patsy Cline, Margo Price, and Bruce Springsteen performed some of their earliest shows in the park,” said Mark Medley, Parthenon Curator. “Music in the Park features artifacts and a visual timeline, as well as image galleries of Musicians Corner highlights dating back to 2010. In addition, the exhibit features examples of record covers, films, television, and music videos shot in the park dating to the early 1960s. It’s a story that begins long before Nashville’s designation as ‘Music City’ and it is not over. We’re pleased to present it for the very first time.”
This celebratory exhibit will present stories of the music, musicians, and audiences in Centennial Park from the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition through modern-day Musicians Corner. The exhibit will present artifacts from Fisk Jubilee Singers, Bruce Springsteen, Blind Boys of Alabama, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Carrie Underwood, Brenda Lee, and many more.
In regards to her June 5, 1958 performance in Centennial Park, Country Music and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Brenda Lee said, “Up to that point, it was probably the biggest crowd I had ever performed for in my life.”
Thank you to Tennessee Arts Commission, Sandra Schatten Foundation, and Centennial Park Conservancy for helping underwrite this exhibit. Funding for this project has also generously been provided by Humanities Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan of 2020.
