The Award Winning Johnny Cash Museum

The Johnny Cash museum is definitely one of my favs.

And I knew this before it was an award winner.

Just around the corner (literally) from the boom of Broadway, the Johnny Cash Museum is a must-see stop for all country music enthusiasts.

On 3rd Avenue South, just across from the Moxy Nashville Downtown hotel, this museum features the biggest and best collection of Johnny Cash memorabilia in the entire world.

Cash was one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, and visiting the museum is a chance to see behind his career and personal life, including his marriage to June Carter Cash and his time in the Air Force.

The original Cash Museum was located in the artist’s former home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, but it’s been in its current spot downtown since 2013.

Once inside, you’ll walk through artifacts of Cash’s life (from his humble start on his family’s cotton farm to his fame as a multi-award-winning musical artist) as you see personal letters, his old Martin, and even his San Quentin prison jumpsuit costume (to name one of the historic fashion pieces on display).

There’s a special Progression of Sound exhibit that shows Cash’s journey through various genres (remember that iconic cover of Nine Inch Nails’s “Hurt” for goodness sake?) and shines a light on the change in musical technology with a display of Cash’s records through the years on LPs, CDs, and even 8-track tapes. (If you don’t know what that last one is, it goes way back, just like Cash’s career!) And small theaters throughout show clips of Johnny’s performances with various other artists and his appearances on popular TV programs, like Hee Haw, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and The Simpsons.

Visit the gift shop so you can take home a memory like Cash-covered clothing, houseware, stickers, CDs, songbooks, harmonicas, and even some Johnny Cash swag for your pet. And if you’re hungry after, Johnny Cash’s BBQ and Bar is right next door, serving up great food, drinks, and live music. Or, again, you’re literally steps away from tons of food options on and around Broadway.

As a music lover and songwriter, I’m a big fan of the contributions this legend made to the industry and the art. And you can relive the life and times of the man in black, right in the heart of Nashville, with a visit to the Johnny Cash Museum.

Hey, if you’ve already been to this spot, what did you think? Send me your thoughts! I’d love to hear.