Sophia Michaels
Elvis Presley’s suede coat from the Seventies, James Brown’s red, black, and gold lame suit, and one of Joni Mitchell’s guitars are all coming to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville as part of new partnership with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Set to open Wednesday, Nov. 2, “Rock Hall at the Ryman” showcases memorabilia from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members who have played the historic Nashville venue. Along with Presley’s full-length coat (he bombed on the Grand Ole Opry’s stage in 1954), the exhibit includes the red bra halter top worn by Joan Jett on the 2006 Warped Tour, a Shure microphone used (and most likely swung) by the Who’s Roger Daltrey, and the costume Taylor Hawkins wore to induct Rush into the Rock Hall in 2013. Hawkins and the Foo Fighters delivered a you-had-to-be-there performance at the Ryman on Halloween 2014, featuring all the members in King Diamond face paint and a special appearance by Tony Joe White.
The “Rock Hall at the Ryman” exhibit also features artifacts from the Byrds, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Eric Clapton. In May of this year, the Ryman Auditorium became only the 12th location in the U.S. to be designated a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame landmark.
Along with being the onetime home of the Grand Ole Opry and the stage for Johnny Cash’s variety show, the Ryman Auditorium has been the setting for a number of monumental live albums, including LPs by Levon Helm, Neil Young, and Emmylou Harris.
