Bristol, Va.-Tenn. (Feb. 27, 2023) – The Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM) in Historic Downtown Bristol, Va.-Tenn., is now listed among the top 10 music museums in the country, according to USA Today. BCMM is the only institution in the world dedicated to telling the story of the 1927 Bristol Sessions, the legendary recordings that created the “big bang of country music.”
“This museum showcases the roles Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia played in the development of country music,” USA Today wrote. “The Smithsonian affiliate traces this musical history back to the 1927 Bristol Sessions recording – an event that helped shape the sound of commercial country music.”
BCMM ranked #6 in USA Today’s annual 10Best Music Museums readers poll just behind Detroit’s Motown Museum and Nashville’s Johnny Cash Museum, which came in at #1. Four of the top 10 museums are in Tennessee.
This is not the first time BCMM has been recognized by USA Today, the museum ranked among the top 5 in the 10Best Best Pop Culture Museums for the past two years, reaching #1 in 2021. BCMM has achieved dozens of awards over the years, including national and international recognition, which included the Best of the Best from the American Bus Association, the coveted Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History, and the Highly Commended Award from the British Guild of Travel Writers.
Here are the final results for USA Today’s 10Best Music Museums in 2023:
1. Johnny Cash Museum – Nashville, TN
2. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, OH
3. GRAMMY Museum L.A. Live – Los Angeles, CA
4. The Museum at Bethel Woods – Bethel, NY
5. Motown Museum – Detroit, MI
6. Birthplace of Country Music Museum – Bristol, VA-TN
7. GRAMMY Museum Mississippi – Cleveland, MS
8. Patsy Cline Museum – Nashville, TN
9. Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum – Nashville, TN
10. B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center – Indianola, MS
For more information about the museum and the Birthplace of Country Music, visit BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org.