Commissioner Triplett Announces Tennessee Music Pathways Kick Off

Dear Partners,

The Soundtrack of America is Made in Tennessee. We had confidently stated that for more than four years now.

But how often do we step back and think why we say that; what does that really mean?

It means, of course, what it says. But it goes so deep.

Music to which we listen, enjoy, use to set tone and moods, shapes the soundtrack of our lives. It echoes from every corner. In Tennessee, it seems to sprout from the soil and fall from the sky.

I apologize for all of the dramatic imagery. But is imagery not what music creates?

Music is a universal language with roots in every direction to Tennessee. Music is celebrated, performed and heard every day of every week in Tennessee and around the world.

Tennessee Music Pathways connects visitors, from music fans and historians to the simply curious, to the landmarks and attractions promoting the seven musical genres - blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll – that call Tennessee home.

But it goes beyond that. We have hip-hop, jazz, opera, and on and on.

From the largest cities to the smallest communities, this statewide initiative identifies, explains and preserves the legacy of music in Tennessee. The state is home to world-renowned music attractions such as the clubs and history of Beale Street and the honky-tonks of Broadway, Birthplace of Country Music Museum, The Bluebird Cafe, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Graceland, Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, The Blues Hall of Fame, Rock and Soul Museum, Songbirds Guitar Museum and The Tennessee Theatre.

The Pathways are designed to draw visitors to places music lovers may not know exist in Tennessee like the Tina Turner Museum at Flagg Grove School, the Patsy Cline Memorial, the hometown of Minnie Pearl and Bessie Smith Cultural Center. The hometown of a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, locations where iconic songs were written or recorded or a nine-square-mile area in Union County from which sprang four legendary music artists.

The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development kicks off the statewide initiative Sept. 15 with a concert experience at the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis, a destination on the Pathways. The GRAMMY-winning group The Roots, founded by Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, will be joined on stage by guest artists, including The Isley Brothers, Dustin Lynch, Elle King, Estelle and JJ Julius Son (of the group Kaleo).

The event, Six Degrees to Tennessee Roots Jam showcases the talents of artists who share a common love of music and a direct connection to the music made every day in Tennessee. With the event, TDTD launches a new search engine titled “Six Degrees” with Rolling Stone. Users can enter an artist’s name to see his or her ‘pathway’ to Tennessee in six degrees or less. This platform further identifies the state of Tennessee as a global music destination.

We thank all who helped us identify hundreds of statues, murals, attractions, historic markers and experiences. Birthplaces, resting places, hometowns and locations of Tennessee’s musical pioneers and legends.

And the search is not complete.

The story is just getting started with Phase I. Communication to those with locations identified as part of Phase I has just begun. Signs and markers will continue to be installed across the state for years to come. For more information on the timeline, how you can help us tell these local music histories, and how to submit assets to be considered for inclusion on the Tennessee Music Pathways, please click here and tell the story of Tennessee music for the world to hear.

Thank you.

Commissioner Kevin Triplett

Department of Tourist Development