From soul music’s roots in Memphis to landmarks representing the Civil War in Hardin County, music and history are among Central West Tennessee’s top cultural highlights.
Following are eight experiences for planners to consider, including a heritage tour starring the African American experience, a songwriting team-building event and an off-site venue that locals refer to as The Ned.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Memphis
www.staxmuseum.com
Situated on the original site of Stax Records, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music houses more than 2,000 cultural artifacts dating back to the 1959 launch of Stax Records, a small studio that produced a massive catalog of hits from artists including Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and the Staples Singers.
“This is one of the most popular places in Memphis for corporate mixers and other functions because it is filled with such fun and interesting memorabilia, and there’s no need to decorate,” says Lisa Allen, director of the museum. “Where else can you have hors d’oeuvres and a martini while standing next to Isaac Hayes’ spinning, gold-trimmed, fur-lined 1972 Cadillac El Dorado?”
She adds that group events at Stax take place in the entire museum, so attendees get a memorable experience, from a 106-year-old country church that was moved into the museum from the Mississippi Delta to a dance floor with a large screen showing continuous footage from the iconic television show Soul Train.
“And one of the great things about having an event in the Stax Museum is that the re-creation of Stax’s famed recording Studio A is a great place for live music, dancing and other things,” Allen says, explaining that it is situated just outside a winding hallway where all of Stax’s 300 albums and 800 45 singles can be viewed. “Guests are free to wander through on their own or tours can be arranged.”
For large meetings, the adjacent Stax Music Academy facility, which has large music suites and multipurpose areas, is available.
Heritage Tours, Memphis
www.heritagetoursmemphis.com
Attendees who embark on a Heritage Tour of Memphis are inspired as they get a unique perspective of African American history, according to owner Elaine Turner.
“On the tour they visit the home of W.C. Handy, father of the blues, and see why this city has such a rich musical heritage,” she says. “Groups get to step inside the cellar where slaves hid and waited to continue their journey to freedom. They get to learn the secret codes and messages that were used in the network of the Underground Railroad.”
Tour participants also visit historic Beale Street, and they will follow the last footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. before he was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, which is now the National Civil Rights Museum.
“They experience the civil rights marches, sit-ins and the sanitation workers strike, which lead King to visit Memphis,” Turner says, adding that her company also offers diversity workshops for corporate groups.
“We challenge them to place themselves in the shoes of the slave, slave master and others who lived during the slavery and reconstruction eras of our nation,” she says.
National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis
www.civilrightsmuseum.org
The National Civil Rights Museum, located at the Lorraine Motel, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., chronicles pertinent events of the civil rights movement and highlights how the movement inspired participation in civil and human rights efforts globally.
Among the museum’s exhibits are those that tell the stories of the Montgomery bus boycott and the Memphis sanitation strikes.
According to Connie Dyson, spokeswoman for the museum, groups are welcome and a discount is available for groups of 20 or more people with a two-week notice and reservations.
The museum also has function spaces, including an auditorium, banquet room and conference room, for groups interested in a social gathering or a meeting in conjunction with a visit.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville
www.countrymusichalloffame.org
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a must-visit Nashville attraction where attendees can view more than 1,400 stage costumes, priceless instruments and nearly 23,000 moving images highlighting Nashville’s musical heritage.
The venue, says Brad Henton, its tourism sales manager, now offers the half-day Star for a Day program, which has become a very popular ice-breaker experience for groups, as well as a great introduction to Nashville’s music scene.
“The experience offers visitors the opportunity to stand in the same recording studio where Roy Orbison first lamented ‘Only the Lonely,’ Dolly Parton declared ‘I Will Always Love You’ and Elvis Presley asked for total darkness while crooning the question ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight,’” he says. “Few buildings in the world have played as important a role in music history as Nashville’s Historic RCA Studio B.”
After the first stop at RCA Studio B, where a vintage microphone is rolled out to the center of the room and the group is directed through their own recording of Presley’s I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You, the Star for a Day experience takes groups to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Afterward, groups can either have a private dinner in the museum’s Hall of Fame rotunda or head to a Nashville eatery.
“Groups can head a few blocks north to the world-famous Wildhorse Saloon for line dancing lessons and one of Nashville’s best barbecue buffets,” Henton says. “It’s at the Wildhorse where groups learn what it’s really like to be a ‘star.’ Announced as Nashville’s ‘newest hit,’ the group hears their morning’s recording over the speakers.”
Kidbilly Music, Nashville
www.kidbillymusic.com
Facilitated by Grammy award-winning hit songwriters, Kidbilly Music’s Team Building through Song is a program that enables groups to tell their organizational stories Through song and share meaningful time together in a fun, highly interactive setting.
“Tennessee has a rich musical heritage and a creative culture that’s very much a part of its identity,” says Billy Kirsch, president of Kidbilly Music. “What better way to celebrate an event in Tennessee than to create songs in the tradition of legends like Elvis, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, who’ve made Nashville and Memphis world-renowned. Your group can join the ranks of folks who’ve made music in Tennessee.”
The program’s songwriters and facilitators lead clients through the creative process by brainstorming lyric ideas and helping to pen songs about who they are and what they do.
“Then teams get together to perform their songs for each other in a good-natured competition,” Kirsch says, adding that events take place either at the client’s hotel, venues like the Wildhorse Saloon or local recording studios. “It’s always fun to see how groups created different songs around their shared common theme.”
He adds that attendees really get into the competition aspect of the program as they vie for awards, including best performance, best lyric and best song. After the event, everyone gets MP3s and lyrics.
“We once had a client completely redo their company website after our program, as they discovered the song they wrote did a better job of presenting their company’s message,” Kirsch says.
The Ned, Jackson
www.cityofjackson.net
Arts abound at the Ned R. McWherter West Tennessee Cultural Arts Center, which is perhaps better known as The Ned, according to Pat Alford, the venue’s building manager.
Located in the heart of downtown Jackson, The Ned boasts an annual calendar of events and also plays host to group meetings, banquets and seminars.
The 2012-2013 season showcases performances that include Grammy-winning singer Kathy Mattea and a Christmas concert with pianist Emile Pandolfi. Local theater groups also use the stage for productions, including four shows per season by the Jackson Theatre Guild.
The Ned, Alford adds, also has two art galleries with space for traveling exhibits, as well as work by local and regional artists.
Tennessee River Museum, Savannah (Hardin County)
www.tourhardincounty.org
Located about 15 minutes from Shiloh National Military Park and Pickwick Landing State Park, the Tennessee River Museum is a monument to the Tennessee River and its influence on the land, the people and the heritage of the Tennessee Valley, according to Rachel Baker, the museum’s spokeswoman.
“Groups can experience a self-guided tour of the heritage and culture on the Tennessee River,” she says, citing the Shiloh Effigy Pipe and the Shiloh Civil War Artillery Exhibit as two wonderful examples of what guests will see here. “At the Tennessee River Museum the exhibits chronicle prehistoric times, the life of the Mississippian mound builders, the tragic story of the Trail of Tears, the Civil War on the River, the Golden Age of Steamboats and the Tennessee River today.”
There is also an on-site media room that will accommodate up to 34 people for meetings, and museum-wide receptions can be facilitated for up to 100 attendees.
Cherry Mansion, Savannah (Hardin County)
www.tourhardincounty.org
The circa-1830s home called Cherry Mansion was the headquarters of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the Battle of Shiloh.
Today, according to Mary Ann Gilchrist, owner of Cherry Mansion, a tour of the house is an option for groups of 10 or more with advance reservations and a minimum $100 fee. Plus, the house is open to the public one weekend each year during the Shiloh anniversary in April.
“Visitors enjoy the Cherry Mansion for a variety of reasons,” Gilchrist says. “Civil War enthusiasts like to walk the halls that General Ulysses S. Grant and others walked, and hear stories of their time at the home. Others enjoy the architecture and antique furnishings. Some people just crave a little porch time to watch the boaters and fishermen that enjoy the river below the house.”
While meeting space is not available inside the home, the front yard is sometimes rented for events by groups providing their own tents and tables.
Carolyn Blackburn is a frequent contributor to Meetings Focus South.
