‘Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising’ Opens

Tonight, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum celebrated the opening of its next major exhibition Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising. The evening included special performances by:

Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising is now open for a nearly three-year run, closing in March 2028. The more than 5,000-square-foot exhibit surveys the emergence of Muscle Shoals as a recording epicenter in the 1960s and 1970s and spotlights its enduring cultural impact through today. The exhibit is included with museum admission and supported by OneLouder.

In a small corner of Alabama by the Tennessee River, local musicians, songwriters and producers created a swampy, Southern sound merging R&B, country, pop music and more. The museum’s major exhibit tells the story of this distinctive music and how Black and white creators found a way to work together at a time when segregation prevailed. Studios built a homemade system for cutting music dusted with grit and soul, including FAME Studio, helmed by producer Rick Hall; Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, home of the acclaimed Swampers house band; and more. Hitmakers flocked to this otherwise quiet community seeking a new sound created by homegrown talent.

Aretha Franklin had a career-defining moment in Muscle Shoals and Country Music Hall of Fame member Willie Nelson recorded his beloved Phases and Stages album there. Music recorded in Muscle Shoals included Arthur Alexander’s “You Better Move On,” Mac Davis’ “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” Bobbie Gentry’s “Fancy,” Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll,” Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome,” Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman,”  the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There,” Candi Staton’s “Stand by Your Man,” Bettye LaVette’s “Your Turn to Cry” and much more. Enduring music continues to be made in the community today by the Alabama Shakes, the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell, the Secret Sisters, John Paul White and others, with artists continuing to record in Muscle Shoals and its surrounding areas.

The museum’s curatorial and creative teams conducted more than 50 hours of filmed interviews with musicians, artists and others involved in the Muscle Shoals story. They collected an array of significant artifacts for display, including stagewear, instruments, original song manuscripts and more. Interactive elements within the galleries incorporate audio recordings, original interview footage and historical photographs.