Music

Archibald J. Motley Jr.'s Black Belt (1934)

The Harlem Renaissance Is Coming to the Met

A new exhibition will be the first survey of the cultural movement in New York City since 1987

Wendy Red Star’s The Soil You See… is a seven-foot-tall glass red thumbprint featuring the names of chiefs who signed treaties with the American government, usually with a fingerprint.

Outdoor Exhibition on the National Mall Spotlights Untold American Stories

In "Beyond Granite: Pulling Together," six artists have created works for a month-long display

Taylor Swift performs during the Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on August 7. 

Swifties Can Now Study Literature (Taylor's Version)

At a Belgian university, Taylor Swift fans can expect intertextual analysis beyond their wildest dreams

Pink Floyd performs c. 1972 in London, England. Researchers used a computer model to try recreate one of their songs using the brain signals of people listening to it. 

Scientists Recreated a Pink Floyd Song From Listeners' Brain Waves

Electrodes collected brain signals while people listened to "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1," then computers produced a garbled but recognizable track

The Glimmer Twins, created by sculptor Amy Goodman

Statues of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Unveiled in the Duo's Hometown

The Rolling Stones bandmates both grew up in Dartford, Kent, where they met as teenagers

Musicians Cindy Campbell and DJ Kool Herc take center stage in a 2013 celebration of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop. The brother and sister duo threw a "Back-to School Jam" in August, 1973 and launched a lasting music genre.

How Hip-Hop Was Born 50 Years Ago in a Block Party in the Bronx

Arising out of New York's close-knit Black communities, the genre revolutionized the music industry and gave rise to a new generation of sounds and stars

Tupac Shakur designed the gold, ruby and diamond crown ring, which recently sold at auction for a little over $1 million.

Drake Buys the Most Valuable Hip-Hop Artifact Ever Sold: Tupac Shakur's Ring

Shakur designed the piece himself and wore it during his last public appearance before his death in 1996

Taylor Swift performed at Lumen Field in Seattle on July 22 and 23.

Taylor Swift Concerts Are Generating Seismic Activity

The artist's two recent shows in Seattle shook the ground so much that they registered on a nearby seismometer

Paul Kaufmann inherited several of what are thought to be fragments of Ludwig van Beethoven's skull, which he has donated to the Medical University of Austria.

Skull Fragments Thought to Be Beethoven's Return to Vienna

The composer asked that, following his death, his physician study the illnesses that plagued him during his life

Tony Bennett painting in June 1971

Tony Bennett's Passion for Art Lives On in His Paintings

Smithsonian curators reflect on the beloved crooner's legacy as a musician and visual artist

L to R: Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen pose on a tour bus in 1978.

Why Did Van Halen Demand Concert Venues Remove Brown M&M's From the Menu?

An investigation of the rock band's unusual concert rider suggests the stipulation was a savvy marketing move

Desiree Perez, Roc Nation's CEO, walks through "The Book of HOV" with Jay-Z.

In the 'Heart of the City,' a Tribute to Jay-Z

The Brooklyn Public Library is celebrating the rapper’s life and career in a new exhibition, "The Book of HOV"

John Mayer, Sammy Hagar and Bob Weir perform with Dead & Company in San Francisco in 2016

Will the Dead Stay Dead After Sunday's Farewell Concert?

Once again, Deadheads said their goodbyes to the latest iteration of the era-defining jam band

Inside Pennsylvania's State Capitol building, lawmakers are working on efforts to adopt a new official state song.

Pennsylvanians Might Soon Be Singing a New State Song

The state's official tune simply can't compete with the likes of "Georgia on My Mind," lawmakers argue

The historic railway is the highest in America.

You Can Now Take a Sunrise Train Ride to the Top of Pikes Peak

See the panoramic vistas from atop the 14,000-foot mountain that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful"

Members of the New York International Salsa Congress dance during People en Español's Hispanic Heritage Month festival in 2019. The congress has collaborated with the International Salsa Museum in the past, and the groups are partnering again this Labor Day for the museum's next pop-up event.

A Salsa Museum Is Dancing Its Way to the Bronx

While the museum lacks a permanent home, it's bringing lively events to the "Borough of Salsa"

Losang Samten, a Tibetan American scholar and former Buddhist monk, will create, with the help of festivalgoers, a sand mandala.

The 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Explores the Many Ways Americans Express Their Spirituality

Tibetan Buddhist monks, Yiddish musicians and many more creatives will share their cultural practices with visitors to the National Mall

Big Boi in between verses at Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta on September 10, 2016.

A Rap Legend Looks Back on 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Outkast’s Big Boi traces the genre’s indelible impact on global music and culture

Crowds gather for the summer solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.

Nine Ways People Celebrate the Summer Solstice Around the World

Across the Northern Hemisphere, worshippers of the longest day of the year build bonfires, plunge into the ocean and visit prehistoric monuments

Illustration by Nina Goldman / Images via Smithsonian Folkways Records

Celebrating 75 Years of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

The vast, eclectic public archive of American music—and other sounds—is featured on a new episode of the Sidedoor podcast

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