Rolling Stones museum exhibit to make rare stop in Nashville

A museum exhibit honoring the career of rock legends The Rolling Stones is coming to Nashville in March, its last stop before heading overseas later this year.

The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, housed inside Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville, will host the exhibit beginning March 29. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at stonesexhibit.com. No closure date has been announced, but the exhibit will be in town for several weeks.

The exhibit, sponsored by DHL, comes to Nashville after earlier stops in London, New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. The exhibit, featuring wardrobe, instruments and other items from the band's 54-year tenure, is billed as the "largest touring experience of its kind ever to be staged."

For the project, the band personally "unlocked their vast private archive exploring the very beginning of their history" up through its stadium-headlining status today, according to a press release.

“The Rolling Stones Exhibit is a once-in-a-lifetime, immersive experience that tells the story of the most influential rock band in the world,” said Joe Chambers, founder and CEO of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. “We’re all in for a rare treat.

"Hosting The Rolling Stones Exhibit here at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum and pairing it with our museum that celebrates the achievements of all musicians around the globe establishes a can’t miss destination worth travelling from anywhere for music fans.”

The exhibit includes 500 rare artifacts and memorabilia spanning the band’s career and continued influence on fashion, film and art. Personal diaries, recordings, unseen video and photos, a screening cinema and interactive recording studio are included in the immersive 3D experience.

“We've thought about this for quite a long time but we wanted it to be just right and on a large scale,” Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger said in prepared remarks. “It’s not like walking into a museum. It’s an event, an experience. It’s about a sense of The Rolling Stones – it’s something we want people to go away talking about it.”

One of the best-selling live and recorded bands of all time, The Rolling Stones' influence extends beyond the realm of music to art, pop culture and film. Original works by key collaborators, including Andy Warhol, John Pasche (who designed the band’s iconic tongue logo), fashion designers Ossie Clark and Alexander McQueen, artist Shepard Fairey, producer Don Was, and film director Martin Scorsese will also be on display.

Curator Ileen Gallagher called the exhibit "a celebration and thematic exploration of the creative life" of the band.

“While this is about The Rolling Stones, it's not necessarily only just about us,” Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said. “It’s also about all the paraphernalia and technology associated with a group like us, and it’s this, as well as the instruments that have passed through our hands over the years, that should make the exhibition unforgettable.”

Luring the exhibit before it heads overseas is a coup for Nashville and the Musicians Hall of Fame, which less than a decade ago faced an uncertain future before a deal was struck with former Mayor Karl Dean to move the museum to Municipal.

Global promoter TEG worked with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. to bring the exhibit to Nashville.

“We’ve worked for two years to bring The Rolling Stones Exhibit to Nashville, and it will be well worth the effort," CVC board chair Beth Courtney said. "After achieving smash hit status in New York, Chicago, and Las Vegas, The Rolling Stones deserve a proper U.S. sendoff and no one will do it better than Music City.”

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.