Just a few of the guitars to be displayed at Songbirds
photo by Bob Payne
Chattanooga, over the years, has become a city of firsts and bests - the first Coca-Cola bottling plant. The first city to have 1 gig of Internet service. The Moon Pie capital of the universe. The wrecker capital. The hardwood floor machinery capital of the world. More Altoids breath mints are made in Chattanooga than anywhere in the world. Chattanooga is the home of the biggest movie star in the world, Samuel L. Jackson. While not confirmed, Chattanooga may be home to more roundabouts than any other city on earth, with one every 81 feet, it would seem. It is home to the Riverbend Festival, one of the nation’s oldest and largest, soon to be celebrating its 35th anniversary.
Soon, Chattanooga will be home to one of the world’s foremost guitar collections. Songbirds, the name of the museum to house the collection, will be located at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo entertainment complex. It will be located above the new Revelry Room concert venue in the space formerly occupied by the model train display. Management expects Songbirds to open in 2016.
The collection at Songbirds will include nearly 300 guitars on display, but the entire collection is several times that size. Exhibits will be changed out from time to time, allowing for a new experience for the visitors. Because the collection is so extensive and valuable, it is expected that visiting musicians to Chattanooga will most certainly visit the Songbirds museum while in Chattanooga. With events like Riverbend, and venues like the Tivoli Theater, the Memorial Auditorium, and Track 29, the world’s most popular guitarists are sure to want to see the collection.
While Songbirds will feature guitars formerly owned by famous players of the instrument, the majority are in the collection for the rarity of the piece, not who once played it. Quite simply, there are guitars in the collection in which no other equal exists in the world.
To keep abreast of the new Songbirds museum, check their website for updates at www.songbirdguitars.com.
Bob Payne is the entertainment editor for the Chattanoogan.com and talent/production assistant at Friends Of The Festival. Email Bob Payne at davrik@aol.com or www.facebook.com/davrik2000.