Fifty genres. Four centuries. One unbroken thread running from the first song ever sung on this soil to every track streaming right now. This June, NMAAM marks five years of telling that story, and America marks 250 years of being shaped by it. The Soundtrack Continues is our most ambitious celebration yet.
Black Music Month 2026, themed The Soundtrack Continues, celebrates the enduring legacy of African American music as both a cultural force and a living historical record. Spanning fifty genres across four centuries, the celebration traces an unbroken thread from the earliest spirituals and work songs to the sounds shaping global culture today.
As the National Museum of African American Music marks its fifth anniversary alongside America’s 250th year, this milestone moment reflects on how Black music has continuously defined the nation’s rhythm, identity, and creative evolution.
Through exhibitions, live performances, conversations, and community experiences, The Soundtrack Continues positions Black music not as history alone, but as an ongoing movement that continues to inspire, innovate, and shape the American soundtrack.
The Prelude: Legends Society Benefit Soiree
We Sound Crazy: Live with George Clinton
BEEN Country: Black Roots in Rhythm
Swamp Dogg Contemplate the Afterlife
Soul Food Sunday
In the Pocket: Guy Davis
The Velvet Rope: Jill Scott Fan Experience
First Note: Black Creators Night
Soul Food Sunday
HCA Healthcare presents NMAAM Institutional Summit
PJ Morton Exhibit Opening: Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
The Black Music Executive Toast
Juneteenth Community Day & TSU: AOB Exhibit Opening
Juneteenth615 Pop-up Museum
Soul Food Sunday
Front Row: Major Artist Conversation & Concert
R&B Bingo BMM Edition
Soul Food Sunday
Grand Marshal
PJ Morton is a soul singer, songwriter, performer and producer based in New Orleans. A 6x Grammy winner and 22x nominee, he has also earned recognition from BET, Soul Train, and NAACP Image Awards while selling out historic venues around the world.
Emerging Marshal
Summer Joy is an alternative R&B/ soul singer from Columbia, TN. This rising star is known for her warm vocals and acoustic, neo-soul sound, blending jazz-infused melodies with emotive storytelling.
Mission Marshal
A prominent figure in Country and Americana music, Rissi Palmer is one of only nine Black female artists to ever chart on Billboard’s Country Charts. In addition to touring with her original music, she is the host of Color Me Country Radio, and an embodiment of NMAAM’s mission.
On June 7, 1979, President Jimmy Carter, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and their daughter Amy hosted the Black Music Association alongside members of the music and entertainment industries on the White House lawn. This landmark event set the stage for the inaugural observance of Black Music Month. For 47 years now, Black Music Month has celebrated the rhythms, voices, and innovations that shaped the American soundtrack.
One of NMAAM’s founding board members, Dyana Williams, was integral to establishing June as Black Music Month in the United States, having co-written House Concurrent Bill 509, which recognized African American music as an American cultural institution, thus earning her the title, “The Mother of Black Music Month.”
This June, we invite you to join us in Nashville and across the nation as the National Museum of African American Music marks five years as the dedicated home of this celebration! In a season when cultural institutions face mounting challenges, NMAAM remains singularly focused on education, preservation, and celebration. From interactive galleries that transport visitors through 400 years of music history, to community stages where emerging artists find their voice, NMAAM reaches an intergenerational community of creators, learners, and music lovers of all ages.
Each year, Juneteenth falls directly in the midst of our Black Music Month celebrations. June 19th regularly draws our highest museum attendance of the entire year, and we would love to have you join us for Community Day!
For our international visitors: Juneteenth is a national holiday commemorating the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people were freed—over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This was the effective end of slavery in the United States.
Certainly a day worth celebrating!
Join us at NMAAM 10am – 5pm to celebrate Juneteenth with free gallery admission, live performances, and more!
Then head on over to Centennial Park 5pm – 10pm to keep the party going with Nashville’s unified Juneteenth615 Freedom Exposition & Fireworks, featuring food trucks, musical performances, and an impressive firework show!
