To honor Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and other artists whose original take on blues changed the music industry forever, the Chicago Blues Experience will open in 2019. The downtown museum will tell the story of the Chicago musicians who catapulted the city to music fame in the 1930s.
The 50,000-square-foot facility will involve three subterranean levels with a grand entrance at street level. A lounge holding 150 will open nightly to feature live blues and a small plates menu. The museum will sit in the city’s cultural district near to other live theaters.
The museum doesn’t only focus on Chicago, but moves visitors through the music’s West African roots, its journey to the American South and its eventual appearance in Chicago. Guests can walk through recreations of Maxwell Street and Chess Studio, both popular blues areas of town.
The Chicago Blues Experience is a Grammy Museum Affiliate. Like at the Grammy Museum, visitors can sit in a performance space used for special events for talks with performers and discussions with other speakers.
For more information, visit www.chicagobluesexperience.com.