The Memphis Music Hall of Fame is a museum and exhibition space located at 126 Beale Street, at the corner of Second Street and Beale Street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. This guide covers opening hours, ticket prices, transport, accessibility, and practical visitor tips to help you plan your visit.
Updated May 2026. Many aggregator sites carry incomplete or outdated information on this attraction.
Quick facts: Memphis Music Hall of Fame
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | 126 Beale Street, Memphis, TN 38103 |
| Phone | (901) 205-2532 |
| Opening hours | Open daily (7 days a week) |
| Adult admission | $8 |
| Youth admission (ages 5–17) | $6 |
| Combo ticket (Hall of Fame + Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum) | $21 per person |
| Nearest parking | Paid lots adjacent to FedExForum and along Beale Street |
| Nearest attractions (walking distance) | Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Beale Street venues, FedExForum |
| Typical visit duration | 45 minutes–1.5 hours |
Memphis Music Hall of Fame opening hours
The museum is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm. Last admission is at 4.15pm
The museum is operated by the same organisation as the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, located one block east.
Memphis Music Hall of Fame ticket prices
Tickets are available at the museum entrance on arrival. There is no advance booking requirement.
| Visitor type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adults | $8 |
| Youth (ages 5–17) | $6 |
| Children under 5 | Check on arrival |
Combo ticket: A combo ticket covering both the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum (191 Beale Street, one block east) is available for $21 per person. This represents $3 more than solo Rock ‘n’ Soul admission ($16) and adds full Hall of Fame access. It can be purchased at either museum’s front desk.
Opening hours and ticket prices were checked on the official website and last updated in May 2026.
Five great things to do in Memphis
- 🎸 Enjoy a private luxury tour of Memphis – with Graceland tickets included.
- 🍖 Get a taste of Tennessee – on a Downtown Memphis food tour.
- 🛥️ Take a Memphis discovery tour – with Mississippi cruise and Sun Studio add-on options.
- 🏙️ Discover Memphis beyond Beale Street – on a historic walking tour.
- 🚗 Hop on a day tour to Tupelo – and see Elvis’ childhood home.
How to get to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
The museum is at the corner of Second Street and Beale Street in downtown Memphis, between the former Hard Rock Cafe building and Lansky’s clothing store — the shop famous for dressing Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Rufus Thomas.
On foot: The museum is directly on Beale Street and walkable from most downtown Memphis hotels and attractions. It is one block west of the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and FedExForum.
By car: The museum is in the heart of downtown Memphis, accessible from I-40 and I-55. Follow signs for Beale Street.
By rideshare: Uber and Lyft are widely used throughout Memphis and drop off directly on Beale Street. Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) buses also serve the downtown area; check matatransit.com for current routes.
Parking at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
There is no dedicated parking at the museum. Paid lots are available adjacent to FedExForum and throughout the downtown Beale Street area. Street parking is limited. On Memphis Grizzlies game nights and major concert evenings, nearby parking prices increase and traffic on Beale Street is significantly heavier. Rideshare or walking from your downtown hotel is the most straightforward option.
How long to spend at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
Most visitors spend 45 minutes to one and a half hours at the museum. The exhibition space is compact but dense in content. Visitors who engage with the video performances, audio content, and individual inductee displays typically spend around an hour. The museum pairs well with the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum for a combined half-day downtown music itinerary.
Accessibility at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
The museum’s official website does not publish specific accessibility information. The building is on Beale Street in a commercial downtown block. Visitors with specific accessibility requirements are advised to call (901) 205-2532 before visiting to confirm arrangements.
Inside the Memphis Music Hall of Fame: what to see
The Memphis Music Hall of Fame honours musicians, producers, songwriters, and industry figures who were born in Memphis, spent significant careers there, or whose work was central to the Memphis sound. The museum combines memorabilia, rare video performances, interviews, and interactive exhibits.
Inductees span every major genre connected to Memphis — blues, soul, rock and roll, rockabilly, gospel, country, jazz, hip-hop, and opera. The full roster of over 100 inductees includes:
- Class of 2012 (founding class): Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Howlin’ Wolf, W.C. Handy, Booker T. and the MG’s, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, Three 6 Mafia, Jim Stewart & Estelle Axton, and others.
- Later classes (2013–2022): Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones, Justin Timberlake, Steve Cropper, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Charlie Musselwhite, and many producers and session musicians behind the Memphis sound.
- Class of 2024: Wilson Pickett, James Carr, Jazze Pha, Spooner Oldham, Kallen Esperian, The Gentrys, and others.
The exhibition features never-before-seen memorabilia, rare video performances and interviews, and interactive elements. Each inductee is presented with biographical context, artefacts where available, and a focus on their specific contribution to the city’s musical heritage. The breadth of genres represented — from W.C. Handy and the origins of the blues through to Three 6 Mafia’s Memphis rap — makes the museum a wide-ranging complement to the more era-specific Stax Museum and Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum.
Practical visitor tips for the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Buy the combo ticket | The $21 combo with the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum adds only $5 to the standard Rock ‘n’ Soul admission price and saves $3 on Hall of Fame solo entry. Both museums are within a one-minute walk of each other and together form a natural half-day itinerary. |
| Check current hours before visiting | The official website does not list opening hours by time. Call (901) 205-2532 on the morning of your visit, particularly if you plan to arrive early or late in the day. |
| Combine with a Beale Street evening | The museum is on Beale Street itself. A visit in the late afternoon combines well with dinner and live music on the strip, which runs from mid-afternoon into the night. |
| The museum is compact | Unlike the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum or the Stax Museum, the Hall of Fame is a focused exhibition space rather than a large-floor museum. Budget your time accordingly — most visitors complete it in under 90 minutes. |
| The Backstage Pass does not cover this museum | The $108 Backstage Pass covers the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Sun Studio, the Stax Museum, and Graceland. It does not include the Hall of Fame. The $21 combo ticket is the only discount bundle covering both downtown Beale Street museums. |
Frequently asked questions about the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is the Memphis Music Hall of Fame part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland? | No. The Memphis Music Hall of Fame is a separate and independent institution, focused specifically on artists connected to Memphis. It has no organisational relationship with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. |
| Do you need to book tickets in advance? | No. Tickets are available at the door. There is no online booking requirement for standard visits. Call (901) 205-2532 for group rates of 10 or more. |
| Is the Memphis Music Hall of Fame open on Sundays? | Yes. The museum is open seven days a week. Confirm current hours by calling (901) 205-2532, as the official website does not list specific opening and closing times. |
| What is Lansky’s, next to the museum? | Lansky’s is a clothing store with roots going back to the 1940s. It was the preferred shop of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rufus Thomas, and other inductees — part of the cultural fabric of Beale Street and referenced in many inductee stories. |
| How does this museum differ from the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum? | The Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum (one block east, same organisation) tells the broader story of how Memphis music developed from Delta field hollers to global phenomenon, organised chronologically. The Hall of Fame focuses on individual inductees across all eras and genres, organised around the people rather than the historical narrative. Both complement each other well. |
Things to do near the Memphis Music Hall of Fame
Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum (191 Beale Street, one block east) is the Hall of Fame’s closest companion attraction. A Smithsonian-affiliated museum tracing the full arc of Memphis music, from rural blues through rock and soul. A $21 combo ticket covers both museums.
Beale Street (from the museum’s front door) is the historic entertainment and music district running east from B.B. King Boulevard. Live music venues, bars, and restaurants operate from mid-afternoon. The street itself is free to walk and explore.
FedExForum (191 Beale Street, one block east) is Memphis’s primary sports and entertainment arena, home to the NBA Memphis Grizzlies and a major concert venue. Check the schedule — game or event nights on Beale Street significantly change the atmosphere and crowd levels.
National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (450 Mulberry Street, ~10 minutes’ walk south) is one of the most significant history museums in the American South, built around the site of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. Several Hall of Fame inductees — including the artists who played the Wattstax concert in 1972 — are directly connected to the civil rights story it tells.
The Peabody Memphis (149 Union Avenue, ~5 minutes’ walk north) is a historic hotel whose twice-daily duck march — from the rooftop pond to the lobby fountain each morning at 11:00am and back at 5:00pm — is a long-standing Memphis tradition. Free to observe from the lobby.
What to visit tomorrow: music museums within two hours of Memphis
Stax Museum of American Soul Music (Memphis, ~3 miles south) covers the Stax Records era in depth and is the natural companion piece to the Hall of Fame for any visitor interested in the soul chapter of Memphis music. Closed Mondays;.
Sun Studio (Memphis, ~1.5 miles north-west) is the recording studio where the Memphis sound was born. Guided tours run hourly.
Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale, MS, ~1.5 hours south) covers the origins of the blues in the Mississippi Delta — the source from which so many Hall of Fame inductees drew their sound.
Tina Turner Museum (Brownsville, TN, ~1 hour north-east) is the restored schoolhouse where Tina Turner was educated in Nutbush, Tennessee, covering her early life and career — including her Memphis connections.
International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame and Museum (Jackson, TN, ~1.5 hours north-east) honours the rockabilly artists — many of them Sun Records alumni — who appear in the Memphis Music Hall of Fame’s founding inductee class.
More Tennessee travel
Other Tennessee travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Plan your visit to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, Legends of Country Music Museum and Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville.
- First time visitor guides to Belmont Mansion and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage in Nashville.
- What to know before visiting the Memphis Botanic Garden.
- Visiting Ruby Falls and Rock City Gardens from Chattanooga.
- Plan your visit to the Hunter Museum of American Art and Sculpture Fields at Montague Park in Chattanooga.
