“Play It Loud” Exhibit To Feature Guitars That Made Rock n’ Roll

Tools of the Trade

The Play It Loud: The Instruments of Rock & Roll exhibit just kicked off a few days ago at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It launched with a concert featuring iconic figures in rock and heavy metal – The Eagles’ Don Felder, Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, and Heart’s Nancy Wilson. It debuted a few months ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York which drew in over 600,000 visitors.

The collection showcases guitars that helped shape rock ‘n roll. More than that, fans will also get to see other instruments that created their favorite songs – drums, and keyboards included.

Hall of Fame president and CEO Greg Harris told Newsweek, “The Met really focused the visitor on the instrument as the art object, which was done amazingly well. We have a gallery that does that, but then on other floors, we connect these instruments with the context. When you’re seeing [Bruce] Springsteen’s iconic Fender Esquire guitar that everyone knows, you’re also seeing the photo spread from Born to Run where he’s holding that guitar, and you’re being connected to moments when he played that guitar.”

The Play It Loud exhibit will remain in Cleveland until September 2020.