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What's It Gonna Take To Build A Texas Music Museum?

Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon/KUT News
Kelly Willis performs in the studio of KUTX in Austin.

From Texas Standard:

The Lone Star State boasts a rich musical heritage. From Willie Nelson to Joe Ely, Selena to Beyoncé, the state has produced hitmakers and tastemakers in many genres. So why is there no museum of Texas music? A Texas Monthly editor wonders that, too, and he wants help from billionaire Mark Cuban.

Michael Hall, executive editor of Texas Monthly, says the idea to appeal to Cuban came to him when he saw the “Outlaws and Armadillos” exhibit at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame.

Hall notes the large number of Texas artifacts in the exhibit and the museum’s overall quality.

“It is a fantastic place,” he says. “It’s a state-of-the-art, 350,000 square-foot museum. They have a $4 million endowment from Taylor Swift to do education exhibits for kids, to show them how to play music and write songs.”

Hall wonders why the Lone Star State doesn’t have a museum of this kind to celebrate Texas music. And he thought of Cuban not only because he’s a billionaire, but also because he invests in so many new businesses.

“He’s a guy who has an eye out for a great business idea,” Hall says. “The whole thing of ‘find a need and fill it.’ That’s what Mark Cuban does.”

Hall says a Texas music museum would not only showcase the state’s music, but could make money.

Written by Shelly Brisbin.

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