LBJ Library's 'Music America' to include memorabilia of Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, more

There's never too much music in Austin, right?

With that in mind, the LBJ Presidential Library has teamed up with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music to present "Music America: Iconic Objects from America's Music." The exhibit of more than 100 music-themed objects will open Feb. 17 and run through Aug. 11.

Get ready for memorabilia from some giants of American music history, including Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, Woody Guthrie, B.B. King, Leonard Bernstein, John Coltrane, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Madonna, Willie Nelson, Chuck D, Gloria Estefan and Taylor Swift.

Spend time with Holiday's fox fur, King's guitar "Lucille," one of Presley's special-made velvet shirts, Bernstein's baton, Coltrane's sax, D's handwritten lyrics to "Fight the Power," one of Swifts's guitars and a costume she wore on the Reputation Stadium Tour, as well as Madonna'swedding dress from the "Like a Virgin" video.

Linger over Estefan's sequined dress from her 1996 tour, Guthrie'ssigned "This Land is Your Land" lyrics, Willie Nelson'scowboy boots given to him by Gene Autry's widow, Prince's "Purple Rain" shirt and his "Cloud" guitar, along with the outfit Springsteen wore on the "Born in the U.S.A. " album cover.

After Austin stop, 'Music America' will travel the country

Curated by the Springsteen Archives, "Music America" also reflects contributions from Hard Rock International and Museum and New Orleans Jazz Museum. After August, the show will tour other museum venues around the U.S., but folks in Austin will see it first.

Robert Santelli, director of the Springsteen Archives, sees the exhibit as part of a broader historical perspective.

"Not only do we have a longstanding relationship with the library, but so much of America's greatest music history occurred in the 1960s when President Johnson was in the White House," he says. "It seemed only natural that this exhibition, which also celebrates America's 250th birthday in 2026, begins in Austin, one of the country's most important music centers, and will then travel to other presidential libraries and museums across the country."

It would not be a show about American music without the sounds of American music, which can be sampled at a "Song Bar" that features some of the musicians foregrounded in the exhibit. Visitors will also be able to make suggestions for future music samples.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, others celebrated by LBJ Library show