Stax Museum announces June 18 reopening
Good news for fans of the Memphis beat, as the Stax Museum of American Soul Music will reopen on June 18.
The museum, located in South Memphis, has been closed since March 18, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the Stax Museum announced it would resume operations with strict safety precautions in place, and a phased reopening schedule.
Hailed as one of the top music museums in North America by USA Today, Stax has been working closely with civic and public health organizations — including the CDC, City of Memphis, Shelby County Health Department, and the American Alliance for Museums –— to insure the safety of its patrons.
In a release detailing the museum’s new safety protocols, officials with Stax confirmed that “a professional cleaning company will sanitize the museum each morning and again midday along with cleanings at other intervals as necessary. All museum staff members will wear masks and/or other protective gear, and we will require all museum guests over the age of four to do the same.”
Acrylic sneeze guards have been installed at the museum’s entry, and commonly used items in the displays — such as headphones in music listening stations — have been removed. Hand sanitizing stations have been placed throughout the museum. In addition, all admissions and merchandise sales will be cashless for the time being, and equipment has been installed to allow visitors to swipe their own credit cards to avoid contact.
During the museum’s initial reopening phase, the 17-minute introductory documentary launching the tour “will be shown on set schedule to no more than 25 guests at a time in seats six feet apart to continue social distancing. The film will be shown every 30 minutes to allow for a cleaning of the theater after each showing.” Group tours will also be limited to 25 people; larger groups will be allowed in at 25 people at a time while others wait outside or in tour buses.
As a result of the new polices, the Stax Museum strongly encourages guests to purchase tickets through its website in advance
“We were certainly disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis, and while we still take safety precautions very seriously, we have used this time to reflect on how we improve our visitor experience,” said Stax Museum executive director Jeff Kollath. “We are ready to resume making thousands of people happy again through our videos, exhibits, music around every corner, and more than 2,000 artifacts and unique items of memorabilia that tell the fascinating story of Stax Records and other soul music labels.”
Hours of operation from June 18 through June 27 will be Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beginning July 1, the museum will resume it regular hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 pm. Admission for Shelby County residents is free on Tuesday afternoons after 1 p.m.
As part of the June 18 reopening, the Stax Museum will also present a new exhibit: “Beautiful Souls: Joel Brodsky and the Faces of Stax Records. The collection of photos by Brodsky — best known for shooting iconic album covers for The Doors and other rock legends — focuses on his early ‘70s era portraits of Stax artists including Booker T. & the MGS, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Margie Joseph, and Rufus Thomas, among others.
On Saturday, June 20, the museum will also host a sidewalk sale outside its gift shop starting at 10 a.m. (weather permitting) with discounts on select items including apparel, LPS, CDS, souvenirs.
For more information staxmuseum.com. go to