About
The Southern Music Research Center is a nonprofit organization devoted to the documentation, preservation, and public presentation of the American South’s diverse music histories and ongoing forms of musical expression.
Founded in 2022, the SMRC seeks to engage the widest range of genres, communities, and traditions, highlighting the many ways in which music informs the fabric of everyday life, shaping the experience and culture of us all.
The Southern Music Research Center seeks to acquire, archive, digitize, and make widely accessible a diversity of materials reflecting the South’s many musical legacies. These materials may include photographs, recordings, visual art (including fliers and other promotional matter), oral history interviews, and more. We are particularly committed to the preservation of one-of-a-kind, rare, or endangered recordings, photos, or artifacts which illuminate elements of music history which otherwise might be lost or forgotten.
Our online collection is steadily growing. Please check back often for the latest developments.
SUPPORT OUR MISSION
Your tax deductible donation directly supports our efforts to preserve and present valuable music history and heritage.
Individuals may make a one-time donation here or pledge ongoing support, at any level, through a monthly Patreon contribution. Donation by check may be written to the Southern Music Research Center and sent to this address:
Southern Music Research Center
893 Mountain Ridge Drive
Birmingham, Alabama 35209
Business owners and corporations seeking to support our efforts through a community partnership should email burgin@southernmusicresearch.org.
If you enjoy our website, please share it! Social media posts and word of mouth help us expand our reach and grow our mission. We thank you for your vocal support of this project.
DONATE MATERIALS
You can also support the SMRC mission by donating materials to our collection.
Maybe you have some old photos, a scrapbook in the attic, or home recordings that reflect the music of your family or community. Maybe a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt played piano, accordion, fiddle, harp, harmonica or horn. Maybe you’ve got a stash of posters from a long-dead, beloved local venue.
We would love to help preserve your musical artifacts, whether it’s a single photo or a thick collection of materials. We can also help you digitize materials from obsolete media or find a permanent archival home to ensure the long-term survival and conservation of your collection.
Please contact burgin@southernmusicresearch.org to discuss the donation of archival materials.
USE AND PERMISSIONS
Recordings, images, text, and all other materials in this collection are made available here for educational and research purposes only.
No content may be reproduced without 1) written permission from the Southern Music Research Center and 2) appropriate citation.
Please contact burgin@southernmusicresearch.org for all usage requests. Reproduction of some materials may be restricted or available at a small processing charge.
Exception: Written permission is not required for posting SMRC materials to social media, but all posts should cite the Southern Music Research Center and, when possible, link to the original URL.