Many interactive displays and places to listen to music
Flyctory.com Cons
Closed one floor during my visit without proper notification
Too focused on key Grammy Awards
Right before I watched the match of my Pittsburgh Penguins at Staples Center vs. the Los Angeles Kings, I strolled around L.A. Live. As a music lover, my key focus was definitely The Grammy Museum. The Los Angeles outlet of the museum can likely be seen as their headquarters. There are also two other Grammy Museum places: the Grammy Museum in Cleveland, Mississippi, and one in Nashville. Furthermore, there is a Grammy Experience at Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. Here are my views of my visit in California.
The Grammy Museum L.A. – Location & Admission
The Grammy Museum Los Angeles is located in the heart of the entertainment district L.A. Live, which also features bars, restaurants and venues like the Staples Center.
Adult admission to the museum was 15 USD at the time of writing. In February 2020, the opening times were 10:00 to 20:00 hrs on Fridays and Saturdays and 10:30 to 18:30 on all other days, with the museum being closed on Tuesdays.
The Grammy Museum L.A. – The Visit
After admission, you head up to the upper (third) level, where you enter the (likely) most impressive part of the exhibition: The Grammy Museum shows the different models of the Grammy Award over time, screens on both sides showcase famous winners and their ceremonies.
From that you, you enter a large space, which shows the evolution of music, but also its genres and different superstars of that kind of entertainment.
At the edge of this area, there is space for special exhibitions. During my visit, for example, the Grammy Museum presented a wide selection of Cyndi Lauper memorabilia and a lot of items reminding of the great influence of Jerry Weintraub on the music industry.
The Grammy Awards on the second Floor
One floor below, the museum is dedicated to the Grammy Awards and its winners. There is a Hall of Fame – alike area which is honoring the Lifetime Academy Award winners. You can also watch special achievements like the most Grammy Awards won by one person. I was a bit disappointed on screens which allow you to review previous Grammy Award winners. These screens focused on the key categories. Reviewing the nominations, for example, of Weird Al Yankovic, was not possible. The second floor also features a Grammy Award red carpet area for your souvenir pictures.
On the lowest floor of the exhibition, there was another special exhibition space. During my visit, it featured Beyond Black honoring Amy Winehouse. There were also some interactive exhibits, where you could try out musical instruments and do some music on your own. Unfortunately, I could not enjoy this area (see below).
The Grammy Museum L.A.- The Shop
Not too surprisingly, you pass a souvenir store at the end of the visit. Most of the stuff was indeed music / Grammy Awards-related.
The Grammy Museum L.A. – Service / Floor Closure
Unfortunately, I could not fully enjoy my visit at the Grammy Museum. Arriving at roughly 16:30 hrs, I have been told to take the ordinary route through the museum from top to bottom. However, in the interactive floor which also featured the Amy Winehouse exhibition, there was a private event from 17:30. Just some five minutes I entered the floor, I have been sent away. With an alternative route, I could have enjoyed the museum completely. To me, that was definitely an example for poor customer attitude.
The Grammy Museum L.A. – My View
To me, visiting The Grammy Museum was definitely one of the places I was looking forward to most during my trip to Los Angeles in February 2020. I am just a music buff. Most of the visit, the museum made me smile, sometimes dance, and I really enjoyed the time there. There are two things which are finally on the negative side: first of all, the museum is too focused on the key Grammy Awards and the Latin Grammy Awards. I would have loved to find information about Weird Al Yankovic and his Grammy wins, for example. Some kind of interactive display.
The fact that they closed down a whole floor during my visit without notification (and even sending me to that floor last) is of course not acceptable. An A5 sized sign at the side of the cashier board is not enough – what a terrible service attitude. It is a money back reason for me and I did not even get a “sorry”. A review is always a point in time description. If a hotel has a bad day, they receive a bad review as well. You may have a fully enjoyable time at The Grammy Museum – I left it with very bad feelings after I initially had a great time in the history of music after visiting two floors.
Musical History
These are all articles, in which I dealt with events and places influencing musical history:
