Roland and BOSS partner with GRAMMY Museum® to create hands-on music gallery

Los Angeles, CA — Roland Corporation U.S. announces the grand opening of the recently completed Roland LIVE exhibits at the new GRAMMY Museum Gallery™ at Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. A special ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gallery was held on March 29, 2016, and featured appearances by GRAMMY® Award-winner and Musicians Hall of Fame inductee Peter Frampton; Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy®; singer Brenda Lee; Nashville Mayor Megan Barry; Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum® at L.A. LIVE; and Mike Curb, chairman and founder of Curb Records. The GRAMMY Museum Gallery at Musicians Hall of Fame is an interactive music space that allows guests to explore the history of the GRAMMY Awards, and offers visitors of all ages the experience of performing onstage and interacting with every aspect of the recording process. Three dedicated Roland LIVE interactive spaces are featured in the GRAMMY Museum Gallery: Stage, Studio, and Electronic Music. Each offers visitors hands-on access to some of the real instruments used by top artists to make hit records. No previous experience is necessary for guests to make music and discover how to make their own sounds and beats. Musicians and music lovers alike can experiment with new instruments for electronic music, practice a song by interacting with other players face-to-face in the studio, or jam out on stage. The Roland LIVE performance stage is equipped with several Roland TD-11KV V-Drums, Roland HandSonic HPD-20 Digital Hand Percussion and SP-404SX Sampler, a microphone with BOSS VE-5 vocal effects, a Roland HPi-50e digital piano and keytar, and BOSS-powered electric guitars and effects pedals. The Electronic Music stage features an assortment of Roland AIRA dance and DJ gear, including MX-1, TR-8, and System-1. The studio area also features a pair of Roland V-Drums kits with interactive lessons from Ringo Starr. Plus, musicians can play in a real rhythm section — complete with guitar, bass, V-Drums, RD-64 digital piano, and vocal mic with BOSS VE-5 vocal effects — all running through the Roland HS-5 Session Mixer so they have their own personal mix on headphones. Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum in L.A., attended the ribbon cutting and commented, “The partnership with Roland is the very first partnership the GRAMMY Museum in L.A. ever started, and their coming on board with us was absolutely critical for one main reason: back in the day, when we didn’t know what we were doing, Roland gave us guidance, gave us ideas, and provided instruments that allowed us to create the concept called The Roland Room. And now it’s in all three of our museums, and we are letting young people in particular know how Roland advocates for arts and music education, and that’s a big deal, because that’s what we’re all about as well.” Joe Chambers, founder and creator of the Musicians Hall of Fame, shared, “I had four or five guitar shops and music stores for over 30 years, and BOSS and Roland were always the top-drawer names that you could depend on. The reason Roland is here is because it’s the best. The GRAMMY folks and Musicians Hall of Fame could have gotten any instruments they wanted to, and they came to me about Roland being here, and I said, ‘I’ve known Roland as long as I’ve been in the business, and sold so many BOSS pedals — it’s the Mercedes of musical instruments.’ And that’s how the public felt about it too, so to have it here is fantastic. Looking at our Roland LIVE stage, I see kids up there four and five years old playing the Roland drums with headphones. That’s going to be their first musical memory, and that’s fantastic.” Photo caption: A View of the Roland LIVE Stage