The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame Museum has unveiled a brand-new interactive hologram of blues musician Taj Mahal, making it the first museum in Tennessee and second in the United States to have a full-body hologram, says Blues Foundation CEO and president Kimberly Horton.
Horton says when she found out about Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame’s hologram of philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr., whose personal collection of guitars were on display at the museum at the time, she knew she “had to have one for Memphis.”
The Blues Foundation’s first hologram features Blues Hall of Famer Taj Mahal. “It’s him. Like he’s actually sitting in there, actually sitting in the [holographic] box,” Horton says. “You could actually have a full conversation.”
That means that guests can ask whatever question comes to mind, and the hologram, which has been trained with AI, will generate a response as Mahal himself would answer. “We had Taj Mahal sit still for 12 hours one day and just asked him all these questions, about 250 questions, and filmed him while he was doing that,” Horton explains. “So this is his voice. And these are his mannerisms. These are his hand movements.”
From the beginning, Horton says she knew Mahal would be a part of the debut of the permanent exhibition, which will spotlight other artists in the future. “He’s just great,” she says. “When it comes to music, he’s multi-Grammy-winning. He has touched every genre of the industry. He’s got his hand in everything. Taj will be 82 this month, so it was imperative that he was the first person that was in the hologram.”
After all, Horton says, “If you want to preserve something or preserve history, then what better way to do it?”
The Blues Hall of Fame Museum is located at 421 South Main Street. Admission is $10/adults, $8/students, and free for kids 12 and under. There is an additional charge of $10 to interact with the hologram. Museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
