National Music Centre Announces Partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music

Partnership Enables Cross-Country Collaboration to Showcase the Interwoven Histories of Canadian and American Music

(Calgary, AB — November 15, 2024) Today, the National Music Centre (NMC) announces its first international partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM) and Steven Van Zandt's TeachRock. This collaboration will bring together these leading institutions dedicated to music heritage, paving the way for cross-border cultural exchange, and enabling NMC to share the Canadian music story in the United States and beyond.

The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music is the primary repository for Bruce Springsteen's written works, photographs, periodicals, and memorabilia. Dedicated to preserving and promoting Springsteen’s legacy and his influence on American music, the Center also develops exhibits, public programs, and education initiatives that explore the works of American music giants like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday, Patti Smith, Frank Sinatra, Muddy Waters, and others. Currently housed at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, the Center is set to relocate in 2026 to a new facility on campus featuring exhibits, a 230-seat theatre, public programs, and more.

A partner of BSACAM, Steven Van Zandt’s TeachRock project delivers dynamic and impactful arts-integration resources, bringing engaging educational experiences to classrooms worldwide for teachers and students alike.

The partnership will provide new opportunities to co-develop exhibitions and education programs and share resources that celebrate the interwoven influences of Canadian and American music. Both institutions will highlight the symbiotic relationship between the two countries’ music scenes, inspiring new projects that underscore our shared histories.

"National Music Centre is going global through this partnership and bringing the Canadian music story to a wider audience," said Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of the National Music Centre. "This collaboration, which is our first international partnership, will allow us to showcase the connections between Canadian and American music, emphasizing how artists on both sides of the border have inspired each other and, together, shaped the musical landscape.”

Some early highlights of this partnership will be a one-day symposium with panels and artist discussions, which will explore the cultural synergies between Canadian and American music. A co-developed travelling exhibition is also planned for 2026-2027, alongside the opening of BSACAM’s new building. More details on both collaborations will be announced at a later date.

“We’re proud to join forces with the National Music Centre to celebrate the shared legacy of Canadian and American music," said Robert Santelli, Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. "Through this partnership, we’ll create experiences that deepen our understanding of how these two vibrant music scenes have influenced each other and continue to resonate with audiences worldwide.”

As the first international partnership for these organizations, this collaboration marks a significant milestone for NMC and BSACAM. Look for future updates on co-developed travelling exhibitions and programs that strengthen cultural ties and honour the rich musical heritage that binds Canada and the United States.

About National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique
The National Music Centre (NMC) has a mission to amplify the love, sharing, and understanding of music. It is preserving and celebrating Canada’s music story inside its home at Studio Bell in the heart of the East Village in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) on Treaty 7 territory. NMC is the home to four Canadian music halls of fame, including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Quebec’s ADISQ Hall of Fame. Featuring musical instruments, artifacts, recording equipment, and memorabilia, the NMC Collection spans over 450 years of music history and innovation. A registered charity with programs that include exhibitions, artist development, performance, and education, NMC is inspiring a new generation of music lovers. For more information about NMC’s onsite activities, please visit studiobell.ca. To check out the NMC experience online, including video-on-demand performances, made-in-Canada stories, and highly entertaining educational content, visit amplify.nmc.ca.

About the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music
The Bruce Springsteen Archives is comprised of nearly 48,000 items from 47 countries ranging from articles and oral histories to concert memorabilia, and promotional materials. The collection serves the research and informational needs of music fans, scholars, authors, and others with a serious interest in the life and career of Bruce Springsteen. The Bruce Springsteen Archives serves as the archival repository for Bruce Springsteen’s written works, photographs, periodicals, and artifacts. The Center also preserves and promotes the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and his role in American music, while creating exhibits, public programs, and education initiatives that explore the works of American music giants like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday, Patti Smith, Frank Sinatra, Gaslight Anthem, and others. In addition to its archival mission The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music creates traveling exhibits, educational conferences, public programs, teacher workshops, and scholastic field trips, all aimed at exploring the American music tradition and providing for academic discourse in various fields of American music. For more information, please visit springsteenarchives.org.

About TeachRock
Launched by Stevie Van Zandt with the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, Teachrock.org has provided free, standards-aligned resources to help teachers, students, and families succeed for more than a decade. TeachRock improves students’ lives by bringing the sound, stories, and science of music to all classrooms. From The Beatles to Beyoncé, from kindergarten to AP History, in the classroom or remotely, TeachRock offers meaningful lesson plans all at no cost to teachers, students, and families, inspiring deeper learning and understanding through the power of music. TeachRock.org is an open educational resource of hundreds of unit and lesson plans, Student Editions, and musician bios. TeachRock’s “Rock and Soul of America” high school history course is taught throughout California, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. More than 60,000 educators representing over 30,000 schools in all 50 U.S. states, England, Spain, Norway and elsewhere are registered with Teachrock.org. For more information, please visit teachrock.org.

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National Music Centre Media Contact:
Julijana Capone, Senior Publicist
julijana.capone@nmc.ca

The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music Media Contact:
Eileen Chapman
echapman@springsteenarchives.org