Steel Guitar Hall of Fame Announces Permanent Home in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

Austin, Texas - At a gathering of steel guitar players, fans and historians at the Austin Steel Guitar Fest in early October in Austin, Texas, the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame announced plans for a permanent brick-and-mortar home, marking a major milestone in the preservation of one of America's most influential musical instruments.

The announcement was made during a special on-stage presentation led by Michael Scott, president of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, followed by a joint presentation with Hawaiʻi State Archivist Adam Jansen, Ph.D. Together, they revealed that the future permanent home of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame will be located in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

"For years, people have asked when the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame would have a permanent home," said Scott. "We knew that wherever that home would be, it had to meet a very high bar-historically, culturally, educationally, and ethically. Honolulu met every one of those requirements."

"We are beyond thrilled to be the new home of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. It's fitting that an instrument whose locus began in the Hawaiian Islands would now also have its museum located in this same place. Furthermore, the Hawaiʻi State Archives exists to keep records of historical and cultural value. This speaks to both our hearts and our professional mission," enthused Jansen. The State Archives are a division of the Department of Accounting and General Services.

The steel guitar was invented in Hawaiʻi in the late 19th century and became the first global musical export of the islands, profoundly influencing American music and beyond. Its sound shaped country music, blues, western swing, sacred music, popular music and numerous other genres, making its origins inseparable from its global legacy.

From the outset, the Hall of Fame established a set of non-negotiable principles for any permanent location. The facility must honor the innovators, players, builders and advocates of the steel guitar; house permanent exhibits and a professional archive; and provide interactive displays featuring instruments, tuning systems and sound demonstrations. It is envisioned to include a live performance stage, space for educational programming and workshops, and the ability to resume festivals and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

Equally critical were archival standards. The permanent home will provide temperature-controlled storage, strict security protocols and professional stewardship for an extensive and growing collection that includes thousands of historical images, thousands of hours of recorded media, and an extensive survey collection of instruments. All materials will be preserved in perpetuity, fully indexed and digitized, with broad online access for researchers, musicians, builders and the public.

"Our role is to ensure these materials are protected forever-and also used, studied and shared," said Jansen. "This project reflects best practices in preservation, digitization and public access. It is rare to see a collection of this scope paired with such a clear and forward-thinking vision."

The Honolulu location will also serve as the anchor for future programming, including festivals, traveling exhibitions, concerts, workshops and a mobile interpretive museum designed to partner with festivals and cultural events worldwide-always pointing back to the permanent home.

The permanent home of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame will be fully accessible to the public and will have an online presence, reinforcing the organization's mission to fill a cultural and educational gap while building community among steel guitar players and fans across generations and borders.

"This is not about competing with existing music institutions," Scott added. "It's about telling the steel guitar's story fully, truthfully and from the place where it began-while making that story accessible to the world."

Further details about the facility, programming, and timeline will be announced in the coming months. More about the Hawaiʻi State Archives at https://ags.hawaii.gov/archives/.