Music often touches people in a range of ways. People listen, dance, and worship through song and instrumental musical forms. Across the Cape Fear region, people have expressed themselves through music, enriching both their own lives and the life of their communities. Wilmingtonians have created and performed music in settings as diverse as concert halls, clubs and classrooms, parades, parties and parlors.

Cape Fear Museum’s collection includes more than 300 music related objects that document this long history of music-making in the area, from pianos to harmonicas and from the silly to the serious.