Long Beachers know we have a rich and varied music history, ranging from the Carpenters to blues, jazz and the legendary Snoop Dogg. 

A Long Beach Music Museum Pop-Up is offering a month-long celebration of that local musical culture at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach through Oct. 31 — free and open to the public daily, plus Friday evening receptions with food.

A program of the nonprofit Long Beach Blues Society, the pop-up museum is exhibiting collected artifacts reflecting the city’s musical history and culture in “Rocktober @ the Regency.”

Visitors can discover Long Beach music, artists and stories through the exhibits from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and experience live music, hors d’oeuvres and beverages during Friday receptions from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

The reception this Friday, Oct. 16, features the music of Long Beach band Acoustic Soul Express — comprised of the musical duo Chad Bishop and Ashanti Dykes, bringing a soulful mix of R&B, blues and classic rock — and local saxophonist Daniel Mancuso, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Arctic Soul Express (Ashanti Dykes, left, and Chad Bishop), are performing Friday, Oct. 16 at the Long Beach Music Museum Pop-Up at the Hyatt Regency. Photo courtesy Long Beach Blues Society.

Musician Bill Grisolia, executive director of the Long Beach Blues Society, founded the organization 10 years ago — growing out of his work for the Long Beach New Blues Festival — with the mission of preserving the legacy of blues through interactive educational programs. 

This is the second pop-up for the Long Beach Music Museum. The museum doesn’t yet have a permanent home and this pop-up, like the first one in May, gives visitors an inside look at what such a museum might be like.

The Long Beach Music Museum Pop-Up at the Hyatt Regency. Photo courtesy Malia Koch.

The Long Beach Music Museum Pop-Up at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach, 200 S. Pine Ave., is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., plus Friday receptions from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., through Oct. 31. Admission is free.

Anita W. Harris has reviewed theater in and around Long Beach for the past eight years. She believes theater is a creative space where words and stories become reality through being spoken, enacted, felt...