JEANERETTE — Call out the Cajun — and bluegrass, polka, tejano and klezmer -— music lovers.

The exhibit is coming to town.

Beginning Monday, the Jeanerette museum will hold a Museums on Main Street exhibit called New Harmonies: Celebrating America’s Roots.

Sylvia Provost gets a sneak peek at the New Harmonies exhibit at the Jeanerette Museum on Friday morning. An invitation-only opening will be held today at the museum with the Smithsonian Institutional exhibit opening to the public Monday. Advertisement

The exhibit, which is provided through a partnership between the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Smithsonian Institution, “examines the progression of American roots music, as rich and eclectic as our country itself,” a museum release said.

The exhibition opens Monday, after an invitation-only grand opening today. It continues through Aug. 30, after which it will move to Kaplan, the fourth of six small Louisiana towns it will visit.

Museum tour guide Sylvia Provost said the museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week. It is closed Wednesdays.

Regular admission is $3 for an adult and $1 for children under 12, but the exhibit is free to the public.

The exhibit includes photos, recordings, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles.

Rachel Norman, state coordinator for the Museum on Main Street program, said some of the instruments on display include an accordion, a diddley bow, a very early slide instrument, a washboard and a banjo. Patrons will get to play the washboard and banjo.

“One of the things that is particularly wonderful about this exhibit for Louisiana is that so much of our state is reflected,” Norman said.

There a whole world of cowboy and frontier music included.

Jewish Klezmer music and a Texas and Mexican blend of Tejano music is included, as well.

“There’s something for everybody in the exhibition,” Norman said. “It’s really engaging, fun and informative. The whole purpose of the Museum on Main Street is to provide a catalyst for rural communities to celebrate their own contribution to American culture.”

Norman said the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Smithsonian hope people “get a real pride of place, knowing their community’s really crucial role in American culture. There’s such a rich tradition of music to celebrate.”

Gail Garcia, project coordinator for the Jeanerette museum and a native of Jeanerette, said some local musicians have gotten involved, and she hopes more will.

“It’s a great way to honor all the musicians of our particular area,” she said. “That’s why we’re doing it. All those musicians have been giving people joy through the years.”

She encouraged those with musical family members in present and past times to submit information, as well.

Garcia said the museum has a local exhibit that will be open to the public and will remain after the Smithsonian exhibit moves on.

More information is available on www.museumonmainstreet.org and www.jeanerettemuseum.com.