Tom Petty Rock & Roll Memorabilia Exhibit at Cade Museum (2023)

The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention hosts the exhibition Tom Petty: Among the Wildflowers, featuring artifacts previously on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Tom Petty: Among the Wildflowers explores the joys, pains, and creative awakenings that Gainesville native Tom Petty experienced while pouring his soul into his magnum opus, Wildflowers, released in November 1994. Through the exhibit, guests can hear first-hand accounts from Tom and the Wildflowers team about the album’s spirited creation.

The exhibit space is divided into three segments of artifacts that correspond to a unique aspect of the Wildflowers creative process: songwriting, recording, and reception and delivery. Through generous contributions from the Tom Petty Estate and individual bandmembers involved in the Wildflowers recording process including Mike Campbell, Stephen Ferrone, and Howie Epstein, visitors can discover the many artifacts that tell the album’s story, such as the original guitar and outfit featured in Tom Petty’s 1995 Rolling Stone Magazine cover, original lyric sheets, and instruments used in the album recording.

The exhibition draws heavy inspiration from the 2021 documentary Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free – The Making of Wildflowers directed by Mary Wharton and produced by Adria Petty, eldest daughter of Tom Petty and partner in Petty legacy, along with her sister, Annakim Violette, and stepmother, Dana York Petty.

Tom Petty: Among the Wildflowers will be open from July 22, 2023 until January 1, 2024, during museum hours, Thursday to Sunday from 10am-4pm.