♪♪ *[Nikki Johnson] In here we kind of think that, you know, music truly comes alive here.

You can step into the heartbeat of rock and roll.

You take a journey back in time, and you really discover that the Surf Ballroom is not only where music lives, but it's where it will never fade away.

[Kohlsdorf] Opened in the fall of 2025, the nearly 11,000 square foot Surf Music Experience Center in Clear Lake is built to greet visitors in the same way the original Surf Ballroom did in 1931.

[Nikki Johnson] This is a very multifunctional building, but one of the main highlights of it is Not Fade Away, the immersive Surf Ballroom experience.

[Nikki Johnson] So you can think of Not Fade Away like a 360 degree multi-sensory film.

It immerses you completely in the history of the Surf Ballroom, the lives of Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper.

[Not Fade Away Voice] The singers were identified as Ritchie Valens, 17, Buddy Holly, 22, and J.P.

Richardson, known professionally as -- [Kohlsdorf] Three rock and roll icons Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P.

"The Big Bopper" Richardson perished in a plane crash after performing at the Surf Ballroom.

Known as The Day the Music Died, the three musicians and the Surf Ballroom were forever intertwined as a rock and roll legacy.

[Nikki Johnson] Everything that we do here is for our shining star next door at the Surf Ballroom.

After you go through the immersive experience, after you see these artifacts, you go to the Surf Ballroom with a whole new appreciation and a whole new light of, you know, what it really means and what it stands for, the history that lives inside of the walls.

[Kohlsdorf] The Surf Music Experience Center displays artifacts curated from the Surf Ballroom Museum, as well as new additions donated by icons of rock and roll.

[Nikki Johnson] One section that is very new is a lot of pieces from Les Paul's personal collection.

So one of our most significant pieces is what we call the log, or what Les Paul called the log.

This was the very first look at a guitar in a way of playing guitar that inspired and influenced many, many musicians.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] For music lovers venturing along Highway 18, the Surf Music Experience Center amplifies the Surf Ballroom's place in rock and roll history.

[Nikki Johnson] We want to make sure that the younger generation understands the significance of the Surf Ballroom, and can be able to learn that story in a way that is very compelling and very engaging for them.

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