Step Inside Beatlemania — Through McCartney's Lens

Show your kids who The Beatles really were — through Paul McCartney’s camera lens! Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm runs at The Frist Art Museum Nov. 6. through Jan. 26, 2026. “Eyes of the Storm” makes the perfect way to introduce older kids to the cultural legacy of the astonishing Beatles.

“Eyes of the Storm”

Organized by the National Portrait Gallery in London, this new exhibition will be inside the Frist’s upper-level galleries. It features never-before-seen photographs taken by McCartney himself during the height of The Beatles’ rise to fame. Captured between December 1963 and February 1964, McCartney’s images give a behind-the-scenes look at The Beatles’ early days just prior to Beatlemania. See photos from Liverpool, London and during their legendary American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Drawn from McCartney’s personal archive, the majority of these images have never been seen before this international tour. They allow us to experience The Beatles’ extraordinarily rapid rise from a successful regional band to global stardom through McCartney’s eyes. At a time when so many camera lenses were on them, this perspective—from the inside—brings fresh insight to the band, their experiences, the fans, and the early 1960s.

Reviews for “Eyes of the Storm” (the exhibit has shown in London, New York and other cities) are high with praise. More than 250 photographs capture intimate and candid moments as The Beatles became a UK sensation are included. It provides a rare perspective on what it was like to be a Beatle just when everything changed. Budding music-lovers and Beatle fans will appreciate it most, and this may be one of the most inspiring and educational things to do in Nashville this fall.

For more information, visit fristartmuseum.org.