Music can be pointless fun, providing a mindless soundtrack for dancing or singing along, or just plain offering background noise for all moments of life. But some artists use it to change the world—raising awareness and funds for causes that are vital, yet would otherwise languish unnoticed.

And it’s those artists who invest their music with meaning, from Woody Guthrie to Bono, who are honored by the current exhibition “Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom” at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles. When the museum opened last December to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grammy Awards, it chose the exhibit as its first-year centerpiece because it made it clear the new institution would strive to show how music affects the world at large.

Read more about this