(Gibson) "Think about having a place that celebrates the source of all contemporary music," says Devon Allman. "That's the goal of the National Blues Museum."Right now it's Allman's goal to get the word out about the fundraising effort underway to make the St. Louis-based institution a reality — and to raise the $1.7-million dollars need to ensure that the museum's doors can open as scheduled in March 2014. So far $12.3-million has been raised over the past three years, and a total of $14-million must be achieved by April 1 in order to take advantage of various incentives for the project.
So Allman and a board's other nine members — who are from the corporate and educational worlds — have launched "Buck Up For the Blues," an initiative to encourage all blues fans to make a donation now to help reach the fundraising goal and bring the museum to life.
Artist renderings of the museum, viewable on line at the National Blues Museum web site, depict a facility like Seattle's Experience Music Project, with a blend of artifacts, films, historic audio and hands-on interactive "jamming stations" where museum patrons can perform the music themselves. Plans call for artist workshops, seminars and Q&A sessions with industry figures, intimate performances with the genre's stars, acoustic concerts that blend music and history, plus lectures and discussions, industry seminars and a film series. A lot more.
