As part of our ongoing community engagement surrounding the restoration of the Club Heaven Sound System, we are excited to partner with LGBT Detroit and Hotter Than July for “From Stonewall to Heaven.” How have members of the LGBTQ+ community maintained the experience of performance and expression for 50 years? How has the experience of […]
Call & Response: Exhibit and Performance
Call & Response June 14, 2019 – August 25, 2019 Exhibition Dates: Friday, June 14 – Sunday, August 25, 2019 Performance, Panel Discussion, and Reception: Saturday, August 3, 2-6 pm https://stamps.umich.edu/exhibitions/detail/call-response Celebrating the legacy of sonic resistance in Detroit and beyond, Call & Response features the work of Romare Bearden, Chakaia Booker, Tony Cokes, Saffell […]
MotorCity Makeover
We participated in MotorCity Makeover to engage residents and continue to protect and preserve the legacy of the Blue Bird Inn.
Marvin Gaye Stamp Ceremony
On April 5, 2019, we were honored to be a part of the unveiling of the new Marvin Gaye stamp. The unveiling took place at the Detroit Historical Museum inside our Salvaging Sound exhibit on the Historic Blue Bird Inn Stage. The event was coordinated by the United States Postal Service. The photos below were […]
LaVell Williams, 1967-2018
LaVell Williams (1967-2018), Detroit Sound Conservancy’s Board President, who mentored a generation of music lovers, is remembered in this obituary.
Remembering Terry Jean Pollard
Terry Jean Pollard was known in the Detroit jazz community as “the queen of the vibes” for her mastery of the instrument. A Detroit bred pianist/vibraphonist, Pollard was a powerhouse performer who started out playing at jazz clubs around the city including a famous stint with the Billy Mitchell band at the Blue Bird Inn […]
Coming 2019: Detroit Historical Society Community Gallery Exhibit
Thrilled to announce that we will be telling our organization’s story in the community gallery at the Detroit Historical Museum next year January 19 – April 7, 2019.
KIP:D Planning Grant Awarded by The Kresge Foundation
Very grateful to The Kresge Foundation for believing in our sonic vision for The Blue Bird neighborhood and community. The planning begins now thanks to their support. Detroit Sound Conservancy will conduct community engagement and initial design for the redevelopment of the Blue Bird Inn, an iconic jazz club on Detroit’s west side, into a […]
Organization of American Historians 2018
Stop, Look, and Listen: Sound and Film Conservancy and African American History [The following is a description of a panel to be held April 13th, 2018 in Sacramento at the Organization of American Historians Conference. Read more about the conference here.] This roundtable discussion imaginatively engages with the conference theme of “The Forms of History” […]
A Sonic Desert?
Has Detroit become a sonic desert? Musical expression has been a long-standing pivot point for debates about Detroit’s successes and failures. Though the Detroit area has a wide range of cultural expressions for which it is associated—including art, design, architecture, literature, and, critically, industrial production—music has been the dominant site for articulating exactly how Detroit […]