The Stax Museum has a huge collection of funk and soul music items from the ’60s and ’70s. On Friday, 926 — the Stax Music Academy Alumni Band — is helping to celebrate the opening of a new and exciting temporary exhibit, “Solid Gold Soul: The Best of the Rest from the Stax Museum.”
The exhibit collection includes never-before-seen staff favorite objects, including rare photographs of Otis Redding performing in Memphis, stage costumes worn by members of Funkadelic and the TSU Toronadoes, and rare vinyl records and photographs from the recently acquired Bob Abrahamian Collection. Each artifact tells a story about the person who used, wore, or played it.
To add to the celebration, local performers will share the stage with 926. There will be family-friendly games and activities, local food trucks, back-to-school giveaways, arts and crafts activities designed by the Stax Museum, informational booths, a Stax Museum sidewalk sale, and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for those who qualify.
“This is a way for the Soulsville Foundation to re-engage with the community after the past year-plus of closing temporarily at various times, canceling most in-person events, and many of us living in isolation,” says Soulsville Foundation Communications Director Tim Sampson. “We hope this will be a fun, entertaining, informative, and productive event that will finally allow us to all come together in person.”
As an added bonus, the Stax Museum will be open and offer free admission to all attendees during the celebration. That’s solid.
Solid Gold Soulsville: A Celebration of the Music and Community at the Global Capital of Soul, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, 926 E. McLemore, Friday, Aug. 6, 6-8 p.m., free.
