The Big House - America's Finest new Rock'n'Roll Museum
by John Charles Griffin
Macon Music Ambassador
The much anticipated Allman Brothers Band Big House Museum in Macon, Georgia opened on Friday, December 4th with a V.I.P. preview dinner party featuring music by Jaimoe's Jasssz Band on the gazebo. The guest list included a who's who of longtime friends and family of the A.B.B. along with loyal patrons and local dignitaries.
The mood at the party was spiritually cosmic, filled with emotion and celebration by the 400 plus guests who later dined in a large heated tent on the Big House grounds.
After the preview party, guests shuttled over to Grant's Lounge for an enlightened after party with entertainment by the bluesy and rockin' Tinsley Ellis Band. Grant's was filled to the gills with the likes of Allman Brothers roadies Kim Payne and Red Dog Campbell along with Mama Louise Hudson, Carolyn Brown, Chank Middleton, Judi Petty, Alan Walden, Willie Perkins, Paul Hornsby, Jackie Avery, John Lyndon, and far too many legendary names in music history to mention.
Kirk and Kirsten West along with the Big House Staff and Board of Directors deserve a lot of credit having made sure that every detail for this world class rock'n'roll museum was followed to a tee. The exhibits include a vast collection of music memorabilia and
decor of rooms once occupied by Berry Oakley and Duane Allman plus the communal kitchen where Dickey Betts wrote "Blue Sky" and Greg Allman penned "Please Call Home."
Linda Oakley custom decorated the bedrooms with her special family touch and Galadrielle Allman, Duane's only child arrived in Macon a couple days early with approving smiles and visits to her dad's room and the nursery she once occupied.
The outside museum grounds include the original concrete bench adjacent to the beautifully restored Koi pond and waterfall in the side yard, plus the renovated Allman Brother's bike shed behind the house. The Big House has proven to be more than a museum. It depicts the soul and spirit of an era in which "The Road Goes on Forever."
A visit to the Big House Museum is like a "Blue Sky Sunday Morning." It is literally speaking "a blast from the past." Enlightenment is guaranteed !
Legendary Red Dog Campbell and BHM Board Member Donna Gentile O'Donnell
Big House Museum Director Greg Potter and loyal volunteer Jodie McNeil-Gooch at front desk welcome 1st Museum Customers on Saturday Dec. 5, 2009
Big House Foundation Youth Jam Group with Instructor Will Robinson, A.B.B. percussionist Mark Quinones, Instructor Wes Stephens, and Tour Mystic Kirk West. Community outreach and music in schools are a big part of the museum's mission.
The Big House Allman Brothers Band Museum, 2321 Vineville Avenue - Macon, GA 31210
Visit our Allman Brothers Band Six Degrees of Swampland Page
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