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All good things must come to an end.

All good things must come to an end. I am stepping down as president of the Collingwood Jazz & Blues Society and as producer of the Jazz & Blues at the Station series.
It seems like just a few weeks ago that Mark Redmond approached me with the idea of a mid-week summer Jazz series for Collingwood in 2007. After looking around we decided that the space behind the Museum would be a great venue.
We had lots of help from Doug Burn, Fred Jewer, and others.
Peter Dunbar, then Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture was instrumental in getting the series on its feet, his advice and guidance were invaluable.

Our first concert in 2007 featured the Fig Leaf Jazz Band and we had an audience of 65 fans, we were happy and amazed at the turnout.This summer of 2017 our outdoor concerts drew an average of over 500 fans while over 600 enthusiasts attended and danced at the July 5th “GRACE” concert.

Charlie Gudaitis will be taking the reigns for the 2018 series and will do a great job. Charlie is a Jazz and Blues music fan with a solid background in management and organizing.

Charlie will also be bringing the South Georgian Bay Music Foundation on board, an exciting new group of supporters.

We have been blessed by having a great group of local sponsors, our loyal fans, a great group of volunteers and wonderful support from the Town of Collingwood

Looking forward to summer 2018, bringing my lawn chair and enjoying the music, food and beverages at the Station on Wednesday evenings.
Frank McNulty

Good spots to visit for Jazz, Blues and R&B music fans.

I went on what’s become my annual spring trek to the the southern US and decided to visit some music museums along the way there and back.

First stop on the way was at the Motown Museum located at 2648 West Grand Blvd. in Detroit.

The building is the original house purchased by Berry Gordy Jr. where he lived with his wife and kids upstairs while the rest of the house was used as the recording studio and offices of his new business.

As the popularity of the Motown music soared Berry and his family moved out and the company took over the whole house which was then named “Hitsville”.

Gordy purchased the houses on either side and eventually the company owned 5 adjacent houses on West Grand Blvd.

The Museum is in the original house now connected to the the house next door and tours are run several times a day.

The neighbourhood is very clean, orderly and unthreatening, the Museum is several blocks off the freeway and easy to find by Google map and following the signs.

The tour lasts about an hour and is conducted by enthusiastic tour guides who are worth the the price of admission themselves with many humorous anecdotes, outbursts of songs which become sing alongs and an answer for every question asked.

If you plan on visiting the Motown Museum it’s probably best to read a bit first about what was one of the great music stories of our lives. “Motown” by Gerald Posner is a good place to start.

Check out  motown museum.org for more information.

 

Frank McNulty