Stax launches membership drive

Photo by Karen Pulfer Focht // Buy this photo

Travel and performance opportunities are part of the Stax Music Academy learning experience. In July, Justin Hicks and Haley Harris were among the Stax students at Lincoln Center in New York City, getting the crowd to their feet doing the Funky Chicken.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is making a push to raise funds with its "Get Soul'd" membership drive.

The campaign, which runs through the end of October, is designed to reach out to local and national patrons. Membership funds help finance the museum, as well as the neighboring after-school program, the Stax Music Academy.

The past few months have been eventful for the students of the academy, as they've traveled to perform at concert events at Lincoln Center in New York City and at the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington.

In August, the Soulsville Foundation opened a 50,000-square-foot Soulsville Charter School building. Plans are underway for a second building expansion to open next year.

The membership campaign also comes as the museum is set to unveil several new interactive additions to the Stax tour, including a touch-screen "Soulsville Community Map," new listening stations at the "Hall of Records" and various Stax photo opportunities for visitors.

"We're trying to do more, offer more and become more interactive," said Soulsville communications director Tim Sampson. "We want to provide more variety with a changing gallery.

"We recently added a new Otis Redding exhibit, and we have some other permanent exhibits on tap that we think are going to be very well received."

Membership levels start at $50 and go up to $500 for one year. They include free admission to the museum during business hours and access to special members-only events.

For more information, go to staxmuseum.org.

-- Bob Mehr: (901) 529-2517

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