Devon Allman has predicted a bright future for the US National Blues Museum after it opened in St Louis, Missouri, at the weekend.
He’s a member of the board who steered the project from concept to launch over a five-year period.
The museum offers access to historical exhibits alongside interactive experiences, including the chance for visitors to record their own blues music during their visit.
Allman tells St Louis Public Radio: “It’s in a great location. We have space for special events – we’re going to have concerts inside the venue, so there will be a lot of different incentives to get people in there.
“We hope that, as word spreads, it’ll attract people. There’s a certain clip we’re going to need per year to get in there, and I think we’ll hit that.”
He compares the museum to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and argues that it can do for St Louis what the older venue did for its home town.
“That really put them on the map from an artistic angle,” he says. “That’s a city that was rich in history with steelworkers, the sports teams, and that was about it. They got the Hall Of Fame and their downtown flourished.
“St Louis has a rich history of blues music – Albert King, Ike and Tina Turner, Chuck Berry. Even Miles Davis played a form of blues with his jazz music. I think it makes sense geographically.”
