Detroit’s historic historic Blue Bird Inn is inching closer to reopening after the Detroit Sound Conservancy, which officially purchased the jazz club back in 2019, received a grant of $1.9 million from the Mellon Foundation, according to Detroit Metro Times.
“We are profoundly grateful to Detroit’s legacy of cultural champions who have paved the way for this substantial philanthropic support,” Jonah Raduns-Silverstein, DSC Director of Operations, said in a press release. “After years of work and advocacy, The Blue Bird Inn will once again become a welcoming home for Detroit’s ongoing musical story. These resources allow us to fully restore the Bird to its historic, sonic, and cultural excellence.”
Once reopened, the Blue Bird Inn will again take it’s place as a music venue, and will also become a cultural heritage center and space for community programming.
The venue once housed events where jazz legends like John Coltrane and Miles Davis performed.
“We will support community-based activism and tell untold stories,” Michelle Jahra McKinney, DSC Director and Director of Collections, says. “We will empower our community and support our partners to join with us, supporting our efforts to preserve, make accessible, and secure Detroit’s true gift to the world: our music!”
