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Museum Hours

  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 10am-6pm
  • Thursday: 10am-6pm
  • Friday: 10am-6pm
  • Saturday: 10am-6pm
  • Sunday: 10am-6pm

We are closed on New Years Day, Memorial Day, Easter Sunday, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve

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Motown Museum is the beating heart of the extraordinary Motown legacy—a destination that brings together people and ideas from different generations, and celebrates the past while simultaneously building a bridge to the future.

About Motown Museum

To ensure our vast collection maintains public visibility, and to keep things fresh for our guests, Motown Museum changes its main gallery exhibit 1-2 times per year. Here is what’s currently showing at our museum.

Current Exhibit

Motown Museum transports you into an era of musical magic. From the moment you step on the plaza, you’ll be immersed in the Motown sound and will experience a profound sense of history.

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Hitsville NEXT Programs

Our uniquely curated community programs emphasize education, entrepreneurship and equity—with experiences, mentoring and exposure that nurtures and elevates tomorrow’s history makers. Museum programs cultivate creativity and entrepreneurship in budding talent, allowing great art, big ideas and innovation to flourish.

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application Open

Lyric Project


Ages 14-18 | June 18 – 28

Lyric Project is a two-week workshop that helps students learn about songwriting, music production, and communicating powerful and authentic emotions through music...

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Ignite Summer Camp
application Open

Ignite Summer Camp


9 - 12 Grade | July 9 - 19

Ignite is a two-week program designed for high school-aged singers who want to take their musical talents to the next level...

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application Open

Spark Summer Camp


6 – 8 Grade | August 6 - 16

For middle-school students passionate about music, we offer Spark, a day camp that helps students write and perform music together...

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Events

From memorable galas and concert performances, to community celebrations and educational programs, we host a range of special events throughout the year.

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AMPLIFY: The Sound of Detroit Grand Finale


March 16, 2024

Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts

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Private Events

Interested in hosting your own event at Motown?

Facility Rental

Motown Legacy

As an irresistible force of social and cultural change, the legendary Motown portfolio made its mark not just on the music industry, but society at large, with a signature Motown Sound that has become one of the most significant musical accomplishments and stunning success stories of the 20th century.

Discover The Legacy

Like many other African Americans in the early 20th century, Berry Gordy, Sr. and his wife, Bertha Fuller Gordy, came North from Georgia to find a better life for themselves and their family.

Gordy Family

Motown is an extended family of some of the most iconic and influential artists, musicians and songwriters of our time. Brought together by destiny through their love for making music, they found themselves making history.

Motown Artists

The culmination of years of planning, hard work and generous contributions from dedicated donors, the highly anticipated, $50 million Motown Museum expansion project will grow the museum campus to a 50,000-square-foot world-class entertainment and education tourist destination.

Expansion

Support Motown Museum

When you contribute to the Motown Museum, you become part of a rich musical and cultural legacy. We are a 501(c)(3) not for profit, tax-exempt organization in Detroit.

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Partnership Opportunities

Giving Guide

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Museum Hours

  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 10am-6pm
  • Thursday: 10am-6pm
  • Friday: 10am-6pm
  • Saturday: 10am-6pm
  • Sunday: 10am-6pm
Contact Us

Museum memberships are an investment in the preservation and conservation of our historic legacy. Become A Member

AMPLIFY: the Sound of Detroit Finale

March 15, 2023

Gem Theatre Detroit

Emerging Detroit artists auditioned for the chance to win $5,000 cash prize, performance opportunities, engagement with Motown Records Label executives, studio time, mentorship session with world renowned Musical Director, Kern Brantley and more! Out of all the applicants, only ten finalists were selected and spent eight weeks of mentoring, coaching and artist development to help prepare them for their grand finale performance.


 

Hosted by
Doug E. Fresh

Doug E. Fresh (born Douglas E. Davis, 17 September 1966, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is an American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer. One of the earliest beatboxers (and still seen as one of the best), Fresh is able to imitate drum machines and various special effects with often startling accuracy. Fresh’s early records are out of print, and have never been released on compact disc; thus original records can command high prices.

He was born in St. Thomas, but came to the United States with his family when he was young.

His recording debut was 1983’s single “Pass the Budda,” also featuring Spoonie Gee and DJ Spivey. However, Fresh’s breakthrough was 1984’s “Beat Street” behind the Treacherous Three. That same year saw Fresh’s debut as a solo artist with the singles “Just Having Fun” and “Original Human Beatbox”.

Fresh became a major rap star in 1985. His single “The Show/La Di Da Di,” is considered an early hip hop classic. The “Get Fresh Crew” was featured: DJs Barry B., Chill Will, and MC Ricky D (who would later achieve fame as Slick Rick).

In 1987, Fresh’s first full-length record was issued. Called Oh, My God!, this included a few more notable tracks such as (“Play This Only at Night” and “All the Way to Heaven”) and was critically hailed for incorporating elements of reggae and gospel music. The next year saw another long player, The World’s Greatest Entertainer, which appeared on Billboard magazine’s charts due in part to a popular single, “Keep Risin’ to the Top”. Slick Rick’s input was not appreciated by their joint record label, Fantasy Records, and he was asked to leave the group. However, subsequently Slick Rick released his own solo debut The Great Adventures of Slick Rick on Def Jam, to big success.

Fresh did not record again until 1992’s Doin’ What I Gotta Do, issued by MC Hammer’s Bust It Records. Rap had changed appreciably in the interim, and Fresh seemed a little lost. The record performed poorly.

In 1995, Slick Rick and Fresh reunited for a record entitled Play which found Fresh back on his feet. Play received positive reviews; Bret Love writes that the record is “a welcome flashback to the days when guns, drugs, sex and violence were not the genre’s primary lyrical focus.”[1]

In the late 1990s, Fresh collaborated with Prince on a number of recordings, notably Newpower Soul and the “1999, the New Master” EP. Recently, Fresh has appeared on VH1’s I Love the 80s.

Discography

1985 – Oh, My God! (Reality)
1988 – The World’s Greatest Entertainer (Reality)
1992 – Doin’ What I Gotta Do (Bust It)
1995 – Play (Gee Street)
1996 – Alright (Gee Street)

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Meet the finalists

Alaina Rose

Alaina Rose

Eric Brown

Eric Brown

Jack Williams

Jack Williams III

Marissa Conniff

Marissa Conniff

Tozzi

Tozzi

Jannah G

Jannah G

Tavion Knight

Tavion Knight

Ms. Nikell

Ms. Nikell

Nora B

Nora B

Drey Skonie


This event is proudly supported by

PepsiChaseNational Endowment of the ArtsMonat GratitudeHuntington BankTHE ELAINE STERN FOUNDATION

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