Otis Redding Foundation to celebrate new center’s groundbreaking with concerts
Otis Redding’s impact on Macon is pronounced, and the “King of Soul’s” legacy has been carried on for generations by his family.
That legacy will be further cemented soon in perhaps the most fitting way yet: the foundation of a new performance space for young musicians.
The Otis Redding Foundation presented a revised plan for their proposed Redding Center for the Arts to the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday and will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the center this Friday. The new arts center was announced in February and will contain a recording studio, music labs and performance areas for young musicians in Macon.
“This will have our recording studio and, most importantly, an amphitheater space so that the kids can perform either indoor or outdoor,” said Karla Redding-Andrews, vice president and executive director of the Otis Redding Foundation. “I think that’s the most exciting part about the space, is the exciting amphitheater.”
The center’s groundbreaking kicks off a weekend of events celebrating Redding’s birthday that includes a concert featuring Robert Glasper, Mickey Guyton and others Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
“We’ve done this every significant birthday from my father, but this time it’s truly special having artists like Robert Glasper and Mickey Guyton,” Redding-Andrews said. “For those artists to come into our community and celebrate the legacy of Otis Redding means the world to us.”
Another concert, The Big “O” Homecoming Show, is scheduled for Sept. 10 and will feature The War and Treaty, Monophonics and others. The foundation is also premiering a new beer with Piedmont Brewery, dubbed “Mr. Pitiful’s Pilsner,” on Sept. 8 at the downtown restaurant.
The design for the arts center has undergone changes recently, according to Redding-Andrews. The tweaks to the proposed two-story, 11,000 square-foot center come after P&Z members voiced concerns about the center’s modern design not matching the historic impression of the area surrounding its plot on Cotton Avenue.
Redding-Andrews said the concerns have actually helped improve the center’s design.
“I think it’s just incredible and fits right in with the auditorium, with Hotel 45, with everything that’s right here,” she said. “We were already in the process of thinking, ‘How can we make this better? How can we make this really fit in this historical space.’ So we withdrew the application to make some tweaks, some minor tweaks and changes to the building.”
Otis Redding Celebration Schedule:
Friday, September 9, 2022 - 11:00 am
Groundbreaking for the new Otis Redding Center for The Arts
436 Cotton Avenue, Macon, GA 31201
Friday, September 9, 2022 – 7:00 pm
“An Evening of Respect”
Grand Opera House
651 Mulberry Street, Macon, GA 31201
Saturday, September 10, 2022 – 7:00 pm
“The Big ‘O’ Homecoming”
Hargray Capitol Theatre
382 Second Street, Macon, GA 31201
