Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame eyes Marks for permanent 50,000-square-foot museum

Marks, in Quitman County, is listed as the planned site for a permanent National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame cultural campus and a 50,000-square-foot museum, according to the organization’s materials and a ground-site entry dated September 30, 2022. The hall’s promotional copy projects the complex could “bring over 250,000-500,000 tourists to the city of TBA and will bring more than 100 jobs,” language the group uses to pitch local economic benefits.

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founded in 2010 and is led by founder and CEO LaMont “ShowBoat” Robinson, who has operated the hall out of a Detroit office since 2014. The organization has inducted artists “for about a decade,” listing honorees such as Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, James Brown and Prince, and staged recent ceremonies in Detroit and Cleveland. The hall’s 2024 sold-out induction at the Marriott Cleveland East Music Hall on October 6, 2024 enshrined Jeffrey Osborne, Kenny Lattimore, Ginuwine, William Bell, Candi Staton, Regina Belle and Frankie Beverly.

Promotional materials for the Marks proposal describe a technology-driven exhibit program: the project “will be a high-tech state-of-the-art 50,000 sq. ft. highly interactive, virtual reality, 3D hologram experience center that will be the Disneyland of Music,” with a themed restaurant, a theater and a dedicated section on the history of hip-hop in America. The same materials outline a Hall of Fame gallery that would display “memorabilia and general information regarding the inducted recipients” and “plaques, awards, and sculptures” to “immortalize and enshrines many national and international stars, and political and business dignitaries.”

At the same time, founder LaMont Robinson has discussed pitching a museum to Michigan cities. Mjvibe reported Robinson “plans to meet with Bay City officials to discuss his plan for a $25 million museum” and has “shopped the concept to other Michigan cities, including Flint and Detroit.” Robinson told that outlet, “I think it would be a great draw, it would really really put Bay City even more on the map,” and added, “Bay City sits in a very, very strategic area for that if the city, state and community got behind it, it could be one of the biggest attractions in the world.”

The sources present two parallel threads: a publicly stated plan identifying Marks as the ground site and separate outreach about a $25 million Bay City proposal. The organization’s promotional projection comparing local impact “like the Rock Hall dose in the city of Cleveland, OH and how the Country Music Hall of Fame does in Nashville, TN” remains aspirational; the hall has not released a detailed, site-specific budget or an independent economic impact study tied to Quitman County.

Key details remain to be confirmed before construction could proceed: whether NRBHOF holds site control or signed agreements for land in Marks since the Sept. 30, 2022 ground-site entry; the definitive project budget for Marks versus the $25 million figure reported for Bay City; and licensing arrangements for technology-driven presentations, including any hologram or virtual-representation rights for artists such as Michael Jackson, referenced in Mjvibe coverage as a possible inclusion. Until NRBHOF and local officials provide documentation of funding, land agreements and a construction timeline, the Marks proposal stands as an identified site with ambitious projections but without confirmed commitments.