{"id":387891,"date":"2026-09-02T04:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T04:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387891\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T04:14:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T04:14:18","slug":"jacksonville-being-considered-for-permanent-home-of-national-rhythm-blues-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387891\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville being considered for permanent home of National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville is being considered as a potential permanent home for the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, according to the organization\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n

LaMont \u201cShowBoat\u201d Robinson, the founder, said the organization has inducted over 300 artists and contributors, including Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Whitney Houston, Prince, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.<\/p>\n

The other cities being considered are Jackson, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; Detroit, Michigan; and Augusta, Georgia.<\/p>\n

Robinson also announced that Dolly Parton will be inducted into the Hall\u2019s 2027 class as a contributor. In 2023, she told Audacy in an interview <\/a>that she would make an R&B album for her 50th studio album if she was inducted into the National R&B Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacksonville has the population, tourism economy, cultural diversity and national accessibility to build a world-class destination celebrating the music that changed America and influenced the world,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cThis could become a powerful cultural and economic legacy for Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacksonville has deep ties to the Chitlin Circuit with LaVilla being called the \u201cHarlem of the South.\u201d It featured artists like soul pioneer Ray Charles, who attended the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, and Ma Rainey, who is considered to be the \u201cMother of the Blues.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the data from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2024, Jacksonville has a population of over one million and had over eight million visitors.<\/p>\n

The organizers said those numbers demonstrate the potential for a permanent museum and its annual Music Hall of Fame Weekend for tourism, economic activity and job creation.<\/p>\n

Watch the promotional video created by the R&B Hall of Fame below.<\/p>\n

The National R&B Hall of Fame is currently based in Detroit, but hosts an annual induction weekend attended by artists, music-industry leaders, and fans from across the U.S. and abroad.<\/p>\n

No final location has been selected, but the board said it\u2019s considering which city can provide the strongest partnership, funding structure, and commitment to preserving the legacy of rhythm and blues.<\/p>\n

Robinson said that he shared a proposal with Visit Jacksonville and a person from the City of Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson from the City of Jacksonville said the R&B Hall of Fame had an introductory meeting with Visit Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great idea with lots of potential. An introductory meeting has been held with our partners at Visit Jacksonville, but we\u2019re still at the first step in a long consideration process that will require many more details and discussions. Additionally, no commitments can be made before Florida voters make their decision about the property tax amendment in the November election. Projects like this will not be possible if the city budget becomes extremely limited.\u201d<\/p>\n

City of Jacksonville<\/p>\n

News4JAX also reached out to Visit Jacksonville and is waiting for a response.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville is being considered as a potential permanent home for the National Rhythm & Blues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[104,116,118,117],"class_list":["post-387891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-entertainment","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}