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Kirsten & Kirk West

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From January of 1970 until early 1973, the Grand Tudor-style mansion at 2321 Vineville Avenue in Macon, Georgia served as the communal hub around which the family and musical world of the Allman Brothers Band revolved. With three stories, 6,000 square feet, 18 rooms, a spacious kitchen, glorious bay windows, and an inviting front porch, it became known as the “Big House,” and the members of the band and its extended family truly turned it into a home filled with love, friendship, and brotherhood. They lived there, rehearsed there, wrote songs there, raised their children there, partied there – it was their castle, their sanctuary from the madness of rock and roll. The Big House is where it all began for the Allman Brothers, and for over a decade, Kirk and Kirsten West have kept the dreams and memories of those early days alive. They purchased the house in 1993, and turned it into a living museum with a one-of-kind archival collection, a haven for fans and, most importantly, a home in the true spirit of the Brotherhood.

The time has come, however, for Kirk and Kirsten to leave the Big House, but they want to continue what they have created so that for years to come, fans of the ABB can still visit and get a feel for the history and tradition that permeates this 105-year-old house. Accordingly, a wonderful and distinguished group of caring, concerned and dedicated friends and associates have come together to form the Big House Foundation. Their goal is quite simple, but extremely challenging: to keep the Big House and its treasured archival collection intact, and open it to the public as the Allman Brothers Band Museum. Future plans include computer access to all documents, photos and other items from the archives, as well as hands-on, interactive displays. In addition, a musical education program for children will be a cornerstone of the Allman Brothers Band Museum, as all the members of the ABB recognize the difference music can make in the lives of young people, and how it helps to promote multi-cultural unity and understanding in our country. Therefore, the educational program will include complimentary field trips for students to the Big House, during which they will be treated to question and answer seminars and instructional lessons from prominent guest artists, all in the name of furthering musical awareness in the youth of America. This, of course, takes a great deal of money, and here’s where you come in. Any contribution will be acknowledged by a collectable thank-you card, while $25.00 or more gets you the card, as well as a “Friend of the Big House” window sticker. Donors of $100.00 or more will receive a Big House Foundation T-shirt, and $500.00 or more will give you a personally engraved brick that will literally help pave the road that goes on forever. Various-sized contributions beyond that get you different brick arrangements or placements. A $5,000.00 gift will entitle you to an engraved brick, an invitation to the Grand Opening of the Allman Brothers Band Museum, and your own gold CD that will be permanently displayed in the museum. Any amount that you give will be greatly appreciated, of course, and since the Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 public charity, all donations are tax deductible.

There are a lot of worthy causes out there, and people are always raising funds for one thing or another, but if the music of the Allman Brothers Band has been part of your life’s soundtrack, then it’s a no brainer – support this foundation, and help guarantee that the legacy of the Allman Brothers Band will be suitably preserved. With your generosity, fans will be able to sit on the front porch where Duane Allman and Berry Oakley spent countless hours together, and walk up the same steps as Butch Trucks, Jaimoe and Chuck Leavell once did. You’ll be in the house that inspired Gregg Allman to write “Please Call Home,” and hear the Sunday morning bells that forever ring out in Dickey Betts’ “Blue Sky,” so we invite your participation in this very special project.

Sincerely,

The Big House Foundation Board of Directors

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