Modern tech, odes to the past. See inside Macon’s new Otis Redding Center to help youth

A massive new arts center in downtown Macon, named after the late soul legend Otis Redding, feels like a utopian Google headquarters, but for young musicians.

The $11.2 million Otis Redding Center for the Arts leans on the dichotomy of modern music-making technology and analog roots like vinyl records and acoustic instruments.

The Otis Redding Foundation, run by the singer’s family, never had its own physical hub for youth music programs until now, according to Kimberly Epps, the center director. She dreamed of a space like this as a kid before her music career took off.

“As somebody who was 13 years old getting into the music industry, people don’t give our young people enough credit, to think they have something to say, that they want to express themselves,” the Grammy Award winner and American Idol semifinalist told The Telegraph.

The 15,000-square-foot glass and white-walled modern facility stands out beside historic buildings that surround it on Cherry Street, Cotton Avenue and First Street Lane.

Students can roam through the two-story building, which includes an indoor-outdoor amphitheater, music classes and practice rooms, a song writing lounge and a recording studio.

The center is loaded with culture from Redding’s 1960s era and beyond. Some shelves hold used music books with some even having old notes written inside.

Walls are decked with Otis Redding plaques, autographed memorabilia, encouraging painted phrases and vinyls. A lot of vinyls.

A record player sits in almost every room. Most of the vintage records are by iconic Black artists, and passed down through generations.

Epps said this was an intentional detail to show youth what came before them.

“There’s something about picking out the record you want, taking it out of the sleeve, placing it on the record player, pulling up the arm and dropping the needle,” Epps said. “It adds an additional element of care for the music and listening experience, versus just saying, ‘Hey Siri, play whatever.’”

Beginner to advanced students ages 5-18 years old have access to around 250 pianos, trumpets, violins, trombones, drums and other percussion instruments.

“Top notch” celebrity and renowned musicians will teach students how to play instruments, mix and record audio, write lyrics, and read and create sheet music, Epps said. She didn’t tease who would instruct upcoming lessons, but Slash was a major guest last year, before the Otis Redding Foundation had a permanent physical home.

“They go home and they’re like, ‘My mom almost fell on the floor when I told her that,’” Epps said, laughing. “I’m like, ‘Just you wait little buddy.’”

Individual memberships cost between $146 per month to $916 per semester. Group lessons are available for $104 per month. Some individual workshops will be free, and scholarships are available.

A music-writing lounge includes an arcade booth that hooks up to instruments and lets players mix beats in a video game.

The lounge was inspired by the Delta Airlines Sky Club, with relaxing and thought-provoking primary-colored furniture and distorted glass windows that make you forget what lies outside.

“They can come in and decompress and collaborate on different things,” Epps said. “Sometimes we’re all running around the building and you’ll find (students) just sitting up here creating something.”

Two hallways at each end of the second floor sort of float in the air. A glass window gives them a birds-eye view of the first floor and outdoor stage. Inside the halls lie two human-sized, egg-shaped nooks with surround sound speakers that block exterior noise while sitting inside.

Once students are ready to solidify a track, they can head downstairs to a professional audio control room and recording studio designed by Neils Kastor – an engineer behind studios for Katy Perry, P!nk and Dr. Dre, to name a few.

Methodical details down to a raised concrete floor, low ceiling, natural stone walls and wooden angled spheres capture the crispest sound.

“The sound is absorbed and bounces around in the way that it should,” Epps said. “I’ve recorded in a ton of beautiful places across the country, but you will be hard pressed to find one better than this.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 12:33 PM.