The Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame has announced details for ‘Beats On The Streets,’ one of two new displays that will be part of the exhibit’s expansion at the Historical Museum of Bay County.
Visitors to downtown Bay City during the summer of 2024 discovered 10 upright, double-sided signs bearing the images and biographies of 20 Michigan inductees to the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. The display, scattered on sidewalks throughout downtown, was the result of cooperation among the Downtown Management Board, the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame, the Bay County Historical Society, Golden Gallery, and Jolt Credit Union. 
The 20 artists ran the gamut in both era and genre. From bluesman John Lee Hooker to protopunks MC5, rap sensation Eminem, ? and The Mysterians, and a bevy of Motown artists including The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder were displayed on large posters along city streets. The depth of the Mitten State’s music legacy, which also included major rock artists such as Bob Seger, Grand Funk Railroad, Alice Cooper, and the White Stripes, was on display in downtown Bay City from late June until after Labor Day.
The goal of the project was to help people recognize the important role Michigan had, and still has, in the ongoing history of rock and roll music and to call attention to the Bay County Historical Society’s Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame exhibit. It was also a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when local government, non-profit organizations, and private sector businesses work together to create something both impressive and impactful. 
The Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame exhibit at the museum will be highlighting this creative endeavor as part of its expansion into the building’s second-floor hallway. Work on this new display should be completed sometime this summer.
Thanks to MLive’s Cole Waters for text and photos.
