Dozens of bassists will converge on Detroit's Motown Museum campus Saturday for Detroit Bass Day 2026, a free event running from noon to 4 p.m. that culminates in a mega-jam featuring 40 bassists playing in tandem. The gathering, long anchored on the front lawn of Hitsville, U.S.A., has relocated this year to the museum's new annex, the Esther Gordy Edwards Centre for Excellence, at 2550 W. Grand Blvd.
According to the Detroit Free Press, bassists will first gather at noon for a group photo at Hitsville, U.S.A., before heading over to the Edwards Centre for the rest of the day's programming. The move mirrors a larger shift underway at the museum, which paused guided tours of the original Hitsville buildings in January as part of a $75 million expansion effort, redirecting public events and community programs to the neighboring facility instead.
Detroit Bass Day was founded in 2013 and has grown steadily since, according to the Free Press. Organizer Kern Brantley, a Detroit native who has toured the world as a bassist and music director for artists including Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and Destiny's Child, conceived the event while touring with Lady Gaga's band, per his SoundBetter profile. Brantley has said he wanted the day to honor James Jamerson, the Motown session bassist whose playing inspired the event's original concept.
A Legend's Instrument, Reborn
James Jamerson played on thousands of records during his career as a member of Motown's house band, the Funk Brothers, and Wikipedia notes he appeared on 23 Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits and 56 Billboard R&B number-one hits — remarkable given that Motown didn't list session musician credits on its record jackets until 1971. Rolling Stone ranked Jamerson No. 1 on its 2020 list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 2000 as part of its inaugural sidemen category.
Jamerson's own 1962 Precision Bass, nicknamed The Funk Machine and used on recordings including “My Girl” and “What's Going On,” was stolen from his Los Angeles home shortly before his death in August 1983 at age 47, according to Reverb. It has never been recovered. At Saturday's event, Jamerson's widow, Annie Jamerson, will present one of Fender's new replica instruments — a tribute Precision Bass the company officially released in June, priced at $2,999.99, with a 3-Tone Sunburst Heirloom nitrocellulose lacquer finish and flat-wound strings, as reported by Bass Magazine.
Honoring an Arranger's Legacy
This year's icon award, the event's second annual, goes to Paul Riser, the arranger who joined Motown Records at age 17 and later won a 1973 Grammy Award alongside The Temptations for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for his work on “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone,” per the Recording Academy. Bootsy Collins received the inaugural icon award and was the guest of honor at last year's Detroit Bass Day, the Free Press reports. Brantley has said Paul Riser has done much for the Detroit music community, and Riser will be honored Saturday with a performance of the very song that earned him his Grammy.
Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone” was first recorded by The Undisputed Truth in May 1972 before The Temptations released their now-iconic 12-minute version later that year, a recording that won three Grammy Awards and topped the Billboard Hot 100. The Temptations Revue, led by Paul Williams Jr., will be part of the ensemble performing the song as part of the group jam, joining the roster of psychedelic soul selections planned for the 40-bassist finale.
Solo Sets and Community Awards
Beyond the mega-jam, the day includes solo performances from Red Campbell, Emily Rogers and Brad Russell. Bassist appreciation awards will also go to Ivan Williams, Bishop Edgar Vann and Ralphe Armstrong, recognizing figures who have contributed to Detroit's bass and music community over the years.
Exhibit Ties Event to Museum's Bigger Story
The psychedelic soul theme running through Saturday's group jam connects directly to the Edwards Centre's current featured exhibit, which will be open for tours Saturday alongside the concert programming. The exhibit marks the late-1960s and early-1970s period when Motown's sound turned funkier and more experimental — the same era that produced “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone.” Hoodline previously reported on the exhibit's April opening, which runs through September 27.
That exhibit sits inside a museum campus mid-transformation. The Motown Museum is in the midst of a $75 million expansion that will grow its footprint from 10,000 to nearly 50,000 square feet, adding a 40,000-square-foot facility with the Ford Motor Company Theater, interactive exhibits and recording studios, according to the Associated Press. Guided tours of the original Hitsville buildings remain paused until spring 2027 while construction continues, with the Edwards Centre carrying the load of public programming in the meantime — Detroit Bass Day's relocation this year being a direct product of that shift.
