John Lee Hooker Foundation Returns to Detroit for Its First Life & Legacy Celebration

Honoring a musical legacy while empowering youth through music, education, and cultural enrichment.

What John Lee Hooker created in this great city changed music forever

night of live blues, storytelling, and Detroit soul honoring the legend who built his sound in the city

"Our mission is to uplift communities through music education and cultural preservation, and to create opportunities for young people to discover their own voice,"”

— Zakiya Hooker

DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The John Lee Hooker Foundation will host its Inaugural Life & Legacy Celebration on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at Aretha's Jazz Cafe in Detroit. The evening of live performances, storytelling, and tribute marks the Foundation's return to the city where John Lee Hooker built the raw, hypnotic sound that shaped generations of musicians around the world. The Foundation intends the celebration to become its signature annual fundraiser.

August 22nd is also Hooker's birthday. He would have turned 109.

Hooker arrived in Detroit in 1943 during the Great Migration. It was here that his music took the form the world came to know. The Foundation, started by the Hooker family in December 2001, the year of his death, carries that legacy forward through music, education, and cultural programs for young people. This is its first major event in Detroit, and the Foundation is using the night to build toward a new youth music and technology program it hopes to launch in the city.

"We're coming back to where it all started for me and my family," said Glenn T. Thomas Jr., Hooker's grandson and CEO of John Lee Hooker Legacy Spirits. "My family started this foundation in 2001 to introduce the blues to a new generation through our Blues In The School program. Now we want to expand that here in Detroit, teaching kids not just
music but technology, and making sure the younger generation understands who John Lee Hooker was and what he means to this city."

"Our mission is to uplift communities through music education and cultural preservation, and to create opportunities for young people to discover their own voice," said Zakiya Hooker, John Lee Hooker's daughter and Executive Director of the Foundation, who is also a featured performer at the celebration.

The evening opens at 6:00 p.m. with a VIP hour featuring a Boogie Chillen Bourbon tasting from John Lee Hooker Legacy Spirits, soul food from Fixin's, and a swag bag with a handmade gift. General admission begins at 7:00 p.m. The program runs through 10:00 p.m. and includes a featured showcase of blues artists, a presentation on the Foundation's work, family legacy remarks, and an all-artist closing jam.

The night also features a silent auction centered on a Gibson ES-335, the guitar model synonymous with Hooker's sound. Gibson donated the instrument to the Foundation, and every dollar raised goes toward its youth programs. Bidding starts at $3,250 and is open now through the Foundation's auction page.

The lineup features Zakiya Hooker, Tosha Owens, Smoke Jones, Lady Champagne, Jimmy D. Scott, Rondell Hooker, Lynn Marie, and Dejeana Burkes.

The celebration is presented in partnership with Aretha's Jazz Cafe, Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Black Spirits Legacy, and John Lee Hooker Legacy Spirits.

Proceeds support the Foundation's youth arts and education programs.

EVENT DETAILS
-Date: Saturday, August 22, 2026
-VIP Experience: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
-General Admission: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
-Venue: Aretha's Jazz Cafe, 350 Madison Street, Detroit, MI 48226
-Tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-john-lee-hooker-inaugural-life-legacy-celebration-registration-19919 21847868
-Silent Auction (Gibson ES-335):
www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/inaugural-life-and-legacy-celebration

ABOUT THE JOHN LEE HOOKER FOUNDATION
Founded by the Hooker family in 2001, the John Lee Hooker Foundation honors the legacy of the blues legend through music, education, and community programs for youth. Its flagship Blues In The School program brings instruments, curriculum, and working musicians into under-resourced schools and community organizations. EIN 68-0477539.

Anthony Reed
John Lee Hooker Foundation
+1 404-953-8992
email us here
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