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The Indiana Music History Project plans to expand its presence at a Flanner Buchanan Funeral Center in Broad Ripple by opening an event space on the building’s main floor.
Since 2023, the nonprofit focused on preserving the legacies of Indiana musicians has operated a public gallery in the basement of the Flanner Buchanan building, 1305 Broad Ripple Ave.
The 1,000-square-foot event space, to be known as the IMHP Lounge, will debut June 25 with a celebration of Global Beatles Day—a holiday founded in 2009 by Indianapolis resident Faith Cohen.
The Global Beatles Day observance, an all-ages event scheduled 4-8 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting set for the lounge at 5:30 p.m., will include performances by musicians Tim Brickley and Wendy Reed.
Tom Fontaine, an Indianapolis-based collector of Beatles memorabilia, will display items during the event.
June 25 marks the anniversary of the Beatles’ first live performance of “All You Need is Love” during a global telecast in 1967.
Rick Wilkerson, executive director of the Indiana Music History Project, said the IMHP Lounge will host community events, music showcases and cultural exhibits.
“This is more than a celebration of the Beatles,” Wilkerson said in a written statement. “It’s about celebrating the peace, unity, and music that they inspired, and doing it right here in the heart of Broad Ripple where Indiana’s music history continues to grow.”
Bruce Buchanan, CEO of Buchanan Group, parent company of Flanner Buchanan Funeral Centers, serves as board chair for the Indiana Music History Project. Wilkerson credits Buchanan for providing space for the lounge and basement museum of sorts.
In addition to the public gallery that’s open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the basement space includes an archives room, a room where items are photographed and digitized and a room where audio recordings are digitized. A desk for processing donated items occupies a corner of the archives room.
Wilkerson, who operated Missing Link Records in Indianapolis from 1993 to 2008 and subsequently founded the shop that became Irvington Vinyl & Books, donated about 5,000 items to the Indiana Music History Project.
In March, the Jim Irsay Collection was announced as a sponsor of the history project’s efforts. The nonprofit is collecting oral histories from figures in Indiana music history, thanks to a grant from the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation Inc.
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