On Sept. 19, 2025, Brighton High School’s Music Humanities class took a trip to Detroit to tour the different music attractions there. The central attraction was the Motown Museum, famously known as “Hitsville USA” for the music it produced and its rich musical history.
Music Humanities focuses on the culture and history of music, along with specific artists who made a big difference in the music industry, so the trip to Motown served as a relevant bridge to the class’ studies.
“I love exposing students to different kinds of music that they would not normally listen to,” said Mrs. Jennifer Kegner, the Music Humanities teacher.
Motown Records was founded by African Americans and was the inspiration for many different artists. Motown exposed people to many different types of music, from blues to gospel. For a while, it was a major musical and cultural hub, as it owned many things, including the school next door, where many artists from Motown got their education.
Motown Records owned the entire neighborhood surrounding it. Motown was able to help many artists, but the neighborhood was just as important to them. Some of the artists that the students learned about included the Temptations, the Supremes, Marvin Gay and even Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five, who started at Studio A.
“Students did get to see Michael Jackson’s gloves. The fedora wasn’t [there] for repair,” said senior Ava Merchant, attended the trip.
This school trip served as an opportunity for the students to see what they were learning about in person. It allowed them to experience the art and culture that exists in Detroit, which Kenger said was an important element of it.
“I also like for them to see Detroit and have the confidence to go back and visit Detroit again,” Kegner said.
The whole trip was a learning opportunity for the Music Humanities students at BHS to see history, have new experiences and create memories.
