Vehicles filled every space at Hal and Mal’s parking lot, forcing the surplus of enthused patrons into the Martin’s Downtown lot next door. It was almost 9 p.m. on January 14, and the doors to Jackson Indie Music Week’s “The Culture Rap Concert” had opened an hour earlier. Upon entrance, Black women of a variety of skin complexions and styles of apparel greeted me in the front lobby with warmth and compliments on my big, blue afro.

Bass reverberated through the music venue. After moving past the bar, we made it to the main stage. It was dark, and a good number of people were already seated. Some sat on the rafters against the wall, while others chose tables near the back of the venue. Rapper Navihon was on stage, transitioning from one song to the next.

“I wake up; I’m winning. Get that check I’m spending. Paper like I print it. Rock expensive linen. No, I can’t lose; I’m winning,“ Navihon rapped.

‘How Can You Tour?’

Jackson native Navihon (the h is silent) comes from a musical family. His mother was a pianist and his father was a drummer and guitarist. The opening artist for the Jan. 14 concert began writing music in 1999, and after various features and mixtapes, he scored a big win in 2018 with his single “All the Way,” which gained national recognition.

That same year, the rapper started his own imprint company, Golden Mile Music Group Inc. In October 2021, he released his debut, 13-track album, “Golden,” some of which he performed in his set for Jackson Indie Music Week.

“Winning,” the 10th track off Navihon’s debut album, infectiously got the crowd dancing, offering support of the motivational song and hyping up the rapper.

While other performers brought energy to the stage by dancing or walking back and forth through the space, Navihon maintained a more reserved, laid-back yet still engaging stage presence—standing still with the mic in hand. His conviction and confidence carried through his hand gestures, which emphasized the stories he told through his music. He taps into the emotions woven into his rapping, and that’s what matters most.

Jackson Indie Music Week Founder Brad Franklin spoke highly of Navihon, noting how appreciative the artist was to take the stage at his first Indie Week show. The rapper attended every event to support other artists and be part of the scene, Franklin said.

“It’s difficult to get people to put you on stage around here, if you don’t have the knowledge (on how to do so),” Franklin told the Mississippi Free Press. “One of the things that we try to teach is, how can you put those together for yourself? How can you tour? How do you start getting yourself on stages? What’s the process of talking to promote?”

The local music scene in Jackson has grown exponentially in the seven years since Franklin first presented the idea for the event to a group of people at OffBeat in November 2015, the founder said.

“I like to think selfishly that we have had a hand in helping what I like to call the creative ecosystem to grow in the city,” he said. “It’s gone from artists, producers and creatives kind of just gathering to show their talents … to actually being a viable means for people to support themselves and a viable means for people to monetize what it is that they do.”

Franklin, who was one-half of the rap duo Crooked Lettaz alongside David Banner, has traveled the world and gone to festivals like South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and A3C Festival in Atlanta, Ga. What he discovered was that the people who created these festivals, the talent and the resources were no different than what already existed in Mississippi.

“Mississippi is the birthplace of America’s music. So why in the hell would we not have a festival that highlights music in the birthplace of America’s music?” Franklin expressed. “It’s this time that we kind of seize that moniker, and we seize that narrative, and we run with it. We should be almost cocky to that effect.”

Mookey Montana’: Lively and Bright

Mookey Montana, who hit the stage right after Navihon, traveled from Dallas, Texas, to perform in his home city following the birth of his child the day before. His energy is just as lively and bright as his ensemble––a multicolored jacket with various patterns, symbols and letters, and joggers. His shades and long locs hide his face, but he commanded the stage, dancing and moving across it to the beat of his songs.

The artist mostly performed unreleased tracks, giving Jackson a nice preview of what he has on the horizon. The songs were catchy, groovy, varying between upbeat and slow-tempo, showcasing his range as he switched flows. Despite the fact that the audience could not sing along to these new tunes, Mookey Montana’s performance nonetheless galvanized the crowd.

“I saw them snakes in the grass had to cut it; I saw them snakes in the grass had to cut it,” Montana rapped to the crowd.

“Snakes,” from his 2019 album “Battlefield,” is a catchy, up-tempo tune where Montana addresses cutting people off who don’t mean him any good. The song’s production and lyrics are relatable, and his liveliness on stage enhances the experience, resonating with the crowd.

“Mookey is really dope. He’s got a really dope style. He moved to Dallas, started doing shows in Dallas, and started putting shows together in Dallas and inviting Jackson artists over,” Franklin said.

Growing up near downtown Jackson, Mookey Montana moved to Atlanta for a time, as the area is a hotbed for many up-and-coming rappers in the South. The oversaturation of artists pushed him to move to Dallas, where he found both love and success, which has in turn garnered a greater level of support from Mississippians entrenched in the indie-music scene.

Mookey’s goals are simple: He wants to be versatile—not just in rap, but in other areas of the industry, like music licensing.

Bigg Josh: ‘He’s Just Really Hungry’

Bigg Josh, one of the few performing artists with whom I was familiar, followed Mookey Montana. Possessing an impressive stature for which he chose his moniker, Bigg Josh caught my attention at rapper Dolla Black’s “4th Quarter Exchange” back in 2019, before masks became required facewear and more than 30 people could occupy a venue at a time without trepidation.

A little over two years later, his aesthetic, musicality and lyricism hit just as well as they did the first time I saw him. Dressed in a hoodie, overalls and cap, Bigg Josh painted a lyrical picture one minute of riding around Jackson, listing off landmarks and popular places around the city that only locals would recognize. In the next moment, he’s hyping the crowd with his bass-hugging song “Mississippi River,” which features a nice build of catchy bars from the emcee before the beat drops, bombarding listeners’ ears with bass, a love language of southern music.

”The river, the river, the river. Since birth, I been a lyrical killer. Got flow like the Mississippi, the Mississippi River,” Josh rapped.

The song, which released as part of his 2021 album “Southern Soul,” immediately yielded head nods and scrunched-up faces due to the combination of the hard-heating production, his flow and his lyrics. Bigg Josh was the first artist of the night to bring other Jackson artists on stage with him, sparking a chain reaction from later talent. Rapper Dono Vegas joined him to perform their song “To Be Honest.”

“I’ve been kind of watching him from afar,” Franklin said. “He’s just really hungry, and he’s attentive. He asks questions, and he wants to learn how to get better. He’s just a really mannerable, polite guy with good manners, and that’s going to take you far, especially dealing with me.”

Best In Going Great—that’s what the acronym “Bigg” in Bigg Josh signifies. The emcee started rapping in middle school at lunch tables and classrooms. Texas rappers like UGK, Big Hawk and Big Mo captured his attention, not only for their flow, but for their size.

“Beginning his journey as an overweight child, he set out to overcome his personal challenges through his music,” his Spotify biography reads. Bigg Josh released his first mixtape, “iGoLive,” in 2013, and he followed that project with “If Only They Knew” in 2019. Two years later, he released his debut, full-length album “Southern Soul” across streaming platforms.

Allie Baby: ‘The Only One’

New Orleans rapper Allie Baby held it down for the female emcees, representing them well with her lyricism and freestyle abilities. Dressed as casually as her male peers, she rocked jeans, a long-sleeve T-shirt and a letterman jacket that she removed later on.

At one point in her set, she really showcased her lyrical talent by rapping over several iconic hip-hop beats. From Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. II” to Lil Kim’s “Queen B*tch” to Big Sean’s “Blessed,” Allie Baby didn’t miss a beat, neither staggering nor pausing her flow as the songs continued to switch. The feat may not be new in the rap industry, but the accomplishment is no less amazing, especially in an area of music that casts so much doubt on female emcees regarding whether they write their own music.

She performed her newest single, “Throw It Back,” which is reminiscent of New Orleans bounce music, just slower. Her accent is prevalent when she rhymes, and there’s a raspiness to her voice that’s inviting and sexy, keeping in theme with the song.

“Cause I’m at peace while you wanna parlay. Body oils rub you down, Marven Gaye or Sade. I’m gifted n*gga,” she rapped.

Allie Baby got her start in music with hip-hop groups Black Lyce and G’s Up, which DJ Wild Wayne and rapper Lil Scrappy founded, respectively. Producer and DJ Mannie Fresh recognized her talents and signed her to his record label Chubby Boy Records from 2006 to 2008.

A studio session with producer Drumma Boy in Memphis led to Allie Baby’s breakout single “Yay,” and afterward she signed to her label Drum Squad Records from 2009 to 2014. She appeared in the 2013 film, “Must Be the Music” and she dropped her mixtape “Wifey” in 2015, which charted on the U.K. Hip Hop charts.

She has performed at festivals like SXSW and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Allie Baby’s music has been featured on Tyler Perry’s TV drama “The Have and the Have Nots,” and she has been featured in publications such as Sonic, The New Orleans Advocate and Complex.

“Allie is really dope,” Franklin said. “She’s an experienced artist. She was one of the first females to ever have her own Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama, so she’s kind of like a New Orleans legend.”

Franklin works with Allie under his company Hourglass Media Group. She has performed at Jackson Indie Music Week several times and has opened on tour for Dear Silas. One of the things Franklin seems to admire about her most is that she’s a female emcee who doesn’t use sex to sell her talent. He believes the paradigm in the industry shifts every three to five years and that with legends like rapper Mia X in Allie Baby’s corner, Allie Baby will be at the forefront of this new movement.

“I think that there is going to be a time very soon where the tide is going to turn, where people are going to start wanting to hear females who can actually spit and not necessarily have to sell their bodies or do provocative things to get people to listen,” he said.

Mississippi’s ‘Inferiority Complex’

Brad “Kamikaze” Franklin and David Banner were the second hip-hop group from Mississippi to get a major record deal as the rap group, Crooked Lettaz. They signed to Warner Brothers in 1999 and began traveling and performing around the world, the festival founder recounted.

Through their travels, the duo ran into different artists who were independent and making money—great money—without a record label. He and Banner learned the ropes, and the process inspired Franklin to start his own independent media company, Hourglass Media Group, in 2005.

“When I released my records independently from 2003 (to) 2007, I made more money on those albums than any time that I was on a major label at any point,” he said. “It was the thing that helped me to develop a vision.”

When he managed Jackson rapper Dear Silas, Franklin used his teachings to help him get a record deal with Sony, one that would keep him content and comfortable. Franklin said his passion is geared toward proving to people that Mississippi has talent that won’t be denied any longer.

“I think it’s just that inferiority complex that we are saddled with in Mississippi that tells us that we’re not good enough,” he said.

“If you’re not bold enough and proud enough to stick your chest out and talk about what you do, talk about where you’re from and talk about your scene in a positive fashion, … then you really shouldn’t be doing (it). And we talk confidently about this music scene here,” he added.

Jackson Indie Music Week shows people that they can be successful by mining the resources that are already available in Mississippi. The problem has never been a lack of talent, but rather access to information and knowledge in the music business, the founder said.

It’s for this reason that the annual seven-day event not only includes performances from independent artists but also features panels from professionals in the field. “We want to make sure that our artists, who are talented, are equipped with the information to be able to navigate the music industry,” Franklin said.

“I want them to be able to learn about how to navigate the music industry because that’s the only thing that has separated Mississippi from being able to take its rightful place at the top of the entertainment world,” he added. “Every music form outside of classical music or choral music has its beginnings somewhere in the state of Mississippi.”

Coke Bumaye: ‘The People’s Champ’

Performers for Jackson Indie Music Week must submit applications to be chosen, but Brad Franklin and his team book the headliners for different events. This year’s headliners for the hip-hop concert were Jackson rappers Coke Bumaye and Akeem Ali.

Wearing his Orlando Magic Shaquille O’Neal jersey and matching fitted cap, Coke Bumaye might as well have created magic with the control he carried over the crowd that night. He held the microphone close to his mouth, and grasped it tightly so that you could hear every word clearly and concisely. He’s very up close and personal with the receptive crowd, right near the edge. The energy exchanged between him and the audience fueled and hyped both.

“We taking it way, way, way, way, way, way up,” he recited as the crowd sang along with him.

“Waaay Up” comes from his 2020 album “Nobody Owes Me Nothing,” one of many projects under Bumaye’s belt. Coke was a nickname his mother would call him as a child, but one day, while watching an ESPN special with friends, he saw Muhammad Ali running through the streets as the crowd chanted “Bumaye.” He soon adopted the name, recognizing that despite the odds, the people were behind Ali.

Ordinary people inspire Bumaye’s music. He began writing music in 2008, and since then he has released a number of projects, including “If You Love Me Let Me Know” in 2015, “The Red Balloon Project” in 2016 and “Rise Above” in 2018. Bumaye uses music as a vehicle to express himself and reflect what he sees in his environment.

“You can’t say enough about Coke. I mean, you saw the connection that he has with the crowd. There are some people who are stars, but Coke is a superstar,” Franklin said. “And he’s a superstar because not only is the music dope, but his personality is infectious, and people are not just buying into his music. They are buying into him.”

Bumaye used the stage well, moving between both ends of the platform, and his passion was felt through the wild hand gestures he used to emphasize every lyric that entered the mic and broadcast over the crowd. At one point, Bumaye brought a fan onstage who says they got through a breakup by listening to his music.

Even as the DJ hiccupped and prematurely transitioned into the next song, Bumaye kept pace, preventing the vibe from becoming disrupted. When the audience’s cheers began to ebb, the artist called out to the crowd, “Y’all ain’t missed me?”—triggering an energetic response as he restarted the song.

Indeed, the audience must have missed him plenty, going on to ask for an encore after he finished his set.

“When he puts out music, he has a core fan base that is going to get that music,” Franklin remarked. “They’re going to know the words, and they’re going to recite the words to those songs, and they’re going to feel it. … He’s going to be great for years to come, and he’s going to always be a part of Jackson Indie Music Week in some form or fashion.”

‘Keemy Casanova’: Pushing Mississippi Narrative

Last, but definitely not least, was the smooth-talking, pimp-walking, keeps-a-razor-blade-just-in-case Keemy Casanova, better known to most as Mr. Akeem Ali. He’s made some alterations to his look, going from a short afro to waves.

He was almost unrecognizable until he stepped onto the stage and into the spotlight, rocking a tan-colored pantsuit with a white-collared shirt. His hype man and choreographer Javadric Kelly was wearing matching attire. The scene almost felt as if they’d stepped out of the 1970s and into 2022.

It was Akeem’s first live show in Jackson since he moved to Atlanta, Ga. Since going viral with his song and video “Keemy Casanova” in 2020, his newfound stardom has provided a wealth of opportunities for him.

He has performed on “The 85 South Comedy Show” with comedians Karlous Miller, Chico Bean and DC Youngfly. He performed for the 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend. HBO comedy series “Insecure” used his song “50 Lem Hunnits” featuring Jorge Amadeus, and he dropped his second project “D.E.A.D” in 2021.

“He’s a nice, humble guy who’s really talented. I think people understand how talented he is and the fact that he’s from Jackson,” Franklin said. “He’s over there (Atlanta) doing his thing, being around K.R.I.T. and helping to continue to push that Mississippi narrative. People are paying attention.”

Ali started his set off with “The Mack,” a track that feels like something out of a 1970s blaxploitation film, as he rhymes about being a mack, a player, a pimp. And he did this with choreography, shuffling from one side of the stage to the next along with Kelly. He did a few more songs, ending with “Keemy Casanova” before leaving the stage for a wardrobe change.

The artist wrote his first rap to Chris Brown’s “Poppin” at age 11, and by the time he was 15, he had committed to the craft. He put out his first mixtape in 2015, which was similar to Lil Wayne’s “No Ceilings” mixtape, but he took the project down.

He kept studying the genre and began honing his showmanship, paying special attention to notable comedians like Jamie Foxx and the Wayan Brothers. From that time came his persona, Keemy Casanova, the smooth-talking, ’70s blaxploitation-inspired personality that caused him to go viral in 2020.

He returned to stage as Akeem Ali and performed hits from his 2019 project “Rollin,” as well as his latest project “D.E.A.D.” One stand-out track was “Water” featuring T.I. and Franchise. The song has an aquatic, dreamy sound to it and is very melodic, showcasing Ali’s vocal abilities while singing the hook.

“Water … B*tches be high faded; some of them dehydrated; think they need some water,” Akeem sang on the chorus.

Much like Bigg Josh, Ali doesn’t mind sharing the stage with his friends and emcees he respects. During his costume change, rapper Ray Kincaid took the stage to freestyle and entertain the crowd in his absence.

He handed his set over two more times, first to rapper Chizzle Da Great and then to rapper Nahveyah, when he and Ali performed their song “Yellow Tape.” Ali’s set went over the time, as evidenced by the lights going up, Hal and Mal’s staff breaking things down and the dwindling crowd, but his energy never faltered.

Ali ended his set with a quick freestyle acapella, which got an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd and promised that the next time he came home, he would have an even more packed-out crowd.

Franklin’s ‘10-Year Plan’

Despite a new COVID variant, this year’s Jackson Indie Music Week went off safely with no performers or staff testing positive in the weeks thereafter, Franklin said. Planning for the 2023 Jackson Indie Music Week has already begun between him and his eight-member team.

“It’s gotten easier as we’ve gone through it because our team is experienced, and once you’ve done something for quite a while, you become like a well-oiled machine,” Franklin said. “Everybody fills their lane, and then we come together, and we put everything together, kind of like the Avengers.”

Over the years, the festival has made a positive impact on the city’s tourism, Franklin attested, leading more businesses and organizations to sponsor the event each year, including the City of Jackson, Visit Jackson, Visit Mississippi, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Greater Jackson Arts Council, M-Bar Sports Grill and Green Ghost Tacos.

“They started discovering that our creative community and entertainment community are responsible for bringing people into town that are spending money at hotels, spending money at restaurants and spending money at retail stores, and that becomes a big deal,” Franklin said.

When he first conceptualized the idea for Jackson Indie Music Week, he had a 10-year plan in place because he knew that things do not just happen overnight, Franklin said. Austin, Texas, has transformed from a sleepy, college town to the site for SXSW, one of the biggest music festivals in the country, and that’s exactly what Brad Franklin has envisioned for the capital city and Jackson Indie Music Week.

“We’re just on year seven right now, (but) I think we are on schedule, if not even ahead of schedule,” he remarked.

Mississippi is the place that birthed greats like B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Leontyne Price and Jimmie Rodgers, the man often credited with creating country music. Franklin thinks the state needs to work harder to embrace that legacy and tell the world of these feats.

“We’re going to make sure that people have access to the information here and couple that with their talent. In a couple of years, we’ll be having this conversation again,” he said. “They’re going to be talking about Mississippi in the same light that they talk about Atlanta, and they’re going to be talking about Jackson in the same light that they talk about Austin.”

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Three musicians and two writers will be inducted into the hall of fame at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience.

The museum in Meridian is also known as the MAX.

Museum leaders announced Monday at the state Capitol in Jackson that the inductees this year are the late soul singer Sam Cooke, from Clarksdale; the late blues composer W.C. Handy, also from Clarksdale; country music singer and musician Marty Stuart, from Philadelphia; “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker, who lived and worked in Jackson in the 1960s and '70s; and the late journalist and abolitionist Ida B. Wells, from Holly Springs.

The MAX began inducting Hall of Fame members in 2017. The museum opened the following year.

When Carl “Buffalo” Nichols was 10 years old, he decided to expand his musical tastes beyond the tracks that dominated the radio scene in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wis. “I found different blues CDs,” he recalls. “It made the connection for me.”

That connection would follow Nichols well into his teenage years, and he attended a number of local concerts performed by Keb’ Mo’, a contemporary blues artist. “You’d see the legends like B.B. King and Buddy Guy and Chuck Berry, but it was good to see a more contemporary artist,” Nichols reflects. “He came (to Milwaukee) a couple of times a year, so he was one of the artists I got to see the most.”

The sounds of King, Guy, Berry and Keb’ Mo’ would form the soundtrack of Nichols’s life and would inspire his own musical stylings, as he says that playing the blues is deeply meaningful for him. “The reality is that Black people have been systematically removed from the blues since the 1950s, maybe even before that,” Nichols comments. “There’s been a sort of tug-of-war going on. It’s up to the artist to remind people where this music comes from.”

His 2021 self-titled album serves as one such reminder, and Nichols is hopeful that the recently released EP will tell the oft-suppressed stories that comprise the blues. “The blues is basically folk music,” Nichols says. “It’s supposed to tell the stories of real people. Once it became a product, it lost a lot of its heart. So (telling stories) is what I’ve been trying to do.”

Fat Possum Records, an independent label based in Mississippi, signed Nichols—the company’s first new blues artist in nearly 20 years—and helped produce the album.

The violin-inflected track “These Things,” which Nichols cites as his favorite song in the LP, epitomizes the goals he harbors for his musicianship. “After I’d written it, I felt proud of it,” Nichols states. “I tried to be more poetic than usual, and I feel like people don’t stereotypically associate the blues with lyrical diversity or with different ways to come up with a song. But there’s a lot of room for different types of expression.”

So far, the album has received support from Rolling Stone, Austin Chronicle, KEXP and other sources, with singles such as “Back on Top” and “Lost & Lonesome” earning praise from Rolling Stone Country and Guitar World.

To launch his December tour across the United States, the artist is trekking to the home state of the blues, Mississippi, to give its capital city a sampling of the album, as Nichols is slated to perform today, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. at The End of All Music (3011 N. State St.) in downtown Jackson. “I think it’s the making of the music that means something,” Nichols says of his upcoming performance. “It’s the history of it, where it comes from. (The blues) came from Black people in America, and it’s one of the oldest American art forms that we still recognize today. It’s something that I’d like to be part of.”

Buffalo Nichols’ 6 p.m. performance at The End of All Music (3011 N. State St.) is free and open to the public. To learn more about future performances, find the artist’s tour schedule here. “Buffalo Nichols” the album can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and other music platforms. Learn more at buffalo-nichols.com or follow the artist on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

The Mississippi State Fair is in full swing again this year, following an Oct. 6 ribbon-cutting ceremony and opening night.

“Today was a beautiful day to cut the ribbon for the Mississippi State Fair,” Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said via Facebook yesterday. “Thanks to everyone who came out, including our special guests my friends Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons, Sheriff Marshand Crisler, State Fire Academy Director Terry Wages, Jackson Police Department Chief James Davis and Miss Jackson Miss Hospitality Makayla Dillard! Fair Director Michael Lasseter is doing a great job.”

A fair guide is available here. Regular admission is $5, along with $5 parking. The fair runs from Oct. 6 until Oct. 17, and features a wild-west-themed Frontier Village this year.

“We have spent many hours this year preparing for a unique State Fair,” Mississippi State Fair Director Michael Lasseter said. “This year we introduce our new Frontier Village, which will showcase an old-time fair feel.”

The Village will feature a wild-west show, a petting zoo and a train ride, as well as an “Ag Expo” where attendees can learn about agriculture.

“Stroll the Midway, enjoy the rides, grab some wonderful fair food, and check out the national entertainment on our main stage,” Lasseter added.

COVID-19 safety protocols include properly spaced music venues and routine sanitation of high-touch areas, though masks are not required to attend the fair. Those who have exhibited COVID-19-like symptoms in the past two weeks are asked to stay home.

“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) advises that people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions may be higher risk for severe illness from coronavirus,” Gipson said in a statement. “Guests should evaluate their own risk in determining whether to attend. By coming to the fair, you acknowledge and agree that you assume these inherent risks associated with attendance.”

That said, those who oversee the fair have expressed their commitment to keeping a close eye on events as they may relate to public safety.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and utilize the guidance of the Mississippi State Department of Health and CDC. The Mississippi State Fairgrounds wants to make sure your visit to the State Fair is a memorable and safe experience. I hope to see you there,” he said.

Tonight’s entertainment features all-star musical group Smashmouth. The band goes on at 7:30 p.m., and while the concert is free, regular admission costs still apply.

Email Reporting Fellow Julian Mills at julian@jacksonfreepress.com.

The sun was beaming down on Deshawn Goncalves in the middle of marching band practice at Jackson State University when he got the call to audition for “American Idol.”

“I got an Instagram DM from a casting producer, and they wanted me to come out and to do an audition,” he says.

The Youngstown, Ohio, native had originally been scheduled to audition for “America’s Got Talent,” but the show ended up temporarily shut down due to the pandemic.

“(‘Idol’) was a better fit for me anyway because I could still showcase my artistry with the piano, so it worked out perfectly,” says Goncalves, who began singing in the church choir under his grandmother’s direction at 4 years old.

As Goncalves grew up, he developed a deep love for music. He began playing the trumpet in sixth grade, learned the piano in seventh grade, and joined the school’s drumline by eighth grade. His band director, a Jackson State alum, told Goncalves about the university’s famed Sonic Boom of the South.

“The band that I was a part of in high school was based really heavily off Jackson State, so I just totally threw myself into the research behind Jackson State University and the Sonic Boom of the South,” Goncalves says. “I made my decision right then and there that I was going to Jackson State University.”

Goncalves earned a full academic scholarship to JSU and is currently majoring in music technology and performance. He plays sousaphone for the award-winning Sonic Boom marching band.

After that initial contact, he flew out to Atlanta for the first audition for “American Idol,” then returned home to Ohio where he continued his classes online due to the pandemic. There, he went through a series of auditions on Zoom before performing the televised in-person audition that the world saw.

Joined by his mother, Goncalves traveled to Los Angeles for the live audition where they, along with other participants, were isolated at a hotel. Being in the midst of other talents, the 20-year-old wondered if his artistry and talent would be received and celebrated the way he intended.

“I was surrounded by so many other singers. It was nerve-wracking in a sense because there were so many other talented people there as well,” he says. “Going into my audition, I just had to keep reminding myself to be myself and just do the best that I could, and it really worked out for me.”

Goncalves faced personal challenges while filming the show. Amid the daily rehearsals, vocal coaching sessions and choreography practices, Gonclaves endured the loss of an aunt and a grandmother.

The requirements of the show forced Goncalves to have limited time with his family in both cases, and the college student ultimately chose to not share his grief while the season was on-air.

“It was a lot of emotional distress to say (aloud) while going through the show, and I never really shared that,” he says. “Although it was a part of my life, I didn’t want everyone to know everything.”

A favorite among fans and judges, Goncalves belted melodic tones each week, mostly while seated at the piano, and he made it into Idol’s Top Nine before low voter turnout ended his run on the show.

During his final performance on Disney night he sang “When you Wish Upon a Star ‘’ from the movie “Pinocchio,” and he then returned for the season finale where he sang “Sweet Thing” alongside 10-time Grammy Award-winning artist Chaka Khan.

“I (now) know what’s possible for myself,” Goncalves says. “The fact that I got through those things while going through this show on this national stage was just amazing to me. It’s sort of been a recurring theme in my life—being dealt a hand that was very challenging and just having to toil through it the best that you can. I was just really proud of myself for just getting through everything that I did.”

Since “American Idol,” Goncalves has been working with industry leaders to record his debut album, along with some Broadway appearances.

He plans to release a single titled “Dreamer’s Anthem” in the near future and has several planned shows in the works.

Follow Deshawn Goncalves on Instagram or Twitter at @deshawngmusic.

Yolanda Singleton, a Jackson native concert promoter who owns her own company called Xperience Jxn, has partnered with the Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to host the #StandAgainstHate Old School Hip Hop Reunion on Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.).

The organizers say their goal is to use the #StandAgainstHate concert to promote peace and unity in Jackson and to stand against violence, racism and other negativity within the capital city. Another major goal for the concert lies in increasing awareness of issues that those enduring HIV and AIDS face, while minimizing stigmas those individuals can experience in the community.

Queen Boyz, a Jackson-based band known for tracks like “Hata Blockaz” and “Say It to My Face,” are among the performers appearing live at the event. Its members serve in the Mississippi Artists and Producers organization. Other performers include 8 Ball & MJ, Bun B, Scarface Mystikal and Ying Yang Twins, with sounds from DJ Koollaid.

Ahead of the concert, Xperience Jxn and its partner organizations aspire to increase rapid HIV testing in Jackson and plan to give away concert tickets to individuals who get tested.

Rapid testing will take place at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Healthcare Center (766 Lakeland Drive, Suite A) in Jackson through Aug. 25, and free tickets will be available while supplies last.

Xperience Jxn also partners with the Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, Dr. Quinn Healthcare and Moore Healthy Family Medical Clinic to offer discounted tickets to people who receive a COVID-19 vaccine at those places from Aug. 1 through Aug. 28.

“I started organizing this concert to build awareness about HIV in Jackson and plan to use this opportunity to share information with concert-goers so they can inform others about HIV,” Singleton says. “As an African American woman, I’ve seen firsthand how heavily this issue affects Black communities. It wasn’t long ago that Jackson had the fourth-highest rate of newly diagnosed HIV infection in the country.”

“I feel like this will be the perfect way to bring attention to the health disparities involving HIV and AIDS and other problems going on in the city,” Singleton says. “We’re hoping to be able to do even more of this with community block parties full of activities, games, T-shirts and prize giveaways throughout Jackson.”

Before shifting her focus to event promotion, Singleton spent time working as a percussionist with local bands in Jackson and performing as a DJ under the stage name Madame DJ. She originally opened Xperience Jxn as Family Affair Entertainment in 1992. Her company, which focuses on blues, R&B, gospel, southern soul music and comedy, took on its current name in 2010. She also worked to form a network with out-of-state promoters and venues in Alabama and Georgia to help bring larger shows to Mississippi.

In addition to her work with Xperience Jxn, Singleton manages local back-to-school supply drives, mentorship programs and disaster relief programs. She is also a retired registered nurse with St. Dominic Hospital and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She lives in Jackson with her sons, Lewil and Daryl.

The #StandAgainstHate concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28, and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $55 to $85 based on seating. Tickets are available at the Mississippi Coliseum Box office and at ticketmaster.com. For more information, call 678-322-8098.

Kevin McGhee vividly remembers standing outside the Tinseltown movie theaters in Pearl, Miss. The bright lights caught his attention. They reminded him of Las Vegas, where the glaring lights of the city skyline interrupted the darkness of the desert. The concept spoke to him.

“When you are coming into Vegas, you are coming through the desert, and it’s dark,” McGhee says. “It’s a long, dark ride, but then when you get to Vegas you see all these lights and all this personality in the middle of nowhere. That’s how I felt about myself in relation to being from Mississippi. Nobody would expect to run into me as an artist here in Mississippi”

McGhee became known as “Young Vegas” but would later change his stage name to D.O.N.O. Vegas as a nod to his group of friends whom he hopes to bring onto the music scene as well.

“D.O.N.O was my crew who was going to Jackson State and Mississippi State. We would meet up on the weekends,” McGhee says. “I changed it because a couple of my friends wanted to do music. I was like, ‘If I change my name to D.O.N.O and the label is D.O.N.O, it doesn’t matter when they come out (because) they will have a head start on everyone else in the city.’ Every time someone mentions my name, they mention my whole team.”

Vegas learned to play both the piano and the drums as an adolescent. By high school, he had become well-known in his circle for his ability to rap. In 2013, he moved to Chicago under the influence of Chicago based producer Paris Beullerwhere he built relationships with artists and producers and learned about the music business. In 2015, Vegas was able to use his connection with Beuller to secure an opening spot on a show that headlined Lil Durk.

However, after five years, the pressure of that success brought him back to Mississippi.

“Everybody is kind of familiar with the pressure of failing, but nobody really calculates that there is pressure from being successful. Once I moved to Chicago, and I was living how I wanted to live, and the money was good, it was other stuff that turned into problems—like not being able to see my family or not being able to see my kids every day.”

The popularity that his music found up north followed him back to the South. He released his most popular album, “No Excuses,” last summer. The album quickly gained momentum and within six months had been streamed more than 1 million times on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and SoundCloud combined.

Presently, the 32-year-old has been preparing his next album “Still No Excuses” as a follow-up to its predecessor. Influenced by Tupac Shakur’s renowned “Dear Mama,” Vegas wrote the track “Forever Indebted” as a tribute to mothers. Another single, “Master P,” contains metaphorical comparisons between Vegas and the Louisianan music mogul’s journey through the music industry.

He also drew influences from Jacksonians and his conversations and experiences with them. For example, Vegas wrote “Critics” after a conversation with a former classmate at a local gas station. The song discusses the situations and experiences that affect him and hinder his ability to make music.

“I remember running into this girl that I went to Blackburn Middle School with, and I hadn’t seen her in like 10 years. We were doing a lot of catching up … and she was talking about how artists in Jackson look to Jackson too much for support,” McGhee says. “She basically was saying that all the critics don’t know what we go through or what we came from so we can’t really value their opinion. Directly after we had that conversation, I went into the studio and made the song ‘Critics.’”

“Still No Excuses” will release this summer on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Tidal, and Spotify. To learn more about D.O.N.O. Vegas, find the music artist on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Parker DeLoach grew up in a home filled with music. The preacher's son listened to his father's favorite gospel tunes with his two brothers. The brothers began a music group with some friends and sang at area churches and events. Yet, when father Charles DeLoach was not around, his oldest sons would crank the radio to the sounds of Kanye West or Lupe Fiasco. Young Parker learned that music, too. On those days, he learned to appreciate hip-hop and rap as much as the spiritual. Those childhood musical experiences now influence DeLoach's personal music style.

The artist, who goes by Tht Kid Ker, didn't dream of a career in music. At Chicago Heights Bloom Township High School, recruiters approached the standout athlete for both track and football. For most of his young life, he believed that he would attend college and play sports.

A flyer for his school's drama club auditions, however, changed that trajectory.

"My junior year ... somebody said I should come to drama club," he says. "They were doing 'Shrek the Musical,' and that's my jam. I was a little conflicted, but then I ended up going, and that opened so many possibilities."

DeLoach began to indulge his creativity while performing in the club. There, the usually quiet and reserved student began to gravitate away from sports to his true passion: music. Once he enrolled in Jackson State University, he joined the group "Outspoken," a student-led creative arts collective that offers students a chance to share their works and receive constructive feedback. DeLoach says that the group has been a key to his time at JSU and his music.

Tht Kid Ker's sound features melodies that span gospel, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and rap—reflective of the music he remembers hearing during his childhood.

That sense of nostalgia has become a central theme to his music. His first mixtape, "1999," which released on his birthday, Jan. 1, of this year, is a collection of songs that focus on Parker's experiences with love, music and coming of age.

"I think '1999' is a mixtape that tells you kinda how I grew up and the things that impacted me over my life and the different experiences that I've encountered," he says. "It didn't go too deep because it was my first project, but it was more so of a fun-loving mixtape."

The album, which Wiz the Kid largely produced, has a sentimentality that resonates with listeners, DeLoach asserts.

"When (people) would tell me that the songs touched them kind of how they touched me or (when) they would tell me different lines, that's how I knew that I really connected with the people and that I gave them the warmth I got from making it and the warmth that I got from my childhood," he says. "It really hit me that people felt something from it."

The January music release was a follow-up to the artist's first EP album release on Soundcloud titled "No Love." The melodic album contained the catchy single "Dolla," which became the featured number in DeLoach's first music video.

He also performed on "A Magnolia Show," a music platform that features artists across the state. In the video filmed in front of a south Jackson mural with the quote "You can win as long as you keep your head to sky," he performs his first-ever released single "Away." He chose that particular piece because he felt that it best reflected the message that the show's producers were trying to convey.

"I felt like they wanted to connect a lot of different aspects and art forms. I found it pretty cool what they were doing and it was definitely a new idea," DeLoach says. "They told me the location that we were shooting at, and I thought the perfect song was 'Away,' which is about flying away from whatever barriers the world may set for us as dreamers and to go deeper—as Black people."

DeLoach will release his second full body of work called "No Love 2" in late May. The album will feature collaborations with independent rappers, singers and producers such as Jackson's Nahveyeh and DJ CJ from Chicago. The business administration major plans to use the degree to get his foot in the door at a major record label. His one surety: Music will be a part of his life no matter what he does.

"I just keep making music that means something to me and possibly means something to someone else, too," DeLoach says. "If it takes me somewhere, it does. If it doesn't, it really doesn't matter. I do it because I love the music."

Listen to Tht Kid Ker on Apple Music, Spotify and Youtube. To keep up with news regarding the artist, follow DeLoach on Instagram @thtkidker.

Jackson-born musician Nellie "Mack" McInnis earlier this year received the 2021 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Music for her 40-year career as a jazz, funk, blues and bass performer. The virtual ceremony for the award took place in the Red Room at Hal and Mal's in Jackson. Selena Schottenheimer, a board member of the Central Mississippi Blues Society, nominated McInnis for the award.

"When I learned I had been nominated for the award I felt flabbergasted, to be honest," McInnis says. "I've attended Governor's Award ceremonies before, and seen others receive it who had a lot of weight behind, from doctorate holders to Grammy-award winners. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that all the time I've spent rolling along and doing what I do would make me become a candidate. It was a notable and prestigious award that I was elated and humbled to receive."

As part of the virtual ceremony, McInnis and her band performed Stevie Wonder's song "Heaven Help Us All," which McInnis says she chose in light of the challenges facing Jackson and the world amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In her acceptance speech, she acknowledged the importance of up and coming young musicians and emphasized to them the importance of education and practice to further their aspirations.

"Musicians across the world have been affected along with everyone and everything else with everything that shut down," McInnis says. "So much was cancelled or postponed and it was painful, but even in the middle of it all I used the opportunity to work more with my church and on other pursuits like my Nellie Mack Project."

The Nellie Mack Project is a variety group that McInnis formed out of "not wanting to play behind someone else, in terms of pay or position." She conceived the project as a large jazz or big band ensemble, but after realizing that such bands are not widely requested in Jackson, downsized it into a variety group that has since performed at festivals and concerts throughout Jackson, as well as at McInnis' church.

Members of the Nellie Mack Project include Andrew Lewis, Caleb Armstrong, Mike Grayer, Malcolm Shepherd, Malcolm Shepherd Jr., Tonie Sephus, Latongya Garner and Lydia Bain.

As McInnis grew up in Jackson, while her family initially attempted to get her to play the organ for her church, McInnis became more interested in a bass guitar that her brother, Walter Garner Jr., owned. While her brother was initially reluctant to teach her due to bass guitar not being seen as a woman's instrument at the time, he relented and McInnis took up the instrument, eventually performing for the first time at Club Checkmate in Jackson.

While studying music at Jackson State University, McInnis entered a talent show with Rhonda Richmond, Niecy Evers and Cassandra Wilson, who would later become a Governor's Award winner herself. After winning the competition, the group formed the band Past, Present and Future in 1980, with Tina Clark as their manager. She later received her bachelor's degree in music education from JSU in 1984 and a master's degree in the same subject in 1987.

Over the course of her career, McInnis has performed in Finland, Belgium and Norway and has performed onstage with greats such as Ellis Marsalis, The Bar Kays, Billy “Soul” Bonds, Governor’s Arts Award recipient Dorothy Moore, Clark Terry and the late Dizzy Gillespie. She also teaches music to children as part of the Mississippi Arts Commission's Artist Roster.

In addition to her work with the Nellie Mack Project, McInnis also manages the "Catch Them While They're Young" program, which aims to engage parents to encourage their children to play an instrument as a means of building character. McInnis visits local schools as part of the program to speak in auditoriums about the importance of music, and then give lessons on how to play various instruments. While the project has been on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McInnis plans to resume it as soon as possible. She also provides similar educational performances at Tougaloo College's summer camps for children.

CORRECTION: In the original version of this article, which is printed in Vol. 19, issue 14, of the Jackson Free Press, the JFP mistakenly listed the wrong music artist who goes by The Vamps. We have since updated the online version of the story as well as the digital flip book of the issue to reflect the proper group, and we apologize to Ardenland, Wratched Entertainment Group, The Vamps and our readers for this error.

Breaking the drought that began after concert tours around the world ground to a halt last spring and remained shuttered through the summer and fall, the Renaissance at Colony Park will play host to Ardenland's and Wratchet Entertainment Group's co-hosted Twilight Concerts on Saturday, April 24. The five-band festival marks Ardenland owner Arden Barnett's second attempt at a socially distanced concert, with a concert in November selling out. "Everyone felt safe and was elated with the way (the November concert) was handled. It was a brilliant day of music," Barnett recalls. With the lowered positive COVID case numbers and the rise in vaccinations, Barnett felt that the time was right to schedule a second show.

"It's fairly diverse programming, and there are great guest artists. It'll be a good day (to hear) a little bit of everything," Barnett says of the upcoming show.

Despite the diversity in the scheduled slate of performances, all concert goers will have to adhere to careful COVID protocols, as tickets will be sold in "pods" of four, six or eight, thus allowing attendees to control who enters their six-foot bubble. Each pod will be complete with what Barnett calls a "COVID kit," complete with hand sanitizer provided by the Cathead distillery and extra masks.

These guidelines will be enforced outside the pods, too. "We make it clear what we expect of the public and what the public can expect from us," Barnett says, noting that temperature checks and symptom-questionnaires will be conducted upon arrival. Restroom attendants will ensure the sanitization and spacing of designated bathrooms, and masks will be required in food-truck lines.

The outdoor concert is slated to begin at 2 p.m., with the artists performing into the night and the Allman Betts Band scheduled to close out the evening around 10 p.m. Tickets for a pod of four are currently available for $40 apiece and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

The following artists are slated to perform at the festival on the Concert Green.

Allman Betts Band

Headlining Ardenland's Twilight Concerts at the Renaissance, the Allman Betts band will perform songs from its latest LP, "Bless Your Heart," which is available on Spotify, on vinyl and on audio CD. Sons of two prominent founders of the Allman Brothers Band formed the group in 
November 2018 after Devon Allman's dad Gregg passed away in 2017. Allman is joined by vocalists Duane Betts, Berry Duane Oakley, Johnny Strachela and R. Scott Bryan, and by instrumentalists John Ginty and John Lum. Bryan previously played for Sheryl Crow, and Ginty used his talents to support The Chicks.

G. Love and the Juice

Garrett Dutton, a native of Philadelphia, Pa., who is better known by his stage name G. Love, is currently touring to promote his 12th album, "The Juice," which features the artist's signature hip-hop blues tunes. Fans have not been treated to a G. Love album since the release of his 2015 "Love Saves the Day," and the current album also marks G. Love's first departure from his former trio, "The Special Sauce," although it does feature the musical stylings of rock 'n' roll legend Robert Randolph. Dutton started playing guitar at age 8, later adding the harmonica.

Brandon iTazi Niederauer

While 17-year-old singer and guitarist Brandon "Taz" Neiderauer might be young, the Dix Hills, N.Y., native brings a wealth of experience to Ardenland's Twilight Concert series, as the musician has provided instrumentals for Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga and Slash. Self-describing his sound as "contemporary," Niederauer has lent his vocals to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony-award winning "School of Rock" and to Spike Lee's Netflix original "She's Gotta Have It." The talented young artist has also appeared on The Ellen Show and has performed the national anthem at Wrigley Field in Chicago—twice.

Cedric Burnside

Cedric Burnside, who homesteads on several acres outside Holly Springs, Miss., tries to bring the authentic blues sounds he learned at the knee of Mississippi Delta artists to his own music, and has collaborated with fellow Mississippian musician Jimmy Buffett. Burnside describes his own tunes as "rhythmically unorthodox," but the Grammy-nominated artist has garnered a number of accolades, including four consecutive nods for the Blues Music Awards' drummer of the year and a spot on the soundtrack for the 2006 feature film "Black Snake Moan."

The Vamps

The Vamps, a seven-man band that’s been serenading the Jackson music scene since 1998, are set to open the Twilight Concerts. The group has weathered many storms together over the last two decades, as tenor sax player Booker Walker passed away in 2016, shortly after his retirement from the group. The band infuses these struggles and hardships, as well as their commitment to overcome them, into their signature soul-jazz covers from the late '60s and early '70s, allowing the men to remain metro-area favorites for private parties and corporate gigs. The group’s latest album, "Premier Soul-Jazz," released in 2018 and is available to stream on Spotify.

A self-proclaimed "nickel-and-dime musician," Robert Ferren joins forces with Phillip Till to host a round-the-clock music show beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 20, at the Flowood Flea Market and Antique Mall. They hope and plan to continue performing until the venue's closing at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

This 31-hour musical extravaganza will benefit Children's of Mississippi, the state's only children's hospital. "It's always been about the kids for me," Ferren reflects. "Nothing is more devastating than seeing a sick child."

Locals will have the opportunity to contribute to the cause, too, as Ferren and Till will be accepting hourly pledges, with 100% of the proceeds going to the hospital formerly known as the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children on the campus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center near Fondren.

Ferren acknowledges that the "Singing for the Kids" will take much preparation on his part, as he is already putting in practice sessions that last from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. "I'm just trying to get accustomed to the long hours," Ferren says of his rehearsal schedule. "I've done five-hour sets before, and holy mackerel, at the end of five hours, you're just spent."

These extended performances strain the singer's voice and guitar-playing hands, as he remarks that such prolonged stretches leave his fingers "raw." Because of this physical toll, Till and Ferren have reached out to the community to enable them to play the long hours that the benefit will require.

"We've asked for help from local musicians," Ferren acknowledges. "The singathon quits if we quit playing. So, we will play along with them, but they'll carry it for that hour, as far as vocals and things like that."

The two artists' continued presence onstage—even during their hourly, five-minute breaks—is of utmost importance, as the singathon ends if both of the men stop playing. Ferren feels good about their ability to persist, though, as he notes that the two have been playing shows together for nearly a year, bringing audiences across central Mississippi as they cover songs from John Prine, the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan, among others.

"We're shooting for 24 hours," Ferren remarks. "But we would love to play until (the flea market's) close on Sunday night at 5 (p.m.)."

Till and Ferren are relying on the public's hourly pledges to make these long hours worthwhile. "I'll be excited if someone pledges even 50 cents an hour," Ferren says. "Our biggest pledge right now is from an individual, and it's for $10 an hour." Ferren hopes, though, that local corporations will get more involved as the March 20 start date approaches, offering larger pledges or one-time donations toward the children's hospital.

The musician hopes that these pledges will offset the lack of donations that the hospital has endured over the last year. "Donations are down for good causes," he laments. "The one way I know to (combat that) is by doing something for the kids." Ferren has been planning this event for over a year, initially conceiving the idea during the course of his monthly shows at the flea market.

"During this time with so many hurting we knew that we needed to wait, but we have to continue," Ferren concludes. Ferren, Till and the management of the Flowood Flea Market and Antique Mall hope that local media and citizens will spread the word about the coming event and will make pledges—no matter how large or small—to ensure its success.

Those interested in making a pledge may email Flowood Flea Market's office manager, Karen Johnson, at flowoodmarketplacellc@gmail.com, and those who are interested in attending the event in person can find the Flowood Flea Market and Antique Mall at 1325 Flowood Drive, Flowood.

Dr. Viola Dacus vividly recalls one of the teaching moments that affirm her career choice of helping others develop their vocal performance.

"I had been working with a young mezzo, playing with resonance, and her voice went somewhere wonderful where she had never explored," the associate professor of music at Mississippi College says.

"She literally jumped up and down in the studio screaming, 'What was that, what was that?' That's what I find so gratifying: helping students discover their authentic voices and seeing their surprise at what that might be and then embracing it."

Born in California, Dacus moved to Yazoo County in first grade and graduated from Manchester Academy. Coming from a family who loves music, Dacus remembers her dad often listening to country, while her German-born mother always had opera, operetta and symphonic music reverberating through the house. Dacus started piano lessons in second grade, and she would 
often sing with her sister. She also sang in the church choir and performed in musicals during high school, despite never having any formal vocal lessons at that time.

Originally, Dacus intended to attend Mississippi State University and become a veterinarian, but at the last minute she felt that she was supposed to pursue another path, so she enrolled in the University of Mississippi instead of MSU as a theater major. However, during her first semester at UM, Dacus saw the Boston Camerata perform in 
Fulton Chapel, and she understood what direction she wanted her life to travel.

"I had never heard live music at that level before, and I was profoundly moved," she says. Ultimately, Dacus graduated from UM with a bachelor's degree in music 
education and then attended Louisiana State University, where she received her master's degree and doctorate in vocal performance. She accepted a teaching position with Mississippi College in August 2001.

Since immersing herself in the field, Dacus has served as a soloist in the Verdi Requiem at Carnegie Hall and has sung in the New York premiere of Dan Forrest's "Requiem for the Living," among other 
accomplishments.

"One of my most wonderful memories of performing was I got to sing in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve," she says. "That was really moving and something that I'll never forget—on a stage in Manger Square."

While Dacus performs regularly with Opera Mississippi, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and New Stage Theatre, she also loves balancing that aspect of her life with her teaching career.

"I'm kind of a homebody. I have a lot of colleagues whose whole life is performing—I distinctly remember at a Mississippi opera production the lead mezzo was taking off on a plane to go somewhere else, and I thought, 'I get to go home and be with my children,'" she says.

Dacus lives in Clinton with her husband of 35 years, Edward, whom she met when he performed at her senior recital at UM. They have two children, Emily Katherine and Jonathan, the latter of whom will be starting college at MC in the spring 2021 semester.

Some sages say that a person sometimes has to leave a place to fully appreciate it. For Jonathan Yargates, a music artist who recently returned to the Jackson area after spending the last 10 years toiling over and perfecting his craft within the competitive music scene of Austin, Texas, this sentiment rings true.

Indeed, since making the metro home again, Yargates has been prodigiously writing and recording new material. He also holds down the Saturday afternoon gig at Shaggy's, alongside his best friend and fellow Jackson music icon, Chad Wesley.

Days before his Oct. 25 Jackson Free Press interview, Yargates lost a close friend and supporter, Brandon Taylor. The musician learned of Taylor's passing on his way to a performance in Natchez, and he honors his friend's memory through increased efforts in the music front.

"We met in Fondren and became good friends. We made a video together about Fondren nine or 10 years ago that was pretty humorous. He was a big supporter of mine through all of the art stuff I've ever done," Yargates says. "This whole year because of COVID I haven't been able to get sh*t done, and I needed to change that mentality—he would have pushed me to do that."

Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Yargates and his family moved to Brandon when he was 2 years old. From a young age, his music influences were broad and ecumenical, as well as initially inherited.

"I pretty much listened to anything my dad listened to, which most kids have to do, but at least it was a generation of great music. I don't think any kid was mad that they had to listen to the Beatles—we all learned to love the Beatles in our own way," he says. "Z-106, the Jackson station that has been around forever, that's the one that everyone listened to for rock 'n' roll, period."

Later, Yargates discovered artists on his own who served as role models for the aspiring musician.

"The first musician that became my own interest was Prince. I remember thinking 'One day, I'm going to have the balls to be somebody like him'—meaning I'm going to get on stage and play guitar like him and have the confidence to express myself without any fear," Yargates says.

At 17, Yargates cut his live-performance teeth at a Clinton bar called Gravity. A few years later he caught on with the Jacktown Ramblers, an americana-style outfit that quickly became popular in Jackson.

"The Jacktown Ramblers were americana, but we had a lot of blues influences in there as well," he says. "(During live shows), we were extremely energetic, like a punk band. That was the idea. We wanted to make pretty albums but blow you away when you saw us."

As a solo artist, Yargates re-recorded "Good Shot Boy," a song he originally wrote with the Jacktown Ramblers as an uptempo bluegrass and folk romp—this time without the bluegrass overtones.

The new, 2018 version maintains the crackling melody while delivering the lyrics in an ambiguous tonality pleasingly evocative of School of Fish vocalist Josh Clayton-Felt. The product, paradoxically, results in a strangely disconnected, yet utterly engaging stylistic delivery. The song has since become a staple of Yargates' solo performances.

Yargates says the chorus details a young man deciphering adult relationships: "I've got no issues with the Lord / I admire that he's so adored / I just believe in what I see / And a handshake means more to me / I'll try to figure the answer how / To turn this crazy life around / I'll make no guarantees / And I'll choose what right will be."

While in Austin, Yargates immersed himself in the city's dynamic music community, later heeding the entreaties he regularly received from Jackson music luminaries Chad Wesley and Jason Turner to return to Mississippi.

COVID-19 had already shut down the live-music scene in Austin—including the SXSW music festival for which Yargates was scheduled to perform—and he found himself professionally stuck in neutral. The timing seemed propitious, and in March he packed up his guitars and bid farewell to Austin.

Once back in Jackson, Yargates renewed his commitment to writing and performing new material. Feeling that the Jackson music community had become too cutthroat—to the detriment of any performer trying to get bookings in an attenuated market for live music—Yargates has made it a personal mission to foster a more cooperative and supportive vision within the Jackson music ecosystem.

"This city does have a ton of musical talent. I've scoped out a lot of people, I've checked out a lot of younger bands, up-and-coming performers. There's so much potential for a (stronger) scene to develop—I feel people really need to put more into it," he says. "I've been trying to set an example by going out and supporting other performers. Chad (Wesley) and I will go to people's shows. We'll go to the open-mic shows and try to boost them up."

The 35-year-old musician criticizes how "hyper-competitive" local music has become in the metro, suggesting that artists should be more united and supportive.

"You can't wait for someone to come rescue the scene. We have to build this ourselves, by not stepping on each other's backs, and by being supportive of one another. This is an artists' community," he says.

Excited over the emerging talent in Jackson, Yargates praised a handful of musicians during the interview, including Chad Perry, Brian Belew and Brian Shaw. Shaw, who presently drums with the band Watermelon Slim, got his start in Yargates' band when Shaw was 17. "Watching him play with Watermelon Slim, I felt like a proud big brother. Man, he is something," Yargates says.

For Yargates, the immediate future is tantalizing. On Dec. 17 and 18, he will appear at Ghost Train in Birmingham, Ala., and he plans on having an intensive guitar workshop with Chad Wesley in January.

"The big picture really is me being back on the electric guitar. I want to focus on the Hendrix-meets-Dylan sound I stumbled across with the guys in my band (Brad Carter, drums; Steve Ramsey, bass)," Yargates says. "I'm back in Mississippi, and I want to pick up where I left off now that I'm more mature and have my act together."

Listen to Jonathan Yargates on Spotify, iTunes and other streaming platforms.

In her hometown of Pocahontas, Miss., Latongya Garner developed her affinity for music at Baker's Grove Missionary Baptist Church, where she currently serves as music minister.

"That's my stomping ground and where I learned to express myself musically," she says.

Today, Garner encourages others to polish their musical gifts—as owner and director of Garner Music Academy, a Jackson-based music education and performance business that she opened in December 2019.

While her students recognize her "Make the music happen" mantra, the Clinton resident did not originally pursue a career in music education upon graduating from Lanier High School in 1993. Enrolling in Jackson State University, Garner earned a bachelor's degree in social work in 1998 and entered the mental-health field. Outside of work, she continued to perform with bands in and around the Jackson area. Eventually, the siren's call of music beckoned, and she returned to JSU, receiving a bachelor's degree in music and vocal performance in 2008.

As she promoted her jazz shows, she also taught voice and began teaching music at Oak Forest Elementary School in South Jackson.

"It was an eye-opening experience," she says. "I got to learn classroom management, which helps me today. The classes were large, and sometimes the students who really wanted (to learn) music were distracted by students who would rather be somewhere else. (I learned) to be more creative to reach a classroom of 25 students."

Touched by the kids who really wanted to learn 
music, Garner's frustration with her inability to give them the extra attention they wanted in that setting inspired her to open her company. Before taking that next step, though, she decided to attend JSU for a third time and earn a 
master's degree in music education.

Garner Music Academy teaches children from pre-K to 12th grade and adults of all ages who are interested in artistic development in their musical crafts. The business' oldest client is nearly 70 years old.

"(Many adults) just want something to do, and one (of her clients) describes it as self-care, or it is something they can scratch off their bucket list—if they always wanted to learn how to play an instrument—or they may just want to keep their voices intact," she says.

Garner Music Academy currently employs two other instructors: Nellie Mack, who teaches bass guitar, and Will Brown, who teaches intermediate and advanced piano. Garner herself hopes to add instructors for strings, percussion, horns and electric guitar in the future. The academy is open for other musicians who want to share their crafts with the community, as well, she says.

While many students enroll at Garner's Music Academy to learn or polish a musical craft, Garner hopes to help prepare young students for the world.

"I seek to equip students of diverse career paths with the tools to be more professional, and I believe that the experiences should lead students to be confident, to discover their creative self, to establish accountability, to earn a sense of achievement, and to build character to become a productive citizen," Garner says.

To learn more about Garner Music Academy, visit garnermusicacademy.com or find it on Facebook.

His foot held in place against the accelerator of his white Toyota Tacoma, Seth Power recalled the words that Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Walt Aldridge had told him earlier that day after listening to a guitar melody Power had been working on: "That sounds like a wedding song."

Along the course of the roughly four-hour drive from Muscle Shoals, Ala., to his Brandon, Miss., home, the musician recorded himself singing song lyrics to accompany the melody. In six days he was marrying the love of his life, Collette Usry, and he would be ready. Completing the song the night before the ceremony, Power surprised his wife by performing "I Do" just after their first dance, marking June 15, 2019, as the single's unofficial debut.

Fast-forwarding to September of this year, Train Tracks—an hour-long segment on SiriusXM's The Pulse—showcased "I Do," Power's first song to play on live radio in the United States. In the weeks since then, SiriusXM and other stations have played the track multiple times.

"Having 'I Do' be picked up for the radio is probably the most memorable accomplishment I've ever had, probably period," Power says, emphasizing how meaningful it is for this song that holds so much significance for him and his wife to be heard by so many new listeners.

Launching a Career Based on Convictions

While Power feels blessed by the feats he has been able to accomplish as a musician thus far, he remembers a time during his early days as a recording artist when choosing to write a song about a controversial issue led some people to believe he had sabotaged his own career.

Shortly after graduating from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in business in 2015, Power began working with a number of people who were deeply affected by the underlying symbolism surrounding the former Mississippi state flag that bore Confederate imagery, and who were passionate about their positions that it needed replaced.

"As a whole, it was not a subject I had put much thought into, but when I was sitting down and talking to these people who were natives to this state, had grown up in this state and had several family generations that came from this state, they told me about how it made them feel and how it seemed like a symbol of oppression," Power says.

"It was a very eye-opening experience for me."

The topic continued to weigh on his mind when his friend David Horton, a Black hip-hop artist who goes by D. Horton, sent him a tack he received from a producer in Atlanta. Listening to it made Power think about the subject of the flag again, so he suggested he and Horton collaborate on a song that deconstructed these issues.

Agreeing, Horton began writing rap verses while Power independently wrote the chorus. When the pieces were brought together in the studio, they meshed so seamlessly that the two recorded the entire song in under four hours. "Free" released in fall 2015, and a music video 
depicting the two artists performing the song while wearing "#ChangeMissFlag" T-shirts shortly followed.

The song's opening invokes imagery surrounding the systemic violence perpetrated by law enforcement against Black Americans across the nation, but "Free" also contains the message that people hold the power to take action in the present to change the future for the better.

"I can picture the blood of my brother on the pavement. The world is crying out for you, and I am gonna save it. Yeah, we are the future, and that is the past. In the present we can change it," the chorus starts. It continues: "And the road that we've chosen has been so long and dangerous. And the face of my father is filled with grief and anguish. Sometimes we forget, oh, sometimes we forget that the world is what we make it."

News stations picked up the video, but many conservatives responded negatively to the implications of the song, saying, "If you don't like it, then leave," Power recalls.

"David and I would push back and say, 'We live here. We're from here. We don't want to leave. We want to help improve (the state). We want to bring awareness and try to communicate a feeling that people legitimately have. We're trying to recreate the human experience with music,'" Power says. "'That's what we're doing. That's what we're called to do. So you can have whatever opinion you want, but no, we're not going to leave. We are going to stay, and we are going to talk about these things because we want to and because we have the right to do that.'"

Five years later, Power and Horton were two of many Mississippians who celebrated when the legislators voted to change the state flag back in June.

"I knew that it was kind of an ill-
advised way to start a career, by starting with controversy, but it was a big moment for me as an artist where I (decided) that I'm going to talk about the things I'm passionate about," Power says. "I'm not going to avoid saying things that I want to say just because I'm trying to make a living in the world of entertainment. I don't feel like I should be muzzled just because people think my job is to simply make music."

Developing as an Artist and Responding to COVID-19

Following the release of "Free," Power released "Make it Mine," his first single as a solo artist, in 2015. In 2017, he released a six-track EP titled "Magnolia Soul," which he recorded at Blue Sky Studios in Jackson and co-produced alongside Jonathan Le Sueur. The album infuses elements of soul, rock, blues and pop, and features a collaboration with another local music artist, Micah Smith of Empty Atlas.

In 2018, the Brandon High School graduate open-sourced the music he had created up to that time, which allowed anyone to freely use his music without having to worry about copyright issues as long as they credited him for the songs. This decision, Power says, generated a lot of growth for him as an artist, as his songs started playing on radio stations in Poland and Switzerland and were collectively played 3 million times across multiple YouTube videos.

The momentum that built from his music reaching a larger audience motivated Power to spend the next year developing songs for his first full-length album, 
"Souvenir," which he released on Jan. 10, 2020, holding an album-release party at Duling Hall, which sold about 170 tickets. Power worked with two local producers for "Souvenir," Micah Smith and Shell Ens, who owns Crown Studios in Fondren.

Power describes the 14-track album as the culmination of his experiences with stepping out into the world and discovering who he is as a person and as an artist.

"These songs are the most honest representation that I can give of that period of my life," he told the Jackson Free Press in January.

After the album's launch, Power hit the road for his first regional mini-tour, making stops in Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn.; Asheville, N.C.; and back in Mississippi in Tupelo and Starkville before returning to Jackson for a closing show at Hal and Mal's on Jan. 24. Power planned to tour college campuses further into the year as part of a deal organized through the National Association for College Activities, but the onset of the COVID-pandemic across the nation forced those plans to a halt.

"There's just such a wide array of strategies that are being used to navigate this pandemic that the world of live music is a little hazy right now, a little unclear," Power says. "We're really hopeful for 2021 that we'll be able to get back on the road and hit these college shows. That is the plan, and that is the strategy, but obviously we just don't know how that's going to play out."

Not wanting to stagnate, Power delved deeper into producing more music, releasing an EP titled "Souvenir (Acoustic)" over the summer that features acoustic remixes of six tracks from the original album, with two bonus mixes.

To keep connected with fans, the 28-year-old has increased his social-media presence, joining TikTok and live-streaming on Instagram. Recently, Power held a dual stream with Jaymes Brass, a music artist from Arkansas whom he had never met. The two got to know each other during the live-stream by exchanging stories behind their songs and performing them so that the other could give feedback.

"I was a little nervous about it because ... you never really know if your personalities are going to jive or not. But it actually made for a really cool interaction," Power says.

In addition to "I Do" circulating on the radio, Power has been working with local videographer J.B. Lawrence on another new development, a documentary series on the makings of "Souvenir," which is set to release on Power's YouTube channel later this year. Each episode of the four-part series lasts between five and seven minutes and features the musician detailing his artistic journey.

"It's called 'Souvenir: The Last Seven Years' because it's about how the last seven years of my life have shaped me and formed me into the person I am to write this album and pursue this path," Power says. "We're going to dive into how we made the album, show scenes from being in the studio, show footage from the tour. The last part is going to put a bow on everything and talk about the future and how I plan to evolve and progress as an artist."

Specifically, Power—an advocate for Mississippi—will offer an in-depth overview of how his experiences growing up in this state influenced him and created the body of work he has been incorporating into his craft.

"I've never shied away from the fact that I am a Mississippian. When I go places, I am proud to be from here, and I promote us. I promote the good things about us, and I think it's important to do that," Power says.

"It's something that I didn't do much when I was younger because I was insecure about some of the more negative parts of our image, but as I've gotten older, I've realized that the positives outweigh the negatives and that this is a place to be proud of, especially our musical and artistic heritage. It's really profound."

Power and his wife, Collette, are expecting their first child in the next two weeks. Before their child is born and they become swept up in the transition of 
parenthood, Power has one live show scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, at The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive) on the green space. Having the show outdoors so that people can social distance more easily was a must for the musician.

"I've had some offers to play some inside shows, but a lot of people who come to our shows are older folks who just really love live music, but who are more high-risk. So I said no to all those shows because I feel uncomfortable promoting inside shows right now with the current environment," Power says.

The show will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will include an acoustic set of both originals and covers.

For more information on Seth Power, visit sethpowermusic.com. Listen to his music on Spotify, iTunes or other music-streaming services.

Brass faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi will partner with virtuoso trombonist Wycliffe Gordon to conduct a live streaming event on Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. USM will stream the panel discussion free on the School of Music’s Facebook page at facebook.com/USMSchoolofMusic.

Gordon is a former member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's "Jazz at the Kennedy Center" Series. He is a visiting artist in jazz studies at Arizona State University in Phoenix and is director of jazz studies at Augusta University in Augusta, Ga.

In 2015, Gordon received the Satchmo award from the Sarasota Jazz Club as well as the Louis Armstrong Memorial Prize from the Swing Jazz Culture Foundation. The Augusta Arts Council named him Artist of the Year in 2015. He received the International Trombone Association Award in 2017 and received the “Louie Award” for his commitment to the music of Louis Armstrong in 2018. He is also a past recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Vanguard Award.

For more information, email Ben McIlwain at ben.mcilwain@usm.edu.

USM Virtual 2020 National Sports Safety and Security Conference

The University of Southern Mississippi's National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security will host the 2020 National Sports Safety and Security Conference. The virtual conference will take place from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14 and will be available on-demand for 12 months after the event ends.

Keynote speakers include former U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Thomas P. Bossert and Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer.

Conference presentations will include the realities of COVID-19 and its effects on the sport and entertainment industry as well as concerts and live events; solutions for safely reconvening sports and entertainment events; preparation for the NHL restart and NBA start; and the challenges that experts in health, safety, fan experience, law enforcement and venue operations have had to handle during the pandemic.

On day two of the conference, guests will choose from one of six breakout sessions covering topics such as leveraging data for safety and security to disinfecting large venues, risk management and leveraging technology.

The complete agenda is available on the conference website, including all topics, speaker bios and information on the presentations. Registration is $199 for NCS4 Connect members and $249 for non-members. Visit ncs4.usm.edu/conference to register or for additional information.

MSU Revises 2021 Spring Academic Calendar

Mississippi State University recently announced that it is modifying its spring 2021 academic calendar due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The university is starting the semester on time but ending it sooner as a health and safety measure.

Classes will begin on Jan. 6 and end on April 19. The university has cancelled spring break due to the pandemic, a release from MSU says. The revisions will allow the semester to end a week earlier than MSU originally planned.

In response to an MSU Student Association resolution requesting the Monday after Easter as a day to spend time with family, no classes will take place on April 5. MSU will also be closed to observe state holidays on Jan. 18 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the Friday before Easter, April 2. The MSU-Meridian commencement ceremony will take place on April 29 and the Starkville campus ceremony will take place on April 30.

April 19 will be the final day to apply for April 2021 graduation, and final exams will take place from April 22 to April 28.

For more information, visit this link.

Send education-related story tips to dustin@jacksonfreepress.com.

Spencer Nessel, a Jackson native who describes himself as a music fanboy, has known he secretly wanted to perform himself ever since he started attending the live shows of his schoolmate Andrew Burke's pop band, The DaVincis, during his junior year at St. Andrew's Episcopal School.

"Going to see live music back then was so impactful for me. I definitely fell in love with music more by going to see them play live," Nessel says.

"I was 16 and didn't have any romantic interests, so seeing music was pretty much the coolest thing I could do with my time."

Nessel and Burke connected through mutual friends and further bonded through music.

Both graduated from St. Andrew's, the former in 2008 and the latter in 2010, and enrolled in Millsaps College. Nessel graduated with a bachelor's degree in English, and Burke transferred to Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in music. Burke is presently working toward a master's degree in music from John Hopkins University.

The onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent quarantines provided the free time that led Nessel, who began playing guitar in college, to send an instrumental recording to Burke.

As someone who works in freelance music composition and production, Burke then used his skills in sound editing and mixing to transform the recording into a produced track, "Pez De Spencer."

Banking off the momentum of their first collaboration, the twosome decided to solidify as a music group in March, adopting the name Latitude Unknown. Their indie-pop band largely takes inspiration from the bossa nova style of music, with influences from Brazilian jazz, electronic and pop.

"Latitude Unknown is really a project born out of the pandemic in a lot of ways. Both of us (were quarantining), and we really needed an outlet for our creative energies," Nessel says.

In the six months since forming, Latitude 
Unknown has developed a self-titled, six-track EP, which released on Sept. 4. Burke produced the music for the tracks, while he and Nessel wrote the songs together. New Orleans artist TYPFY Art (typfy.com) created the cover art for the album.

The EP explores themes of anxiety. A lot of the lyrical work, Nessel says, came from conversations he has had with others since the band formed—both in relation to the pandemic and to other struggles they may be facing, such as making life changes, for example.

Working remotely from each other, Burke and Nessel each recorded portions of their contributions at home. The latter recorded his vocals at a New Orleans-based studio with the help of a friend and fellow musician, Matthew Sefarian, who leads his own band, Matt Surfin' and Friends.

"The (song-creation) process involved a lot of us sending voice memos back-and-forth to each other to get the ideas off the ground," Nessel says.

Nessel accredits the support he has received from his friends as instrumental to the album's release.

"This EP was, in many ways, a dream-come-true for me in being able to release music. It's definitely the product of a lot of friendship," he says. "I was very insecure as a young musician, [but] having someone like Andrew 
believe in me enough to work with me really helped me keep going. ... It really gave me the courage to create."

Listen to Latitude Unknown on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes and other music-streaming services.

Determined to have a successful season, the Mississippi Boychoir has been working hard to combat the issues that COVID-19 presents, quickly adapting to a virtual platform for auditions and performances.

Katherine Hoitt, artistic director for the Mississippi Boychoir, will hold virtual auditions for the concert choir via Zoom. Positions are open to children grades 5 through 12. Parents may submit their child's information through the Boychoir's website, msboychoir.org, and set up a time for the virtual audition.

Auditions last 10 to 15 minutes and require no preparation, as Hoitt will ask each applicant to sing a well-known song such as "Happy Birthday" and then ask why they want to join the Boychoir. The organization also has a training choir for 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-graders that does not require an audition to join.

The Mississippi Boychoir will start its season on Sept. 12. The Boychoir will meet in person for 30-minute rehearsals, but members are required to sing while wearing face masks and while maintaining social-distancing guidelines.

"What we do is heavily based on connecting with people in real life, so we're trying to find a way to connect to people but make it happen in a safe way," Hoitt says.

The Mississippi Boychoir is already planning its annual Christmas performance, which will be completely virtual this year. Because the Boychoir has had to cancel all its local events planned for the fall season, the organization will spend rehearsal time focusing on perfecting the Christmas program.

"Normally, we would have quite a few small performances leading up to (the Christmas performance), but this semester we are really focusing on our own education of the boys and on preparing that Christmas music," Hoitt says.

"We'll focus on music literacy, sight singing and making sure that we have that music learned by the pre-recording of the virtual concert."

The online Christmas show will be free to view, with the live-stream featuring a combination of live elements and pre-recorded elements. Executive Director Lanise Aultman is working with the Department of Archives and History to record the program at the Old Capitol Museum.

Transitioning from live auditions and performances to virtual ones has been a big learning for the Mississippi Boychoir, Aultman and Hoitt note, but they are hopeful that everything will work out as planned so that they can successfully finish out the season—and with luck return to a state of normalcy in due time.

"Last year, we were invited to be the prelude choir to the Texas International Choral Festival in July of 2020. Of course, that didn't take place, but the invitation is still open for us to be their prelude choir for their festival in June of 2021," Aultman says. "We're trying to plan for something that we hope will actually take place, with the eye on the fact that that information could change."

For more information on the Mississippi Boychoir's programming or about auditions for the fall, call 601-665-7374 or visit msboychoir.org.

Robert Little, Jackson State University's new director of bands since July 1, says music is something that dwells throughout his entire family. His father and brother both played the saxophone, and his sisters sang in choir and played violin. Little had his start in music playing the snare drum in sixth grade at Rowan Middle School, something he also says he has his musical family to thank for.

"My brother, Joe Little, had been a member of the school band the year before then, and he did so well that the band director at the time, Dexter Green, figured I would be a natural as well and let me be in the band even though sixth graders weren't usually put in the band at the time," Little says. "I ended up gaining a deep affinity for playing, and by high school when I started playing with other drum major students, I already knew I wanted to become a band director someday."

Little was born and grew up in Jackson and has been living in Florence since 2011. He graduated from Lanier High School and went on to JSU, where he received a bachelor's degree in music education in 2007 and a master's degree in the same subject in 2010.

After graduating with his master's, he stayed on at Lanier High School as both a band instructor and the school's band director until 2012, when he went to work for JSU. Before taking his current position earlier this year, Little had previously served as the university's associate band director since 2012 and as the marching band director for the Sonic Boom of the South since 2016.

He later pursued and earned a doctorate in urban higher education administration from JSU in 2019.

"When I obtained my employment at JSU in 2012, it was my first time working on the collegiate level. Upon arrival, I began to realize that higher education is very elaborate with many layers, which sparked my interest for further study in that area," Little says. "My research interest is music education in urban areas. Since we train teachers on this level to go out in the field of music education, marrying both my background in music education and my new knowledge of higher education together has been a benefit to frame my research."

As director of bands, Little is primarily responsible for the administration aspects of JSU's band program, such as the budget and daily operations of the university's various ensembles.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic closing campuses and causing the Southwestern Athletic Conference to postpone all games until the 2021 spring semester, Little is currently directing JSU's band program to focus on online remote activities. Band students can log onto an interface called Campus, which JSU established in 2016, to practice pedagogical music exercises, which improve skills such as tone development, dexterity, technique, articulation and sight-reading.

"We've had Campus for some time now, but it's become especially handy since the pandemic started," Little says.

"Aerosols that come out of instruments (that players blow into) while playing make it too dangerous for the band to gather to perform as an ensemble, but Campus is a light in the tunnel letting them stay active in the meantime. ... It's important to us to work with the students remotely to help them keep up with their exercises specific to their instruments and keep them growing as musicians."

Little is also working to build JSU's online presence to keep fans engaged in the meantime, including posting more news about the program and working on an online chronicle of the history of the university's band program, which has existed since the 1940s. Another future plan is to construct a new band facility for the Sonic Boom, as the band has outgrown its current one, Little says.

"From a program standpoint, we've had to think outside the box during the pandemic. Instead of letting things be at a standstill, we want to improve the program as much as we can and focus on fundraising for things such as student scholarships, new uniforms, instruments and concert ensemble support," Little says. "It's important to us that the band program remains student-centered to keep them academically sound and graduating while still improving on showmanship, musicianship and national exposure for the band."

Little and his wife, Lynise, have been married since 2009 and have two sons, Aiden and Alec.

To learn more about JSU's Department of Music, visit jsums.edu/music. For more on the Sonic Boom of the South, you can visit sonicboomofthesouth.com.

Latanya Shanks started a podcast for one simple reason.

"I knew I had something to say and I wanted to say it," she said.

The 47-year-old minister had often found herself in conversations with people needing encouragement and advice. The discussions seemed to center around the same issues, prompting Shanks to make a one-time inspirational recording. She sent the message out to friends, who passed it on to others. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that she decided to continue. "SPEAK" provided her the platform to spread her message to a larger audience.

"I felt like it was an outlet where I could reach people everywhere that were going through and needed to be inspired," Shanks said. "I feel like even though we are all going through certain things in our lives that we are all destined for greatness. I want the podcast to be that push for people to be who they were destined to be."

When Shanks initially began the show in September of 2019, she intended to focus on helping married couples work together to strengthen and preserve their relationships. However, she soon realized that she had the opportunity to have an impact on more than marriages.

She expanded her scope to include a focus on individuals as well. The episodes—which Shanks records at home—vary in length, subject and frequency, but each features an inspirational message from Shanks aiming to equip listeners with the tools to make positive life changes.

One episode titled "Who are You" deals with helping people see themselves beyond the labels of their daily family or professional roles to find their deeper passions and purposes. Another called "Laugh" encourages listeners to focus on their faith and not the problems they may be facing.

"Whatever God puts on my heart for that day or when I get on, that is what I'm (sharing)," she said.

The podcast is not the first step in Shank's journey of inspiring others. Before beginning "SPEAK," she published several books including a series on marriage called "By God's Design" and a self-actualization work titled "My Enemy (Me), My Inner Me." She is also the owner and operator of "Without Ceasing" prayer essentials where she creates and sells prayer tables, pillows, and shawls. She has worked in special education, owned a daycare facility and served as a foster mother.

Shanks, who has been ministering for 25 years, says that her passion for helping others came from the lessons she learned at a young age. Shanks and her three siblings grew up in the Presidential Hills neighborhood of Jackson. As early as she can remember, her grandmother taught her that it was her responsibility to give to others. It is that mantra that drives her ministry.

"She always told us that we are our brother's keeper," Shanks said. "If a stranger needs your help it is your obligation as a servant of God to be your brother's keeper. That's what I stand on."

Shanks and her husband, Nelson, are currently working to create a youth resource center called Innovative Solutions Creations Enrichment Center, which is slated to open later this year and will assist youth and young adults ages 13 to 24 in earning a diploma, obtaining experience in potential careers and locating jobs.

Shank says that if her work gives at least one person a reason to keep going it is worth it to her.

"Whether it's at a small magnitude or whether it's at a great magnitude, as long as it is encouraging someone to get up another day and say 'I can do this'," Shanks said.

Find "SPEAK" on Spotify, Google 
Podcasts and other podcasting platforms.