Soul Sessions EXTRA: Stranger Than Fiction Film Series

Jerry Douglas | Musician, National Folk Festival Performer

On today's show, we're sitting down with Jerry Douglas — Alison Krauss and Union Station anchor and board member of the National Council for the Traditional Arts — ahead of his performance at the National Folk Festival, November 13th through 15th in Jackson. His latest album, The Set, his first solo release in seven years, captures exactly what makes him irreplaceable: a player who's always adapting, and always home. TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-jerry-douglas

Soul Sessions EXTRA: Juneteenth in Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi marks Juneteenth with seven free events across eight days — from a folk opera premiere at Jackson State University to a Ranger Talk at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument to an inaugural gospel celebration at LeFleur's Bluff State Park. We've got the full guide, plus a conversation with Brad Franklin, the organizer behind the 10th Annual Juneteenth on Farish, on what it means to plant a decade-long tradition on one of the most historically significant streets in the South. TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-juneteenth

David Pharr and Jason Watkins | Fondren Developers

On today's show, David and Jason talk about what it actually takes to bet on a neighborhood like Fondren — and why, for two people who aren't planning to go anywhere, that bet only keeps getting bigger. TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-david-pharr-jason-watkins

Patricia Syner | Jubilee Opera

On today's Soul Sessions Extra, we're talking about Jubilee: A Folk Opera — a collaboration between Jackson State University and Yale University debuting this summer, free and open to the public, right here in Jackson. I'm joined by Patricia Syner, Communications Director at the Margaret Walker Center. TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-patricia-syner

Josh McManus | Urban Strategist, Better Together Project

On today's show, we're talking with urban strategist Josh McManus — partner at M|B|P, co-creator of JXN Rising, and the driving force behind Better Together, the effort to bring architect Sambo Mockbee's personal archive back into public view for the first time in 25 years. Josh has spent three decades working in post-industrial cities from Chattanooga to Detroit, and now he's turned his attention to Jackson — not as an outsider with answers, but as someone who keeps showing up with tools and a blueprint. TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-josh-mcmanus