Invitation Magazine - April 2024

ON THE COVER

FEATURES

37 Inside Double Decker

Meet the Double Decker poster artist and get a sneak peek at some outstanding 2024 vendors as well as look behind the music.

48 Illuminating Darkness

Meet Cheryl Mossberg, a lifelong artist who has become a master of light and shadow.

54 The Art of Bonsai

Ole Miss instructor Zach Adamz grows a hobby and a few miniature plants into a business cultivating hundreds of tiny trees.

60 Guitar Prodigy

At 13 years old, musician John Clayton White is making a name for himself in north Mississippi and beyond.

LETTER from the PUBLISHER

I love art, live music of all types and festivals. Though I’ve never been a fan of live concerts, my 12-year-old daughter is. So, in the past year, we’ve attended two.

Experiencing these musicians in giant and people-packed arenas, I wondered if the artists had long dreamed of making music professionally, and if so, was the dream unfolding as they had hoped.

These questions came to mind again as I reflected on this issue of Invitation, which features the 2024 Double Decker Festival. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill, creator of the festival, has said numerous times that Double Decker certainly has exceeded her expectations, and yet the purpose and core vision is still reflected in the festival.

Chris “Kingfish” Ingram, a native of Clarksdale, is one of many who will perform at Double Decker this year. He has become a world-renowned blues musician over the past eight years or so. In an interview with Forbes Magazine, he was asked about his legacy. He said, “I always had to hear that myth that kids that look like me were only into rap and hip hop. I just want to show that that’s not true.”

That’s the type of story that pushes artists to believe in their dreams. Artists like 13-year-old John Clayton White of Tupelo. John Clayton is an electric-guitar playing singer/songwriter, featured on page 60, who will perform in October in the same venue with Kingfish.

Zach Adamz of Oxford discovered the art of bonsai and has combined it with the business of bonsai. Read his story on page 54. This issue also features several more Mississippi artists who will showcase their unique works at Double Decker. Read about them starting on page 37.

Art covers a lot of ground, from painters, potters, jewelry makers, musicians of all kinds, plant growers and shapers — the list goes on. Enjoy this month’s magazine. May you find joy immersing yourselves in the world of the arts.

RACHEL M. WEST, PUBLISHER

COMING UP IN OUR COMMUNITY

OXFORD

Oxford Conference for the Book

APRIL 3-5

The 30th Oxford Conference for the Book includes several themed moderated sessions on campus and in town, a welcome lunch, an open mic night and more. All events are free and open to the public except for the April 3 opening night party at Memory House. Tickets for the party, $50, can be purchased online. See website for complete schedule and details. oxfordconferenceforthebook.com

Imani Woods

APRIL 9

The twice Grammy-nominated wind quintet visits Oxford. Tickets from $20. 7:30 p.m., the Ford Center. fordcenter.org

“Cat Kid Comic Club”

APRIL 13

A funny, family-friendly musical adaptation of the book series by the same name will delight the whole audience. Tickets from $10. 10:30 a.m., the Ford Center. fordcenter.org

OLE MISS BASEBALL HOME GAMES

VS. MURRAY STATE

April 9 | 6:30 p.m.

VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE

April 12 | 7 p.m.

April 14 | 1:30 p.m.

VS. NORTH ALABAMA

April 23 | 11 a.m.

VS. ALABAMA

April 25 | 6:30 p.m.

April 26 | 6:30 p.m.

April 27 | 2 p.m.

Grove Bowl

APRIL 13

The Rebels spring practice football game takes place at Ole Miss. 2 p.m., VaughtHemingway Stadium. grovebowl.com

“Head Over Heels”

APRIL 16-19

The University of Mississippi’s theater and film department presents a musical comedy featuring songs by The Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle. Tickets $20 adults; $15 faculty, staff and students; $10 seniors and children. 7:30 p.m., Fulton Chapel. theatreandfilm.olemiss.edu

“25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”

APRIL 18-20

Oxford High School Theatre closes its season with a favorite musical comedy. Purchase tickets online. 7:30 p.m., Oxford High School. oxfordsd.org/theatre

“The Old People Are Revolting”

APRIL 19-20

Theatre Oxford presents a comedy. April 19 is a dinner theater performance. Tickets, $65, include choice of dinner catered by Moe’s Original BBQ. Dinner seating 6 p.m., showtime 7:30 p.m. April 20 shows are regular seating at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, the Powerhouse. oxfordarts.com

Morgan Wallen Concert

APRIL 20

Country music star Morgan Wallen returns to Oxford for his 2024 One Night at a Time tour. The show also includes Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith and Lauren Watkins. Gates open at 4:30 p.m.; showtime 6 p.m., Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. olemissgameday.com/wallen

APRIL 2024

Punker Decker Flea Market Matinee

APRIL 21

The Southern Punk Archive hosts the Punker Decker Flea Market Matinee. Arts and crafts vendors, live music and more. Booth registration fee, $35. Admission is free for all ages. 5-8 p.m, the Powerhouse. oxfordarts.com

Double Decker Arts Festival

APRIL 26-27

Oxford’s premiere festival returns with two days of food, music and the arts. Read all about it starting on page 37. doubledeckerfestival.com

Thacker Mountain Radio and Delta Rising

APRIL 27

TMR closes out its season with gospel group the Staples Jr. Singers, author Tom Piazza and fife player Sharde Thomas. Immediately following the show, the Delta Rising after-party features Delta-themed food, music, art and Cathead cocktails. The TMR show is free. Tickets for the afterparty, $20, are available online. Doors open for TMR at 5:30 p.m., showtime is 6 p.m. with after-party to follow, the Powerhouse. thackermountain.com

NORTHEAST

“40 Faces 40 Years”

APRIL 4

An opening reception for an exhibit celebrating Habitat for Humanity, sponsored by North Mississippi Board of Realtors. 5-7 p.m., Gumtree Museum of Art, Tupelo. gumtreemuseum.com

Hospitality Arts Festival

APRIL 6

Arts vendors, demonstrations, competitions, live music, children’s activities and more. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., downtown Booneville. visitbooneville.com

Amory Railroad Festival

APRIL 11-13

Celebrate Amory’s railroad heritage with live entertainment, arts and crafts vendors, a carnival and more. Main Street, Amory. cityofamoryms.com

Oliver Anthony Concert

APRIL 12

The country-folk singer brings his Out of the Woods tour to Tupelo. Tickets from $21. 7 p.m., Cadence Bank Arena, Tupelo. cb-arena.com

Student Art Exhibit

APRIL 16-26

Gumtree Museum of Art displays artwork by Tupelo Public School District students. Opening reception takes place 4-6 p.m. April 16. Gumtree Museum of Art, Tupelo. gumtreemuseum.com

John Clayton White and the 662 Band

APRIL 19

Live in concert along with opening act A Band of Jones. Read all about John Clayton White on page 60. Tickets $15 online, $20 at the door. 5 p.m., Corinth Coliseum. corinthcoliseum.org

Wine Downtown

APRIL 19

Local retailers offer sales and wine samples for this Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association event. 5:30-9 p.m., downtown Tupelo.

tupelomainstreet.com

Booneville Charity Ball

APRIL 20

Junior Auxiliary of Booneville’s Light Up the Night Charity Ball includes presentation of the 2024 Prentiss County Citizen of the Year. Festivities, including a silent auction and heavy hors d’oeuvres, begin at 5:30 p.m., Parks Place, Booneville. facebook.com/BoonevilleJuniorAuxiliary

“Cinderella”

APRIL 20

Tupelo Ballet performs the classic story of Cinderella. Tickets available online. 2 p.m.

and 7:30 p.m., Tupelo Civic Auditorium. tupeloballet.com

Chickasaw Inkana Foundation Gala

APRIL 25

This cultural fundraising event includes dinner and an awards ceremony along with Chickasaw musicians, stomp dancers and artists. Tickets, $175, available online. 6 p.m., Cadence Bank Arena, Tupelo. Inkana.org

Reconnect 4 Autism Run

APRIL 27

Reconnect 4 Autism’s tenth annual color run, sponsored by the Furniture Source, helps promote autism awareness and acceptance. Registration, $10, available online. 8 a.m., Corinth City Park. reconnect4autism.com

Musical Voices of Tomorrow

APRIL 27

NMSO presents Saehyun Kim, first-place winner of the 2023 Cleveland International Piano Competition Youth Division, along with members of the North Mississippi Youth Orchestra. Tickets $10-$30. Sensoryfriendly performance at 3 p.m.; full show at 7:30 p.m., the Link Centre, Tupelo. nmsymphony.com

Tupelo Sprint Triathlon

APRIL 27

Tupelo Sprint Triathlon includes a 300-meter pool swim, 11-mile road bike and 5K run. Registration, $90, available online. 8 a.m., Tupelo Aquatic Center. trisignup.com

SHOUTOUTS

TCT Show Wins Mississippi Theatre Association Top Award

Tupelo Community Theatre is the winner of the 2024 Warren McDaniel Award for Best Show at the Mississippi Theatre Association. The show, “Laundry and Bourbon,” and its companion piece, “Lone Star,” were among TCT’s scheduled offerings for the 2023-2024 season, which featured previously staged plays that were favorites of late TCT director Tom Booth. Booth died unexpectedly Jan. 10, 2023.

The Warren McDaniel Award is named in memory of one of the founding fathers of the community theater festival in the state. This year’s MTA took place in Gulfport in January.

“Laundry and Bourbon,” directed by Lynn Nelson, is a one-act play set in Maynard, Texas. It revolves around the discontent and gossip of a trio of smalltown wives whose marriages have not met their expectations.

“This show has been a pleasure to direct,” Nelson said. “The cast is made up of three professional women — a physician, a physical therapy assistant and a pharmacy tech. These women are so intelligent, so selfaware that when I gave them just a nudge or

suggestion to do something different, they got it.”

Other awards TCT received at MTA are Outstanding Achievement in in Acting, Lynn Miller; Best Scenic Design, Bronwyn Teague; and Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role, Debra Coleman Harper.

The show and cast advanced to the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), held in Mobile, Alabama, in mid-March. Starkville Community Theater also advanced

to SETC for its show “Greater Tuna.”

At SETC, the TCT cast of “Laundry and Bourbon” received the Spirit of the Road award, and Debra Coleman Harper won best actress. Starkville’s Sean Dyess won an achievement in acting award.

“SETC was a challenge,” Nelson said. “You are up against the best in each state in our region. SETC is like the SEC, in my opinion. You are competing with the best of the best.”

Oxford’s Emma Pittman Cast in Broadway Musical Version of “The Outsiders”

Emma Pittman, former shining star of the Oxford High School theater department, has secured the role of Cherry Valance in the new musical based on S.E. Hinton’s iconic novel “The Outsiders.” The musical opens at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York on April 11.

A Batesville native, Pittman moved with her family to Oxford when she was in ninth grade. In high school, she appeared in such productions at OHS as “Suds,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Scream,” “Into the Woods” and “Boeing-Boeing.”

Pittman made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago,” after winning the role in “The Search for Roxie,” a different way of auditioning for shows in which Pittman took part in a video series chronicling her journey. The process was ultimately narrowed down to three finalists before Pittman was chosen for the Roxie role. She most recently appeared on Broadway in “Back to the Future.”

Pittman is also a teaching artist, director and choreographer, choreographing such shows as “Into the Woods,” “On the Twentieth Century” and “The Cradle Will Rock.”

SHOUTOUTS continued

The Tupelo School District encourages students at an early age to discover and develop their creative sides. As part of that mission, each spring, Tupelo art teachers partner with Gumtree Museum of Art to plan and host Shared Treasures, a two-week-long art exhibit that showcases and celebrates the creative offerings of pre-kindergarten through sixth grade students.

The exhibit is the culmination of work done in the spring, in conjunction with Youth Art Month in March, set aside to celebrate and promote arts education across the country. Kit Stafford, fine arts and grants director for Tupelo Public School District and a former art teacher, has coordinated the exhibit since 2019. She said she has adults tell her how much seeing their art hang at Gumtree when they were young students meant to them.

“It’s a proud moment for kids and their parents,” Stafford said.

This year’s Shared Treasures art exhibit begins with an opening reception, 4-6 p.m. April 16. It will be up through April 26.

“I believe a child cannot be educated without including arts education,” Stafford said. “Tupelo Public School District educates the whole child and shows students we appreciate not just a test score, but all their skills and talents.”

Student Art Exhibited at Gumtree

RESTAURANT NEWS

The Landshark

NEW | 2311 JACKSON AVE. WEST, SUITE 301, OXFORD

Serving up seafood including catfish, crawfish, lobster mac, landshark rolls and more. Kitchen is open six days a week from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (closed Tuesdays). facebook.com/thelandshark8

Booth’s Barbeque

COMING SOON | 2200 S. LAMAR BLVD., OXFORD

Led by Texas pitmaster Josh Booth, Lamar Yard is remodeled and rebranded. Expect everything you love about Lamar Yard with a more flavorful menu of smoked meats, shareable sides and counter service. boothsbarbeque.com

Heartbreak Coffee

NEW | 265 N. LAMAR BLVD. AND 707 N. LAMAR BLVD., OXFORD

Heartbreak now has an additional satellite location inside the relocated Chicory Market. Stop in for their signature fresh roasted coffee and baked goods. heartbreakcoffee.com

Tico’s Steak House

NEW | 1001 JACKSON AVE. EAST, OXFORD

A Ridgeland favorite for 30 years, known especially for its steaks, seafood and friendly atmosphere, now has a location in Oxford. Open 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. ticossteakhouse.com

Flight 112 Eatery & Lounge

NEW | 112 FRANKLIN STREET, CORINTH

From the owners of Iuka’s Cream and Sugar comes a new Corinth establishment featuring soups, sandwiches, flatbreads, naan breads and more.

facebook.com/flight112lounge

Donut Distillery

NEW | 1107 JACKSON AVE. EAST, OXFORD

This donut-and-drink establishment, which also has locations in Nashville and Houston, is known for its custom mini donuts plus cocktails and coffee. Unique to Oxford is the Rebel Yell rooftop bar. donutdistillery.com

The Landshark Booth’s Barbeque

Donut Distillery’s Rebel Yell rooftop bar

SAVORING Thyme

DRESS UP YOUR GRILLED CHEESE WITH SAVORY HERBS AND SWEET HONEY.

RECIPES BY SARAH GODWIN | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

Made with sourdough bread and fresh herbs, this sandwich is a welcome departure from a classic grilled cheese. Try it for a weekend brunch or even a weeknight meal.

HERB GRILLED CHEESE with Thyme Honey

½ cup honey

3½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1 to 1½ cups shredded fontina cheese

1 to 1½ cups shredded asiago cheese

1-2 tablespoons salted butter

8 slices sourdough bread

In a small bowl, combine honey and 3 teaspoons thyme. Set thyme honey aside. In a separate large bowl, combine rosemary, basil, parsley, dill and remaining ½ teaspoon thyme. Add shredded fontina and asiago to herbs, and toss together.

Over medium heat, melt butter in a large skillet. Add 4 bread slices to skillet, and cook, undisturbed, 30 seconds; flip slices over. Top each piece of bread with cheese-herb mixture, and top each with another bread slice. Cook 2-3 minutes, reducing heat to low if the skillet begins to smoke. Flip sandwiches over, and cook 2-3 minutes, gently pressing sandwich into skillet. Flip sandwiches, and cook 1-2 minutes; flip again, and cook until cheese is thoroughly melted, 1-2 minutes. Remove sandwiches from skillet; drizzle with thyme honey, and serve.

INSIDE Double Decker

MEET THE DOUBLE DECKER POSTER ARTIST AND GET A SNEAK PEEK AT SOME OUTSTANDING 2024 VENDORS AS WELL AS A LOOK BEHIND THE MUSIC.

Sunny days with occasional afternoon rain showers. The return of bees, butterflies and baseball. The beginning of festival season in the South. On the Square in Oxford, one of the most anticipated harbingers of spring is the annual Double Decker Arts Festival.

The festival was originally inspired by the bright red double-decker bus the city got from England in 1994. In its early years, musicians set up stage in the bed of an old pickup. Known for two days packed with music, art and food, the Double Decker Arts Festival draws thousands of festivalgoers from all over the southeast.

This year’s festival is slated for Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27, with more than 100 artists set up around the Square Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. to

show an array of creative works, from painting to pottery, sculpture to photography, jewelry to woodworking and more.

Lee Ann Stubbs, Double Decker Arts Festival coordinator with Visit Oxford, offered us a small sampling of the artists who will showcase their work this year. Turn to page 40 to read more about those featured participants.

The face of Double Decker is the annual poster, selected each year from a number of submitted entries. On page 38, you’ll meet Oxford’s own Jules Mikell, the creator of year’s poster.

And one thing everyone is sure to talk about before and after the festival is the music. Turn to page 44 for Scott Caradine’s perspective on how this year’s lineup was selected and what to expect.

Oxford native Jules Mikell was elated when she learned her submission for the 2024 Double Decker Arts Festival poster art contest had been selected. As the winner, her design is the official poster for this year’s festival and will also grace T-shirts. Mikell will also have a booth from which she will show and sell her art.

The first person she called after hearing the good news was her sister Virginia, an art teacher at Lafayette High School.

“She is the reason I knew about the competition,” Mikell said. “She texted me and told me I needed to enter. The second person I called was Al, a co-worker and close friend who is such a strong supporter and kind human.”

Mikell is appreciative of the encouragement and support she’s had since being selected for her poster design. One friend has begun calling her Miss Double

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

Decker since the announcement was made.

It’s not the first time Mikell, 24, has been recognized for her artistic abilities. When she was in first grade, students in grades K through 2 were called upon to submit drawings for a T-shirt design based on the theme “Wild About Learning.” Mikell’s submission featured an elephant, a lion and a trio of monkeys reading or holding a pencil. She won. The prize? A lot of art supplies she shared with her friends.

“I got so excited,” Mikell said. “It was announced on the intercom.”

A senior elementary education major at Ole Miss, Mikell’s art talent is natural. She took a few drawing workshops during the summers at Delta State University, and in high school she took art electives.

“Mostly, I’ve taken art education classes that show how to teach art to students,” Mikell said.

JULES MIKELL FINDS IDEAS AND INSPIRATION FOR THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL POSTER IN ’70S WALLPAPER, BEATLES ALBUM COVERS AND HER HOMETOWN.

Mikell’s preferred art mediums are digital and acrylic painting. She also is a fan of pointillism and impressionism.

“With digital art, you’re still physically drawing,” Mikell explained. “It just puts it on a computer screen. It makes it more shareable. Digital is also a lot more forgiving than traditional painting.

In a traditional painting, you might have to figure out how to cover up yellow paint that you don’t want on the canvas. With digital, you can just hit ‘undo.’”

Mikell’s inspiration and ideas for the Double Decker poster came from quite an interesting place — she looked at 1970s wallpaper for pattern ideas. She also was inspired by art the Beatles used for album cover art. And she consulted Google.

“I Googled Oxford, Mississippi,” she said. “I was so excited to see the third image on Google was Square Books, my favorite place I’ve ever worked. To describe the poster, I’d say it is retro-inspired, psychedelic and vibrant.”

Mikell’s sister was the first person to catch a glimpse of what her younger sister was planning for the poster.

“When I finished my first rough sketch of the design, I sent it to my sister,” Mikell said. “She sent back a message, ‘Oh, my gosh. You have to win.’ I feel I underestimate myself, so her support really contributed to my confidence. We are fans of each other.

“When I was 9 and she was 18, I remember wanting to be just like her. I think that’s a part of why I love and do art.”

about The artists

MAKERS OF MYRIAD MEDIUMS OF ART

GATHER ON OXFORD’S SQUARE FOR THIS BELOVED FESTIVAL.

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOGRAPHS CONTRIBUTED

sarah godwin

Oxford artist Sarah Godwin did not set out to be a full-time artist. It’s just how things ended up unfolding. She received a journalism degree from Ole Miss in 2018 and later received her real estate license. But art remained a part of her life.

“Art was my side hustle in college,” Godwin said. “Doing it full time was not necessarily my plan, but the Lord had in mind for me to do just that.”

Long a lover of art, Godwin said it became her favorite subject in second grade. In high school, she took all the art electives available. Godwin’s medium of choice is watercolor.

Godwin wakes daily at 5 a.m., has coffee and reads, then begins painting by 7 and stops around noon.

There’s more to running her own business than creating the art she sells. She also packages, ships, inventories and corresponds with customers.

Her inspiration for paintings comes from landscapes, animals, scenes around the South and beyond.

“A lot of people look at my paintings and have said they look peaceful, calm, happy,” said the 27-year-old artist. “I love that. I try to paint as an overflow of my soul. That’s what I try to communicate.”

ALAIN KABORE

This will be the second time Alain Kabore showcases handwoven baskets and fans and hand-carved Nativity scenes at Double Decker. He’s not the creator but is the bridge connecting Mississippians to artists in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Kabore, a native of Burkina Faso, has lived in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 20 years with his wife and two children. The people of his village once sold their work to tourists, but because of unrest, there is no more tourism. So for the past 12 years, they’ve sent their work to Kabore, who sells it and sends the money back to the artists so they can feed their families.

Kabore flexes his creative muscles by suggesting items that might be popular (such as Ole Miss blue-colored baskets) and getting get the baskets ready for sale.

“The baskets are very flexible,” he said. “When they are shipped, they are all folded up. When they arrive, I soak them in water and then reshape them.”

John Walrod, who has lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1978, is an assemblage artist who has participated in Double Decker since 2017.

“It’s called 4D assemblage art,” Walrod said. “It consists of 3D sculpture using antique and vintage objects — where the fourth dimension is time, created by the patina, oxidation, history and emotional attachments of each old object.”

The process begins with collecting, so Walrod is ever on the lookout at flea markets, antiques stores, yard sales and junk yards. Next, he formulates the art idea. The third step is composition, the most difficult part, Walrod said.

Waldrod connects the objects using rivets, fasteners and adhesives; his materials include salvaged wood, metal and glass. He’s taken 1950s-era kitchen mixers and turned them into spaceships. He’s transformed 100-year-old Art Deco-style toasters into animals and robots.

“People have a variety of memories and emotional connections to these old objects,” he said. “I love it when folks light up and smile upon seeing my work.”

Years ago, KK Buteau purchased some beads and string to make bracelets with a monetary gift she received from a guest at a Christian summer camp in California where she was volunteering.

She fell in love with jewelry making. In 2018, she began making and selling jewelry full time, first at trunk shows and Mistletoe Marketplace. Since 2019, she’s had a brick-

and-mortar storefront in Madison.

Her business, KK Buteau Designs, offers earrings, bracelets and necklaces made using glass, wire wrapping, cultured freshwater pearls, cloisonné and more. Sterling silver and 14K gold ensure the pieces last for years.

“More than anything, I love the experience people have when they see something that speaks to them,” she said.

Sam Albritton Jr. from south Mississippi is an accountant by profession. A five-day hike on the Appalachian Trail in 2016 with his daughter Mamie took a toll on his knees.

A suggestion from his friend and mentor, Mickey Klein, 98 at the time, helped Albritton’s knees: Wear a copper bracelet.

Later, he was working on an old Jubilee tractor and noticed the copper coil from the starter. He took a bit of copper into his shop

and hammered out a bracelet for himself.

“Thirty days later, it dawned on me my knees were not hurting,” he said. “I’ve worn the bracelet in honor of Mickey ever since.”

And he makes copper bracelets for others. “I was giving away 50 or 60 (to clients) every tax season,” he said. “I learned how to make more artsy bracelets ... Now, clients and others keep me supplied with copper. It’s amazing.”

SAM ALBRITTON JR. KK BUTEAU JOHN WALROD

The Sounds of Double Decker

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY VISIT OXFORD

The impressive lineup of music makers, whose sounds cover a diversity of genres, doesn’t just magically show up at the annual Double Decker Arts Festival. A lot of time and thought is required.

Just ask Proud Larry’s owner, Scott Caradine. He’s been the talent buyer for the festival since 2018. The stage is set for this month’s festival, but Caradine’s responsibility for next year’s Double Decker has already begun.

“It’s a year-long job,” he said. “Notes about the 2025 Double Decker are on my computer now.”

Here’s how the lengthy process works, according to Caradine: He gathers ideas for potential artists to include in the festival and discusses options with Visit Oxford

director, Kinney Ferris, and Double Decker coordinator, Lee Ann Stubbs. Together, a decision is made regarding what musicians they wish to bring to the festival.

“We consider such things as: if they fit the budget, if they make sense of the Double Decker vibe and current relevance to the national, Southern and Oxford music scene,” Caradine said. “We work well together. These guys have been putting together a great festival since long before I came on board.”

From the notes on his computer for 2025, Caradine will begin this summer contacting agents from the top agency houses to find out who might be available and is a good fit. By August, he will send out offers — for headliners first.

Flatland Cavalry

Kingfish

Brittany Howard

“It may take a month for a confirmation or a pass,” he said. “So, the offer is sent, and we wait. Ideally, the whole lineup falls into place by Christmas break.”

Double Decker Friday nights run high to country music; Saturday nights are more Americana or even world music. And perhaps a bit of blues.

“I’m thrilled with this year’s lineup,” Caradine said. “We have two awesome headliners.”

Flatland Cavalry is on tap Friday, April 26; the headliner Saturday, April 27 is Brittany Howard.

“Flatland is a band that will really resonate with country music fans in the area, and college students,” Caradine said. “And Brittany Howard, former leader of the Alabama Shakes, with her solo stuff, does an incredible live show.

“Her fans will be thrilled. And those who aren’t familiar with her will leave saying, ‘Holy cow, we just saw the most amazing show.’ She will make a lot of fans.”

The music lineup also includes two local bands playing Saturday.

“We haven’t had Oxford music in a long time,” he said. “Both Charlie Mars and Bass Drum of Death will have a big draw. And Kingfish. He’s had a great year. He doesn’t play in Mississippi a whole lot anymore. People will love getting to see him. I think we’ve got a lineup folks will like.”

the lineup

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

Grace Bowers, 6 p.m.

Conner Smith, 7:30 p.m.

Flatland Cavalry, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

Kenny Brown, 10 a.m.

Billy Allen and The Pollies, 11:30 a.m.

Jaime Wyatt, 1 p.m.

Bass Drum of Death, 2:30 p.m.

Charlie Mars, 4 p.m.

Neal Francis, 5:30 p.m.

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, 7 p.m.

Brittany Howard, 8:30 p.m.

MEET CHERYL MOSSBERG, A LIFELONG ARTIST WHO HAS BECOME A MASTER OF LIGHT AND SHADOW.

WRITTEN BY DEIDRA F. JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

Artist Cheryl Mossberg’s oilbased paintings command your attention. The striking and ethereal works by the 44-year-old full-time Oxford studio artist beckon you to lean in closer to absorb all their minute details. Some instead inspire you to fall back to create some distance and let the works’ breadth and depth soak in.

Mossberg, a Birmingham native, and artist-in-residence at Heartbreak Coffee in Oxford, has been an artist all her life. The University of Mississippi art graduate, who transferred from Auburn University as a volleyball student athlete, said she remembers always having art supplies, and, most significantly, her parents’ steadfast blessings to pursue fine arts as a career.

“There was never a time in my life when I didn’t have the means to create something,” said Mossberg, who is one of seven children. “I started at Auburn, and I was the only person in the art department who had my parent’s approval. Everybody else, they were all like outcasts … the black sheep of the family. I was, literally, the only one who had my parents’ full support. I think that is what has given me so much courage and confidence.”

Mossberg casts her artistic interpretation of people, animals and nature in various colors, hues, sheens, lights and shadows that represent the diversity she said she loves. Chiaroscuro, the artistic use of strong contrasts between light and dark, characterizes her paintings. Lovers of masters, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio, who were famous for using the technique, may find solace in Mossberg’s work, a comparison she would eschew.

“Any time I do paint any subject, whether it’s a person or an animal, there

has to be light cast on it from a very strong source,” Mossberg said. “I just love the dramatic effect that creates.”

Mossberg’s repertoire includes “Pegasus: Fixed Upon the Mount,” a gallant winged horse seemingly drenched in pastel pigment; “Out of the Stone,” a framed portrait of a sphinx bearing the head of a contemplative woman with a flower in her hair, as buttery flourishes reflect onto her face; and the diminutive but mighty “Bucephalus,” an 11-by-14-inch print depicting Alexander the Great’s horse, as a metallic blue-black stallion, highlighted by an entrancing beige and pearl mosaic mixed-media background. Her paintings average about 3-by-4 feet.

“Usually, a painting is an excuse to get color out of my head,” said Mossberg, who with her husband Matt, a managing partner at West Group Holdings in Oxford, has three sons aged 17, 14 and 10. “And then, I’ve got to figure out, how am I going to use these colors? How am I going to get that on canvas?”

She resolves this dilemma through what she calls “color itches,” her compulsive need to explore colors further until she has found the right places to put them. On the floor of her studio/workspace on Highway 30 East, sits dozens of small canvases of varying sizes, saturated with splotches of assorted shades of colors from top to bottom, all evidence of her reflective exploration. At any given time, Mossberg’s black giant schnauzer, Evie, her “studio dog,” can be found lying nearby.

“I get (the itch), and I’ve got to scratch it,” said Mossberg, who also studied ceramics and incorporates mixed media into her paintings. “I’ve got to get it out. I see (the color), and I have to stare at it, and then I start dreaming about it. I’ve got to see, ‘What can I do with this new color?’”

Mossberg also does her own woodworking and custom frames her artwork, building her own canvases, which is uncommon for a painter. Her father, whom she describes as very artistic, bought her first saw as a Christmas gift when she graduated college some 25 years ago.

“(Custom framing) offers my buyers something that otherwise might be hard to achieve,” Mossberg said. “It’s hard to take

your art anywhere. If it’s a 6-foot canvas or whatever, it’s near impossible to transport. I can do all of it here, and it’s custom.”

Eight of Mossberg’s paintings are on display at Heartbreak Coffee. On a weekday afternoon, as customers mill about the restaurant, the artwork conveys an imposing presence, its images and hues simultaneously accentuating a sense of liveliness and solemnity.

“These walls are Cheryl Mossberg’s walls now,” said Morgan Pennington, manager of Heartbreak Coffee and friend of Mossberg. “People love to see local artwork on the walls while they’re drinking local coffee. It’s a whole immersive experience, and we’ve already had two of our customers buy the paintings on the wall.”

Though her art is not in any gallery, Mossberg said her work has gained exposure and she has sold hundreds of paintings since she graduated college, including some commissions over the years. Last October, Heartbreak Coffee featured Mossberg’s work in an art show that attracted some 400 people who viewed her paintings suspended from the ceiling. Her work continues to be on display there. Mossberg cherishes the opportunity, she said.

“It’s very low-key,” Mossberg said. “It’s my speed. I like the idea of not being somewhere fancy. I appreciate people finding and falling in love with my art because of what it is and not where it is.”

Cheryl Mossberg's artwork hangs at Heartbreak Coffee in Oxford, where she is an artist-in-residence.

the ART of BONSAI

AN OLE MISS INSTRUCTOR GROWS A HOBBY AND A FEW MINIATURE PLANTS INTO A BUSINESS CULTIVATING HUNDREDS

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROBERT JORDAN

Aconversation with Zach Adamz, an instructor of anthropology, geography and museology at the University of Mississippi, can easily turn to a subject he is as passionate about as he is knowledgeable: bonsai. When discussing the topic, he is quick to first replace a pair of long-held incorrect assumptions with facts.

First, the vowel o in bonsai has a long o sound, so it’s correctly pronounced bonesigh. However, if you pronounce bonsai with a short o, you could be in the majority.

And secondly, Bonsai is not a species of small tree. The word bonsai is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means planted in a container. Just about any species of tree can be used as a bonsai and kept miniature and shaped through pruning, wiring and repotting.

Though the 37-year-old Adamz has the unique ability to talk about the art of bonsai

much more than most, that hasn’t always been the case. Adamz and his wife, Lauren, met when both were students at Brigham Young University in Utah. A year into their marriage, Lauren made a suggestion to her husband.

“She said to me, ‘You need a hobby,’” Adamz said. “We moved around a lot for school, and there was a lot of apartment life during and after college. She said I needed something to occupy my time.”

At the time, Lauren was working at a garden center. Zach dropped by during lunch and his fate was sealed.

“I was just looking around and saw some bonsai trees,” he said. “It was related to nature and something I could do in an apartment. So, I started with one tree. One tree turned into five, and now I have over 300 trees.”

A true lover of nature, the native of

OF TINY TREES.

east Tennessee found bonsai to be nature in miniature. There, for him, was the appeal.

“It’s not just a plant in a pot,” he said. “It looks like it’s been pulled straight out of the woods. There’s something about the scale of it all.”

Adamz was immediately drawn to the art and science of bonsai. Perhaps part of that can be credited to artistic genes. His father is an artist, his sister is a pointillist painter, and he has a brother who draws.

“There’s certainly an art to bonsai, as well as a science,” Adamz said.

Along with that first tree — a juniper — to start his hobby, Adamz also purchased a one-gallon pot and a book. “Bonsai 101 or something like that for $7.99,” he said.

His first attempt was a little less than stellar. So, he read more, watched a few YouTube videos.

“It took a lot of learning,” he said. “But some things came naturally, while other things came with practice. The beginning stages always kept me enthralled. The more I did, the more I liked it and the better I got.”

When Adamz was getting increasingly into bonsai, he’d look for plants everywhere. When neighbors relandscaped, there were plenty of plants placed on the street that might make a perfect bonsai. Maple starts plucked before mowing were plentiful. Adamz said he’s even been known to hop

into dumpsters in search of plants.

“In the early days, everything went in a pot,” Adamz said. “We’d figure out what would miniature and what wouldn’t. Our 8 by 8 apartment balcony was overrun with bonsai in black plastic pots. I’d drill holes in the bottom and hope I could keep them from dripping on our neighbors below.”

Adamz apprenticed in 2019 at the Korea Bonsai Museum in Seoul, South Korea, where he qualified as a bonsai master. In 2023, he established the Magnolia State Bonsai Club. He is currently a Yoknapatawpha Arts Council 2024 CSA Artist. Adamz and his bonsai also have a booth at the Oxford Community Market.

When the Adamz family (Zach and Lauren now have four children) moved to Oxford three years ago, Zach considered turning his hobby into a business.

“I wondered if doing (bonsai) for work would take away the joy,” he said.

Then he unexpectedly sold one bonsai he’d worked on for three years. Let’s just say, the price someone paid for a single bonsai tipped the scales in the direction of going into the bonsai business. Adamz started learning more about what a business would entail. He had 600 trees and started selling, though he has 30 trees that make up his private collection that won’t be sold.

His business is called Ko Bo (both of

the o vowels have a long sound), short for Komorebi Bonsai. Komorebi is a Japanese word that means the play of sunlight through leaves in a forest. And, yes, even though Ko Bo is a business, Adamz continues to enjoy what was once only a hobby. Rather than paint brushes and canvas, Adamz works with a turntable, pruning shears, an angle cutter, wire and bonsai scissors. Here’s how he describes the art of bonsai:

“With a nursery pot on the turntable, you spin it around and look at the branches in relationship to the tree. A bonsai artist acts as nature — how do I make it asymmetrical but balanced? What is the story of this tree? What will it be three to five years from now? I begin to clean, take out certain branches. Do I want the bonsai to have a masculine feel or a more feminine design?”

Bonsai has been a part of his life almost as long as he’s been married, which was a dozen years on April 1. The love of living things and nature in miniature has become a family affair, shared with son Franklin. 9; daughters, Mabel, 7; Edith, 5; Hazel, 10 months and, of course, his wife whose hobby suggestion started it all.

“It is all-encompassing,” Adamz said. “We do it as a family. Franklin has learned how to properly water the bonsai; Mabel loves to match the tree with a pot. They like to gather moss which helps keep the tree evenly moist. Slowly, by degrees, they all are finding things they like to do with bonsai.”

GUITAR PRODIGY

AT 13 YEARS OLD, MUSICIAN JOHN CLAYTON WHITE IS MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI AND BEYOND.

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

John Clayton White is having the time of his life. He started The 662 Band in 2021 and has played to standing room-only crowds in local Tupelo restaurants like Blue Canoe and Amsterdam Deli. With a mini amp attached to his Fender, he can sit on a living room sofa and wow listeners with ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Oh, and he’s written songs of his own, too.

Last October, he shared the stage with B.B. King’s band and Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks at the reopening of the historic Club Ebony in Indianola. In October, he’s booked as a performer on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Paul Thorn, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and many more. Though he’s likely not too familiar with having the blues, he can beseech a busload of blues out of his beloved Fender. And just wait until you hear him sing.

John Clayton White is quite the musician. And he’s only 13.

The Tupelo Christian Preparatory School seventh grader also plays baseball and football, and he claims he is as addicted to hunting and fishing as he is music.

“I’m just thinking of music in my head all the time,” he said.

The minute he gets home from school, he plugs up his electric guitar and plays. Music is his passion.

“I’ve loved it my whole life,” he said.

“When I was 1 or 2 years old, I was playing pots and pans. Then I got a Mickey Mouse guitar and a drum set.”

At 4 and 5, he was introduced to the banjo and violin, but those didn’t stick.

“I guess I went through a lot of instruments till I found what I really liked,” he said. “I was always strumming on that little Mickey guitar, making up my own songs.”

John Clayton’s mom, Allison, who owns Wellness MD in Collierville, serves as her blue-eyed boy’s manager. She remembers when her son first fell in love with the guitar. Her husband, John White, a physician, was playing his acoustic Martin guitar when John Clayton was just beginning to walk.

“John Clayton was never still for two seconds, but my husband started to strum, and John Clayton moved closer and watched John play,” she said. “He was mesmerized with the guitar from then on.”

The guitar was his best friend during the COVID pandemic, when the world seemed to shut down.

“I was happy to be out of school,” he said. “I played guitar every single day and learned a new song that my mom recorded and shared on Facebook. The comments from Facebook friends really encouraged me to keep posting my music.”

John Clayton plays guitar at least an hour every day.

“I’m kind of addicted to it,” he said. “I

love it so much.”

His passion is paying off. John Clayton was selected by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society to be a featured artist in the youth showcase at the International Blues Challenge that took place in January in Memphis. Sadly, the icy conditions in northeast Mississippi and in Memphis kept the family from making the trip. John Clayton would have appeared as a solo artist, without his band. He was disappointed, but the invitation already has been extended to him to participate next January.

It’s not easy for him to claim a favorite genre of music. He likes it all — classic rock, country and, more recently, the blues. He gave it a listen and liked it. Then when he visited and played at Club Ebony, the blues bug bit bad.

“I just suddenly thought, ‘hey, I might be good at this,’” he said.

He was right. Ask about his favorite blues musicians and he answers easily.

“Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King and my most favorite is Kingfish from Clarksdale,” he said.

John Clayton has a ways to go before it’s time to pick a profession, but it’s as clear to him as a Delta blue sky how he wants to spend his life.

“I want to do music professionally, as my full-time job,” he said. “I want my music to influence others. I want to make people happy with my music. I don’t have a Plan B.”

Fortunately, his manager mama is quite fine with that. So is his dad. In the short time their son’s been playing music and sharing it with others, opportunities for future gigs just seem to present themselves serendipitously.

“A Corinth Coliseum board member heard John Clayton play at the Blue Canoe recently,” Allison White said. “After the

show, she approached me and said they wanted him to play in Corinth, in the 1,200seat coliseum.”

Later, as John Clayton wrapped up Vaughan’s “Texas Flood,” for visitors, his mom received a text.

“You must have been visualizing Texas,” she told her boy. “That was someone in Fort Worth asking if you would come to Texas to play.”

One important bit of advice she shares with John Clayton — as his manager and his mama — is fashion-related. With a history in print ads, White is confident telling her son what looks good on stage.

“It is usually not an easy battle,” she said, smiling. “Being his manager is certainly a privilege, but it also can be a little unnerving, trying to know how to guide him to the right possibilities.”

Before breaking into another song, this time an original titled “It Ain’t Right,” the young bluesman talks about songwriting. He’s written five or six, maybe more. He has an ear for music and it comes naturally, but he struggles a bit with lyrics. Still, one Saturday in February, John Clayton and The 662 Band spent a long day recording some of his originals at The Lodge Recording Studio in Rienzi. And in early March, John Clayton and others planned a time of prayer and praise at Fredonia Baptist Church in New Albany for 16-year-old Ansley Thompson, John Clayton’s dear friend who had cancer. At the service, Ansley was surprised when her friend sang “Biggest Fan,” a song that he wrote just for her. There were few dry eyes in the church. Ansley died not long after. Sadly, life often presents lessons that teach even young people to understand the blues.

“To me, the blues are something to pat your foot to, something that makes you want to dance,” John Clayton said. “It’s a diverse genre between hearing big, loud guitar sounds and quiet, clean, soft guitar, all in one song. The blues are very soulful, and that’s why I like it so much.”

John Clayton and The 662 Band will play at the Corinth Coliseum on April 19 at 7 p.m., and in Oxford at Rooster’s Blues House on May 10 at 9:30 p.m. Learn more at johnclaytonwhitemusic.com.

PHOTOS BY LIZ CALVERY

ortheast Mississippi Community College’s Campus Country presented “Salvation Mountain”

Feb. 22 at Hines Hall Auditorium.

1. Members of Campus Country singing “Salvation Mountain”

2. Sophia Taylor, Audrey Williams and Anna Grace Fiveash

3. Lilly Faith Childs

4. Lazarrus Miller

5. Gaven Boone, Landyn Bates and Maris Richardson

EMPTY BOWLS

T6.

1. Sandy Henson, Col. Gene Slusher and Jennie Johnson

2. Wendy Grubbs and Glenda Alexander

3. LeAnna and Thomas Marion with Holly Rogers and Jim Ingram

4. Carolyn Brownson, Keri McMillian and Tonya Hensley

5. Joe Gonzelez, Tavo Rodriquez, Bryan To and Teresa White

6. Darren Stafford, Larisa Pittman, Jessica Chapman and Tori Frantz

7. Maresol Aguirre, Shakia Pounds and Susannah Pace

8. Renee Manning, Laura Reed and Cassandra Hainsworth

9. Ramona Ray, Melissa Montgomery and Ashley Miller

10. Dan Schrueder and Lisa Henly

PHOTOS BY LISA ROBERTS

he Salvation Army’s Empty Bowls fundraiser returned for its 25th anniversary in Tupelo on March

EMPTY BOWLS

ERAS TOUR BINGO NIGHT

Junior Auxiliary of Booneville hosted a bingo night inspired by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour on March 1.

1. Molly Murphy and Haven Hamblin

2. Kali Nanney, Lindsey Hodges, Ashley Owens, Taylor Graves and Jennifer McQueen

3. Christina and Chloe Owens

4. Morgan Brewer, Brittany Kendrick and Leigh Treloar

5. Bridget Watson, Kayla Shouse and Emilee Hughes

6. Mary Helen Estes, Mary Kate Wright, Whitleigh Guy and Ramsey Treloar

PHOTOS BY LIZ CALVERY

Winter Jam took place at Cadence Bank Arena Feb. 29. Notable artists from the lineup included Crowder, Lecrae, Katy Nichole, Newsong and more. 1.

5.

7.

PHOTOS BY LISA ROBERTS

Linkfest took place March 2 at the Link Centre. Attendees were able to participate in workshops and sessions led by local artists, educators and entrepreneurs.

1. Hannah Maharrey and Rose James

2. Ashley and Priya Hare

PHOTOS BY LISA ROBERTS

3. Landon Davis and Aiden Nash

4. Sarah Evelyn and Ruthie McCord

5. Jessica Starks

6. Oliver and Ane Kramer

PRCA RODEO

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo — with steer wrestling, bareback riding, team roping, bull riding and more — took place Feb. 23-24 at the Corinth Crossroads Arena.

1. Jessica and Preston Owings with Amanda Aust

2. Colin Staugh and Jon Howard Brown

3. Janet Thompson and Bayleigh Pounders

4. Priestley and Claude Clegg

5. Georgia and Spencer Lee

6. Kim McAfee and Jamie Jones

7. Katherine and Cullen Arnold

8. Hank and Clifford Leonard

9. Kayden and Kooper Pounders

PHOTOS BY WHITNEY WORSHAM

OUT & ABOUT

Pickleball at Guntown City Park

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

1. Brooke and Morgan Davis with Reed Smith

2. Sara Catherine Wood, Brice Stone, Cameron Stevens and Abby Flaherty

3. The Ladies of Doniphan Dance Project

4. Sarah Young, Jane Riley, Leath Johnson and Sally Elliotte

5. Jere Allen and Bob Black

6. Morma Morrison and Jan Scott with Debbie and Jim Chandler

7. Jane Whitledge, Alison Baird and Jamie Dietrich

8. Dalton Floyd and Becky Hendrix

9. Anna Lea and Kieran Pettigrew

10. Morgan Stewart

The Doniphan Dance Project

JOY THEATRE

FOR 50 YEARS, THIS MOVIE THEATER BROUGHT JOY TO PEOPLE IN PONTOTOC.

For at least 50 years, the people of Pontotoc and surrounding communities could purchase a bucket of popcorn and a soda, find a burgundy velour seat that suited them and sit back to enjoy a movie inside the Joy Theatre on East Marion Street.

The Joy’s first owners were Mr. and Mrs. Grady Cook, who opened the theater in the early 1940s with about 250 seats. An expansion around 1950 saw the seating capacity grow to about 530 seats, including the balcony.

Millicent Shannon Seawright, 75, has fond memories of the Joy Theatre.

“I remember going to the movies on Saturday for a dime or a nickel, and seeing a western,” she said. “And for about 25 cents more, you could get popcorn and a Coke.”

In the mid-’60s, Charles Austin bought the Joy; in 1976, Austin sold it to Virgil Easterling; and the final owners of the Joy Theatre were Betty and Danny Walls.

“Daddy bought the Joy in 1978 or ’79,” said their son Kevin Walls, 60. “They kept it going until it became sort of a dinosaur with its 400-plus seats. And it cost so much to heat and cool the building, and video stores were becoming popular. Daddy sold the Joy in the early 1990s.”

Those original prices of admission aren’t the only thing different from today’s moviegoing experience. In its early days, the Joy had a smoking room where guests could smoke while still watching the movie through a window. Easterling turned the smoking room into a storage room during his ownership.

Danny Walls, a lover of country music, tried to also attract people to live music events at the Joy, but at the time, movies still seemed to be a bigger draw.

Under the ownership of the Walls family, the Joy was pretty much a mom-andpop endeavor. There was one employee who helped out.

“When I was in the eighth and ninth grades, my best friend and I would sometimes work concessions,” Kevin Wall said. “Mom took up tickets; Dad started the projectors, then worked concessions.”

The old Joy Theatre building on East Marion Street still stands today, now serving as offices for the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

“I REMEMBER GOING TO THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY FOR A DIME OR A NICKEL … AND FOR ABOUT 25 CENTS MORE, YOU COULD GET POPCORN AND A COKE.”

— MILLICENT SHANNON SEAWRIGHT

WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOGRAPHS CONTRIBUTED

A Pontotoc County Chamber of Commerce Christmas ornament commemorates the historic Joy Theatre.