9/19: Blues, Brews, & BBQ
The Blacksburg Museum & Cultural Foundation will host its Annual Blues, Brews, & BBQ event on Saturday, September 19, at the St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall, a nationally recognized historic landmark that once served as the social center of New Town, a neighborhood for Black residents during segregation.
Members of the Blacksburg Museum & Cultural Foundation’s St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall Committee offer programming like Blues, Brews & BBQ to memorialize the kinds of activities that historically occurred in the building and former New Town.
Beer & wine, barbeque, and sweet treats will be available for purchase from Blue Ridge Beverage and Kirk’s Famous BBQ. Additionally, the New River Blues Society will be on site with their organization’s information and as event support.
Admission is free, though a $10 donation is suggested. All funds will help our exhibit redesign at the St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall, slated for a grand reopening on Juneteenth 2027!
Seating is limited, so you may wish to bring chairs.
Performance Schedule
12:30-1:30pm The JoJo Stockton Project
2:00-3:00pm Seedpicker
3:30-4:30pm Lady D and Mi$$ion
Musical Guest Information
The JoJo Stockton Project
he JoJo Stockton Project contains a back line: killer drummer Chris Oneal, monster bassist/ lead Nigel Banks, and fire on Keys, Mr. Tom Floyd.
JoJo Stockton (from moonshine capital Franklin County Va.) has opened for several Grammy-nominated artists at venues such as the Harvester Performance Center, The Cove, The Taubman, The Moss Center, 5 Points Sanctuary and the Bower Center. Corey “lil pop” Ledet, “TAZ” Brandon Niederauer, Delbert McClinton, Adrian Crutchfield, Cedrick Burnside, Rueben Studdard, Eric Gales, and Christone Kingfish Ingram are among the artist he’s performed with or opened for. The list of local artists he’s jammed with is way too long to list.
If you can’t find him downtown Roanoke playing the local scene with his popular band “Solacoustix“, or with a blues jam, JoJo is out supporting other local artists (his favorite thing to do). For that reason, he is coined Roanoke’s “Mayor of Music” and actually received the key to the city from the Mayor himself in July 2023. Even though he loves all genres, coming up playing blues music with his pops (the late Alvin Stockton) this man is committed to keeping the blues alive!
Seedpicker
Seedpicker is a blues-based rock and soul outfit whose goal is to get audiences moving and grooving! Since the release of Virginia Rhapsody in 2020 (available on all streaming platforms), the band has continued to write original music that highlights the culture and heritage of Southwest Virginia, while covering and reimagining some of the favorites that have made music what it is today. Singer/songwriter and bassist, Marcus Morris, is backed by some of the hardest working musicians in the area, Henry Lazenby on guitar, Brian McKee on drums, as well as Kollin Elliot on sax.
Lady D and Mi$$ion
Lady D was born in the coalfields of Cabin Creek in West Virginia and has since become known as W.Va.’s First Lady of Soul. Lady D has become well-known for her original one-woman stage play titled, “The Lady and the Empress” and the abbreviated version titled “Bessie’s Blues,” based on the life and music of blues legend, Bessie Smith.
Lady D regularly performs as a duo with keyboard or guitar and she has made many appearances with blues luminaries such as Bruce Katz and Johnny Rawls, but she is best known as front woman for her 4-piece band, MI$$ION. This group of seasoned musicians easily cover several genres that make up their shows. From R&B, blues, jazz and reggae to pop and soul, as well as her own original music, Lady D & MI$$ION hold their own on any musical line-up. Lady D & MI$$ION have been the opening act for soul legends such as the O’Jays and Jagged Edge and performed at the Obama for Change Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC in January 2009.
Members of the Band:
Dan Bailey – Guitar
Phil Copney – Bass Guitar
Demetrius “Meech” Cross – Drums
Robert Gray – Keys
Lady D has six CDs to her credit, including her newest and most recently released, “Disturbing My Peace.”
