Published: July 09, 2008 10:37 pm      

Backstage Pass:

EMCC hosts Sucarnochee Revue

Special to The Star



SCOOBA – The Sucarnochee Revue is coming to East Mississippi Community College on Friday, July 18. The Revue, a celebration of musicians from the Black Belt region of Mississippi and Alabama, played to a sell-out crowd last summer during its first visit to EMCC.

The Revue performs throughout the year at the University of Alabama at Livingston. But during the summer months, founder Jacky “Jack” White takes his show on the road – and he says EMCC is shaping up as a regular stop on the tour. The headliner at the Revue’s upcoming visit to Scooba is Nash Street, winner this year of the 26th Annual Colgate Country Showdown at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

“My dream was about putting a spotlight on music and artists from this part of the world,” White said.

“When I started the Sucarnochee Revue more than four years ago, people thought I was crazier than I really was. The pros said, ‘Jacky, that dog will not hunt’ or ‘that sparrow will not fly.’ But God had a little bit of a hand in it and here we are.”

The Sucarnochee Revue is now heard weekly on 35 radio stations in 10 states, including WMOX in Meridian, and WTOK-TV has televised it.

Show time is 7 p.m. at EMCC’s Stennis Auditorium; tickets are $10. If you want to make a night of it, come early and have dinner on campus at the cafeteria. Dinner will be served from 5 p.m. until 6:15 p.m.; meal tickets are $6.



Company’s coming



In Scooba, EMCC staff, alumni and friends are getting ready for the concert.

“The first Sucarnochee Revue concert last year was exciting. It was the first big summer event we’ve hosted for a while and hundreds of people came. I don’t think there were 10 empty seats in Stennis Auditorium and people were still arriving as late as intermission,” said Dr. Rick Young, EMCC president.

“Some people say community colleges are the best-kept secret in Mississippi, but the fact is that 70 percent of all college freshmen are enrolled in community colleges. Events like the Sucarnochee Revue let us come together with the folks in our community and share a great evening of fellowship – and it gives them a chance to take a look at our campus.”

The lineup of Sucarnochee Revue talent includes all the regulars fans have come to expect – plus a few surprises. One of those surprises is EMCC employee Chuck Luke, who will make his debut with the Revue during the July 18 performance.

Luke lives in the Briggs Chapel community in Kemper County with his wife, Linda. He has two daughters, two stepdaughters and a stepson. Luke has been performing gospel music at churches, nursing homes and prisons for about three years.

“It happened when I gave my heart to the Lord and got saved. I taught myself to play guitar, just bought myself a chord book and started fooling around with it,” Luke said.

“I’ve written about 15 gospel songs so far, and God is my co-writer – or I’m his, that’s the way I should say it. I’m not smart enough, and I’ve never been one for poetry or writing. I know where my songs come from. They’re not me, they’re him, and sometimes he gives them to me so fast I can hardly keep up to write it down.”

Luke will perform two or three original songs, including “If not for the Cross.” Also in the lineup is EMCC bluesman Frank Rogers, who debuted with the Sucarnochee Revue last summer.



This article was submitted by EMCC.











NEED MORE?



The artists’ roster for the July 18 appearance of the Sucarnochee Revue at EMCC has something for everyone – and enough bands to keep the hands clapping all evening.

Jacky “Jack” White will perform and emcee the event. The lineup also includes Nash Street, 2nd Mile, George Cummings, Carl Ray, Karen Elmore, Track 45, the Watermill Opry Band, Britt Gully, J. Burton Fuller, “Mississippi” Chris Sharp and the Jang-a-Lang String Band, and Greg Mangum.

Seating is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance. For inquiries, call

(662) 476-5060 or drop by one of these ticket outlets:

• Century 21, 4622 Poplar Springs Drive in Meridian

• Funky Monkey, 4908 29th Ave. in Meridian

• Napa Auto Parts, Highway 16 West in DeKalb

• Town and Country, Main Street in DeKalb

• City Drug Store, Jefferson Street in Macon

• Joy’s Gifts and Flowers , 404 Main St. in Columbus

• Galloway Chandler McKinney Insurance, 128 Commerce S. in West Point

• Book Mart, 120 East Main St. in Starkville