Think great writers are all serious business? Not in Jackson, where literary legend Eudora Welty left her mark with both brilliance and playful spirit! On today's show, we're celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Eudora Welty House with Welty Education Specialist Anna Traylor, who's bringing the beloved author's vibrant legacy to new generations at this perfectly preserved piece of Jackson history.

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-anna-traylor

Anna Traylor | Eudora Welty House & Garden

On today's show, we're talking with Ryan Parker, the executive director of the Mississippi Film Society, bringing Hollywood to Mississippi's capital city. Ryan accomplishes this through special screenings and the upcoming Stranger Than Fiction Film Festival, bringing a passion for creating shared experiences to our local movie screens.

Ryan Parker | Stranger Than Fiction Film Festival

On today's show, we're talking with Maureen Scott, a certified Master Gardener and member of the Metro Master Gardeners Association. From her work at Greenwood Cemetery and the Ag Museum Herb Garden to a touching award-winning project at St. Dominic's, Maureen shares how gardening can be both personal therapy and public service. 

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-maureen-scott

Maureen Scott | Metro Master Gardeners

We're catching up with Kimberlee Cooper from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the organization behind Mississippi Makers Fest, a free family friendly celebration of local art, music and food. From pottery demos to American Idol headliners, Kimberly shares how this growing festival turns downtown Jackson into a showcase of Mississippi creativity.

KIMBERLEE COOPER MAKERS FEST

We're catching up with Austin Evans and Richard Patrick, co-founders of Cathead Distillery. With bourbon, gin, and liqueurs, plus a music festival that's just as soulful as their spirits. They're here to talk Cathead Jam, community, and the culture that keeps them rooted in Jackson.

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-cathead

Austin Evans and Richard Patrick | Cathead Distillery

On today's show, we’re celebrating the roots and rhythms of Mississippi blues and its powerful connection to the Chicago Blues Festival with Visit Mississippi’s Michelle McAdoo. From the local legends to their lasting legacies, Michelle will help us explore how Mississippi continues to shape—and share—the soundtrack of the south.

TRANSCRIPT and SHOW NOTES: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-michelle-mcadoo

Michelle McAdoo | MS Blues Trail featuring Chicago Blues Festival and Jesse Robinson

On today's show, we're sitting down with Jackson author Gerry Wilson, who published her first novel at the age of 82. She shares how her life in Mississippi



Her years as a teacher and her lifelong love of writing all came together to shape her book, "That Pinson Girl," and what it means to find your voice at any stage in life.

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-gerry-wilson

Gerry Wilson | Author

On today's show, we talk with Maya Kyles, a dynamic drummer and Jackson native who's carved out her own space in the city's vibrant music scene. From the gospel roots of the Mississippi Mass Choir to the spotlight at the Chicago Blues Festival, Maya's journey is as soulful as it is steady. We'll dive into her influences, her evolution as a musician, and that moment she stepped out from behind the drums and into the mic, literally. We spent a little time together at the Chicago Blues Festival.

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-maya-kyles

Maya Kyles | Musician

On today's show, we're talking with Alexis Noble, the powerhouse gallery owner and creative director who's transforming an unexpected location in a University Boulevard shopping center into Jackson's creative hub. She's the founder of Vibe Studio and the Mashup and a Change Collective fellow who's proving art doesn't have to be elitist. It just has to be accessible.

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-alexis-noble

Alexis Noble | Vibe Studio JXN

On today's show, we're talking with Sade Meeks, a registered dietitian and founder of Growing Resilience in the South—GRITS—an organization fighting for food justice here in Mississippi. She's making a documentary called "Food as Resistance" that challenges everything we think we know about Southern foods, and she's proving that catfish and greens aren't just comfort food—they're weapons against food inequality.

TRANSCRIPT: https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/soul-sessions-sade-meeks

Sade Meeks | Growing Resistance in the South

Be it our people, music, food, history or culture, there’s always something good to talk about in the City With Soul, Jackson, Mississippi!

Visit Jackson is the destination organization charged with connecting, engaging and inspiring the city with a rewarding sense-of-place for visitors and an economically beneficial and an enhanced quality-of-life for residents.

Gerry Wilson | Author

Soul Sessions Jackson

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