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Sing Your Song and Kris Allen at Duling Hall

Last night was fun. The Greater Jackson Arts Council had a show at Duling Hall to highlight and celebrate local talent. They called the event Sing Your Song and in it, twelve local singers performed one song each and three impartial judges crowned a winner at the end. The winner got $1000 and some recording time.

As the guy who’s married to Ariel Blackwell, I know there’s a lot of talented people around the Jackson area, but to see so much of it showcased back to back was a heartening experience. Personally, my favorites from the night were JadaBelle, Seth Power, JAE54, and Sam Mooney but in the end, McKenzie Lockhart won the grand prize. I can’t even say the judges got it wrong because the song she sang was great, just not my kind of music. I am not-so-secretly bummed that a local artist didn’t, as McKenzie is from Alabama, but ultimately the showcase of music was the real winner of the night. Side note: I think its really great that McKenzie kinda looks like Lisa from The Room.

Kris Allen, the winner of American Idol Season 8, was both a guest judge and the “headliner” of the show. I’ve been a fan since his AI win and personally, I think his most recent album, Letting You In, is his best yet. So, from the jump, Sergio was there to see Mr. Allen, the rest of the night was surprisingly pleasant window-dressing.

The only real complaint I have about the show is the length of Kris Allen’s set. He was given about 30 minutes which translated into 7 songs. I can think of at least 15 songs I would have loved to have heard. I’m sure the show was planned on a tight budget, so Allen didn’t have his full band behind him. Fortunately, Duling Hall is the perfect venue for intimate acoustic sets.

His 7 songs were the right 7 songs, and if I’m being honest, he sounded perfect. Almost disgustingly perfect. It was like he wrote those songs specifically for his voice and performance capabilities, then smartly performed them as designed. All jokes aside, Allen was a joy, and I wish he had been given at least 45 mins, maybe a 10 song set or something more substantial.

As usual, I somehow hoodwinked my way into acquiring the “setlist”. I use the quotes because unlike every other setlist we’ve gotten, this one was hastily written on a styrofoam plate. I know that sounds disappointing, but it's actually quite the opposite. Not only was it handwritten, but it being on a plate makes it special in its own weird collector’s kind of way.

From now on, I have the sentence “oh yeah, that’s the setlist I have on a styrofoam plate” to look forward to. To add to the allure of the plate, not only did Allen sign it, but as he handed it to me he said “Enjoy your meal.” I don’t know if it was scripted, but it was 100% the perfect thing to say in that moment. Such a small phrase, but the timing was right that I now will remember it forever. Damn humans and our weird sentimental minds.

Here’s where things get weird. As setlist collectors, my wife and I have quite the hoard. I believe its 29 and counting. They are all carefully framed with the exact same type of frame, hung meticulously on our wall in chronological order. This Kris Allen set-plate puts the organization system in jeopardy. After spending an embarrassing amount of time deciding if a $15 (wrong-sized) shadow box was worth the purchase I made the executive decision to wing it.

I took the same 8.5x11 picture frame that we’ve used for the other setlists and I cut the guts and supports out of the back of it and forced it to be a makeshift shadow box. This gutted frame now checks both boxes. It preserves the integrity of the plate (mostly) while still matching the other setlists in the collection. I would allow myself to be proud of it, but knowing that I used a miter to alter a perfectly good document frame to house disposable dinnerware successfully keeps me in check.

The night was a success, and I thank Doug for joining me at the last minute. I sincerely hope this “Sing Your Song” event becomes an annual thing, and I’m excited to see what the next one might bring. More importantly, I have reason to tell this ridiculous plate story and that makes the night more than worth my money.

#kris allen #GJAC #greater jackson arts council #sing your song #duling hall #fondren