The City of Alabaster introduces a new fall music festival.
By Barry Wise Smith, photos courtesy of Black Jacket Symphony
Jamie Cole, Ward 5 City Councilor, is ready for the music to play again in Alabaster after a long two-year absence of Alabaster’s popular spring music festival CityFest, due to the Covid 19 pandemic. “CityFest is one of our largest economic drivers,” he says. Cole who has long served as an officer and board member of the of the Alabaster Arts Council, is excited that a new fall festival, Alabaster Jubilee No. 1, is tuning up for September 25 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“A fall event was always in the cards, but after two years of not doing CityFest, we thought the time was right to introduce a new event sooner than later,” Cole says. “One of the issues I ran for council on was having more things to do in Alabaster. I want to expand our arts and cultural offerings. Going forward, Alabaster Jubilee No. 1 will be more focused on local and regional up-and-coming musical acts. But since we had leftover funds from not having CityFest for two years, we decided to go big for this first one.”
On September 25th, the Alabaster Jubilee No. 1 gates will open at Thompson High School at 10 a.m. with an early day focus on school music programs including elementary school choirs, the award-winning Thompson High School Jazz Ensemble, and the marching band. Local and regional acts will perform throughout the afternoon, including up-and-comer Moxie Hotel. Black Jacket Symphony will headline the show at 8 p.m. performing Tom Petty’s popular album Damn the Torpedoes. Michael Warren will be hosting and deejaying throughout the day, and there will be local food and food trucks on site. There is no admission fee for Alabaster Jubilee No. 1. Title sponsors are the City of Alabaster, Central State Bank, and Coca-Cola. “These types of events have a tremendous economic impact on our city,” Cole says. “There will be something for everyone to enjoy.”
A chat with Black Jacket Symphony’s CEO, Jason Rogoff
Explain Black Jacket Symphony’s concept?
Jason Rogoff: “The Black Jacket Symphony recreates classic albums in a live setting. We do
it note-for-note, sound-for-sound. But we don’t stop at the music—we create a
visual experience with lighting and video that we hope mesmerizes people.”
Tell us about the overseas tours Black Jacket has been a part of?
“We have been fortunate enough to perform for the US troops in the Middle East.
They were the most rewarding shows we’ve ever done—our troops work
longer and harder than anyone we’ve ever seen, so to get to perform for them
and try to take them away from their worries for a couple of hours was an
incredible experience.”
What shows did you perform in the beginning?
“The first show we did was The Beatles’ Abbey Road. That album
is where the whole thing started. After that we did Who’s Next, Led Zeppelin
IV, Back In Black, The Dark Side of the Moon, and more.”
How many different albums has Black Jacket performed?
“41.”
How many cities?
“We play all over the country—as far west as Tacoma,
Washington and as far north as Pennsylvania. We just wrapped up
a full tour of the U.S. the week before the pandemic. We play a little over
100 shows each year.”
What was the experience like playing the Alabaster Festival before COVID-19? I believe it was raining?
“We did run into a bit of rain the last time we played outdoors in Alabaster…well, I guess the rain ran
into us. What stuck with everyone on stage that night was the crowd and their desire to continue
enjoying the music despite the rain. Some of the best concerts happen in
the rain—because the band feeds off of the energy of people who clearly love
the music enough to get soaked.”
Black Jacket will perform Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes album in Alabaster. Who will be in the band for that one?
“J. Willoughby, founder of the Black Jacket Symphony, sings lead vocals on this show.
We also have the incredibly talented Taylor Hunnicutt joining us—she sings the
Stevie Nicks parts at our Fleetwood Mac shows. She adds amazing harmonies to
the album and then sticks around to sing a duet in the greatest hits set.”
You have some incredible musicians involved in Black Jacket? How do you recruit them?
“We are incredibly fortunate to get to work with the best musicians
around—and more than that, they are all great people. I think the combination of
the music we are playing and getting to work with such an incredible ensemble
of performers is what does the recruiting for us.”