With eight days of live musical performances, panel discussions and film and music video screenings, Jackson Indie Music Week brings Mississippi artists and music enthusiasts to the capital city’s most well-known venues and hot spots.

This year’s festival kicked off at Lucky Town Brewing Co. on Jan. 13 and will end with a “Wrap Party” at Fondren’s Kundi Compound.

JIM Week 2019 hasn’t even come to a close, but creator Brad Franklin is pleased with the success this year’s festival has seen so far.

“Year four has exceeded our expectations,” said Brad “Kamikaze” Franklin, JIM Week creator. “We’re excited about our growth and we’re excited that entities like Jackson CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) and Visit Mississippi have come on board and realized that our Mississippi indie music scene is bringing folks into town to spend money in hotels, restaurants and retail spaces. We said in year one that we would push the narrative of Mississippi being the birthplace of America’s music and that’s what we’re doing. When I birthed this idea, this is the course I hoped it would take.”

Mississippi Today photojournalist Eric Shelton captured some of the highlights from JIM Week.

Stephanie Luckett performs during the R&B showcase in the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Dj Krush Vibez sets up for the women’s showcase at CS’s during Jackson Indie Music Week Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
Panelist discuss women in music at CS’s during Jackson Indie Music Week Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
Event goers listen to panelist as they discuss women in music at CS’s during Jackson Indie Music Week Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
The stage is set for performers at CS’s during Jackson Indie Music Week Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
Aisha Raquel performs during the R&B showcase in the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Bluesman Sherman Lee Dillon is honored during the ICON Awards as a part of the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Photographer James Patterson, who passed away in 2018, is honored with an ICON Awards as a part of the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Longtime radio personality Verbia “Lady V” Harden accepts the ICON Awards during the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Gospel singer Leonard Williams gives an acceptance speech during the ICON Awards as a part of the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Gospel singer Leonard Williams gives an acceptance speech during the ICON Awards as a part of the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Sonny Dumarsais, of New Jersey, performs in the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Brotha Josh and the Quickness perform in the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Brotha Josh and the Quickness perform in the Jackson Indie Music Week at Duling Hall Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Merc B. Williams hosts the ICON Awards ceremony and the R&B showcase at Duling Hall during the Jackson Indie Music Week Thursday, January 17, 2019.

Eric J. Shelton was a 2018 corps member in Report for America, and joined the team as our first photojournalist. A native of Columbia, Miss., Eric earned his bachelor’s in photojournalism from the University of Southern Mississippi. He was a multimedia journalist for Abilene Reporter-News, chief photographer for the Hattiesburg American and photo editor for the Killeen Daily Herald before joining our team June 2018. He rejoined Mississippi Today as our health photojournalist in January 2022.

Sereena Henderson managed Mississippi Today’s social media and reported on Mississippi culture from August 2016 until June 2020. She was also a member of the engagement team and curated and delivered the daily newsletter. Sereena, a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is a graduate of the Ole Miss School of Journalism and New Media.