About
Memphis has always been a cauldron of exceptional American sounds, from the blues of Beale Street to the rockabilly of Sun Studios. When soul and R&B topped the charts in the mid-20th century, the city nurtured another regional sound, Memphis soul, with Stax Records leading the way. This sound was stylish and funky, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving beat on the drums-an uptown sound that was not as hard-edged or downhome as other regional manifestations of southern soul. Fifty years later, the Stax Music Academy (SMA) carries on the legacy of this definitive regional record label.
The Stax Music Academy has offered after school and summer programs to Memphis teens since 2000. Students can choose from eight different ensembles, in addition to an audio engineering track. Between the SMA and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music next door, the students learn the history of the music they already love, popularized by such legendary performers as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Booker T. & the MG's, Eddie Floyd, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and the Staple Singers.
"The students come to use because they love authentic soul music," says Tim Sampson of the Soulsville Foundation-the organization behind SMA. "While we do teach them the history of Stax, we really don't have to get them interested. They already know the music; it's a Memphis thing."
The students at SMA have taken this quintessential Memphis sound to venues and festivals all over the world, including the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, many have gone on to study at prestigious colleges and universities, including Berklee College of Music. And while they may have aged out of the program that gave them their start, many choose to join the Stax Music Academy Alumni Band, and we are thrilled to have them here at the 2017 Lowell Folk Festival.