“Jammin’ at The Jook,” a social media collaboration between Hattiesburg Parks and Recreation and the Hattiesburg Arts Council, will be music to your ears.
During a special competition, which will run from June 1-30, Hattiesburgers are asked to create and play their own music at The Jook - located on the lawn of the former Hattiesburg American building on North Main Street - for a chance to win a variety of prizes.
“The whole reason this started is it is such a cool place,” Kristen Nooe, Innovative programs and social media coordinator for HPR.
“I was trying to find a way to market (The Jook) to the community because a lot of people aren’t aware of it.”
Nooe said the competition was created to raise awareness of The Jook and get more people to take advantage of the tools there.
“It is free to the public, so anybody can use it,” she said. “There are no limitations.”
The Jook is an interactive stage equipped with a Bluetooth capable amp, microphone and keyboard.
The facility, which was dedicated last fall at 825 North Main Street, was a joint effort between the HAC, Signature Magazine and the City of Hattiesburg with a donation by the Brian Blair Memorial Fund.
Participants can perform any genre of music, but profanity will be an immediate disqualifier. Nooe said if a musician does not have a band, they can plug their music into the amplifier and sing along for the video.
“Because this is going to go all over Facebook and is going to be on the Parks and Rec and City of Hattiesburg page, profanity will disqualify you,” Nooe said. “(The competition) is open to those ages zero to 100, so everyone can participate.”
The other limitation is that participants cannot sing covers, but instead must create their own original songs.
“While I know that people can perform awesome covers, we are not going to use those because we want to focus on local talent and what they can do,” Nooe said.
To enter, participants must go to The Jook, use the equipment there, record themselves performing an original song and share the video to social media using the hashtag #JammingAtTheJook. Tagging both the Hattiesburg Parks and Rec and the Hattiesburg Arts Council in the post will earn you extra points.
The Jook is open every day until 10 p.m.
Nooe said the judges are members of the Parks and Rec staff and the Arts Council, as well as local musicians.
“We’ll have a whole array of people voting just so we get feedback from a little bit of everyone in the community,” she said.
There are a variety of prizes to be won, like lessons to The 0 and tickets to a City Lights + Music Nights Concert Series show.
The winner will be announced July 5. The winning video will then be shown on the Parks and Rec, Art’s Council and City of Hattiesburg Facebook pages.
