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PAUL:

Teaching yourself guitar during a pandemic might sound like a classic quarantine cliche, but when it launches you into solo artistry and onto stages from Duling Hall to New Stage Theater, well, that's a different story altogether.

Hello, it's Paul Wolf with a front-row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places and events that make the City With Soul shine. On today's show, my colleague Yolanda Clay-Moore sits down with Ally Durr, visual designer by day, soulful musician by calling. From singing gospel with her cousins to releasing her breakthrough single, “What You Livin' For,” to grooving for Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor at Tougaloo, Ally's journey through Jackson's music scene is a masterclass in creative courage and community connection.

YOLANDA:

You know, some may not know you as Ally the artist. So tell me about who is Ally the artist?

ALLY:

So, the artist, I began singing at a very, very young age. Ally the artist is very fluent and seems to be impactful with music. When I was a teenager, I sung in my family group. We had three different names. I swear we was like, ‘Yeah, …. It was like six of us. We were our first cousins and we sung together for quite some time. Did a lot of traveling. We sung gospel. When I attended college, of course, I got a degree in art at Jackson State University and I was a part of the Chorale there as well for a little bit, because I wanted to focus more on my art. Shout out to Dr. Costello, who was my teacher there. The years have passed since then. 2020, I became a solo artist in music and I picked it up, like say during the pandemic. So was kind of like I had more... I guess everybody had a lot of time to be creative and do things they wish to do, wanted to do, But I took time to write music. I took time to teach myself guitar to a certain extent, to accompany my songwriting. And so I just remember going to the studio, just my little amp, was no bigger than probably a shoebox, took it to studio, Crown Studios at the time. And I went there and made my first single, “What You Livin’ For.” I didn't know what to expect from it because it was my first single, but it made a great impact. It really, it introduced me to a lot of more opportunities as a singer and as a musician. And that really made me feel like I'm supposed to be in this place in music.

YOLANDA:

You talk about you kind of transitioning into a solo career during the pandemic. Would you say the pandemic forced you into that or did you already have a sense of that's where you were going?

ALLY:

I would say it was a call because for years I knew that I would be doing this, but I just didn't know when. So when I had the time to really just kind of sit and meditate, that's when it was introduced to me. Like it was a calling for me to welcome music into my life.

YOLANDA:

And so that's when you began to transition after you released your first single. how has your career progressed?

ALLY:

Ooh, it has progressed a lot because I was a part of New Stage Theatre in 2024. I was a background singer for The Shirelles. We were doing Beautiful, The Carole King musical. It was so funny. I had one line that I was supposed to say. Okay. And said I can't even remember it, but everybody was laughing because it was funny to me, like, that while it was two words. But it was so much fun because you get to meet all these great actors and actresses from different places and you begin to see more of yourself and your fear, just the fear you have of kind of like, I don't think I can do it until I know I can do it. I have these people around me, these creatives around me that are helping me to be the best actor that I can be when it comes to these musicals. That was a great inspiration to me. We did like, I think, we two weeks of show run and they added an extra week because it was all sold out. Got to add this, I was selected to be a part of the Mississippi Votes Arts and Activism Fellowship that was under Alexis Noble. And I was one of the songwriters and singers a part of that fellowship. And our project was to collaborate a mixtape with different musicians, poets, singers, songwriters, producers. And it was a great, when I say it was a great turnout. I met quite a few people that I didn't know and some people I did know and I got more acquainted with them and we just really became a family. You know, you said you were at a new stage and then you're part of the fellowship.

YOLANDA:

Is that what kind of got you into the Jackson music scene or how did that progress? When I put out that single, “What You Livin’ For,” I signed up to be a part of the Jackson Indie Music Week put me out there as an artist, it was really, really great. They also did one during the pandemic, I believe too, but it was like, it was virtual. I remember performing in Crowne Studios, “What You Livin’ For.” And then afterwards I was at Duling Hall for Jackson Indie Music Week, in which I always wanted to perform at Duling Hall. And the good thing, it was free.

YOLANDA:

That's always a bonus, right? But it's about opportunity. And so I'm glad that that provided the opportunity for you.

ALLY:

It did. It really did. And so many people that in the Jackson music scene that I met just performing there in different other places, including Thacker Mountain Radio Hour. Thacker Mountain reached out to me to perform in Clinton, Oxford. They really enjoyed me performing there. And I like Thacker Mountain because it's a radio show. It reaches Alabama, Mississippi. I mean, it goes off everywhere. And so that helped me a whole lot, too in expanding my career in music and stuff.

YOLANDA:

You talked about New Stage Theatre and I know that you participated in another event most recently, the convocation with actress and creative Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor, who is a Tougaloo alumna. But she did an event here and then she incorporated music into that. And you did like, I call it a she shed. I don't know what the official name was. You know, I'm in the music community and musicians, typically males, musicians always get together and shed. And if you're not familiar with the term shed, it's basically different musicians coming together and they just play. There's nothing planned out. They start playing and the other one picks up and they go from there. So tell me about that experience with you.

ALLY:

We - shout out to Rita Brent. She made sure that I was reminded to be there. When I tell you was so much fun, like you said, you see me and Shad, but women, you don't see women come together like that, but it was awesome. And they were, we, when I say they were awesome, they were awesome. And it was so many great singers and poets that came and.

Of course, I performed. I was nervous to perform in front of Ms. Angelou Ellis, but when I got there, I felt like I was in outer space. And the greatest thing that I saw was that she got up and she grooved to my music. And I was like, yeah, yeah.

YOLANDA:

Now, did you know any of the musicians that were playing?

ALLY:

Yes, it was Rita Brent was on drums. Maya Kyle was on drums. They did well together playing. Kalandra, she is a guitarist. I think she's from Mississippi. And it was another keyboardist, I can't think of her name, but I know her face. And Alicia Kruthitz, Kruthitz, I'm saying her name right. And it was nice. The groove was nice, it was in pocket, everything was really, really well.

YOLANDA:

That sounds like an incredible experience on my beloved campus, Tougaloo College. You're in the Jackson music scene. Is there anything that you've seen growth in or, you know, what are we missing?

ALLY:

I think we're missing more so of the sheds. We can seem a little bit spaced out because everybody has a lot of work that they're doing. They're gigging here, gigging there. But I feel like the sheds are a way of connecting us back to the music as of connectivity and family. Like it was when I was coming up and they used to do sheds all the time. And it used to be so much fun because you begin to see people that you never saw come up and play. Like, I didn't know he could play. I didn't know she could play. so like... it was so much fun and that's something that I miss about us just being together like that. Because we have some, want to say, Jackson, Mississippi has some great musicians and singers. Awesome, they're talented. They're playing on big stages. But the sheds is what I really miss about us all coming together because it inspires even people that still playing. It inspires them to keep going and stuff. So that's what I miss.

YOLANDA:

When I think about a short laundry list of Jackson, Mississippi artists, there are musicians that have gone on to great things. think about musicians like Christian Comb, who not only plays for the Mississippi Mass Choir, but he also plays for Todd Delaney. I think about David Curry III, Lil D, who, you - he played for Keith Sweat, the Canton Spirituals, his sister, D'Arcas. And the list goes on and on. Larry Johnson, who is now a background singer for Monica, who's on tour with Monica and Brandi and Jamal Roberts. So the list just goes on and on. The talent here is, I mean, we're saturated with talent. And so I'm just glad to see opportunities for women artists, women musicians to come together. And hopefully we can see more of that in our community.

ALLY:

Yep. That's super cool. Super cool. I'm working on some new material as well. And so that is soon to come out and I'm excited about it. A lot of things have transpired in the last year and a half. I'm just willing to share that gift with everybody and y'all get to see my vulnerability and my music and just, you get to see outside of the design world who I really am in my heart.

YOLANDA:

You are a true creative, an artist, and we just thank you for your contribution not only to Jackson, Mississippi, the City With Soul, as a creative designer, but also as an artist that contributes to the rich tapestry that exists here in the city of Jackson. So we thank you and thank you for joining us today and we look forward to what you have next.

PAUL:

That's Yolanda Clay-Moore in conversation with Ally Durr, a beautiful conversation about finding your voice, literally and figuratively, in Jackson's vibrant creative community. From Jackson Indie Music Week to Thacker Mountain Radio, from New Stage Theater to Mississippi Votes, Ally's reminding us that our music scene thrives when artists support each other and create spaces to connect, to shed, and to grow together. Keep an eye out for new music from Ally. We'll have links to her artist page in our show notes at visitjackson.com/soulsessions. This podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. Do you want to know more about all of the great things going on in Jackson? We keep up with that at visitjackson.com.

I'm Paul Wolf, and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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