Juke Joint Jam Florida

Juke Joint Jam Florida festival provides an opportunity to celebrate and experience the unique cultural and musical traditions of rural North Florida Legacy Communities in a natural setting at Carr Lake on Orchard Pond Plantation through:

• Concert performances, featuring

Tallahassee Nights Live (headliner), Royce Lovett (Motown signed artist), Garnet and Soul, Teddy and the Rough Riders, and Cameo Appearances.

• Drumming (cadence unique to Leon County)
• Kids at Play (jumpers, face painting, sack and bat races, Florida A&M University Agricultural Education Mobile Unit; and Drones);
• Oral History/Story Telling, featuring local residents with direct ties to actual Legacy Communities;
• Teen DJ Jam, featuring local teen DJs; and
• Auto Show, featuring Antique Car Club, Corvette Car Club, and Motor Cycle Club

The Juke Joint Jam Florida (JJJF) celebrates cultural, social, and musical traditions that undergird north Florida’s Legacy Communities in a one-day jam packed festival extravaganza.    Legacy Communities are communities that evolved on and from Gadsden, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, and Madison’s cotton and tobacco plantations. Historically, these five counties represent counties with the largest plantation economies in North Florida.

Considering the economic challenges that African Americans still face, remembering, recognizing and celebrating the indisputable contributions of African Americans to north Florida is not enough. Thus, the Juke Joint Jam Florida operates as an annual fundraising mechanism to address a variety of issues that present chronic problems for socio-economically disadvantaged populations (of all races) in north Florida:

• Provide seed trusts and scholarship funds for youth;
• Assist the elderly with home repair and quality of life purchases;
• Establish historical markers and exhibits to document contributions of legacy figures, significant events and all communities;
• Support and sponsor local agronomic development/local food hubs;
• Advocate for veterans and their families and strategies that combat chronic diseases and racial discrimination and division;
• Provide information and technical assistance for Family Heirs’ Property Resolution;
• Promote cross-cultural connections; and
• Support and sponsor historic preservation/celebration events in Gadsden, Jefferson, Jackson, Leon, and Madison counties as funds are available.