Rae Clarke of the Zion community in Kemper County, and Faye Lewis of Bailey, enjoy the bands at Jimmie's Jam Saturday evening in Meridian.

    Keeping beat by tapping her hands on the picnic table, Rae Clark listened to the young musicians and bands who paraded up to the stage in downtown Meridian Saturday evening during the Jimmie’s Jam event.

    She smiled as familiar tunes she has heard all her life were given their own musical spin by local and regional bands. She can remember when the original artists were here in Meridian as part of the annual Jimmie Rodgers Festival.

    “I saw all the big bands,” Clarke said Saturday over the playing of “Aimee” made famous by the Little River Band. “Many of my memories are of the concerts at the Temple Theater and the street dances.”

    Headlining Saturday’s event, the 58th, was Big Swig led by Mississippi native Arlan Gibson. Big Swig has played in hundreds of venues across the Southeast. Also on the venue was Bo and the Show, made up of local musicians Bo Denton, Chris Ethridge, David Zettler, and Tom Rovinski.

No requests and Southern Drive offered a wide assortment of acoustic numbers of famous tunes including those from Rodger’s archives.

    Josh Taylor, one of the organizers of the event, said the crowd was fantastic and that they could not have asked for a better night to hold the event.

    “These are true music fans and they are great,” Taylor said over the sounds of Southern Drive. “We always appreciate the support we get from the community.”

    Faye Lewis, like Clarke, grew up on the festival. For many years she and her family moved away from Meridian to live in Brandon and work in Jackson. She was enjoying herself Saturday.

    “I remember when it was held in Highland Park,” Lewis said.

    When T. G. Shepherd’s name was mentioned, Lewis let out a “Wooo!”

    “I remember him,” she said, rather embarrassed at her reaction.

    But that is what the festival has meant to many who grew up in Meridian. As the traffic passed overhead, underneath on Front Street the fans continued to steadily file in. Just a few yards away, a freight train rumbled by blowing its whistle as if to signal to Jimmie Rodgers fans that he was there listening.