Hard work, creativity and opportune timing aligned for Wonderbird Spirits’ locally crafted gin to take flight.
Shine + ReDesigns
A Tupelo business and nonprofit experiment in creative community building to make the world more beautiful.
Double Decker Rocks
From the Nicholas Air stage to Blue Delta Alley, music will be nonstop at this year’s Double Decker Arts Festival.
Meet the Artist
Memphis native Allyn Fraser is this year’s Double Decker Arts Festival poster artist.
Mastering Golf Season Fare
These recipes inspired by the Masters golf tournament are sure to please at any springtime gathering.
Threads of Time & Place
Artist Coulter Fussell explores memory, material and Mississipi life in her sweeping new exhibition at the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Welcome to the Rockabilly Belt
There’s a movement afoot to put northeast Mississippi on the musical map for its place in the birth of rockabilly music.
This month’s magazine celebrates art, music and the Double Decker Arts Festival. Read about Shine and ReDesign’s creative partnership on page 34. Find Double Decker info starting on page 44.
OUR TAKE WITH
It’s hard to believe it’s already time for Double Decker! After a long and hard winter, it seems like we are all looking forward to this springtime tradition more than ever. It truly is a celebration of Oxford — for both those who live here and the many people who travel here to take part.
This year’s poster artist, Allyn Fraser, is from Memphis. When she participated in Double Decker last year, she fell in love with the festival and is excited to be back again and to have her artwork featured on the poster. Read more about her on page 48.
We’re also celebrating some other special artists in this issue. Turn to page 34 to read about the Tupelo Shine and Redesigns partnership that encourages people with special needs to create all kinds of things, including some beautiful artwork. And on page 64, read about Water Valley quilter Coulter Fussell’s latest exhibit in Jackson.
Also inside this magazine, you’ll find a story on Wonderbird Spirits’ new tasting room on the Square (page 30); a spread of food inspired by the Masters golf tournament (page 54); and Mississippi’s ties to rockabilly music (page 72).
Speaking of music, there’s also a full rundown of the Double Decker music lineup starting on page 44. From young, local bands to the headliner Wilco, we are in for a rockin’ festival this year.
Have fun, and we will see you right back here next month.
PUBLISHER
Rachel West
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Emily Welly
EVENTS EDITOR AND SOCIAL MEDIA
COORDINATOR
Meg Kennedy
FOOD EDITOR
Sarah Godwin
COPY EDITOR
Ashley Arthur
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Lena Anderson
Eugene Stockstill
OFFICE
BUSINESS MANAGER
Hollie Dalton
DISTRIBUTION
Allen Baker
Brian Hilliard
MAIN OFFICE
662-234-4008
ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Bryan Nigh
SENIOR EDITORIAL
PHOTOGRAPHER
Joe Worthem
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Elsie Jane Adams
Madi Aldrich
Rebekah Clayton
Madalyn Huff
Lisa Roberts
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS
Alise Emerson
Leigh Lowery
Lynn McElreath
Clifton Clements Odom
Keith Rainer
Moni Simpson
Whitney Worsham
ADVERTISING DESIGNERS
Paul Gandy
Markka Bartlett
Ryan Strickland
For advertising information, contact ads@invitationoxford.com.
To subscribe to one year (10 issues) or to buy an announcement, visit invitationmag.com.
To request a photographer at your event, email invitationmag.events@gmail.com.
Invitation Magazines respects the many diverse individuals and organizations that make up north Mississippi and strives to be inclusive and representative of all members of our community.
THE TALENT
JOE WORTHEM
PHOTOGRAPHER
Joe Worthem is Invitation Magazines’ senior editorial photographer. He is a rare Oxford local who currently resides in the area with his wife. Joe is a proud Ole Miss graduate. He enjoys capturing all the various stories and images that are featured in the magazine, which he’s been doing for the past 15 years.
LENA ANDERSON WRITER
LYNN MCELREATH
ADVERTISING CONSULTANT
Lynn McElreath has been part of Invitation Magazines since 2007, back when the publication was just beginning to take shape. A native Oxonian, Lynn has been enjoying Double Decker since her adult children were little. Her family still looks forward to the festival every year, continuing their tradition of browsing creative vendors’ wares while listening to the bands play.
Lena Anderson lives and works as a senior content writer in Water Valley, and has been contributing to Invitation Oxford since 2012. In this issue, she profiles Water Valley neighbor and artist Coulter Fussell, whose first major museum survey is on view at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson. With winter in the rearview, Lena is happily leaning into festival season and is looking forward to jamming out with Wilco at Double Decker.
LISA ROBERTS
EVENT PHOTOGRAPHER
Lisa Wood Roberts has been a photographer her entire adult life. She worked for the Daily Journal and owned her own photography studio before joining Invitation Magazines almost 20 years ago. She lives in Saltillo and has two grown sons, Wesley and Jim, a daughter-in-law, Kenzie, and two grandchildren, Briggs, 5, and Waverly, 4, who she adores more than anything.
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS
CELEBRATING DOUBLE DECKER
FROM THE INVITATION MAGAZINES ARCHIVES
To celebrate our anniversary we will rerun favorites from past issues!
Throughout the years, our April magazine has almost always been about art, music and — of course — Double Decker. In fact, for many of our 20 years, Invitation Oxford has been the official guide of the Double Decker Arts Festival, running the artwork from the official poster on our April cover and including a complete guide to the festival inside the magazine. We have also written about participating artists, the music lineup, festival food and more. We hope you enjoy looking back on these April covers!
Take a new look at the Old South in Holly Springs
Double Decker rolls into town April 26 Oxford gets in on going green
BEHOLD THE WONDER
NOW AVAILABLE ON THE SQUARE AND FAR BEYOND, HARD WORK, CREATIVITY AND OPPORTUNE TIMING ALIGNED FOR WONDERBIRD SPIRITS’ LOCALLY CRAFTED GIN TO TAKE FLIGHT.
WRITTEN BY EMILY WELLY | PHOTOS BY JOE WORTHEM
The craft gin produced by Wonderbird Spirits just got little easier for locals to taste. In December, Wonderbird opened a tasting room on the Square, inside the Lyric in the cozy space that previously housed Bar Muse.
The intimate 350-square-foot space is “optimal for a tasting room,” according to Rob Forster, Wonderbird co-founder, who can occasionally be found there sharing stories about the distillery and its gin with eager tasters.
Forster sees storytelling as part of his job, as he travels to build the brand and develop this business. Meanwhile, business partner Chand Harlow runs the distillery operations at the company’s large facility in Taylor.
Visitors to the new Oxford tasting room will learn about Wonderbird gin and everything that’s gone into the business from Forster, Harlow or Morgan Payne, who will most likely be the one behind the bar (and whose husband Mason Payne is Harlow’s distillery assistant), and they’ll taste ¼-ounce pours of three different Wonderbird gins.
Three house cocktails are on the menu: a martini, a gin-and-tonic and a negroni. Bottles are also for sale.
On Thursday nights, a special cocktail service (reservations recommended) includes a couple of other drinks — craft cocktails or another local beverage — in addition to the regular house cocktails.
For now, the tasting room is generally open Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Hours are limited and likely to change with the season and to evolve, just as Wonderbird has since it dropped its first bottle in early 2020, but the goal remains the same.
“This was always about trying to produce something of true excellence and craft,” Forster said.
When the founders set off on this venture in 2017, they were determined to create a “grain-to-glass” gin, meaning rather than purchase alcohol to use to create gin, they would do their own fermentation, yielding their own alcohol from a substrate grown locally.
“We wanted to do it the old-fashioned way,” Forster said. “That’s quite an undertaking. It’s a huge additional production and craft commitment.”
They scoured Mississippi and eventually found their substrate at Two Brooks Farm, a rice farm in the Delta.
They learned to create a sake by fermenting culinary jasmine rice from the farm that they then combine with botanicals such as juniper and coriander (which they also distill themselves) to make gin. The process is not only unusual in Mississippi; according to Forster, Wonderbird is the third rice-based gin in the world — the other two are in Japan.
Unbeknownst to the distillers at the time, their hard work to be a grain-to-glass producer paved the way for them to open the intimate tasting room on the Square.
As it turns out, the tasting room opportunity also involved some
fortunate timing. When they first heard the Bar Muse space was available, state regulations were in place disallowing a manufacturer of alcohol to also be in the bar business. A new law enacted last summer changed that. The state determined that “native distilleries” could operate tasting rooms (“Native distilleries” are defined as distilleries producing “native spirits,” meaning at least 51% of the finished product by volume is obtained from the distillation of products from Mississippi). Wonderbird meets that definition.
Spreading Its Wings
In addition to expanding its efforts locally with the tasting room, Wonderbird is poised to make a splash nationally. The company recently entered a partnership with wine and spirit importer Vino del Sol to exclusively distribute Wonderbird gin across the country.
Early this year, Wonderbird shipped its first five pallets (that’s 3,000 bottles) of gin to Vino del Sol which sells products nationwide. While Wonderbird is already in several states, this partnership increases that potential exponentially.
“They can use their existing distributors,” Forster said. “We can go a lot further and faster.” Wonderbird, he said, is poised to meet the demand. In 2023, they undertook a major expansion, tripling the size of the warehouse in Taylor, investing in new equipment and increasing their capacity eightfold. That impressive facility includes a gift and bottle shop that’s open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and they offer tours and tastings by reservation.
Vino del Sol and Wonderbird have more in common than the beverage industry. The wine importation company was started in 2004 by Matt Hedges, who developed his plan for Vino del Sol while earning his MBA at Ole Miss. Because of that, many initial investors in the company were from Oxford and Ole Miss, including Robert Forster — Rob Forster’s father — who was an original Vino del Sol board member.
Fast forward to 2024: Vino del Sol was named Wine Enthusiast’s Importer of the Year. Now living in Texas, Hedges has continued to expand his wine business and is now branching into spirits, hence the Wonderbird partnership.
“As we branched out into spirits, it just made sense to reach out to Rob,” Hedges said. “We are so honored to represent Wonderbird nationally.
“Our companies share the same values — honesty, transparency, real artistic product, family, place, a unique story and, above all, good people. It fits the Vino del Sol ethos, and I’m happy to have two Misssippi boys together.”
Shine + reDesignShine + reDesign
A TUPELO BUSINESS AND A LOCAL NONPROFIT EXPERIMENT IN CREATIVE COMMUNITY-BUILDING TO MAKE THE WORLD MORE BEAUTIFUL.
WRITTEN BY EUGENE STOCKSTILL | PHOTOS BY JOE WORTHEM
Ten years ago, Julie West of Tupelo started a business called ReDesigns in her garage after she and two of her daughters witnessed women learning to sew at an African orphanage. That experience provoked her to start up ReDesigns, which turns leftover bits and scraps into art.
It’s a process sometimes referred to as upcycling. As the old proverb goes, “one man’s trash in another man’s treasure.”
West opened ReDesigns for two reasons. She wanted to make sure her daughter with special needs, Haley, who is now 27, had a steady job and a safe place to work. But she also did it because she wanted to own a shop where nobody and nothing gets wasted.
“Everybody has a place,” she said. “We try to find a niche for everybody.”
Since 2023, ReDesigns has teamed up with the Shine Foundation, a nonprofit that works with around 200 special-needs individuals and their
families. The partnership has produced a place that is an art gallery, a grassroots business and a social service agency, all rolled into one.
Shine and ReDesigns partner to host workshops for special-needs folks twice a month. The workshops are often sponsored by other local businesses. Last holiday season, everybody involved made Christmas cookies with the help of Cori Taylor and CoCo’s Cookies in Tupelo. A month later, it was flowers with Seven Acres in Mooreville.
Caron Gallery in Tupelo hosts an annual exhibit of their artwork, too. This year’s event will be on Aug. 20.
“It’s just a menagerie of stuff,” West said.
Most of that “stuff” is created in the welcoming location shared by Shine and ReDesigns, at 1447 North Coley Road in Tupelo.
Homey knickknacks and groovy art of all kinds fill the front of the space. There’s a functional, totally cool red Galanz fridge-freezer that looks old-timey, as well as a set of authentic 7-Up bottles on a shelf. Several prints
Learn more about ReDesigns and the Shine Foundation:
• Visit 1447 North Coley Road in Tupelo (open 10 a.m.4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday)
• Contact Julie West at 662790-4985
• Go to facebook.com/ reDesignsllc.West
• Go to theshinefoundation tupelo.com
• Check out youtube.com/ @theshinefoundationx thebridge
by Tupelo artist William Heard adorn walls (those prints are not for sale). A hodgepodge mosaic of the Bible’s list of fruit of the Spirit decorates another wall.
Everywhere you turn, there’s something to catch the eye of a struggling artist, a seasoned decorator, an inveterate pack rat. Here, you find a self-portrait by Haley West that would make Picasso quite proud. There, a vase filled with flowers made of old yarn and beads. Way over yonder, there are some finished Mississippi patchwork pieces.
ReDesigns’ biggest selling items? T-shirt quilts, priced at around $200 each, the only pattern in those quilts being the immediate inspiration of those who made them. They take orders for these, turning peoples’ old T-shirts into memory quilts.
“That’s our bread and butter,” West said.
In the huge workroom out back, scissors click, sewing machines whir, conversation buzzes and the sweet little front doorbell chimes with a steady stream of traffic on an otherwise quiet morning.
Visitors can peruse the art that’s for sale and visit with working artists or people like West or Susan Dudley, a retired special education teacher from Tupelo. “I told (West) I wanted to work here when I retired,” Dudley said. And now she does.
It is clear lots of things are happening around ReDesigns to make sure that at least some of those who need a fair shake at life are getting it.
On a recent day, Catherine Rogers, 27, was there working on a piece of original artwork. She started with a piece of base fabric into which she had sewn squares of materials of all patterns, colors and textures, with a layer of interfacing on top.
Singing softly to herself, Rogers washed off the interfacing in a nearby sink, then left the piece hanging by a coat hanger to air dry, after which it would be fashioned into the shape of Mississippi, a lovely piece of home decor.
Rogers was diagnosed at a young age with autism. These days she spends at least part of her time as a patchwork artist. Yes, she knows that Mozart may have been autistic, too. She smiles at the thought that her creativity could fetch big dollars in a gift shop. She talks quite freely about her artistic hobby.
“When I’m around new people, I’m shy,” she confessed, acting anything but shy, demonstrating one of the tangible benefits of ReDesigns for its artists.
“She has bloomed,” West said. “She’s a very accomplished seamstress.”
DOUBLE DECKER DOUBLE DECKER DOUBLE DECKER
R ocks
FROM THE MAIN NICHOLAS AIR STAGE TO BLUE DELTA ALLEY, THE MUSIC WILL BE NONSTOP AT THIS YEAR’S DOUBLE DECKER ARTS FESTIVAL.
Artists of all genres will line the streets of Oxford when the Double Decker Arts Festival pops up April 24-25. Meanwhile, the sounds of the festival will be heard from all corners of the Square. Here’s a look at the music planned for this year’s festival.
The Nicholas Air Stage
Friday April 24
6 pm Penelope Road
7:30 pm
The War and Treaty
9 pm Shane Smith and the Saints
Five-person band from Atlanta playing ’70s rock, funk and soul.
X Top song on Spotify: “Chance Encounter”
Husband-wife singer-songwriter duo
X Big hit: “Hey, Driver” collab with Zach Bryan
Country band from Austin, Texas
X Fun Fact: The band has appeared numerous times on the hit show “Yellowstone”
11:30 am Annie and the Caldwells
Saturday April 25
1 pm The Animeros
2:30 pm Mountain Grass Unit
4 pm The Heavy Heavy
Gospel singers from West Point, Mississippi
X A true family band featuring Annie backed by her husband, Joe, and their adult children
Hailing from Austin, their sound is a mix of Colombia, Mexico and West Texas
X Latest release: “Mamba Mambo”
Birmingham-based modern bluegrass jam band
X Named International Bluegrass Music Association’s Momentum Artist of the Year in 2025
U.K.-based rock ‘n’ roll band
X Top song on Spotify: “Go Down River”
Continued on page
Blue Delta Blues Alley
Saturday only
LOCATED IN THE ALLEY NEXT TO THE LYRIC ON SOUTH 11TH STREET.
10 am Singlewide
X Oxford high schoolers kick it off with original and cover classic rock
11 am
ENOL + The Artists at Large
X Hip-hop sounds from Tupelo
Noon
Gritty Flyright and the Music Family
X Soulful singer-songwriter from South Carolina performs with full band
1:30 pm Modern Bodies
X Modern Southern indie rock from Tupelo
2:30 pm
Joe Austin and the Tallahatchies
X The Oxford country rock band’s debut album “3711” was released last year
4 pm
The Mississippi Diggs
X Formed in Oxford in 1989, returning to Double Decker with new releases to share live
5:30 pm Kudzu Kings
X This local favorite closes out the alley music with its funky alternative country music
MEET THE ARTIST
MEMPHIS NATIVE ALLYN FRASER IS THIS YEAR’S DOUBLE DECKER ARTS FESTIVAL POSTER ARTIST.
INTERVIEWED BY EMILY WELLY | PHOTOS BY MADI ALDRICH WITH KELLY GINN PHOTOGRAPHY
Inspired by her city, her family and the people who love her art, Allyn Fraser creates interesting, colorful canvases, does live portrait work and even has a new mail club. We talked to her about her background and being chosen as this year’s festival poster artist.
Q
: Did you always know you wanted to be a full-time artist?
A: I have absolutely always wanted to be a full-time artist, but I know how challenging that can be to actually achieve. I graduated with a degree in drawing & painting from Southern Miss in 2014, and even my professors made it clear that a full-time artist career was probably not in my future — which was heartbreaking. Feeling defeated, I didn’t paint for many years after college. I held many different jobs in creative fields, but the desire never went away. I didn’t become a full-time artist until 2023 after my son was born. He was the push I needed to actually chase after what mattered to me.
Q
: What inspires your artwork today?
A
: I think a lot of artists will tell you that it’s hard to find inspiration when you’re happy — but my son’s presence has made my art brighter, happier and way more fun. I am also heavily inspired by music, my faith and my city. When I struggle for inspiration, I usually find it by connecting with other creatives in Memphis and by reflecting on the culture of living and growing up in the South.
Q: What is your experience with Double Decker and other art festivals?
A: 2025 was my first year at Double Decker, and I fell in love with it. I love the energy of Oxford, and everyone was incredible. These days I am pretty selective about which festivals I attend. If I’m able, you will always find me at Double Decker and the Cooper-Young Festival in Memphis.
Q
: What made you enter a submission in the Double Decker poster contest?
A: Creating a festival poster has always been a dream. I happened upon the post for entries and had a cool idea, so I went for it! Having my art used in so many ways and seen by so many people has been incredible. When I got the email telling me that my art had been selected, I actually started jumping and screaming in my studio!
Q: You do live painting. Tell us about that.
A: I do! I began live painting at a friend’s wedding in 2021. Initially, I only painted classic bride and groom portraits on canvas, but, in 2023, I also started doing live guest paintings in gouache. I knew I could paint fast and some friends in the wedding industry gave me a shot. It’s now one of my favorite things to do, and I think it makes incredible gifts for guests at any kind of high-end event.
Q
: What is your Good AM Mail Club all about?
A
: 2025 was my busiest and most exciting year so far as an artist. I wanted that to continue, but, in many ways, I also wanted to slow down. In 2026, I wanted a project that would help me be more intentional about experimenting with and creating art and also provide a way to connect with the people who liked my work on a deeper level. That is how
the Good AM Mail Club was born. It has only been running since January but has already been phenomenal. Every month, members receive an exclusive 5x7 print, stickers and a handwritten letter about whatever I am working on, obsessing over or even struggling with that month. I truly feel so connected to everyone I get to send mail to.
Follow Fraser on Instagram @allynmakes or visit allynmakes.com.
5:30 pm
Saturday April 25
7
8:30
A seven-person funk and R&B band known for its three-piece horn section
X On Tour: They play New Orleans’ famous Tipitina’s the night before hitting the Double Decker stage.
Nashville-based country singersongwriter
X
Since her debut hit album “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter,” (2016), she’s made four records, played Saturday Night Live, been nominated for a Grammy, toured with Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson and written a memoir.
The Chicago-based band’s sound is described as alternative rock, alt country and folk rock
X Led by frontman Jeff Tweedy, Wilco has been touring widely since the late 1990s. Double Decker is an early stop on their 2026 “An Evening With Wilco” tour, which will hit almost 50 stops in the U.S. and Europe from April through September.
+ Thacker Mountain Radio
Festival music officially starts the evening of Thursday, April 23, at the Powerhouse with Thacker Mountain Radio’s Double Decker Kick-Off show. Doors open to the general public at 5:30 p.m. (5 p.m. for members) with the show starting at 6 p.m. Featured musicians are the Epic Funk Brass Band and songwriter R.B. Morris. Author Willy Vlautin will read from his latest novel “The Left and the Lucky” and sign books after the show. Free admission, thackermountain.com.
M ASTERING G OLF S EASON F ARE
INSPIRED BY THE MASTERS GOLF TOURNAMENT, THESE RECIPES ARE SURE TO PLEASE AT ANY SPRINGTIME GATHERING.
RECIPES AND STYLING BY SARAH GODWIN | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM
April has arrived, and with it, golf season is officially in swing. Golf leagues at local country clubs and community courses are teeing off for the season. Friends are packing up their clubs and taking off for golf trips to dreamy destinations with pristine fairways and manicured greens. Collegiate players from Ole Miss — the men’s and women’s teams are both ranked inside the top 20
in the country — are gearing up for the SEC championships taking place later this month, with NCAA tournaments to follow in May. And, of course, the Masters golf tournament takes place this month in Augusta, Georgia. These recipes, inspired by that iconic annual sports event, are perfect for a golf-themed party or any springtime gathering.
Continued on page 56
AZALEA COCKTAIL
SERVED AT THE MASTERS, THIS CLASSIC COCKTAIL IS NAMED FOR AUGUSTA’S ICONIC 13TH HOLE.
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon grenadine Ice
4 ounces lemonade
1 ½ ounces vodka
Orange peel, for garnish Maraschino cherries, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In the bottom of a rocks glass, add grenadine, and top with enough ice to fill glass. In a cocktail shaker, combine lemonade, vodka and enough additional ice to fill shaker, and shake until icy and frothy, about 2-3 minutes. Strain into the prepared rocks glass, and garnish with orange peel and a cherry.
GREEN JACKET SALAD
OUR VERSION OF A FAMOUS SALAD SERVED AT THE GREEN JACKET RESTAURANT IN AUGUSTA, WHICH CLOSED IN THE 1990S.
INGREDIENTS
2 hearts Romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2-3 scallions, chopped
1 cup crumbled pita chips
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DRESSING
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
DIRECTIONS
IIn a large bowl, add lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, scallions, pita chips and Parmesan, and toss to combine. In a jar or small bowl, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, seasoned salt and oregano, and shake or whisk to combine. Add to salad, toss, and serve.
Continued on page 58
HOT HAM AND CHEESE SLIDERS
MINI HANDHELD SANDWICHES ARE PERFECT FOR PASSING AT ANY PARTY.
CONCESSIONS AT THE MASTERS
It’s true the concessions sold to patrons at the Masters are famous, especially the iconic pimiento cheese and egg salad sandwiches that sell for the throwback price of $1.50. There’s also barbecued pork and chicken salad sandwiches, breakfast items, drinks, peach ice-cream sandwiches and more.
INGREDIENTS
24 sweet dinner rolls (such as King’s Hawaiian)
½ cup Dijon mustard
1 pound shaved ham
1 pound sliced Swiss cheese
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the rolls in half, and spread mustard over the bottom half. Layer the ham, then the cheese, and top with the other half of the rolls. In a small bowl, mix together butter, onion powder, hot sauce and poppy seeds, then drizzle over the top of the rolls. Cover with foil, and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until toasted, 1-2 more minutes. Cut into sliders, and serve.
Continued on page 60
PEACH POUND CAKE
ROUND OUT YOUR MENU WITH THIS SWEET PEACH CAKE.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh, peeled and diced peaches
ICING
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a Bundt pan, and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add butter and sugar, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in peaches, being careful to not overmix. Add batter to the prepared Bundt pan, and bake at 350°F until 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Once the cake is cooled, remove it from the Bundt pan. Whisk together icing ingredients, and drizzle over the top of the cake.
THREADS of TIME PLACE THREADS of TIME PLACE
& &
THROUGH QUILTS, LANDSCAPES AND EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTIONS, ARTIST COULTER FUSSELL EXPLORES MEMORY, MATERIAL AND MISSISSIPPI LIFE IN HER SWEEPING NEW EXHIBITION AT THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART.
WRITTEN BY LENA ANDERSON | PHOTOS BY JOE WORTHEM
Water Valley artist
Coulter Fussell is
the subject of a major new exhibition at the Mississippi Museum of Art this spring, bringing her distinctive textile-based work to a statewide audience.
Titled “Coulter Fussell: The Proving Ground,” the exhibition in Jackson marks Fussell’s first major museum survey.
Featuring roughly 40 works created between 2020 and 2025, the show explores how the north Mississippi artist blends traditional quilt-making with experimental forms, from sewn landscapes to digital projection.
At the center of Fussell’s practice is quilting — though it wasn’t always the direction she expected to take.
“My mom is a quilter,” she said. “But when I was a little girl, I was completely uninterested in sewing.”
Growing up in the 1980s, Fussell remembers wanting to ride bikes with her brothers and draw cartoons rather than sit at a sewing machine. She says she always knew she wanted to be an artist — but at the time, that meant painting and drawing.
It wasn’t until her early 20s, during a visit home from college, that she asked her mother to teach her how to make a quilt. The first attempt was chaotic.
“I pieced this quilt in my own style, in this crazy way,” she said. “And it didn’t work as a quilt.”
Her mother’s advice was simple: learn the rules first. Only then could Fussell break them.
That duality — traditional craftsmanship paired with artistic experimentation — has shaped her work ever since. Rather than following a linear path from traditional quilting into abstraction, Fussell said she developed both simultaneously.
“From the very beginning, I had this mix between reaching into other art forms and trying new things but using the traditional techniques and tools of quilt making to hold it all together.”
Today, her studio practice still centers on fabric, much of it donated by friends, neighbors and strangers. The materials often arrive in bags, sometimes with notes explaining their origin, sometimes with nothing more than her name scribbled across the top.
Occasionally, a scrap comes with a story: a great aunt’s sewing project, a long-kept heirloom. But many pieces arrive without context, leaving Fussell to imagine their past lives.
“I treat it like a new piece,” she said. “But I know there's all this history coming in with it.”
You don’t have to move to New York. We need artists living in these rural places in real time, making work about what’s happening here today.
” “
That layered sense of memory and materiality plays a central role in “The Proving Ground.” Alongside her signature quilts, the exhibition introduces new work that expands beyond textile traditions.
In recent years, Fussell has begun crowdsourcing photographs and short videos, many taken by local teenagers, including her own sons. The fleeting images, often posted temporarily on social media, reminded her of the discarded fabrics that fill her studio.
“They would take these beautiful landscapes and put them on Snapchat for 24 hours, and then they were gone,” she said. “It felt the same as the fabrics people were throwing away.”
Using these images as source material, Fussell creates sewn landscapes inspired by Mississippi’s horizons — skies, trees and open fields rendered through layered textiles and projected video.
The projection elements represent some of the most experimental work in the exhibition. Fussell laughs about the technical challenges involved in learning new equipment and managing cables in her studio. Still, the process mirrors the way she once approached sewing: slowly, through repetition and trial.
“It’s hard because that’s not my natural language,” she said. “But I’m figuring it out.”
Looking back at the five years of work assembled for
the show, Fussell said the biggest surprise was how much her technical skill has grown.
“I became a better tailor,” she said. “Anyone who sews every day for five years is going to get better.”
But the deeper transformation lies in confidence, trusting both the structure of the craft and the freedom to regularly push beyond it.
Fussell has lived in Water Valley since 2003, and her work is deeply rooted in the culture and landscape of north Mississippi. In addition to her studio practice, she writes the popular “Wagner Week” column for the North Mississippi Herald, based on a collection of historic letters she discovered at a local estate sale more than two decades ago.
That fascination with storytelling and documentation runs parallel to her visual work, influenced in part by her father, a folklorist.
“I think I have this tendency to archive or document things,” she said.
Living and working in Water Valley continues to shape Fussell’s approach. She believes contemporary stories about rural places should be told by artists who are actively part of those communities.
“There are artists here making work about Mississippi right now,” Fussell said. “You don’t have to move to New York. We need artists living in these rural places in real time, making work about what’s happening here today.”
March 21June 14, 2026 Mississippi Museum of Art, 380 S. Lamar St., Jackson Museum hours: TuesdaysSaturdays: 11 a.m.5 p.m.; Sundays: 1-5 p.m.
WELCOME XX TO THE XX ROCKABILLY BELT
THERE’S A MOVEMENT AFOOT TO PUT NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI ON THE MUSICAL MAP FOR ITS PLACE IN THE BIRTH OF ROCKABILLY MUSIC.
If you are from northeast Mississippi, rockabilly is your proud birthright. And there’s a movement afoot to make sure you and everyone else knows it.
And just what is rockabilly, you might be asking yourself? It’s Johnny Cash preaching “Folsom Prison Blues” to a roomful of rowdy inmates. It’s Elvis Presley driving all the girls crazy, telling them “That’s Alright.” It’s Carl Perkins perhaps driving them even crazier with his “Blue Suede Shoes.” That’s the short answer.
No rockabilly? No rock ‘n’ roll. No Rolling Stones. No Taylor Swift, for that matter.
“We’re here to give some historical accuracy and credence to where this music came from,” said Jeff Cole, executive director of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame Museum, whose bass-playing father played backup for Presley. “The hills area (of Mississippi) is the truest breeding ground for rockabilly.”
Cole is leading a push to make sure the world never forgets the Highway 45 corridor birthed the sounds that helped make Tupelo’s most famous son the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
A regional foundation has been established. A rockabilly museum somewhere between Tupelo and Corinth may not be far behind. And besides this summer’s annual Tupelo Elvis Festival, the city is gearing up
for two big events in September to commemorate some of rockabilly’s most important moments (see Rockin’ Good Times on page 76).
Let’s dig deeper into the sound of rockabilly music.
The word rockabilly comes from two other words, rock and hillbilly. It is the music of the hill people. Part country, part bluegrass, part rhythm and blues, with more than a dash of the stuff that put the boogie in boogiewoogie.
“If you can’t dance to it, you can’t dance to anything,” said Dale Rushing, a Tupelo musician and a historian of the music of the Deep South, who is working alongside Cole to make sure northeast Mississippi gets all the credit it deserves.
Rushing sings with a band, The Rust Bucket Roadies, and gushes rockabilly lore like clear, fresh water pours out of a natural spring in the woods south of Tremont.
“We look to Memphis and Sun Records. To me, this part of the world was at least as important,” he said.
Trying to distinguish rockabilly from, say, rock ‘n’ roll can get tricky. Trying to pinpoint where exactly it started or who exactly started it is a little bit like trying to build a house in the middle of a tornado.
Rushing cites a fellow named Cooney Vaughan as one of the first innovators of the electrified sounds of rockabilly. Cole takes it in a much
WRITTEN BY EUGENE STOCKSTILL | PHOTOS BY JOE WORTHEM
different direction: One of the first was Hank Williams Sr.’s song “Move It On Over,” a tune that George Thorogood and the Destroyers amped up considerably a few decades later.
“That was where the percussion style came in,” Cole said. “When Hank would pick his guitar, he would use his thumb to create a percussive sound. Just watch his hands. I don’t think he knew he was doing it.”
By the time that famous gyrating kid from Tupelo and his band’s three-instrument sounds hit the biggest of the big times, nothing could hold back the flood of music that would wash across the world.
Rockabilly shuffles. It bounces. It snaps. It’s Roy Orbison. The Stray Cats. Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. You can hear rockabilly grind through again and again in the work of those swinging sultans, Dire Straits. Remember “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets? The rockabilly influence doesn’t get much heavier than that.
“In popular music, you had rockabilly, then you had rock ‘n’ roll,” Rushing said. “That influence helped people like Eric Clapton and Leon Russell and guys like that.”
And it all started right around here. It should have done for northeast Mississippi what country music did for Nashville, what the blues did for the Mississippi-Arkansas Delta, experts say.
Through the influence of state Senator Chad McMahan, Cole said, a statewide proclamation this year anoints the Highway 45 belt as the official birthplace of rockabilly, and Cole said he’s also going to lobby for that designation to be added to the national archives.
“Those guys were trying to energize their sound so much. It’s just the energy,” Rushing said. “Bands beyond this area, they’d never seen anything like it, with girls screaming, crying. Carl Perkins had that sound, too. Carl Perkins, the first time he played ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ in Amory, got the crowd going more than Elvis did. It’s just hyped-up music. And that’s really what boogie-woogie music is.”
Presley will always be the bridge, though, between the countryfied sounds that came before and the rockin’ out ways that came after, Cole said.
“Sun Records didn’t have the sound until Elvis. They were behind until Elvis came along,” Cole said. “He was unbridled, and he truly did feel the energy. That’s what made him move. It was pure magnetic showmanship.” Continued
Rockin’ Good Times
Expect more than the usual amount of musical fanfare in Tupelo over the next two years.
There will be the annual Tupelo Elvis Festival June 3-6, of course. This year’s slogan: “One guitar. One town. One legend.” And since next year marks the 50th anniversary of The King’s untimely death, do not be surprised if 2027 ushers in more than a few Elvis-related activities.
Sept. 26 this year will be the 70th anniversary of a legendary show in Tupelo. In 1945, 10-year-old Elvis Presley had come in fifth in a talent show hosted by the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show. Eleven years later, he came back and made history in his hometown.
Here’s the way the website Mississippi Memories recalled the King’s 1956 Homecoming Concert.
“Elvis performed two shows in downtown Tupelo, diagonally across from the Tupelo Hardware Store, where Gladys bought the first guitar for Elvis. The shows were part of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show. The day started with a small reception in the presence of the mayor, followed by a parade through the center of the city. There were a hundred National Guardsmen surrounding the stage to control the crowds of excited fans. A 14-year-old Tammy Pugh (Tammy Wynette) watched from the front row.”
Presley received a key to the city, then turned around and donated all the proceeds from the day to the city for the upkeep of the family’s old house and for the creation of a neighborhood park.
In memory of that piece of music history, there will be a concert Sept. 26 at Fairpark featuring Elvis tribute artist Nick Perkins from Louisiana, who will recreate the historic event. It is a joint venture between the Elvis Presley Birthplace, the city’s Convention and Visitors’ Bureau and the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association.
“Our vision was to do it here in our 125-seat theater,” Roy Turner, executive director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace, said. “Our board said, ‘Uh-uh, we’re going to do it downtown at Fairpark, make it big.’”
Separately, the Northeast Mississippi Rockabilly Heritage Foundation/Rockabilly Hall of Fame Museum is organizing Rockabillaque Tupelo for Sept. 24-27, a festival to celebrate all things Elvis Presley and rockabilly. One of the things to be commemorated is a performance from that same September 1956 weekend on the same stage by Wanda Jackson, the “Queen Mother of Rockabilly,” who is now in her 80s and living in Oklahoma.
There will be events all up and down the Highway 45 corridor, and nationally known musicians are expected to be in Tupelo for that one. Plans are still in the works.
Get ready to rock out.
“ The hills area (of Mississippi) is the truest breeding ground for rockabilly. ”
Rockabilly Trivia
Here are a few bits of trivia connected to the sounds known as rockabilly.
XJames David Vaughan from Tennessee, also known as the “Father of Southern Gospel,” is a 20th century musical legend whose influence, oddly enough, has been cited as an early inspiration for country, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll.
X
Some of the well-known Mississippians connected to rockabilly include Mary Elizabeth Johnson Lee of Corinth (Jeanie Greene), who sang backup for Elvis Presley and also recorded with Cher; Charlie Feathers of Holly Springs, whose song “Can’t Hardly Stand It” Quentin Tarantino used in his film “Kill Bill: Volume 2”; and “Jumpin” Gene Simmons of Itawamba County, best known for the record “Haunted House.”
X
Another Mississippi native sometimes connected with rockabilly, Delaney Bramlett of Pontotoc County, wound up recording with the likes of George Harrison, Duane Allman and Eric Clapton.
X
One famous show in the 1950s, the “Show That Made History,” took place at the National Guard armory in Amory and featured Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins on the same night.
X Highway 45 through Lee, Prentiss and Alcorn counties is officially designated as “Rockabilly Way.” A stretch of highway from Jackson, Tennessee, to the Mississippi line was given a similar christening (Rockabilly Highway) years before that.
X
In the late 1950s and early 60s, the Tupelo Fairgrounds hosted a cornucopia of rockabilly talent, and even Roy Orbison may have played in Tupelo.
X
Dewey Phillips, who had a wildly popular radio show, “Red, Hot and Blue” on WHBQ in Memphis in the 1950s, was the first DJ to broadcast the first record ever made by a young Elvis Presley, “That’s All Right”/“Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Phillips also helped break the color barrier by playing black musicians’ tunes on his show.
BREAST CANCER CARE WALK
The University of Mississippi’s College Panhellenic Council hosted the 2026 Breast Cancer Care Walk on campus March 22. The annual fundraising event raises awareness and benefits Baptist Cancer Center’s breast cancer initiatives.
Royce and Trista Tidwell
Debbie Alexander and Lindy Graham
Madi Hamm and Jorden Shook
Olivia Williams and Mariama Kolley
Event participants
WONDERBIRD X THE ROSECOMB
onderbird Spirits collaborated with Chattanooga’s Rosecomb bar March 27 for a pop-up event featuring a special cocktail menu. The joint event took place at Wonderbird’s tasting room on the Square. Turn to page 30 to read more about the new venue.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH CLAYTON
Pat Edwards and Cooper Veazey
Billy Thompson and William Elias
Morgan Payne and Georgia Hogue
Margaret Anne Elias and Melanie Thompson
Molly Archer and Dalten McDonald
Ryan Smith and Chloe Wright
OXFORD EMPTY BOWLS
Empty Bowls took place March 17 at Oxford Conference Center. Local artists, restaurants and volunteers joined forces to raise funds for The Pantry of Oxford
Julia Jimenez, Joli Nichols and Tricia Richardson
Shirley and Duane Collins
Marilynn Nguyen, Shelby Toole and Monte Ochs
Kara Giles and Robyn Tannehill
Ella Ward and Diana Cissell
Brian Hyneman and Beckett Howorth Brooks Campany and Ginny Schenk
OLE MISS BASEBALL VS. KENTUCKY
he Ole Miss baseball team took on the Kentucky Wildcats March 1921 at Swayze Field. The Rebels won the series, with a 5-0 win Thursday night, a 3-1 loss Friday night and a thrilling 12-9 win on Saturday afternoon.
Dax Sutton, Mary Mars and Langston Sullivan
Ashley Weinstein, Maggie Tynan, Lily Claussen, Sarah Fitzgerald, Morgan Overbaugh and Josie Olivieri
Everett Cassidy and Greer Schnider
Chase Weber and Fiona Smiddy
Laysha Jones and Lamonte Harris
Lily Powers and Kooper Vanden Berge
Addye Tally and Kate Bording
Georgia Sink and Spencer George
Leah Berryhill and Kennedy Nisbeth
MISSISSIPPI HILLS AWARDS LUNCHEON
The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area Alliance awarded more than $400,000 in grants to support projects that promote art, music, culture and heritage throughout the state. In Lafayette, grants will support initiatives including Yoknapatawpha Arts Council’s screenings of “Cole: Bridge to Justice,” the Greenfield Farm Cultural Legacy Project and the Mississippi Presenters Network’s Heritage Self-Guided Summer Camp.
Larry Davis, Patsy Gregory, Susan Barnett,
Bob Gregory and Shirley Sisk
Sibonie Swatzyna and Gia Mattheny
Gay and Steve Case
John T. Edge and Mary Wise
Chris Mallory and Sharde Thomas-Mallory
Angie Tidwell and Elizabeth Behm
Sonia Thompson, Kent Bain and Mary Cates Williams
Kevin and Michelle Lesley
Gay Case, Gia Mattheny and Sibonie Swatzyna
Sonia Thompson, Sharde Thomas-Mallory, Kent Bain, Chris Mallory and Mary Cates
Michelle and Kevin Lesley
Joey Kent, Roy Turner, Jeff Cole and Dale Rushing
SOCIAL
NEIGHBORHOOD TABLE
he LOU Second Responders hosted Neighborhood Table on March 24 at the Old Armory Pavilion to celebrate and reflect on the way the local community came together to respond to the January winter storm. There was live music, a free shared supper, healthy meal bags to take home and more.
TDonna McComb and Maddy Underwood
Sadie Rosengrant and Lily Hayden
Sara and Jeff Moody with Lynn Wilkins
Timothy Gordon, Martha Thompson and Jerome Smith
JoVon Reed, Louise Williams, Courtney
McDowell and Ruby Madkins
James and Noah Thomas
Cheyenne Harrison and Brenda Pearson
Shirley Pegues and Earie Savage
Laura and Danielle Cooper with Sarah McLellan
OXFORD GARDEN CLUB FLOWER SHOW
xford Garden Club hosted Round About Oxford, a judged floral design show, on March 26 at Oxford Conference Center.
BY ELSIE JANE ADAMS
Sara Lloyd and Dee Webb
Brooke Halverson and Aimee Verheeck
Susan Phillips and Rusty McDaniel
Carrie Rice and Allison Ashmore
Dianne Fergusson and Renee Flynt
Robin Griffith, Martha Ellen Wiggins and Kelly Wiggins
Olivia Elam and Mary Frances Wagnon
Jane Josey and Toya Bruss
Wendy Beard and Marijean Howell
PHOTOS
PHOTO BY MADALYN HUFF
PHOTOS BY MADALYN HUFF
PHOTOS BY RYLEIGH WELLS
HAPPENING NOW
OXFORD MISSISSIPPI
CHICORY MARKET HAPPY HOUR + LIVE MUSIC
WEDNESDAYS | Chicory Market chicorymarket.com
“MRS. DOUBTFIRE”
APRIL 12 | The Ford Center olemiss.edu/fordcenter
THACKER MOUNTAIN RADIO
APRIL 16, 23 & 30 | The Powerhouse thackermountain.com
MAHJ FOR A CAUSE
APRIL 17 | The Graduate Oxford instagram.com/mahj4acause
RECORD
STORE DAY
APRIL 18 | The End of All Music recordstoreday.com
OHS FESTIVAL OF NATIONS
APRIL 21 | Oxford High School oxfordsd.org
DOUBLE DECKER ARTS FESTIVAL
APRIL 24-25 | Oxford Square doubledeckerfestival.com
OLE MISS BASEBALL VS. GEORGIA
APRIL 24-26 | Swayze Field olemisssports.com
UM OPERA THEATRE: MOZART'S DER SCHAUSPIELDIREKTOR
APRIL 24 & 26 | The Ford Center facebook.com/olemissoperatheatre
YAC SCREENING OF "THE GARDENER"
APRIL 28 | Malco Theatre thegardenermovie.com
OLE MISS SOFTBALL VS. MSU
APRIL 30-MAY 2 | Ole Miss Softball Stadium olemisssports.com
GOVERNORS CUP: OLE MISS BASEBALL VS. MSU
APRIL 28 | Trustmark Park, Pearl, Mississippi olemisssports.com
MID-TOWN SPRING FEST
MAY 2 | Mid-Town Shopping Center chicorymarket.com
SAMANTHA HARING ART EXHIBIT
MAY 7-JUNE 6 | Southside Gallery southsideartgallery.com
OLE MISS BASEBALL VS. TEXAS A&M
MAY 8-10 | Swayze Field olemisssports.com
OLE MISS COMMENCEMENT CONVOCATION
MAY 9 | The Grove olemiss.edu/commencement
DABNEY DAY POST TOAST
Dabney Day is the writer and director of independent film “The Gardener,” which will be screened April 28 in Oxford as part of its national release.
Q:
“The Gardener” is being screened in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Honolulu and many other cities around the country. Why is it important to you to show this film in Oxford?
A:As a Mississippi native — and specifically from Greenville — Oxford has always been one of my go-to places when the senses long for calm in a chaotic world. A simple walk around the Square, a stop at Square Books, sitting quietly on a porch with a cup of coffee and a gentle breeze — Oxford has a way of restoring the soul.
Oxford is also deeply personal to me. Both of my daughters are Ole Miss alumnae, and now my grandson, Minor, is a freshman — fulfilling a dream he’s had since he was eight. Oxford has felt like a second home to our family.
That is why “The Gardener” feels so at home in Oxford. “The Gardener” and Oxford share a kind of symbiotic spirit — as though they were always meant to meet.
Q:
A:
What do you hope people take away from the film?
This is a film that speaks quietly but deeply — to students, teachers, shop owners, visitors — to anyone willing to listen. It invites laughter, reflection, and perhaps even a few tears. For an hour and 47 minutes, it allows audiences to step away from the noise of the world and experience something meaningful, layered with symbolism and metaphor that lingers long after the lights come up.
Q:
A:
Can you talk a little about what’s special about independent film?
I don’t know if “special” is always the first word that comes to mind — maybe “adventure” is more fitting. Independent filmmaking is equal parts passion, chaos, and determination. It’s stressful, unpredictable, and often feels like herding cats — but that’s also what makes it unforgettable.
Years ago, I worked as a PA on “A Time to Kill” with director Joel Schumacher, and even with a full studio budget, it felt like film school as I learned so much those nine months. Independent film, however, takes that challenge to another level.
But when an indie film finally comes to-
gether, it’s a dream realized. And because we all know what it takes, we celebrate each other.
Q:This is your directorial debut, but the project has been in the works for years. What advice would you offer to people who want to turn their creative ideas into reality?
A: The number one thing I always remember is we are not on our time but on the universal time. And the universe is always on time. Also, there is no such thing as a problem or an obstacle, only solutions. Never give up as you keep that idea in your head as an already visualized, finished reality. “The Gardener” will be screened at 7 p.m. April 28 at Malco Theatre in Oxford. The screening is cosponsored by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and Oxford Film Festival.
