Bryan Kennedy grew up in Nashville where he found an early gift in the form of athletics. He earned a football scholarship to the University of Mississippi where he became the starting defensive end for three years. Bryan’s senior year he was awarded the John Howard Vaught award of excellence.

He began his musical quest as a song plugger for his father, the legendary record producer Jerry Kennedy. Bryan attributes his writing know how to hearing all the great songs he got to hear daily while growing up in the same house with his dad, musical mother (singer Linda), and two brothers who would become most influential in Bryan’s life and in his career. (Gordon and Shelby Kennedy)

Bryan has written three #1 radio hits for superstar Garth Brooks; “Good Ride Cowboy”, “The Beaches of Cheyenne,” and “American Honky Tonk Bar Association.” In addition, Bryan opened up for Garth Brooks with good friend, Dan Roberts, performing in front of millions of people.

These days he has a blog he writes regularly on his web site, www.bryan-kennedy.com, where he keeps his fans up to date with his latest ventures and enjoys their feedback. He makes his home on the gulf coast of Florida, and spends most of his time traveling and performing.

Gordon Kennedy is a triple threat as a songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He has collaborated with many artists including Eric Clapton, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, Jewel, Kenny Loggins and others. The Grammy-winning song “Change the World,” was co-written by Kennedy, Tommy Sims and Wayne Kirkpatrick for Eric Clapton. It won three Grammys: Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Pop Male Vocal Performance. The song stayed in the Top 20 Billboard AC chart for a record 81 weeks, number 1 for 13 of those weeks. The song was included in the soundtrack for John Travolta’s film Phenomenon.
Gordon has also received a Grammy for producing/writing Peter Frampton’s “Now” album. Most recently, he produced the new critically acclaimed project by Ricky Skaggs titled “Mosaic,” and was recently featured as “Writer of the Week” in American Songwriter magazine.

Bryan Kennedy

Gordon Kennedy

For over ten years Thacker Mountain Radio has produced a live, unrehearsed broadcast that features author readings and a wide array of musical performances. The free show is normally recorded and broadcast weekly from Off Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, but will relocate for this special show in DMI Studio A as part of the institute’s spring fundraiser for student scholarships.

This year’s featured literary guest is Leland native Culpepper Webb, author of the acclaimed work “Lifted From The Waters.” Musical guests are brothers Bryan “Beaches of Cheyenne” Kennedy and Gordon “Change The World” Kennedy. Both Kennedy brothers, sons of music legend Jerry Kennedy, have won multiple Grammy awards for their songwriting and producing.

Thacker Mountain’s house band, the Yalobushwhackers, features the Delta’s own Duff Dorrough. Joining the band for this special Thacker edition will be former Tangents keyboard player and Delta native Jim “Fish” Michie. They will be backing the show’s musical guests as well as playing featured performances of their own.

Thacker Mountain is hosted by Jim Dees and is broadcast live on Rebel Radio 92.1 FM and rebroadcast statewide on Mississippi Public Broadcasting at 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

The Delta Music Institute began with a generous donation by Fred Carl of the Viking Range Corporation. The focus of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, business, and creative areas of the music industry.

The public is encouraged to come be a part of this entertaining broadcast on March 5 at 3:00 p.m. to support the Delta Music Institute. For more information on the Thacker in the Delta event, please call (662) 846-4579 or visit dmi.deltastate.edu.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/in-williamsburg-cmj-kicks-off-in-a-warehouse/?emc=eta1

Fighting Okra Records, a new student-run record label at Delta State University, will officially launch on October 12, 2010 with a celebratory party in the State Room of the Nowell Student Union building on the campus of DSU. Fighting Okra Records, housed in the Delta Music Institute, is the combined outcome of students enrolled in the Record Label Operations course at the DMI.

The mission statement of the new label reads, “Fighting Okra Records is a student-run record label at Delta State University whose purpose is to provide a practical, real world music industry experience to the students. Our mission is to provide a variety of independent artists with professional quality music industry services in an effort to expose their name in recordings to the broadest possible audience.”

Students staffing the label are assigned responsibilities within divisions similar to real-world record companies, including A&R, publicity, promotions, sales/marketing, production, product development, and new media.

“The DMI is working to develop scenarios for students to apply what they are learning in the classroom,” says director Tricia Walker. “Having to handle the planning, development, and execution of an actual record release really accelerates that learning.”

The first release on the label will be a compilation CD with artists and songs chosen by the label staff from the ‘best of the best’ of DMI recordings completed over the past two years. The CD release is scheduled for late November.

To celebrate the label’s launch, the Fighting Okra Records staff will be hosting a fundraising party in the State Room on the campus of Delta State University on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, beginning at 7 pm. Scheduled musical acts for the party include Ol’ Skool Revue, DeltaRoX, and DJ Saxy. The Fighting Okra Records launch party is free and open to the public.

“This launch party will be a great way to let everyone know about the new record label on campus and what we plan to do at Fighting Okra Records. We are asking for the support of DSU students and the surrounding community in making this venture a success by purchasing the CD when it is released later this semester. We hope a large crowd will join the F.O.R. staff at our launch party. It will be a great opportunity to listen to some great music and support the cause,” said F.O.R. general manager, Lance Vaughn.

Social Networking and Making It In One Year

http://blog.discmakers.com/2009/09/tips-in-no-apparent-order/?cmpid=EmailAudio

“Monday Night Football style” jingle written, recorded, and produced at the Delta Music Institute. Video directed by Jimmy Smith of DSU Athletics.

Written by Tricia Walker
Engineered by Mike Iacopelli
Performed by Barry Bays (bass/guitar), Brian Schilling (drums), Tricia Walker (keyboards), Stephen Chew (vocals), DMI summer campers and DSU football players (BGVs)

Interested in these bands entertaining at your event? Give us a call at 662-846-4579. Thanks for supporting live music!

Delta State University students Katie Gibson of Summerdale, Ala., and Joanna Sabine of Columbia, were invited to participate as production assistants for the 4th Annual Mississippi Grammy™ Legacy Celebration recently held at the Hard Rock Live! venue in Biloxi.

Gibson and Sabine are members of the Delta State Grammy U chapter and are enrolled in courses at the Delta Music Institute (DMI), a recording arts and music industry studies program at Delta State University.

The annual gala event celebrates the state’s Grammy™ winners and their musical legacies. Mississippi boasts more Grammy™ winner per capita than any other state in the union.

The GRAMMY University Network (GRAMMY U) is a unique and fast-growing community of college students who are pursuing a career in the music industry. The Recording AcademyY created GRAMMY U to help prepare students for careers in the recording industry through networking, educational programs and performance opportunities. GRAMMY U is designed to enhance students’ current academic curriculum with access to recording industry professionals to give an “out of classroom” perspective on the recording industry. Delta Music Institute’s Grammy U chapter was formed in the fall of 2008 and now has over 50 members.

The Delta Music Institute is an independent center of study under the College of Arts & Sciences at Delta State University. The focus of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the music and entertainment industry.

Michael Mattox, Delta State student from Madison, Mississippi, recently contributed his long beautiful mane to the Locks of Love program for cancer survivors. Everyone at the Delta Music Institute (DMI) likes the new look, Michael!