Washington, D.C., native Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott grew up listening to the sounds of James Brown, Kool & The Gang, The Temptations, and many other notable bands of the 1970s era. But during that time, a new genre of music was emerging that was unique to the DC culture: go-go music. Its roots can be traced back to the Maverick Room, a club in the Edgewood neighborhood.

In 1974, Chuck Brown—the Godfather of Go-Go—and his band, the Soul Searchers, decided that they wanted the group’s percussionists to continue playing between songs so that people never stopped dancing. Gregory Elliott got a chance to see Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers perform at Summit Parks, where he was first introduced to the go-go sound for the first time.

“(The music) made me feel good. I thought, ‘Wow, this is cool,” Elliott told the Mississippi Free Press. “With live go-go music, you automatically become a part of the show. It’s a big, giant party, a good festival atmosphere.”

Go-go combines soul, jazz, funk, R&B and even gospel with its call-and-response element, and the music thrives more when a crowd is there to dance and respond to the emcee. Elliott was a bass player heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and his band, which inspired him to form his own band with friends William “Ju Ju” House and Ivan Goff.

In 1971, the trio won the students’ high-school talent show. From there, they decided to keep the band together and pursue a career in music. By 1975, Edward “June” Henderson, Maurice “Might Moe” Hagans, A.K. Webster, Jeno “Keys” Myer, Kent Wood, and Go-Go Bouncey had joined the funk band, and they became known as Experience Unlimited.

“From the great Jimi Hendrix Experience, that’s where I got the name from—because there’s no limit to our experience,” the musician explained.

Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott is the lead singer of Experience Unlimited, a funk band from Washington, D.C. that makes go-go music and is behind the hit dance song “Da Butt”. Photo by VS Davis Photography

The group’s first album, “Free Yourself,” released in 1977 with modest success, but the band’s big break came 11 years later with its second album, “Rock Yuh Butt.” The album included the hit song “Da Butt,” which appeared on the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s “School Daze.”

The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart and number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group’s dance anthem has stood the test of time, allowing them to tour and travel the world making people groove to go-go music.

“We tour across the country. We were on tour all through Mississippi with Salt-N-Pepa, Keith Sweat, MC Hammer, and Heavy D & the Boyz back in the late ’90s,” Elliott said. “Everywhere we went was sold out. We had the hottest record in the country at the time.”

Soon, the band will be returning to the Magnolia State for the National Folk Festival, which kicks off its three-year residency in Jackson from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9. Elliott is looking forward to introducing the go-go sound to those unfamiliar and reminding those who may have forgotten.

“They’re gonna leave happy, I guarantee you that. They’re gonna say, ‘Wow, where have they been?’ That’s what I’m looking forward to,” Elliott said.

In addition to trying Mississippi’s southern cuisine, especially the fried catfish, Elliott said he looks forward to seeing Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South perform, considering Experience Unlimited’s ties to HBCUs.

“ I would just say for those who are attending: Bring your dancing shoes because we gonna party. Don’t come to look cute. You can look cute, but I want you to come and party and have fun,” Elliott said.

‘Volunteer Culture’

Registration for volunteers opened on June 16 for the 82nd National Folk Festival, a three-day free festival held this November in downtown Jackson. This year will kick off the first of a three-year residency in the capital city. Festival Director Thabi Moyo said organizers are working closely with the City to iron out logistics, with more announcements about the festival scheduled to release soon with further details.

“Volunteer coordinators are out in the community now starting to reach out to folks and connect with organizations so that we can build our volunteer base up,” Moyo told the Mississippi Free Press. “… It’s all about trying to get the word out to the churches, to schools, school groups, to individuals who just love to get involved in community in this way.”

Organizers anticipate between 60,000 and 80,000 attendees for the festival’s first year in Jackson, which will require between 800 and 1,000 volunteers to work several areas across the event. Volunteers will be able to choose their positions, and they can work as many shifts as they want to, with each shift taking between three and four hours.

Moyo said the festival needs team leads who will take charge of scheduling volunteers to specific areas such as merchandise, a family area, participant transportation and other stations.

“People who are interested in backstage support, beverage sales (and) the general information booth will have this really cool way to help the festival continue to raise money. It’s called the Bucket Brigade,” she noted. “We’ll have Home Depot-sized buckets, and because the festival is free, we ask for a $5 or $10 donation from the folks who are attending. That helps us raise money to put toward the next festival and cover any sort of operating costs.”

American fiddler Eileen Ivers performed using her violin at the 81st National Folk Festival in Salisbury, Maryland, in 2022. Photo by Edwin Remsberg

The festival will host a rally and orientation for volunteers, who will each receive a T-shirt and loggable service hours. Moyo wants the community to take ownership of the festival, building civic pride in all that attend and participate.

“Mississippi is very much a volunteer culture. We have a volunteer culture here and also one of hospitality. I think between those two things that we should knock this out of the park,” she said.

The director said the festival is continuing to build out its local team. At present, the festival has two volunteer coordinators; organizers are confirming a food vendor coordinator and marketplace coordinator; and Moyo is looking to hire a festival coordinator to assist her.

“ They’ll be really like the minutiae. So when we’re doing contracts with vendors who will be providing services, whether it’s security or stage or electricity, they’ll be the point of contact to make sure that we have all of those things in place, that contracts are signed and that payments are going out. … It’s kind of administrative for the most part,” the festival director said.

The food vendor application deadline has extended and will remain open until all spots have been filled. Vendors don’t have to be food trucks, as the festival is prepared to help restaurants set up on site, Moyo said.

‘From the Gulf Coast to the Delta’

To date, the festival has announced at least 20 acts for this year’s lineup. About 300 musicians, dancers, storytellers and craftspeople will participate in the event, performing across six outdoor venues across downtown Jackson.

These artists hail from various parts of the country including states such as Texas, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina and New York. A committee of people coming from varying backgrounds select the artists to ensure a wider range of representation, Moyo explained.

“We sit in a four-hour meeting ,and the National Council for Traditional Arts brings a roster of artists for us to listen to for those four hours. And then we vote on which ones we think would resonate with our community,” she said.

New Mexico dance troupe Zuna Olla Maidens performed for attendees at the 80th National Folk Festival in Salisbury, Maryland, in 2021. Photo by Edwin Remsberg

The festival team has chosen Capital Street as its main artery for the festival. In total, there will be six stages within walking distance with the main stage placed at the top of Capitol and State streets. There will be a special stage, Mississippi Folklife, set up in the Old Capitol Museum on the green.

“The Mississippi Folk Life area is being programmed by the Mississippi Arts Commission, (who) are pulling from their knowledge. What they’re programming is very much in line and attuned with what we appreciate here: It’s a celebration of all the great things and artists and cultures that are in Mississippi,” Moyo said.

The theme for the area is the 100th birthday of Medgar Evers and B.B. King. The Mississippi Arts Commission will be choosing the local artists for the festival who best resonate with the community and represent the culture of Mississippi.

Bobby Rush; Bay Springs soul singer Ms. Jody; Redwater, Mississippi, Choctaw social dancing group Oka Hamma Alla Hilha Alhiha; and Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South were some of the local artists announced for this year’s festival.

“The goal is to represent everything from the Gulf Coast to the Delta to the field country—the best traditional musicians, artisans, food and demonstrations that make our state so rich and distinctive in culture,” the director said.

Eddie Cotton performed at the 79th National Folk Festival in Salisbury, Maryland, in 2019. Photo by Edwin Remsberg

The National Folk Festival Fundraising Committee has also launched their Yard Sign Campaign fundraiser, asking businesses and community members to compete for who can purchase the most signs.

“Donate $250 to the 82nd National Folk Festival and receive a yard sign. Each yard sign represents a donation to the festival as well as a personal billboard sign expressing support and spreading the word about the festival in front yards and businesses across the metro Jackson area,” a press release read.

Those who donate $250 will become a “Friend of the Festival” and will be added to a list on the festival website. The committee has a goal of finding 400 “friends” to meet their goal of $100,000.

The National Council for Traditional Arts Executive Director Blaine Waide told Moyo that Mississippi has been represented at the National Folk Festival, but now the festival is coming here.

“With Mississippi being the birthplace of America’s music, I think there’s just this appreciation for that in itself,” she said. “Folks who haven’t been here or who are involved in music, they’re excited to come and experience that piece of the culture, history and heritage of the state.”

The National Folk Festival will take place in downtown Jackson on November 7-9 and is free to all. For those interested in volunteering, they can apply online here. For restaurants or food trucks interested in becoming vendors, they can apply online here. For those that would like to donate to the Yard Sign Campaign, can donate online here.

Read original article by clicking here.

‘Gonna Leave Happy’: National Folk Festival Asks for Volunteers, Announces More Performers

‘Volunteer Culture’

‘From the Gulf Coast to the Delta’

Local Dining Stream

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