Delta Music Institute

Antoneseya Davis of Greenville, MS puts the finishing touches on her HWG song

CLEVELAND – The Healing with a Groove 2.0 program from the Delta Music Institute at Delta State University will be launching its 2018-19 programming year with the addition of a SoundCloud playlist of original music from HWG program participants.

Launched in late 2013, the Mobile Music Lab’s Healing with a Groove program promotes racial healing among young people of color in the Mississippi Delta by teaching them how to use music, basic audio engineering, digital media technology and songwriting to produce original songs that articulate their worries and dreams while also inspiring them to excel. The program connects young people of color with their peers and mentors, so they have the support and tools to shape their own identity and future, despite their existing challenges.

“Racial healing takes place when we come together to work through our fears and address them head on. And we’re starting the conversation through music and songwriting,” said Tricia Walker, program director for Healing with a Groove.

SoundCloud is the world’s largest music and audio platform that lets people discover and enjoy the greatest selection of music from all over the world. Healing with a Groove participants have created 100+ songs since 2013, and now have a dedicated SoundCloud playlist to share their original works with the public. The first two HWG songs to be featured on the HWG 2.0 SoundCloud playlist are “Why Can’t They See Me?” by FlyZone (Cleveland) and “Our Community” by Griot Arts (Clarksdale).

The HWG 2.0 SoundCloud playlist is located online at https://soundcloud.com/dmimobilelab, dmimobilelab.org and on the DMI Mobile Lab Facebook and Twitter social media pages.

Healing with a Groove Project Coordinator Laeitta Wade shares, “The DMI Mobile Lab SoundCloud channel not only gives our HWG students a platform to share their original songs but also encourages our students to write material that expresses their thoughts, their perspective of the world, their personal challenges and achievements, and most importantly, the platform allows the students to believe in themselves by hearing positive content in their own voices.”

The DMI is an independent center of study under the College of Arts & Sciences at Delta State University, offering a B.S. degree in Entertainment Industry Studies degree. 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. For information, visit http://dmi.deltastate.edu. For information about the DMI, call (662) 846-4579 or email dmi@deltastate.edu.

CLEVELAND — Students attending the twelfth annual DMI Summer Camp, hosted by the DMI Entertainment Industry Studies program at Delta State University, will present a musical showcase on Saturday, July 14 at 6:00 pm in Jobe Hall on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. The showcase will include cover songs by the camp band along with original songs written by the camp’s songwriting students.

Sixteen high school students representing Georgia, Virginia, and multiple counties in the state of Mississippi, are participating in the 2018 DMI Summer Camp. The intensive six-day residential camp experience explores four entertainment industry tracks, including performance, audio engineering, digital media, and songwriting, culminating in a recording session at the DMI studios and the final showcase performance.

Instructors for the DMI Summer Camp are made up of DMI faculty members, entertainment industry majors and recent graduates from the DMI program.

“The DMI Summer Camp offers a great opportunity for young aspiring musicians, engineers, and songwriters to develop and showcase their talents by empowering them to each find their own ‘voice.’ I can report that there is no shortage of talent in Mississippi,” says Tricia Walker, Director of the DMI.

The 6:00 pm concert on Saturday evening is free and open to the public. Supporters of these talented young musicians are encouraged to attend and enjoy the show.

The DMI is an independent center under the College of Arts & Sciences at Delta State University. The mission of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the entertainment industries. The DMI offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment Industry Studies. For further information, call the DMI office at (662) 846-4579 or visit http://deltastate.edu/dmi.