On Feb. 17, Bowling Green Parks and Recreation and the College of Musical Arts hosted the 11th annual Brown Bag Music Festival hosted at the Simpson Building.  

A crowd of nearly 80 Bowling Green residents and community members showed up for the hour long musical performance while enjoying their packed lunches. This month’s set list was an ode to Black History Month. Two performers traded off singing a variety of folk, soul and gospel songs.

Performer Latara Jackson sang many Southern inspired slavery songs such as “Is there anybody here” and “The Battle of Jericho.”

“I chose many of these samples and selections not because it is part of my heritage as an African American woman, but because I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee where there is a lot of the black history.”

Jackson’s voice and message were superb and she received a standing ovation from the crowd after her final selection, a rendition of the southern gospel “Deep River,” a song which demanded a great deal of range and breath control.  

Performer Christopher Collins, a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in music education, also performed a variety of soul songs, however, they were not as regionally tied as Jackson’s selections.  Collins performed renditions of “Give me Jesus” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”  

“I chose many of these songs because they spoke to me in a spiritual sense. The African American people are traditionally a very religious group and wanted that to resonate through the choices in my selections.”

Collin’s baritone voice and enthusiasm helped guide his performance to a success.  

Community members and staff were enthralled by the music and the sense of community the Brown Bag Music Festival continues to provide the community with.  

“I have been coming to the Simpson Building for nine years. This event is a perfect example of community and how everyone works together as a unit to put together such a wonderful show and event,” spectator Linda James said.

Other Bowling Green locals came to the event purely for the experience and the surroundings.  

“I come to hear a variety of different genres of music and entertainment, It is a great opportunity to be exposed to types of the music you normally wouldn’t listen to otherwise,” spectator Janet Smith said.

Events at the Simpson Building are hosted monthly. On March 3 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., the building will host a variety of performances done with woodwind instruments entitled “Flutes, Oboes and Bassoons, O My!”  

For more information visit www.bgohio.org/parks or call the Simpson building at 419-354-6223.