Jacob Barker Music Fest kicks off at The Amp

JACKSON, Tenn. — The 5th Annual Jacob Barker Music Fest kicks off Friday at The Amp in downtown Jackson.

“There’s 22 bands, two nights,” founder Ronnie Barker said. “We’ll have a silent auction, we’ve got food vendors, we’ll have about seven vendors out here selling different types of merchandise from jewelry to woodworking.”

Barker says while the event is a great way to get out and have some fun, it serves a bigger purpose. The two-day fundraiser began in 2015 after his son was diagnosed with cancer.

“My son Jacob, when he was two and a half, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma — which is cancer in his eye,” Barker said. “We fought cancer for almost two years it seemed like everyday.”

He says once Jacob was cancer-free, they signed him up for Make-A-Wish and he was sent to Disney.

“While we were at Disney, we were like ‘This is awesome. We haven’t had to worry about Jacob and his cancer. We’ve actually had a good time, so let’s do that for another family.'”

The festival is scheduled to run both Friday and Saturday.

Admission is free, however, donations will be accepted to help support another West Tennessee family by granting a child their wish.

“It’s really awesome when you look at a child and say ‘What do you want to do?’ Our goal every year is to send one child on their wish, whatever that may be. So we need to raise about $8,000 to do that.”

The Jacob Barker Music Fest is currently underway until 11 Friday night. The music fest continues Saturday from 3 to 11 at The Amp.

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