Third Coast Creatives

Even as a young girl, Alexandra Jackson knew she had big shoes to fill.   Her father was Atlanta’s first African-American mayor, the late Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr.   Jackson’s mother is businesswoman and NPR personality Valerie Richardson Jackson.   Opera also played a role in her family, given that Jackson’s great aunt was Mattiwilda Dobbs, the Africa-American coloratura soprano, who was one of the first black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera.   But Jackson, besides being one of the nicest people I have ever interviewed, has demonstrated she is more than capable of filling those shoes.   Jackson learned piano as a child and studied classical music, but it was the music she was surrounded by at home that truly influenced her.   “My father would play the Blind Boys of Alabama then move on to Take 6,” she says.   “My mother loved Johnny Hartman and Phoebe Snow.   I was into Earth Wind and Fire, Michael Jackson, and Maxwell.   My older sister had a stro

For the past six years I have had the pleasure to write for Halfstack Magazine, the last several as Entertainment Editor. Jen, Halfstack's Founder/Editor, allowed me a wide portfolio to cover most things indie.  I interviewed musicians, authors, dancers, designers, and creatives of all sorts.  I had the pleasure to write about Sara Bareilles joining Broadway's first all female creative team to create the music for Waitress and her dream to be part of the Broadway community.  When Kristin Bell grabbed her not so voluntary pianist friend to sing songs from Frozen to people trapped in a shelter during a Florida hurricane, I shared how she was upstaged by a dancing policeman. Sundance's Liz Manashil and I spent literally hours on the phone discussing indie movies and sharing stories about projects past.  The years I spent writing for Halfstack (as well as guest hosting the magazine's podcast) were truly rewarding.  Not only did I get a chance to meet some amazing creat