Joe Evans is looking forward to returning to the place where he calls home.
Evans, a 1974 graduate of Kosciusko High School, will be playing keyboard in the band of Nashville-based country singer-songwriter Jeff Bates, who will be performing Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Skipworth Performing Arts Center. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. and will kick off a performance series held at the Skipworth Center.
Evans is a native of Amory, but he claims Kosciusko as his hometown.
“All of my family is from that area — Aberdeen and Amory. At a real young age, 18 months, my family moved to Kosciusko,” he said. “I lived there 36 years in Kosciusko, so that’s really like home to me.”
Evans, who now resides in Gulfport, grew up on South Huntington Street.
He said he credits his mother for his love of music.
“My mother is the reason why I pursued music,” he said. “She started me in piano out of elementary school when I was in the second grade. … She saw that music would be a positive thing to happen in my life, and it really was.”
He continued taking piano classes throughout elementary school.
When Evans was in the eighth grade, he joined the Big Red Band, which had just come under the direction of Mickey Grove.
“Mr. Grove’s first year in Kosciusko was my first year in Big Red Band,” he said. “I think the band was made up of ninth through 12th grade, and he needed some extra drummers, and so they transported a few eighth grade students.”
Evans said Grove made band exciting, and he said he knew by ninth grade that he wanted to make music his career.
“I guess band was kind of my thing, and I loved music,” he said. “I said this is fun and I have such a passion for it, so I pursued it.”
After graduating from high school, Evans went to Southern Miss, where he majored in music education with an emphasis in percussion. He graduated in 1978 and started his career as a band director. He began teaching in Hattiesburg. Then, Evans received a call from Grove, who told him there was an opening for a junior high band director in Kosciusko. Grove asked Evans if he was interested in the position.
“Of course, I absolutely was because I was a Big Red Band member,” said Evans. “To go back and be part of that as a part of the teaching team was a good thing for me in my career.”
Evans moved back to Kosciusko, where he resided for 13 years before moving to the coast in the early 1990s.
Evans taught for 32 years. Although he is now retired, he remains active in music education. He has a summer music camp called Sounds of the South Music Camp. The camp is held at Pearl River Community College. Last year, the camp had 264 children to attend.
Outside of teaching, Evans also is a professional musician.
“Not necessarily for fun because I do take it seriously, but it is fun, I get to play music professionally as a keyboard player,” he said.
While teaching in Kosciusko, Evans was a member of the band Class Reunion. He continued to play with Class Reunion for two years after moving to the coast until traveling got to be too much. He then joined a band located on coast called Dr. Rock and the Interns — “They reminded me so much of Class Reunion.”
Four years ago, Evans began playing with country singer Jeff Bates, who is a Mississippi native.
“We hit it off as good friends, and he liked the way I played,” said Evans. “It was supposed to be kind of a one-time fill-in job that he needed a keyboard player, and this is my fourth year with him.”
Bates signed to RCA Records in 2002 and released his debut album “Rainbow Man” in May 2003, followed by his second RCA album, “Leave The Light On,” in 2005. Bates' two RCA albums accounted for seven chart singles on the Billboard country charts, of which three reached the Top 40: "The Love Song," "I Wanna Make You Cry" and "Long, Slow Kisses."
Bates signed in 2008 with Black River Entertainment, where he released his third self-titled secular album “Jeff Bates,” and in 2011 his first inspirational country album, “One Day Closer.” The title cut was released as Bates’ first inspirational country single and landed at No. 1 on the Christian Country Charts.
“All his music is about his life experiences,” said Evans. “His music is so compelling to me. He just paints a wonderful story. … It’s been a fun journey with him.”
With Bates, Evans has performed throughout the South and played at the CMA Fest in Nashville.
“It’s given me an opportunity to play in places that I would have never dreamed that I would have played,” he said.
Evans said he is excited to return to Kosciusko to perform.
“I feel like I’m still part of that community,” he said. “I hope we have a great turnout for that show.
“I’m really excited about coming up and playing in the auditorium. It has a lot of memories for me, because I conducted a lot of concerts in that auditorium. I received my diploma on that auditorium stage, and I’m thrilled to be playing in my hometown.”
Tickets are available for $20 each and can be purchased online at www.kfeems.org/tickets. Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the event.
