FOLIOJordyn Jackson and Shawn Fisher are two of the busiest bodies in Northeast Florida. In addition to their solo musical careers — she as a jazzy chanteuse and he as the frontman of rootsy rockers Son of a Bad Man — the duo’s new joint project, Flagship Romance, reflects their personal and professional relationship. The two recently recorded their first album together in New Orleans and have built a steady following in and around the Southeast. But that’s not enough for Jackson and Fisher — they’ve gone and organized the inaugural Clean Water Music Fest, which donates 100 percent of its proceeds to international nonprofit Charity Water.
Jackson said the Clean Water Music came about organically. “Our friend Chico Lobos, who’s also playing, had an idea to have a big concert for Charity Water with local musicians at a great venue,” Jackson said. “I said, ‘Yeah, that’s great — but how?’ We decided Ponte Vedra Concert Hall would be perfect because they’re a new venue that doesn’t have their own charity event yet. So we put together a package and approached them, and it was perfect timing — they said they’d been wanting to do something like this but hadn’t had time to organize it yet.”
Jackson and Fisher attracted the corporate support of title sponsor Venus Swimwear, which covered all venue and overhead costs, allowing all Clean Water Music Fest proceeds to go directly to Charity Water. The goal is to raise $2,500 in ticket sales through direct donations to MyCharityWater.org, a sort of Kickstarter for the organization. That, in turn, will allow the nonprofit to continue its mission of traveling to developing countries and digging freshwater wells for impoverished populations. “A billion people have to walk an average of six hours a day to get water that’s dirty and contaminated,” Jackson said. “This way, they actually have clean water in their village.”
In addition to the $10 online donation that gets you free admission to the show, which Jackson called “the easiest way to raise money,” each band — Don’t Sigh Daisy, The Chico Lobos Band, Lucio Rubino, JacksonVegas, Dudes on a Rug and, of course, Flagship Romance and Son of a Bad Man — has 100 tickets to sell around the area. “The website allows people to donate who are out of town and can’t attend the event,” Jackson said. “It also allows us to get around the whole Ticketmaster service fee. We figured that would be the easiest way to raise money.”
To generate further funds, the duo has wrangled hundreds of products from more than 30 local businesses for a raffle and silent auction. There are other benefits to the Clean Water Music Fest as well. Local bands like Dudes on a Rug, made up of six Ponte Vedra High School students, get a chance to perform. The Chico Lobos Band is flying all the way from Los Angeles to Jacksonville for the event. And the staff at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall can lay the groundwork for future benefit events. “Everyone there has been really amazing,” Jackson said. “I was blown away by their attitude and how accommodating they were for us. They said this was wonderful for them, because now they have a model for when other people approach them about doing a community event.”
Additional sponsors of Clean Water Music Fest include Vista Financial Advisors and Black Keys Design, which is owned by local musician Grant Nielsen, who donated the poster design and is performing for the festival.
The Clean Water Fest represents just one big slice of Jackson’s and Fisher’s busy lives. “We’re extremely excited about it,” Fisher said, “and so grateful to have such a good team around us. But at the same time, we just got back from recording our album in New Orleans and thought, ‘My gosh — are we ready? We have to start pushing this!’ ”
“Both separately and together, Shawn and I have a goal of giving back with our music,” Jackson said. “And hopefully this is just the beginning.”
Nick McG
themail@folioweekly.c
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