That Eric Alper

Stax Music Academy celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025, focusing on youth, education, and the ongoing legacy of soul music. As part of its milestone year, SMA announces the release of SOUL OF AMERICA, its annual virtual performance production, and a companion study guide for educators.

Educators, students, youth-serving organizations, music lovers, and media can register HERE to download Soul of America, an engaging virtual production that connects music, history, and social change.

“This year’s program connects lived experiences through music while uplifting the ongoing legacy of American Soul Music,” says Bria Saulsberry, SMA’s Director of Education & Youth Development.

“Our ultimate desire is to help students connect with the power of community and inspire them to create art relevant to their current experiences,” Saulsberry continues. “The virtual production’s companion study guide empowers youth to explore their creative agency, recognize their values, and determine how to serve their communities.”

That goal is realized each year as students write, help direct, and star in the production. “One of the most important lessons SMA has taught me is balance – life, school, work – you must choose your path, and music is such a gamble,” describes Pasley Thompson, a senior at SMA who will continue her music studies in college this fall.

“I never thought I’d be a singer, and really didn’t know I could write a script, but I used lessons SMA taught me to translate my own idea into something that resonated with other people, the same way music does.”

More than 150,000 people viewed last year’s show, thanks to educators around the country as well as the generosity of Ryan Seacrest, whose foundation created Seacrest Studios, state-of-the-art broadcast media centers located in select pediatric hospitals across the nation, including Memphis’ own Lebonheur, which plays the program for patients multiple times throughout the month.

“Seacrest Studios at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital is thrilled to partner again this year with Stax Music Academy to bring the transformative power of music to patients and families. Our missions align to inspire and uplift children – to help them heal – whether through medicine, the power of music, or, in this case, the combination of the two,” says Chris Luther, Seacrest Studios Lead at Le Bonheur.

In addition to its annual Black History Month digital production and study guide, SMA will honor its 25-year legacy and impact on soul music through a year’s worth of exciting events, the centerpiece of which will be a live performance on February 21st in downtown Memphis.

Stax Music Academy will also host 12 months of Soul programming, a series of free pop-up concerts throughout the year that blend gospel, blues, and R&B to celebrate the enduring power of soul music.

SMA students will also embark on a national Summer concert tour that includes performances in Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Nashville, and the Mississippi Delta. The tour begins with an appearance at the prestigious Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Rooted in the rich history of Stax Records, where young dreamers transformed the corner of College and McLemore into a beacon of creativity, Stax Music Academy continues to inspire, educate, and empower the next generation of artists.

Notable alumni include songwriting legend David Porter, Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White, J. Blackfoot of The Soul Children, Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the original Bar-Kays, The Mad Lads, Rufus Thomas, William Bell, and many more. Today, SMA offers rigorous music education and youth development for students aged 12-18, ensuring the soul of Memphis continues to evolve for future generations.

Soul of America, a virtual production and study guide, is designed for use by students, teachers, schools, youth groups, YMCAs, YWCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and organizations, particularly those with limited access to the arts. These free resources will be available to all audiences in February 2025.

The SMA Soul of America digital show and companion study guide will be available for download HERE on February 3rd, 2025.

The Stax Music Academy is a premier afterschool and summer music institute located adjacent to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music at the original site of Stax Records in the Memphis community known as Soulsville, USA. It provides industry-centric music education combined with holistic youth development programming to create leaders and artists of the future. It also provides professional mental wellness counseling to its families.

It is the only music institute in the world that focuses on the music created at Stax in the 1960s and 70s. Here, middle school and high school students study Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, and Rufus and Carla Thomas, and perform around the world in places like Italy, Australia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

For more information about Stax Music Academy’s 25th Anniversary events, visit the SMA website. The website links to events and social media, and you can sign up for monthly updates on all events and programs throughout the year.