ROBERT FISHER
Staff Reporter
BARRY’S BAY – Jackson Kargus may only be 11 years old but music has been a part of his life from day one. Jackson’s grandfather, Lawrence Moriarty, is also a musician and has been teaching Jackson guitar for about four years. “My grandpa plays guitar so I’ve been listening to him for all my life, so he kind of got me going.”
“Yeah, I’m a country person,” Jackson declared and he likes the genre because of the style of the songs, the storytelling and, “the way that some people have that really raspy voice,” noting Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs as tw of his favourites and both with the signature raspy voice. He’s also a fan of 1960s and 1970s blues rock like The Animals. Lead singer Eric Burdon is known for his deep, raspy voice, too.
Jackson said he has tried writing some of his own music, “but I didn’t really get anywhere.” He’s not going to stop working on songwriting, though.
His mother, Michelle, said that in his first year of playing, he performed in the Idol portion of the Palmer Rapids Twin Music Festival and placed in the top three which meant he got to play on the main stage the first night of the event. “Jason Blaine was there that year and he actually called (Jackson) up on stage and he was able to sing House of the Rising Sun with Jason Blaine on stage.” Jackson signs up for the Idol night every year now at the Palmer festival.
The first time on the Palmer stage made him very nervous. “I was singing and everybody was yelling and screaming at me. It was pretty cool,” he had to admit. Jackson also plays at his school, George Vanier Catholic School in Combermere, where he’s in Grade 6 and while he hasn’t taken any vocal lessons yet, he and his mother see voice lessons in his future.
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