Southern Avenue | Artist To Watch – August 2025

The next Artist to Watch for the month of August 2025 is Southern Avenue

Back on March 21st, our Free At Noon performers were Southern Avenue, a band we’d heard good things about, but was hardly played outside of the WXPN Blues Show with Johnny Meister.  Within minutes of their taking the stage and seeing the nods, smiles, whoops, and shouts fill the room, we started checking their tour routing to see if they could fit a return for the XPoNential Music Festival into their schedule.  They could, and now this month we’re going deeper into Southern Avenue, the Blues Music Award-winning, GRAMMY-nominated Memphis-based family band, who mix blues, modern soul, and gospel-infused roots music into songs that are uplifting and timeless. The band features lead vocalist / songwriter Tierinii Jackson, her husband, guitarist / songwriter Ori Naftaly, and her sisters, drummer / vocalist / songwriter Tikyra “T.K.” Jackson and percussionist / violinist / vocalist Ava Jackson. “Through our music,” says Naftaly, “we expand our family to include our fans and whomever is moved by our songs.”

On Family, Southern Avenue’s fourth album, and their first for Alligator Records, the band unleashes performances delivered with soul-healing power and fueled by warm sister harmonies.  In recent months the band gained attention with Tierinii’s vocals appearing on the soundtrack to Sinners, and a steady run of touring – and if you missed the Free At Noon, we’ve got another chance to ee Southern Avenue on Friday September 19th at the XPoNential Music Festival, and hear more of their music this month on XPN.