The 29th annual Jazz in June concert series concludes July 7 with an online performance by soul-jazz artist Mesonjixx (Omaha’s Mary Lawson).
The concert is 7 to 8 p.m. CST on the Jazz in June Facebook page.
Mesonjixx’s father is a black American born and raised in the Alabama Ozarks, and her mother is a South Pasifika from Honolulu. Mesonjixx is the middle child of five. While living in Chicago from 2009-2014, she honed her songwriting and musical style. She’s since returned to Nebraska to find balance in her identities as a woman, as someone who belongs to two diasporas of two hemispheres and as a young black Midwesterner.
Since her debut performance in 2015, Mesonjixx has not only become a fixture of the Nebraska music scene, but one of the Midwest’s top artists. She has performed as a solo artist and as the leader of a trio and quartet. Mesonjixx has performed at the Maha Festival, Lincoln Calling and True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri, and has opened for such artists as Kamasi Washington, Lion Babe and Oddisee. In 2017, she released the EP “In the Middle,” recorded, mixed and produced at Omaha’s Make Believe Studios. Her current trio features keyboardist Nate Asad and percussionist John Evans.
This year’s Jazz in June series, presented by the Cooper Foundation, features Nebraska artists who have fewer opportunities to perform during the coronavirus pandemic. Online concerts are 7 to 8 p.m. CST each Tuesday through July 7 on the Jazz in June Facebook page.
Jazz in June is a collaboration between the University of Nebraska, Lied Center for Performing Arts, Downtown Lincoln Association and Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Learn more.
