On December 13th and 14th during the “Home for Christmas” concert weekend, Louisville will host a five-man television crew from Mississippi Public Broadcasting who will be in town completing the documentary, “Meet Carl Jackson”.
John Gibson, who is producing the documentary along with Taiwo Gaynor, will also be on hand. Gibson explained the project. “Like so many Mississippians whose stories we’ve gotten to tell, Carl Jackson is someone who knows the importance of giving back. No matter how far he’s traveled or where he’s lived, Louisville has always been home to him. He loves this place and he loves his people. You can’t talk to Carl for ten minutes and not understand that about him,” said Gibson.
Gibson, who is also the Director of Television at MBP and is directing the project recounting Carl’s life and awarding winning music career, has already spent time in Louisville scouting shooting locations. His production crew and he will be completing several interviews here as well as obtaining footage at Carl’s home, the historic Strand Theater, the local schools that Carl attended, and other locations. Gibson and his MPB team have spent months in pre-production, securing interviews and rare television and concert clips from around the country.
“One of our missions at MPB is to tell Mississippi’s story, and telling Carl’s story has been a great experience,” Gibson pointed out. “When you produce documentaries, you’re always asking people to sit for interviews and you expect a lot of them to be too busy or not interested. But with this project it’s been completely the opposite. Everyone we’ve called has been eager to participate. When I contacted Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Tom T. Hall, and other country music greats, I was hoping that one or two would participate. But they all have. Every single one. And that’s because of what Carl Jackson means to them.”
The MPB crew will also be shooting footage at the “Home for Christmas” concert slated for Saturday, December 14th at the First Methodist Church Christian Life Center. MPB plans to premiere “Meet Carl Jackson” on February 20 and have already received interest from other PBS affiliates and stations from around the country to broadcast the documentary. A “sneak peek” promo of the production may be viewed at www.mpbonline.org under the “Watch Now” link.
The annual “Home for Christmas” concert will take place on Saturday, December 14th ̶ 4pm and 7pm ̶ and the Chamber of Commerce has indicated that tickets are still available but are limited. Carl will be hosting Nashville's Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Val Storey, Bradley Walker, Isaac Moore, Johnny Rawls and Glen Campbell's daughter, Ashley Campbell. Be on the lookout for the MPB production crew in town on Friday and Saturday, December 13th and 14th, and go by the Chamber to get your tickets soon before the concert sells out.
