Last night at Chelsea’s Cafe in Baton Rouge, the Barefoot Pedals Foundation hosted our second annual celebration of the life and legacy of a dear friend, Jeff Nola. As before, the feature event was a fantastic show by Questionable at Best, a band that Jeff formerly played with featuring fellow Barefoot Pedals board member Ben Tuminello.
I have to say, there are vanishingly few bands that will seamlessly cover The Meters, Peter Gabriel, Bill Withers, Hall and Oates and Justin Timberblake in the span of a few hours. For better or for worse, last night’s show also featured a guest appearance by yours truly.
Beyond his love for music, Jeff Nola was known for his commitment to working with young people, particularly through Mission Trips that took him to New Orleans, Arizona, Kentucky and even Mexico. We have decided to honor this work by initiating a project of our own: an annual youth conference based in Baton Rouge focused on social justice and mindful action.
We will share more details over the next few months, but please feel free to read through the following document that outlines our current thinking. If you have any interest in getting involved, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We’re very excited to get this collaborative off the ground.
Scott A McKinley 