It's Time: Myles Family Singers on Arts Hour

My Arts Hour interview with the Rev. Marvin K. Myles aired on March 7 on MPB Radio. Rev. Myles is the patriarch of the Myles Family Singers, a family gospel group out of Kosciusko, Miss. The Myles' are originally from Friars Point, a tiny Delta town not too far from my hometown of Drew.

After starting a family in the late '60s, Rev. Myles and wife Olivia moved to Memphis to work. They continued to travel home to Friars Point for Sunday church, and after several years, Rev. Myles could no longer deny his calling to the ministry. Rev. Myles began his ministry in Friars Point, but now serves in Kosciusko at Christian Liberty Baptist Church.

Download the podcast of our interview, and hear about Rev. Myles experiences growing up in a rural community where church was the center of life. Listen to how he raised his children to be singers, and how their family group's repertoire has evolved and developed over the years. Learn more about gospel music as Rev. Myles explains the difference between hymns, gospel songs and Southern gospel music.

Contact the Myles family directly at Christian Liberty Baptist Church to purchase their new album, It's Time, or click here to purchase, MyleStone, their 2001 release.

black & gold weekend in new orleans

We headed down to New Orleans on Saturday morning to celebrate the Saints. After a quick stop in Manchac, Louisiana, at Middendorf's for some po-boys and peel 'em & eat 'em shrimp (oh, and Abitas, of course), we headed into the Big Easy to join our fellow Saints fans. We teamed up with some friends at the Whitney Hotel and walked down to Canal to see one of the first of the many Mardi Gras parades already unfolding.



While New Orleans has a reputation for debauchery during the Mardi Gras season, there was an entirely different vibe during the weekend of the Saint's first Super Bowl. The city was full of fans in black and gold, hollering Who Dat! and having a good time, but rather than being out-of-control, the crowd was moreso over-joyed. We didn't cross a single sullen face the entire weekend. Everyone was (and still is) celebrating their "boys," especially quarterback Drew Brees, whose face was everywhere-- including this George Rodrigue painting of Brees and Blue Dog.


Truly, though, the highlight of our evening (besides tasting my first Pimm's Cup at Napoleon House) was making our way to the Official Saint's Pep Rally at the House of Blues. We got free entry for wearing our Saints gear, and the staff couldn't have been kinder. DJ Captain Charles had us moving on the dance floor like never before! I lost count on the number of brass bands that took the stage, but I didn't forget the funky sounds of the Stooges Band, a hot second line brass band on the New Orleans scene.