Annie and the Caldwells are a soul gospel band from West Point, MS, recently signed with Luaka Bop, the record label of Talking Heads former frontman, David Byrne.

The band’s releases include, Can’t Lose My (Soul) [Luaka Bop, 2025].

MOJO (★★★★) “… may get you through any darkness looming… or simply get you dancing.”

The album was recorded in a local church in West Point using a mobile recording truck from Nashville, the back room of the church serving as the control room.

Vocalist Annie Caldwell is backed by daughters Deborah and Anjessica, and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. is on bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius is on drums.

Their father and Annie’s husband of the last fifty years, Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr, is on guitar.

The group tours throughout Europe and the U.K. as well as festivals and theaters across the United States.

Through it all, Annie still runs a clothing store, Willie Jr. drives a forklift, Abel Aquirius drives hospital patients, Anjessica works in customer care for an insurance company, Toni is an elementary school teacher, and Deborah does hair.

Ms. Annie runs Caldwell Fashions in West Point, a beloved staple for women’s dresses suitable for church convocations and anniversaries since the 1980s.

Micaiah Johnson is author of The Unhaunting (Putnam), a clever and chilling take on the haunted house genre.

Charting a “middle ground between Shirley Jackson and Toni Morrison.”

“… sidesteps ghostly phenomena to keep the focus on her well-developed Black protagonists, each of whom is haunted by past traumas the house exploits for its own macabre purposes…

“This chiller will be a hit with anyone seeking a fresh take on genre conventions.” —Publishers Weekly

Johnson’s debut novel, The Space Between Worlds, was a Sunday Times Bestseller, a The New York Times Editor’s Choice and was named one of best books of 2020 and one of the best science fiction books of the last decade by NPR.

Her follow-up novel, Those Beyond the Wall, a timely look at violence during apartheid, was released in March 2024 and has been named as a Best Books of 2024 by NPR, Reactor, Esquire and Lithub.

Dawn Barham is a lifelong guitar player, starting with lessons in 3^rd grade after “her parents decided I wasn’t going to quit asking.”

Barham recently retired after 34 years as Director of Performing Arts at the Mississippi School for Math & Science (MSMS) in Columbus, MS. She was an instructor of Guitar Studies and director of the guitar students’ performing ensemble.

While at MSMS Barham instituted the innovative “Sights and Sounds of Mississippi” program,

As she told the National Association for Music Education, “…by the end of their two years, my performing ensembles, collectively known as the MSMS Blue Notes, are performing an exciting and dynamic program of music with ties to the birthplace of America’s music—Mississippi!

“Blues, jazz, spirituals, gospel, country, soul, and early rock and roll. Through the “Sights and Sounds of Mississippi” program, the students break down social and cultural barriers by making music together while engaging in an open and interactive conversation about diversity, culture, and history.”

Barnham is currently on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television.

Beware! Dawn Barham shreds! She is the past frontwoman/guitarist for the rock band, the Juke Joint Gypsies.

Her most recent releases are the albums, “Dodging Shadows” and “Broken Promises.”