Big Sleepy’s jolts downtown Jackson music scene

Local promoter Caleb Rowe said he was only joking when he posted to Facebook in March asking if anyone wanted to help fund a venue in Jackson for $2,000. For his and the city of Jackson’s luck, PJ Pankey took him very seriously.

Pankey, who first met Rowe when he was booking benefit shows at Pocahontas Baptist Church, but hadn’t talked to him in a few years, took a chance.

“I think it was Gandhi who said ‘you have to be the change you want to see.’… I want to provide the concept that everyone can come here and have things to do,” Pankey said.

Less than two months after Rowe’s initial Facebook post, the two co-owners, combined to open Big Sleepy’s (208 W. Capitol St.) with partner Jesse Moore in the downtown location previously The Joint. The venue’s first show May 15 brought a crowd of 150 people to the venue, which has a capacity of 200 people.

“It was awesome, it was an all-local show with two weeks notice and it blew up,” Rowe said. “We’re excited for the future.”

The mission statement for Big Sleepy’s is to become a home base in the Jackson area for the state’s independent musicians, Moore said.

“One of my dreams is to make Mississippi a starting point for bands to go on tour, so we want our local artists to become national artists,” Rowe said.

The trio has background in the state’s punk and hardcore scenes, but they operate Big Sleepy’s as an all-ages venue that will promote a variety of musical genres and out-of-the box events. Last weekend, the venue hosted an electronic dance night and Saturday they will feature a hip-hop music showcase.

“Mississippi being such a musical state there are so many people that love to go out and see live music. You never know what we’re going to book,” Moore said.

“It’s almost like a counter culture bar,” Rowe said.

The venue does not currently have standard operating hours. The best way to follow its schedule is to “like” their Facebook page. A selection of beer is sold to patrons over the age of 21, but the venue hopes to become a meeting place for all ages and backgrounds.

They’ve explored the idea of expanding into hosting everything from stand-up comedy, vegan cooking nights and different themed costume nights.

Pankey moved to Clinton with his family from San Diego in 2005. After six years in the military, he returned to the Jackson area to work in information technology. He said he was jealous that he didn’t have an all-ages music venue to attend when he was growing up, and he wanted to eliminate what he felt like was a curfew falling over the city at 10 p.m.

Rowe was heavily involved in the “do it yourself” music scene as a promoter, booking bands at churches, skate parks and The Carter venue (now Club 110). The venue’s opening coincides with the completion of extensive roadwork done to Capital Street, a sign that Rowe hopes more good things are to come.

“Downtown is about to blow up,” Rowe said. “We’ve seen a lot of work down on Capitol Street and it’s getting back to what downtown used to be years ago. After about 5 o’clock when people get off work (downtown) is a ghost town. We want to bring faces back downtown and bring life to the buildings that are already here.”

Contact Jacob Threadgill at (601) 961-7192 or jthreadgil@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @JacoboLaSombra on Twitter.