Well-known Jackson harmonica player Greg "Fingers" Taylor will be a featured performer during WellsFest 2012 to be held Saturday, September 29, at Jamie Fowler Boyll Park, in Jackson. Taylor is a graduate of Callaway High School who has moved back to Jackson after touring for many years as a professional musician, playing with Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer Band. Music critics praised Taylor for his "unique gift of coaxing a harmonica into becoming something almost human, making it weep, howl, plead and bleed."
Taylor will be joined at WellsFest by a host of prominent musicians, including event headliner and Belmont, Mississippi native Mac MacAnally. MacAnally is a four-time winner of the Country Music Association's Musician of the year Award and is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Like, Taylor, he frequently plays with the Coral Reefer Band.
Known as Jackson's original music festival, WellsFest is an annual fundraising activity of Wells United Methodist Church, an adopter of Galloway Elementary School. The annual festival is alcohol and drug free and has become a popular draw for visitors to the state. Activities include a 5K run and walk, a pet parade, live music, food booths, children's activities, arts and crafts booths, a plant sale, and much more. Admission is free.
Proceeds from the 2012 event will benefit the Farish Street YMCA. The programs of the Farish Street YMCA serve many Jackson Public Schools students. Its after school program, for children in kindergarten through grade seven, includes homework help, JPS book club, and enrichment classes in Spanish and computer. In 2011, WellsFest raised more than $62,000 for its beneficiary, the Mustard Seed.