JamisonPriest performs concert for Kiwanis Club

By Gail Jay

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Abilene celebrated Valentine’s Day a little early on Feb. 9 with a musical performance by JamisonPriest.

The local singer-songwriter duo features husband and wife team Ed Priest and Jenni Jamison, a Kiwanian. Cole Bennett accompanied them in their performance.

They have played in a wide variety of venues all over Texas, as well as other states. As a duo, they perform with two acoustic guitars, harmonica and two voices. As a trio, they add bass and another voice.

Along with their musical talents, all three are songwriters. Their music has a foundation of the folk/roots movement but includes a wide variety of themes based on love, travel and reflections from life experiences. Jamison and Priest have a wide array of musical experiences which contributes to their unusual  style of music.

I first met Jenni when my late husband sang with her in Chorus Abilene. I had the pleasure of traveling twice to Europe with Jenni and Ed on two of the tours where Chorus Abilene performed. Not only are they both musically talented, they are a lot of fun to travel with.

The Valentine’s program for the Kiwanis was centered around the theme of love. Listening to the words of their songs, as well as the harmony was certainly a refreshing musical performance. One of their songs was written by Ed, especially for Jenni. One can easily see how they integrate their love as a couple into the lyrics and make it enjoyable for listeners. If you have never heard JamisonPriest, check out their blogspot and look at their upcoming schedule or select one of their four albums to listen to. It is so nice to know that we have such great local talent and that they are sharing it across the state and now to others.