Mississippi Symphony Orchestra's Pepsi Pops set for 42nd performance. Details here

Ed Inman
·4 min read
Conductor Crafton Beck and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra entertain hundreds of lawn chair lounging music lovers and a flotilla of boaters during at a past Pepsi Pops concert at Old Trace Park on the Barnett Reservoir in Ridgeland.
Conductor Crafton Beck and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra entertain hundreds of lawn chair lounging music lovers and a flotilla of boaters during at a past Pepsi Pops concert at Old Trace Park on the Barnett Reservoir in Ridgeland.

The stars will be shining brightly at Old Trace Park in Ridgeland this Friday, June 2, as the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra takes the stage for the 42nd annual Pepsi Pops concert.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with David Keary and Friends providing opening musical entertainment at 6:30 p.m.

Maestro Crafton Beck leads the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra beginning at 7:30 p.m. An Arkansas native, Beck joined the Mississippi orchestra as music director after concluding a 22-year tenure as music director and conductor of Ohio’s Lima Symphony Orchestra.

Friday's concert will feature selections from James Bond films, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Lord of the Rings," "The Muppets," "Evita" and "Harry Potter" as well as such pop favorites as "Killing Me Softly With His Song," "Moon River" and more. The program will build to a climax of patriotic music and a spectacular fireworks show after dark.

“It’s designed to have something everyone will recognize,” said Mississippi Symphony Orchestra President and Executive Director Jenny Mann. Whether arriving by land or by boat, “You can make it exactly the kind of experience you want it to be,” she said.

Originally scheduled for May 12 but postponed due to weather, tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the gate for adults, and $5 for children and students. Free parking is available for the concert, with a VIP parking pass for $35 also an option. Tickets and VIP parking passes purchased for the original date will be honored June 2. Advance tickets may be purchased through PepsiPops.com.

As the largest professional performing arts organization in the state, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra performs for more than 75,000 Mississippians each year with an annual operating budget of $1.7 million.

And while Pepsi Pops is now in its 42nd year, pops concerts of one kind or another have actually been a part of the symphony’s tradition for much longer.

Organized during the latter years of World War II and originally known as the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, the group hosted their first concert to an overflow crowd of 500 on Oct. 19, 1944, at the former Hotel Heidelberg on Capitol Street.

The first outdoor pops concert was held May 10, 1955, at Memorial Stadium under sponsorship of the newly formed Jackson Symphony League.

Known at the time as “Music Under the Stars,” the annual pops concert moved to the Mississippi Fairgrounds in 1960 and was for several years held in conjunction with the four-day Mississippi Arts Festival.

In 1969, under the direction of conductor Lewis Dalvit, the symphony held their first pops concert at Old Trace Park on the reservoir.

The fledgling event received a major financial and promotional boost in 1981 when Brown Bottling Group (then known as Southern Mississippi Bottling), a franchise distributor for Pepsi Cola, Dr. Pepper and other beverages, signed on as a major corporate sponsor.

With what was originally reported as a four-year grant from the company, the concert became officially known as Pepsi Pops.

“We are so excited to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of Pepsi Pops!” said Shelley Brown Floyd, executive vice president of Brown Bottling Group. Floyd, who credits her grandfather Ken Brown, as a “mastermind” behind the annual event, said, “It was my favorite time of year as a child, setting the stage as the official start of summer and now my children are the fourth generation to experience the wonder of Pepsi Pops.”

Local celebrities Maggie Wade of WLBT and Marshall Ramsey of Mississippi Today will serve as emcees.

The fireworks display will be coordinated by Artisan Pyrotechnics of Wiggins.

The concert will mark the last show of the symphony’s 2022-23 performance schedule. “It’s the last hurrah — the culmination of our official season,” said Chantel Lott, director of communications and development for the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. An announcement detailing scheduled performances for the 2023-24 season (which begins in late summer) is expected in mid-July and will be posted at msorchestra.com, Lott said.

Refreshments will be available for sale including ice-cold Pepsi products along with food from Green Ghost Tacos, Which Wich, and the Chunky Dunks Sweets Truck. Cash and cards will be accepted.

Guests are also welcome to bring their own picnics as well as chairs and blankets. Alcohol, glass items, and tents are prohibited.

Old Trace Park is located at 422 Post Road in Ridgeland.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Symphony Orchestra's Pepsi Pops set for 42nd performance