Jackson Free Press

Growing up in Jackson during the '80s, I knew my hometown had a thriving hard rock scene. A young kid could only imagine the stuff that happened at clubs such as Town Creek. The ads on the radio made local bands like Cyrus sound as big as Warrant. More than anything, though, these groups all seemed to share a communal spirit with the fans. Three groups that keep that spirit alive will take the stage at Hal & Mal's June 22.

Anyone who has followed the music scene these past few years knows about Storage 24. It has a wide appeal as an integrated group mixing several genres of music, all with a heavy rock sound.

Kid Vicious is a fairly new band, but it is already building a strong audience. I caught up with the guys during a rehearsal and got a sense of four guys who love making music together. The band is playing everything from Deftones to Slipknot.

Slackjawed is an original band made up of members from cover band Diesel 255. The group was born of necessity, as members created original material they wanted to pursue. It officially formed about a year ago, but most local fans have known about Diesel 255 for a while now.

The spirit behind this weekend's show is "three bands that are friends who also happen to be musicians," Slackjawed's Brandon Latham says. "We're really excited to be sharing the stage and putting the spotlight on local bands and making it about family."

"We're gonna try to bring rock 'n' roll back to Jackson," Daniel Warren of Kid Vicious says. When he says "rock 'n' roll," he is talking about that same communal spirit that has always been the heart of the Jackson rock scene.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Kid Vicious, Storage 24 and Slackjawed will rock Hal & Mal's (200 S. Commerce St., 601-948-0888) June 22 at 9 p.m. The cover is $7. You must be 18 or older for entry.