Behind the Music (Scene) – Katherine Smithey

VICKSBURG, Miss. – Katherine Smithey, a self-proclaimed “Fan Girl with an iPhone,” runs the Music Scene – Vicksburg Mississippi Facebook page and recently added podcast co-host to her accolades.

Smithey grew up in a family of musicians. Her father played both guitar and bass, and her brothers play guitar. Although Smithey doesn’t play an instrument herself, except for the flute in her high school marching band, she has a desire to learn bass. She loves to sing and participates in her church’s praise and worship team.

Smithey has worked in education since 2004, currently serving as a Dyslexia Therapist at St. Joseph’s in Madison. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Mississippi College in 2004 and holds certification in Special Education. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Dyslexia Therapy from Mississippi College and another Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from the University of Louisiana Monroe in 2024.

With summers off, Smithey has the freedom to immerse herself in the local music scene.

The Beginning of ‘The Scene’

Smithey launched the Music Scene – Vicksburg in February 2023 after archiving local music for nearly ten years, amassing over 1000 followers. She began by following her friends in the band Patchwork and sharing pictures and videos on her personal page. Over time, her page became dominated by her music archives.

“Nate Hoben encouraged me to start a new page,” Smithey said. Hoben, who runs the Music Headz Facebook page, began his page as a music trivia group during the COVID lockdowns, which has since evolved into a larger music scene support network focused on underground and original artists.

In addition to posting pictures and videos and sharing band posts, Smithey releases a weekly music calendar for the surrounding area every Tuesday.

“I do this completely and totally voluntarily. My thinking is I’m already looking to see who is playing at each venue anyway. I might as well go ahead and put it down on one flier for everybody to see,” she said.

Music Saves People

Music has always been a significant part of her life. Her parents gave her a record player when she was young, and when life got rough, she found solace in music.

Over the years of archiving local music, Smithey has observed artists’ breaks, rising stars, and occasional competitiveness and cliquishness, which she dislikes.

“The cliquey and competition stuff turned me off because I believe that music is for everybody. I think people forget that music saves people. Music is there when other people are not,” Smithey said. “It’s not a competition to me; I love all genres and types of music.”

STS Podcast

Kevin Williams, the guitar player from Kreaux, reached out to Smithey with an idea. They had built a friendship through their mutual friend Clint Barela, who plays bass in both Patchwork and Kreaux.

“I went to his house, and the first thing he says to me is ‘I want to talk to you about Amway’,” laughed Smithey. It was that sense of humor that helped shape what would become the STS Podcast.

Williams, recently retired, converted his garage into a studio, Eastwood Recording, and wanted to start a podcast featuring local musicians. He thought Smithey would be a great co-host for the project.

The podcast features local musicians, with conversations led by the guests in an informal setting, akin to hanging out with friends. Williams prefers to stay off-camera, operating things from the control room.

“He doesn’t have any interest in being on camera; he is what we call the ‘Voice in Our Head’,” said Smithey. Russell McGuffee from Hairicane joined as the second host.

After working out the podcast details over five weeks, they recorded their first episodes featuring Waking Mars.

“We recorded our fourth episode last night (Friday). Every episode we learn something new,” Smithey said.