An up-and-coming musical duo is excited about sharing the Black River Coliseum stage with the honored volunteers at the Daily American Republic’s annual Difference Makers banquet.
They have attended the event in the past and look forward to being the featured musical act for sixth annual event on Aug. 29.
The Freedom and Misty Acoustic Music duo of Misty DeJournett and Freedom Shearon will entertain guests starting at 6 p.m., and during the meal.
They are thrilled to have the opportunity to play at the coliseum and to help a worthy cause such as Difference Makers.
“As a former employee of the DAR, the Difference Makers event was my favorite event to be a part of. I love that the Difference Makers event spotlights the individuals who truly make a difference in the community and in the lives of those in need,” DeJournett said.
“It is one of those events that really tugs at your heartstrings. It is a privilege to be a part of this truly touching event,”
Shearon said. He attended his first Difference Makers event a year ago.
“I accompanied Misty to this event last year and thought it was great that good citizens were being recognized for what they do for their community,” Shearon added. “So, I am very happy to have to opportunity to be a part of this year’s event.”
The duo plays a variety of music from different genres, including The Beatles, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Eilish, Zach Bryan, Jefferson Airplane, Noah Kahan, and Band of Heathens.
“We play old, new, rock, country, blues,” DeJournett said. “The style is always acoustic for our duo.”
DeJournett and Shearon have taken different paths in their music careers. Shearon began playing guitar in his early teens, and DeJournett started with karaoke in her late 30s and her career has taken off from there.
Freedom, originally from Poplar Bluff, played music with his late wife, Tonya, in Illinois for several years before returning to Poplar Bluff in 2021.
DeJournett, a Puxico native, has enjoyed music since she can remember.
“From a very young age (I remember) standing on the side of PP Highway with a sign that read ‘Will sing any song for a quarter’,” DeJournett said.
She has been performing in front of crowds for about five years.
Shearon also writes and produces his own music.
DeJournett and Shearon began playing together in late 2022.
“We met in 2022 at a jam session at a place called Freddie G’s after his cousin Kim (also a former DAR employee) mentioned we should play music together,” DeJournett recalled. “We started performing together just a few months later.”
The duo’s career has taken off since that first jam session, as they perform several shows a month.
“Our schedule varies, but we generally play anywhere from two to six shows a month. We have been really blessed with opportunities to play here in Poplar Bluff, as well as Cape Girardeau, Doniphan, Puxico, St. Claire, St. Genevieve, Scott City, and Kelso,” DeJournett said.
“We are excited to be playing at the Historic Rodgers Theater here in September.”
What does the future hold for DeJournett and Shearon? That’s to be determined.
“We truly enjoy what we do. We had to think about this question a bit; it was, oddly, something we had not really discussed,” DeJournett said. “We would really love to release an album of our own. We have released one single so far (Drifter’s Song) and are in the process of working on several more.
“We feel really blessed to have the opportunity to play.”
If you would like to learn more about DeJournett and Shearon’s music, go to their webpage at https://freedomandmistyacousticmusic.com/
Nominations for this year’s Difference Makers opened May 1 and will remain open until July 28. You can nominate someone by clicking on the Difference Makers logo at the top of the DAR’s website (darnews.com) and filling out the form.
Chris is publisher of the Daily American Republic. He can be reached at cpruett@darnews.com.