LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A popular musician from Louisville performed with Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) students Friday.
Jim James, a singer and guitarist for My Morning Jacket, collaborated with students from Olmsted Academy South.
"We'll work with their words to shape their words into a song," James said. "I'm really so honored to be here. I want to feel like I'm giving something that I didn't have as a kid and I wish that I did."
Seventeen students worked on poems and lyrics during a six-week program with Young Authors Greenhouse staff and volunteers. The students created musical arrangements and musicians workshopped with the group.
"As we noticed themes developing, we organized them into bands," said Jennifer Wade Hess, a teacher at Olmsted. "What I love is showing the girls that creative writing has real-world application beyond just putting together poetry or writing short stories."
The students were split into four bands and paired with a musician.
"We have to put our poems together and then break it down and then make it one big poem," said Amari Martin, a student at Olmsted. "And then we have to break it down into lyrics so we can make a song."
James and the students performed the new songs during a concert at the school on Southern Parkway in the Beechmont neighborhood.
"I do feel powerful because I'm like, 'Wow, me and my band members did that,'" said Greidis Martinez, a student at Olmsted.
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