JJ Grey was our saving grace

Music. It’s my saving grace and it also magnifies the chink in my armor. Whenever a JJ Grey & Mofro song comes on I smile immediately. Joe found this funky mix of swamp and soul music during chemotherapy back in 2018. The song that got him hooked “This River” makes me cry, and I haven’t been able to listen to it since he passed away, but I’m posting it for you to enjoy (grab a Kleenex while you listen to it, and then keep reading below).

The rest of their songs always have me singing along and smiling just thinking about my sweet man. We went to four of their concerts in one year! We started in Tulsa at the Mayo Moto Street Classic in June of 2019. We were shocked when we arrived and literally stood five feet from the stage. We sang every song as if we’d been fans for life. Joe had rung the bell the year before, beating cancer for the first time. And just 2 months before this concert we found out it was back and stage 4. But he would beat it again.

Next stop was the Bedford BBQ & Blues Festival. This was what we would call a two-fer! There was a barbeque competition going on with a lot of our BBQ family there, and our newest favorite band playing. Joe wasn’t feeling too great that weekend. Residual chemo effects had raised their ugly head after we landed in Dallas. Of course, there’s always a friend with some rice crispy treats (wink wink) to help a buddy feel better. Mixing them with lots of beer made for a fun time getting Joe out of the festival after the concert and an interesting next day, but we had a great time regardless!

The final stops were the most special. A trip to Florida the last week of 2019, and just six weeks after life-saving liver resection surgery that rendered him cancer-free again. House of Blues in Orlando followed up with a New Years Eve concert at the Jacksonville Theater. This was one of the best trips we ever took. We relaxed, enjoyed great music, ate fantastic food, and spent a few nights on our favorite little Florida beach. You can see just how sick Joe was in these pictures. Chemotherapy was so hard on him. But we rang in 2020 together, grateful he was cancer-free (even though he still had some clean-up chemo to do).

I will cherish these moments and memories forever.

I’ll leave you with my favorite JJ Grey & Mofro song. It resonated with me from the very beginning, and now these lyrics mean so much more.

So light a candle for me
Be the guide that I need
When I’m all alone

Light a candle for me
Be the joy I see
I’m on my way back home