In October 1999, Brookhaven natives Don Jacobs, Tyler Bridge, Ricky Brown, Bill Perkins, Lonnie Keys and other graduates of Brookhaven High School’s class of 1968 gathered at a mutual friend’s house for an impromptu high-school reunion. Many of the participants had been involved in various garage bands throughout high school, including Jacobs’ “The Brutes” and Brown’s “Greer Brothers Band.” The reunion turned into an all-day backyard barbecue and jam session for all the gathered musicians that continued on well into the night.
Don Jacobs later took it upon himself to bring all his musician friends together for another reunion and jam session the following July. Along the way the gathering of Brookhaven High School garage bands informally took on the nickname “Brookstock” following an offhand comment from participating musician Bill Waterdale.
As word got out about Brookstock, the number of people who showed up for it slowly ballooned from about 40 for the first few years into the hundreds. The rising attendance also drove the event to relocate over the years, going from a local coffee house in Brookhaven to the grounds of a nearby day camp, a National Guard armory and the Brookhaven Recreation Department building before finally settling at the Brookhaven FEMA building.
Old Bands, New Bands and New Goals
After Don Jacobs suffered a stroke in 2022, he asked Tyler Bridge to take up running Brookstock in his place. Bridge and his brother Nick Bridge had originally come to the first Brookstock in 1999 as side musicians, backing up any bands who needed additional members, before going on to play as Brookstock’s house rhythm section for 20 years.
When Bridge took over operations for Brookstock, he decided to expand the event’s scope and make it into a more organized music festival with specific bands playing at designated times.
“For the longest time Brookstock has been an open jam session that usually went on until 2 in the morning with people just coming in and out as they felt like it,” Bridge told the Mississippi Free Press. “It was so informal that we didn’t even have our name until about 10 years in. Nowadays many of the original artists are well into their 70s, and a lot of them can’t play anymore or have passed on. That has made it important for us to expand and incorporate new, younger performers into our festival.”
Another Brookstock tradition is the crowning of the Brookstock Queen, which honors one woman each year who has offered significant support to the festival. Don Jacobs originally named the Brookstock Queen each year, but after Bridge took over for him he decided to have a group of past queens name the new one each year instead.
Jacobs complimented the ways in which Bridge has expanded the event over the years.
“Tyler Bridge has done such great work and was absolutely the right person for the job after I stepped down after about 20 years of running things,” Jacobs said. “We would initially only have about four or five bands playing every year, but now he’s changed it into something bigger that brings even more musicians together. Brookstock remains a great way for everyone we’ve come to know to get together and see each other.”
The 2026 Brookstock will feature many of the original garage-band players, including Shaw Furlow and the Wonderboys, Don Jacobs, Ricky Brown, Mike J. Chase,Mickey Garon, Eliza Smith and Kenny Cothern. Newcomers to this year’s festival include Bridge’s own group, The Bridge Band, as well as Eliza Smith, Blake Scafidel and Keys Vs. Strings.
“Brookstock is ultimately Brookhaven’s musical tribute to the ’60s and ’70s, but I’m growing it out so that no matter how old you are, you can come out here to see us and feel like a teenager again,” Bridge said.
The leader of Keys Vs. Strings, Topher Brown, is the son of original Brookstocker Ricky Brown, who is proud to see his son taking part.
“My hope for all the younger talent we’re bringing in, my son included, is for these young folks to take up the spirit of Brookstock going forward,” Brown said. “I’ve played for Brookstock nearly every year since we started it, and it’s always been a great event to bring old friends together.”
Collaborating With The Doll’s House
In addition to bringing new blood into Brookfest, Bridge expanded the event’s scope to directly benefit the Brookhaven community. To that end, he reached out to Johnnie and Stephanie Turner, the owners of Doll’s House Mission Home in Brookhaven, is a transitional living facility for women the Turners founded in 2012 that is dedicated to providing education and rehabilitation for women facing physical or psychological trauma.
“We are a long-term care facility, perhaps one of the few like us you’ll find, because we believe trauma isn’t something you get over in a short amount of time,” Stephanie Turner said. “Some of these women are facing addiction or domestic violence, or have been through incarceration or are victims of human trafficking. Some of them may be facing problems with child protective services or are teens recently released from those services. We want to take the time for all of them to service whatever needs they have.”
The Doll’s House has a set of dormitories on its grounds with three bedrooms and 12 beds, as well as separate independent living cottages for women who are pursuing a General Education Degree and seeking to enroll at a local community college or to enter the workforce. The facility also has a mother and children’s cottage and an emergency shelter women can stay in for a week at a time. The Doll’s House also maintains a sustainable garden, a fruit and vegetable stand, and a food truck where residents can work to learn transitionable skills for employment.
Bridge’s arrangement with the Turners has The Doll House serve as the official caterer for Brookfest, with all proceeds from the food truck going directly to The Doll’s House. The menu for The Doll’s House food truck includes chicken wings, catfish, philly cheesesteaks, pan trout, smoked turkey legs, pulled-pork sandwiches, smoked sausage dogs, nachos, corndogs, loaded fries, funnel cakes and more.
“Our work with Brookstock has gone a long way in helping us make everything we do here possible,” Johnnie Turner said. “Brookfest has been welcoming, entertaining and community-oriented. It’s an event that brings everyone together, and anyone with any taste in music can find something to fall in love with. Many women we work with also have musical aspirations, and it’s been a great way for them to be introduced to that world as well.”
Brookstock 2026 will take place on Saturday, July 25, at the Brookhaven FEMA Building (1154 Beltline Road, Brookhaven) with performances beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is $15 per person. For more information on Brookstock, visit the festival’s Facebook page.
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