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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Pam Confer

Pam Confer considers her style “a little jazz dipped in soul.” Here are some songs that she often performs.

“Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman

“Mustang Sally” by Mack Rice

“I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt

“Aint No Sunshine” by Bill Withers

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding

“Golden” by Jill Scott

“For the Love of You” by The Isley Brothers

“What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

“Every Day I Have the Blues” by Peter Chatman

“Is It A Crime” by Sade

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.