Syreeta Neal

Last that night at the closing jam session for the this “thing” happened. Wyatt joined us on stage for the first time playing bass.
I was nervous because as a mother I always want to make sure my child is comfortable but on a stage in front of thousands of people, I have no control over what will happen. I could see that after my dad played a solo, Wyatt was in his groove having fun so I could just relax and be in the moment. I thought about singing on stage with Jackie at his age and when I started to sing I’d Rather Go Blind and I truly felt her presence. If you knew Jackie, you knew she was a literal force of nature. Y’all, as soon as I sang the words “something deep down in my soul said cry girl”, a storm blew through downtown. I’m talking torrential rain and winds that lasted only as long as the rest of the song, and then it was over. And no one in the crowd ran for cover. Everyone so generously stayed with us in that moment 😭I am telling you I knew IMMEDIATELY, with every fiber of my being, that was a big “YES MY BABIES!! Y’all did the damn thing today!” coming down to us from Jackie, from heaven. You can see from my face that I knew what it was. I knew WHO it was! I am so grateful that she let us know she was there with my baby, with my daddy, with my family, with the music we were making together. Now just WAIT until you see the footage from her tribute show! Jackie showed up and showed OUT yesterday 💕