What is Don't Text Your Ex?
I came up with the idea for Don't Text Your Ex while working on a class assignment during college. I had to pick a career path in the music industry and complete a real-life project related to that career. So I picked “Event Promoter” and decided to organize a showcase for singer/songwriters. At that point, I myself had been performing throughout Oklahoma for about four years. I had discovered so many talented artists along the way and had participated in countless conversations about the challenges we often face as independent musicians. The more I connected with other women in the industry, the more it became clear that as women, we often face a unique set of challenges from our male counterparts. So I created the Don't Text Your Ex artist showcase, the name inspired by those spontaneous moments of encouragement between strangers that most commonly occur in the bathroom of a nightclub or dive-bar (iykyk). I'll skip the part of the story where I planned the event. Logistics are boring. The night finally came and it was magical. I had no doubt it would be, as my choice in artists was pretty great. One unexpected but pleasant surprise was the cameraderie I watched unfold between the ladies who performed that evening. I realized just how rare it is to see more than one or two female artists on the same stage at the same time and so, I made it my personal mission to combat this issue.
And that is the story of how my most dreaded project from my Music Business Capstone course turned into a sick, annual event that I look forward to organizing. Don't Text Your Ex will be back at The Orient in Blair, OK on 5/25/24. We'll have some returning artists from last year as well as some new faces gracing the stage!
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-Nikki Jackson