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Jacoby Elliott is a singer/songwriter who grew up in Olathe, started performing in the Kansas City area, and is now based in Colorado.

In 2016 and 2017, Johnson County Local Arts Librarian Bryan Voell featured Elliott twice on the Library’s local music blog. Partly through those posts, Elliott came to the attention of Beyond Music, a global music initiative launched by the non-profit Swiss Beyond Foundation and Co-Founder and rock legend Tina Turner.

On his Facebook page in February, Elliott shared the email from Switzerland, in which Beyond Music said, “Through Johnson County Library and on other channels we became aware of you and your musical talents.” They invited him to join.

Jacoby says he was honored to be tapped by this impressive invitation-only platform, which last year had about 450 artists. He was thankful that Voell had reached out to him early in his career, helping to spread the word about his music.

“It’s only a blessing,” Elliott said in an interview from Colorado. “He (Bryan) was my first interview for ‘Is Anybody Out There?’ a message in a bottle, seeking to find a community of like-minded creative people. Five years later I get this email from Switzerland. It’s beautiful.”

Elliott, now 27, taught himself keyboard and was in a band in high school, as well as in advanced choir at Olathe North High. He moved to Kansas City in 2015 and performed at Davey’s Uptown, recordBar and other venues.

He studied film and media for a year at KU and now specializes in singing, songwriting and music videos in a genre he describes as “gritty supernatural pop.”

His pop persona is Y the Ghost, which Elliott says reflects the existential search for identity and for immortality through art. Two fan favorites of his are “Is Anybody Out there?” and “Hologram.”

He moved to Colorado in January 2019 and was making good connections in the Denver area music and film community, even being featured in a film festival in February 2020, before the pandemic struck. He  used the pandemic time very productively, composing and polishing new songs that, as he says, “wouldn’t leave me alone.”

He also worked in film, “visual storytelling with the music,” to enhance each new single and released a new song and video March 26 called “Is That too Deep?” at https://youtu.be/xrgLnsvNZy4. He had filming assistance from Bas Tamiet, (artist name Honnéte), whom he met at Olathe North.

“Throughout the last year I’ve been finishing up some of my favorite songs that I’ve ever made,” he said. “It’s some of my strongest work.” His earlier work was more dance pop, while his newer work is more emotional but still has a good dance vibe.

Regarding Beyond Music, he’s excited about its mission to connect musicians from around the world. “It has spiritual overtones of bringing people together, to transcend all the differences that cause so much strife,” he said. He is researching other artists in the platform, learning a lot and hoping to form some good collaborations.

Voell was impressed from the beginning with Elliott’s work and is delighted his Library articles helped connect Elliott to Beyond Music. “He has a very distinct, confident vision of how his music can be a visual experience as well,” Voell said. “He is a very accomplished singer and instrumentalist and he has a presence and a way of performing that you just have to pay attention.”

As you just might know

April is poetry month

Check out this photo.

OK, that might have been the worst Haiku ever. 

When searching for "poetry" at jocohistory.org, we found this portrait photo of Edwin A. Legler, son of Martha Jane and Fred Legler, grandson of Adam Legler, builder of the Legler Barn. Edwin was Lenexa Postmaster, a politician, a writer, a general store keeper, musician, and often referred to as the "Country Philosopher." The tie-in to poetry month? He wrote "The Diary of a Country Lad", travel articles and poetry.

You never know what you will find when you search jocohistory.org! It's the place to time travel through local history. Be sure to follow our hashtag on Twitter!

Happy Throwback Thursday! Some call it the best day of the week.

This week at the Library, you can join us for:

Ask-a-Maker Session  - Monday, April 5, 10 – 11 AM

If you're a Maker working on a current project, register for one-on-one help with a MakerSpace Facilitator, hosted live via Zoom. Whether you need help using hand tools, software or specific equipment, our Makers can answer your questions.

Book Party  - Wednesday, April 7,  2 – 2:30 PM

Get some fresh reading and listening recommendations from one of our Librarians! Join us for a Book Party where a librarian will "booktalk" a short list of titles centering around a certain genre or theme.

Poetry Walk  -  April 1 - 11 , All Day

Take a walk through Franklin Park in Prairie Village, while reading poems written by local poets and enjoy artwork featured in the Library’s teen literary magazine, elementia.

Intro to 3D Modeling – TinkerCAD -  Friday, April 9,  Noon - 1 PM

TinkerCAD is a free web-based 3D modeling program that is geared towards beginners of all ages. Register for this online workshop and we will send you tutorials with instructions on getting started with TinkerCAD. After you’ve had time to do some basic 3D modeling with TinkerCAD, we will meet online to share what we’ve made and allow plenty of time for any questions you may have about the software or your project specifically.

Legislative Coffee – Saturday, April 10 , 9:30 – 10:30 AM

Discover what's percolating in the Kansas Legislature. Representative Stephanie Clayton, District 19, Representative Jerry Stogsdill, District 21, and Representative Jennifer Day, District 48 will discuss the new legislative session, followed by Q and A. You bring the questions! This series is presented in partnership with the League of Women Voters. 

And much more …