Jackson Free Press

Here are some facts to get you ready to hear one of Jackson's newer duos, Wink and the Signal, at Chick Ball. Find the band on Facebook and Soundcloud.

• Wink and the Signal's first performance was in August 2012 at the Thunderbird in Pittsburgh.

• The duo is Lydia Bain of Madison and Barrett Black of Pittsburg. They perform violin, guitar, cello and soul vocals.

• The two first met at a jazz venue in Pittsburg where Black heard Bain sing. Later, he heard her playing violin in a practice room at Duquesne University where she was studying.

• "We are the first afro-country band in America," Black says. Black describes the music as "a mixture of soul vocals with music Americana with a reggae tinge sprinkled with Celtic rock."

• Be ready to get involved with the show with lots of "call and response, audience engagement, and foot-stomping fun," Black says.

• "Our music is positive and productive change for the betterment of people and society," Black says. "We just want to be a positive force."

• "People that give up everything they know for fame--for a fleeting time in the spotlight," Black says about the message behind their song, "Dandelion Fields." "They'll give up what they believe in ... all for a shot at this fleeting stardom that may or may not even come."

• They will release an EP, "Pastel Skies in July," later this year.