By Jamie Schnell

schnellj@knoxfocus.com

Southern Lights owner and Knoxville native Pamela Little grew up with music all around her. Her mother was a singer, and her dad was a reverend who also started a rescue mission. Pam’s passion for giving people chances stems from her parents. She mused, “Maybe mom would have made it bigger, had she gotten more chances.”

With the hopes of providing those missing opportunities to local talent, Little created Southern Lights Entertainment three years ago. Southern Lights is a promotion and booking agency. Her client base consists of over fifty-two artists and bands that include rapper Haystack, Lance Lopez, Kryptonite Tommy, Carteret Banks, The Whittakers, and Caleb Lang, whom she personally manages.

On December 31, Southern Lights Entertainment will be having a “Rockin Blues New Year” at the Broadway Event Center in Knoxville. Artists will feature Eric Gales, Lance Lopez, Hurricane Ruth, and special guest Crooked Eye Tommy.

“I’m good at music,” Little told The Focus. “And my business is more about the people, and everybody deserves a chance.”

Southern Lights Entertainment can book talent anywhere. Pamela Little has booked artists from Tennessee to Texas, to Florida, to Louisiana, and Mississippi. Venues used include the Hollywood Hillbilly in Rogersville, the Tellico Yacht Club and The BrickYard in Knoxville.

BrickYard Bar & Grill owner Dillon Luttrell has had a working relationship with Little for over a year. “I love the variety of talent that Southern Lights brings to this restaurant. Pam helps provide that open forum to showcase artists. She helps fill our bills with a smorgasbord of music.”

Giving people chances extends beyond the music scene for Little.

She has personally endured hard times with the loss of loved ones, health issues and homelessness but she was determined not to lose everything: “If I had given up, my two kids would not have me, my five grandbabies wouldn’t have me. I must keep moving.”

Through her own experience and growth, she strives to be “a better me.”

“This is who I am, what I am, somebody to love them, and stand up for them. If it were not for people helping me, I would not be able to help them. God put me here for a reason. Everybody has a dream, and I am here to help them achieve that dream.”

Through Southern Lights Entertainment, Little has been able to continue her dream in creating a rescue mission like her father. She has started Southern Lights One Step Project to help the homeless. With One Step, she bags food, goodies, hygiene products and other essentials and delivers them to the homeless in Knoxville. Eventually she would like to acquire land for housing the homeless and began a gofundme page to help get started, https://gofund.me/067435a1

Little said the reason for this mission is because we are all one step away from being homeless.

Southern Lights One Step Project’s page can be found on Facebook; Southern Lights Entertainment and its “Rockin Blues New Year” can be found online on Facebook and www.southernlightsentertainment.com.