Joe Eagle

Joe Eagle was born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi—a resilient all-Black town carved out by former slaves in 1870, where grit and soul run through the soil. That legacy fuels Joe’s fire as a drummer and a visionary. He cut his teeth in the music game under the legendary Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum producer Ed Townsend, hammering out rhythms for icons like Dee Dee Warwick and Surface collaborators. Joe’s sticks lit up stages nationwide with Stax Records blues titan Little Milton, then crisscrossed the U.S. and Europe with Albert King—think Apollo Theater, Fox Theater, Chicago Blues Festival, and sweaty, sold-out nights in France, Germany, and Norway. He’s traded licks with legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jack Bruce, held it down for Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Cedric Burnside, and opened for giants who define the industry.

But for Joe, the real stage is the Mississippi Delta’s future. In 1997, he launched the Eagle Music & Media Academy, a bold outgrowth of Townsend’s community vision and Joe’s own hard-earned know-how. It’s more than a program—it’s a lifeline. Joe’s mentored kids from the Delta’s toughest corners, handing them mics, cameras, and dreams. The proof? Several of his protégés now shine in music and media careers—paths they’d never have walked without his guidance. “The pros have to step up,” Joe insists. “Show a kid how to hustle, how to build, and they’ll flip poverty into power.” His mission is unapologetically big: to arm youth with the tools to stand tall as self-sufficient entrepreneurs, running their own shows locally and taking on the world—while keeping the Delta’s raw, musical heartbeat alive in every step.