Who is the 17 year old local boy that has Nashville agents returning his call, has organized a Christian music summer festival  to benefit Food for the Hungry and has the mayor of Picayune at a loss for more words of praise towards him? It is bummer productions President, JoJo Dodd. It seems the whole music promoter thing is just a branch off from what he normally does. He usually busies himself writing, shooting and producing commercials which he also composes and records music for.

Since the time JoJo Dodd was a little boy, he has been fascinated with all things video. YouTube had him uploading videos when he was 12 or 13. Dodd took that interest and channeled his efforts into a Cellular South contest, which he won. From that time on, Dodd has grown his passion into a business and formed bummer productions two years ago.

The biography page for bummer productions describes itself as a company that specializes in  everything from conceptualizing through marketing the finished product.

Through bummer productions, Dodd has worked with Smart Power, a lobbyist group from Washington D. C.. He made on a 30 second Public Service Announcement directed at young adults on ways to save money by wise use clean energy and conservation for the group. Dodd has also worked with politicians, pediatric clinics, eye clinics, car service stations and a company that had him explain cloud computation in everyday terms that would not Lose the  viewers interest.

The concert that Dodd is promoting, Food for the Hungry’s Summer Fest, is slated for July 24, at Picayune Auditorium. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and is headlined by Building 429 with Britt Nicole, Mike’s Chair and Finding Favour.

When asked what motivated the move into music promoter, Dodd says, “I like music and wanted to do something for the local community. The whole concept really evolved into a Christian music festival, so I looked up some agents in Nashville and contacted a few of them.” Dodd wrote up a “wish list to give to the agents that consisted of my favorite artists,” he  continued. From that list, he chose the top four that responded.

When asked how the concert promoter experience has been for him so far, he says, “This concert has become a monster, so much more than I originally thought that it would be in details and time. It is stretching me financially and has since the beginning, but I have prayed and just go forward from there.”

Dodd continues, “The thing is; I get to talk to a lot of people and they are excited about the concert. Their excitement carries over to me and it gets me all excited again.”

Prior to the concert, Dodd will be attending VidCon 2010 in Las Vegas. VidCon is a three day event where people with an online presence are encouraged to attend and “bring their awesome,” so that they can network with Google and YouTube executives.

When discussing the event, JoJo said, “I will be on staff at VidCon. I will be working as a liaison between VidCon and the VidCon speakers. Basically, I make sure the people who are speaking are happy and comfortable, and I make sure they get where they are supposed to be. This is really exciting for me, the networking possibilities of being on staff at an event like this is an exciting opportunity for me.”

Dodd’s plans for the future include college and the relocation of his business to accommodate his education. He says, “The four years that I am in college will help me test different avenues and see what direction that I want to grow my business in.”

Dodd believes that his reason for accomplishments so far have rested strongly on the support system of his family. In addition, he does not let anyone tell him that he can not do something.

“If you  do not set limits for yourself then you will not hold yourself back,” he says.

When asked to give some feedback on Dodd, Picayune Mayor Ed Pinero said the following. “Joseph is an extremely hardworking young man, whose intellect greatly exceeds his youth. He is very involved in civic activities and everything that he does is successful. Joseph has a knack for being involved in positive things and bringing the quality of positiveness to each endeavor that he embraces. As Mayor, I cannot say enough positive things about Joseph.”

Mayor Pinero continued, “With all of the negative aspects that influence our young people, he has found a way to make his environment a positive place.”

Joseph Dodd would like everyone to know that he is still looking for sponsors in the Food for the Hungry’s Summer Fest. All interested are encouraged to contact Dodd at 601-569-2901 or jojo@jojododd.com. Tickets cost $10 and can be  purchased at www.picayunetickets.com or by calling 601-990-9235.