Creating a Backdrop of Movement and Color: theAMP Mural’s Tribute to Jackson’s Music Legacy
Written by Maddie McMurry
Photos by Maddie McMurry
It’s hard to miss the new color and life that has been breathed into the Farmers’ Market area of Downtown over the past several months. The newest mural, and the biggest installation of the year, is one that stops you right in your tracks. It might be the bright colors or the larger than life portraits of music legends or the way the mural is tied into the unique architecture. Titled Jackson Legends, the artwork is a bold celebration of the city’s musical legacy, and it was painted by Florida-based muralist Trinity Rivard. The mural, now sitting behind theAMP—a staple outdoor music venue—is more than public art; it’s a monument to the sounds and stories that helped shape Jackson, Tennessee.
Selected from over 70 applicants, Trinity’s design stood out immediately to the selection committee—not just for its vivid color palette, but for its depth of emotion and intuitive connection to the site itself. When Trinity first saw the AMP’s wall and how unique the architecture was, inspiration struck.
“I love the architecture of the building,” he said. “I was really drawn to it. I like to leverage those angles and architecture because it feeds off the way my brain works.”
For Trinity, color isn’t just an aesthetic choice—it’s a language. And that’s exactly how the design started for him.
“Each project I'm getting more obsessive about the colors, which is kinda good,” he said with a laugh. “I think that’s the one thing people see first. They’re drawn to color.”
That obsession with color harmony guided every brushstroke, ensuring that each color would work well next to the others, no matter which colors were next to each other. The process wasn’t always smooth. Trinity described the emotional ebb and flow of mural-making: the initial challenge of a blank canvas, the bursts of creativity, the moments of frustration, and finally, the satisfaction of completion.
The mural features eight iconic musicians with roots in Jackson: Big Maybelle, Joe Hunter, Denise LaSalle, Gil Scott-Heron, Carl Perkins, Ruby Falls, Sonny Boy Williamson I, and W.S. Holland. Their inclusion was no accident; the selection came after extensive community input and thoughtful curation by experts in music history.
These artists, known for shaping everything from blues and soul to rock and roll, now look out across a space where live music is performed on warm Tennessee nights. Their presence on the wall breathes new life into the AMP, a place already steeped in rhythm and community. Before the mural, the space was largely green and neutral—beautiful in its own way, but lacking a visual centerpiece. Now, Jackson Legends brings vibrant life to the venue, acting as both a backdrop and stage.
Trinity’s background in art started at five years old. Growing up, he was the kid who filled his bedroom with crumpled up drawings. His first ever mural was of Michael Jordan on this bedroom wall, done without his dad’s permission of course. “My dad was pretty mad,” he recalled. Over time, Trinity’s work evolved from small-scale drawings to large canvas pieces, and eventually to the monumental murals he’s known for today.
He paints with permanence in mind, layering paint to ensure longevity, knowing that what he creates will live on in the community. Trinity free handed every part of the mural based on his digital design that had already been approved.
“I want it to be immersive,” he said. “I love how I can walk through the mural on the stairs. I might not ever get to do something with this architecture again. When I’m painting, in my mind, I'm always saying ‘paint it as if it’s your last painting.’ I try to get myself to learn to paint under pressure. No matter how you’re feeling that day, you have to push through and follow your creative process.”
That passion is etched into every inch of Jackson Legends—a mural that doesn’t just depict music history, but lives and breathes it. Trinity’s mural has breathed life and color into a space that is used to bring so much movement and life to Jackson. It is now a space bright and full of movement that enhances what the musicians already were bringing to the stage.
As the AMP continues to be a hub for performances and gatherings, Jackson Legends now serves as a colorful reminder of Jackson’s mark on American music. It’s a gift to the community, one that will inspire future generations of artists, musicians, and dreamers.