As he reflects on his start in making music, Brandon Meeks thinks of two things: his church and his older brother.
“I was deeply inspired by my older brother,” said Meeks, a Gary native and jazz musician. “He played at Logan Park Assembly of Christ, the church that we attended when I was a kid, and I often would just sit in the front row and watch him play. That was some of my earliest inspiration in music at nine years old.”
Meeks’ parents saw he was interested in music and got him a drum set, which he didn’t stick with. Once they saw his interest in playing the guitar, they took him to Walker’s Music, which was located in Gary’s Tri-City Plaza, where he learned how to play classical guitar starting at age 10 years old through high school.
“Then I went to Emerson High School for Visual and Performing Arts,” Meeks said. “I got my first opportunity to play in a band and get some exposure to jazz there.”
Meeks, now an Indianapolis resident, received a $10,000 unrestricted grant in the Creative Capital State of the Art Prize. The grant program is in its inaugural year, and the jazz artist is the first Indiana resident to receive it.
According to its website, Creative Capital is an organization dedicated to championing artistic freedom of expression and supports U.S. artists. This year, the organization plans to give $2.9 million in grants to 109 artists in U.S. states and territories.
Creative Capital presented 53 artists with a $10,000 grant. The organization also has a $50,000 2026 Creative Capital prize, which was awarded to 49 artists nationwide.
“It’s really cool,” Meeks said. “It’s definitely a major validation to have my work recognized at a national level, and I deeply appreciate it. I totally believe in what I do … but to see it kind of break through at a national level is very rewarding.”
Creative Capital Award and State of the Art Prize winners were selected from a pool of 4,546 applicants, according to its website.
“Creative Capital remains unwavering in our mission to support individual artists creating new work as a powerful catalyst for freedom of thought and freedom of expression in our democracy,” President and Executive Director Christine Kuan said in a Jan. 9 news release. “In this moment of urgent and widespread need for arts funding, generous supporters have helped Creative Capital expand our open call, national grant program to serve artists in all 50 states.”
Meeks plans to use the grant to support his “Unsung Giants” project, which is a nationally touring performance project he created, according to his website. Meeks serves as a jazz bassist and composer, and the project focuses on “musicians whose work shaped regional jazz traditions but was never fully documented or recognized beyond their communities.”
Meeks creates original jazz compositions, he said, and he’s won multiple grants and fellowships to support his work. Meeks was also a faculty member at the University of Indianapolis from 2018 to 2023, and he created jazz workshops and participated in jazz mentorships.
Although he now lives in Indianapolis, Meeks is planning ways to give back to the Gary community and inspire a younger generation of musicians.
“It’s something that keeps me inspired and keeps me going,” Meeks said. “Gary is at the center of everything I do creatively, and it’s my whole foundation. Especially as I’m becoming more successful, it’s becoming more and more important for me to find ways to come back, do things and the community, and just show what you can do, no matter where you start from.”
Meeks’ older brother, Lynwood Meeks, said he couldn’t be prouder of what his youngest brother has accomplished. Lynwood Meeks is the second oldest of the six Meeks siblings, and he inspired Brandon Meeks to get into music.
“I just recently found that out,” Lynwood Meeks, a Crown Point resident, said. “I asked what inspired him to play guitar, and he said, ‘Watching you and the other musicians in church.’ I never knew that, and I thought that was cool.”
The brothers are about 20 years apart in age, Lynwood Meeks said, and Brandon Meeks is about the same age as his older brother’s children. Lynwood Meeks said Brandon Meeks “pretty much learned” how to play the guitar on his own.
“When he was a teenager, he was so well-versed in playing that I would actually have him show me songs,” Lynwood Meeks said. “He’s a very good musician. Every time we’d get together, I’d be like, ‘Hey Brandon, show me something new.’ And he would, and whatever he played would just be on point.”
Lynwood Meeks said Brandon Meeks is a “phenomenal upright bass player,” which is uncommon in music. He also said his brother is a great guitarist.
Lynwood Meeks believes his brother’s story can inspire children in Gary to follow their musical dreams, and he’s happy that Brandon Meeks wants to give back to the community.
“I think it’s really something to see kids playing instruments nowadays,” Lynwood Meeks said. “He has just inspired more kids to play instruments. Even if it’s not through the school system, anything can inspire the young people in the Gary community to pursue playing an instrument, and I think that’s great.”
