Cole Kickin’ Music Festival was created in 2018 after a longtime supporter of Shreveport's music scene and local drummer, Barry Eakin Jr, passed away the morning after playing an out of town show in Little Rock at age 42. Barry suffered a heart attack. Barry always said, "Cole kickin.'” - that had been his signature phrase for over 25 years, hence the name of the festivalMany musicians and music lovers from the surrounding Ark-La-Tex united over the duration of St. Patrick’s day weekend in 2019 in support of Shreveport's devastating loss of several staples in our music community, responding in such a way that proved an unspoken, long lost loyalty. The Ark-La-Tex hadn't seen such a response in the community in quite some time. Cole Kickin' Music Festival was an amazingly genuine and heartwarming event that honored not just the life of Barry Eakin Jr, but celebrated the lives of several other lost area musicians such as Darin Lavender, Jimmy Day, Jerry Beach, “Blue” Martin, Chris McLemore, Jeff Miller and many more. Barry Eakin Jr would have turned 44 on March 13th, 2020 at the start of the 2nd annual Cole Kickin' Music Festival. .