Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael And Patricia Turner.
Hi Michael and Patricia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
“’Boo Radley’ is something special. I really enjoy this music and want to hear much more. It’s really, really good.” ~ The late Peter Cooper, Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN
We are husband and wife Michael Shawn Turner and J. Patricia (Matson) Turner,’ known as the acoustic music duo ‘Boo Radley. We are known for our meaningful lyrics, intricate vocal harmonies, and experienced guitar playing.
Before we ever met, we had garnered decades of songwriting and stage experience between us.
In the late 1980’s Michael was part of the Nashville music scene in a heavy metal band called Salem’s Lot, working with Nashville songwriters and producers Monty Powell, Bill Deaton, and Chris Armstrong. Before long he had a change of heart and decided to leave the heavy metal environment.
1995 Michael ventured to The Philippines as the first missionary sent from Bethel Chapel in Nashville. He went on to have great commercial success in Asia with two bands: The Breed and Battery. After a few more years, he felt a call to bring his young family back to the United States, and ended up in the Florida Panhandle, where, after a few life changes, he met Patty Matson.
Patty grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where she cut her teeth musically as lead singer for various rock/variety bands for many years. She had written poetry and songs since she was a young child but performed only ‘cover’ songs with Baltimore bands.
Her adventures would find her relocated to the Florida Panhandle in the mid 2000’s, where she met Michael in the end of 2011. Spending time together inevitably led to us realizing how well our voices blended, and before we knew it, we were writing songs together! We started performing along the Panhandle as well as along the N.E. Florida Atlantic Coast in April 2014. In June 2014, Patty quit her ‘day job,’ and we went full steam ahead with our music as our mode of income.
We made our way up to Nashville in December 2015, enjoying the sites and delivering three-song demo CDs of our music to some Nashville venues (kind of old-school, right?).
March of 2016 brought much difficulty, as Michael had to have his right eye removed due to a sudden stroke in his eye, after a long history of visual complications. He is legally blind in his remaining eye but gratefully still enjoys a small amount of vision.
Undaunted, we ventured back to Music City in April 2016 to perform at a couple of local Nashville venues to whom we had previously delivered our CDs. A friend and colleague attended both shows and suggested that he introduce us to Fred Vail, part owner of Treasure Isles Recorders in Berry Hill. Before we knew it, we were recording our original music in the iconic studio with Nashville royalty for session players and recording engineers! Our first commercial CD, ‘More than Meets the Eye,’ came to life!
2017 brought an unknown heartache for our family when Michael’s 19-year-old son, Zane, was tragically killed in a car accident in August.
Hope resurfaced in June 2018, when we got married in one of our favorite venues, Bowery Station in Apalachicola, Florida. Our wedding invitation was a facebook event, lol! We had no idea who would attend, we just told everyone they were welcome. It was an incredible day for the record books!
We continued to make our living with our live performances and selling merchandise, mainly along Florida’s Panhandle. …until that fateful day in October 2018, when Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm, struck the Panhandle of Florida. Suddenly, 90% of the venues from which we earned a living were either permanently or temporarily shut down.
This inspired us to quickly act on a long-brewing notion that we needed to be more centrally located. In April 2019 we sold our house in Florida and moved (back, for Michael) to Nashville, TN, settling down in the Green Hills neighborhood. We enjoyed performing at and hanging out in local iconic hot spots, like Joe’s Place, The Commodore Grille, and Brown’s Diner, as well as the beautiful Mockingbird Theater. Just as we were getting to know the local music scene, covid struck.
‘nuff said.
After much deliberation, we decided that a new direction was in order. Through an amazing series of events, we were introduced to a prison ‘musicianary’ duo called The Plunders, who perform in Florida prisons.
As many of our songs are written through the pain and anguish caused by a loved one’s addiction and repeat incarcerations, we felt compelled to explore the avenue leading us into Florida prisons. The Plunders generously showed us the ropes and guided us to the necessary resources to become certified as Volunteers for the Florida Department of Corrections.
We started performing in prisons in April 2022 under the moniker ‘Boo Radley – BIGGER than us!’
We are proud to announce that in spite of the seemingly impossible physical challenges, hot temperatures, long drives, arduous load ins, x-rays, pat downs, load outs, and torrential rainstorms, we are now the founders of BIGGER THAN US PRISON MINSTRY, INC.,’ a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization!
Due to most of the subject matter of our songs, we have found them to really resonate with men and women who have lived or are still living similar experiences. Mixed in with our original music and a few ‘cover’ songs are carefully-chosen Bible readings. Michael expounds on the readings, sharing The Gospel clearly and wholeheartedly. We know first-hand how one heart changed behind bars can have a long-reaching, desperately-needed effect on an entire family! Our goal is to “Help Families Heal from the ‘Inside’ Out!”
For several years, we raised money through crowdfunding to pay for road trips from Nashville to Florida. In Fall of 2024 we relocated to Florida to be closer to the mission field. Many Nashville friends continue to support us in our ministry. Much more support is needed, though, as work in these prisons is done voluntarily. Money donated literally helps us get down the road and into prison!
While we will continue to do select ‘outside’ shows, most of our efforts are concentrated on getting back into prisons. Please look into our prison ministry and consider becoming a support partner! Our mission truly is bigger than us.
BiggerThanUsMinistry.org
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road at all, lol! We already had each ‘paid our dues’ when we met in 2011. When we started off in 2014 as an acoustic duo, at absolute ground zero, we were doing four-hour shows out in the hot sun. Many inside venues didn’t even have room to set up our small P.A. system. We literally had to hand our long extension cord across tables of people dining in order to get to a power outlet, lol! But they always seemed to have fun doing it, and those shows usually turned out to be some of the best. Those experiences groomed us into the divas that we are today, lol!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are really proud to have made it through the past twelve years performing our original music, and it still holding up! We’re even more grateful to have figured out that the place our music makes the most positive impact is in prison, and to be flexible enough to follow that calling.
We are so happy to have made it past seemingly insurmountable obstacles to become the new founders of ‘Bigger Than Us Prison Ministry, Inc.’!
We feel great motivation in this mission! The words we hear from inmates after a show more than any other words are, “Please come back!” They look forward to having someone show they care. When we tell them that the outside community has pitched in to send us in to them, we can tell they are moved. THAT is what keeps us working to get back behind bars!
What also sets us apart is that we are “Boo Radley…the only band that doesn’t mind it if you “BOOOOO!!” 🙂
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Always be true to yourself. If not, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and energy with nothing to show for it.
It’s almost impossible NOT to make connections in Nashville if you’re a musician. You can choose how connected you want to be.
Go to the places where you want to be performing or working. Hang out with those kinds of people. That’s the best way to make the right connections.
Pricing:
- Venmo.com/BiggerThanUs
- PayPal.me/BTUMinistry
- CashApp: $BooRadleyMusic
- By Check: BTU Prison Ministry, P.O. Box 199, Yulee, FL 32041
Contact Info:
- Website: http://booradleymusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booradleymusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booradleymusic
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigger-than-us-prison-ministry-inc/?viewAsMember=true
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@booradley993
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-861049493
- Other: https://booradleybigger.com/
