VALDOSTA — “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages … put your hands together for Valdosta’s very own, J.J. Rolle,” emcee Wes James called out at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

John Jeffery “J.J.” Rolle, longtime entertainer and one of three judges at the contest held last week, strummed an upbeat tempo to the tune of “Blackwater” by the Doobie Brothers.

Though the guitar was Rolle’s choice of instrument, he doesn’t consider himself a guitarist.

“I play enough to write songs and accompany myself while singing,” he said. “I do consider myself a singer. I guess my voice would be my instrument.”

The Valdosta resident has been in music for decades, having had a grandmother who was the organist at her church and an uncle who traveled across the country with a band in the 1950s.

“Now that I think of it, all of my grandmother’s male kids played music or sang,” Rolle said. “There was always music around me when I was growing up.”

A lover of all musical styles, he was raised singing classical music in his school choir. He also sang in his church choir.

According to a biography about Rolle, “he has fronted two bands,” spent five years performing at the Guinness International Jazz Festival and had his own band, J.J’s Soul Funkshun.

The band had a soul, funk and disco sound, according to the biography.

Though music was in his blood, he discovered another artistic way to entertain.

At the age of 8, Rolle performed in his school play. This was his introduction to acting.

“Once I did that, I said I know this is what I want to do for the rest of my life and I’ve been doing it ever since,” he said.

Living 14 years in Europe, Rolle has acted in multiple musicals such as “The King and I,” “Othello” and “Gypsy.”

In August 2017, he was character Sidney Bruhl in the Theatre Guild Valdosta’s production, “Deathtrap.”

“A veteran actor who acted at Valdosta State and a Theatre Guild predecessor three decades ago, he said he has acted in stage productions in the U.S. and Europe. Rolle makes his Guild debut with ‘Deathtrap,’” according to a 2017 report in The Valdosta Daily Times.

In January 2020, Rolle was the creator of the Amateur Acoustic Singer/Songwriter Challenge held at Bleu Pub, according to a 2020 Times report.

According to the report, the challenge was established for musicians who didn’t regularly perform for pay in public venues.

“In my travels as a musician, the first thing I look for when in a new city are the open mics as a way of showing what I could do, networking with musicians on the local scene and perhaps get a gig in the venues holding them,” Rolle said in the report.

For the last three years, Rolle has been listening to and judging musicians in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

The event annually benefits WWALS Watershed Coalition.

Supporting awareness events is the norm for Rolle.

While in Europe, he was a member of the Dublin Pride Committee, he said.

In 1986, he partnered with Students Against Violating the Environment to organize Valdosta’s first Earth Day observance, he said.

He added he organized a Valdosta rally/march held in protest of the death penalty.

“I’ve done my share of awareness things,” Rolle said. “I do things that I feel are important.”

The actor/singer/songwriter is looking to further his acting.

He said his music videos can be found on YouTube.