Meet Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert, the mission-driven visionary behind Sounds of the Zoo

KALAMAZOO, MI — It’s a bright August morning, and I’ve been happily summoned to the corner of Walnut and Park by my interviewee, Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert. While many people default to virtual meetings these days, Hudson-Prenkert prefers to meet in person, face-to-face. She is the driving force behind Sounds of the Zoo, a movement dedicated to bringing people outdoors and connecting them with the power of music. This festival has served to support the creative community’s recovery after a difficult post-COVID season. 

“I’m creating change through music”, says Hudson-Prenkert, “the festival itself is seven days right now in, like, ten locations — 52 bands — free for the community. We’re celebrating diversity and inclusion, bringing awareness to mental health and sustainability, and creating change through music. 

“My tagline is: ‘It’s all about the music.” 

With years of experience as a modern dancer, Jennifer understood the profound loss felt by gig performers and musicians during the pandemic and sprang into action. Festivals she cherished disappeared overnight, and like many local businesses, shuttered, due to the risks of high-contact gatherings. She recognized the cultural void this creates and the urgency to respond to it. 

“My main thing is trying to pay artists,” she says, “so it’s a mission-based music festival.” 

Recovery from the social and emotional toll of COVID-19 has been slow and complicated, according to many performance artists. 

“Performances that had already been booked were cancelled,” and “album cycles, which are often carefully planned around tours, were delayed,” according to a news segment on National Public Radio. Hudson-Prenkert recognized that Kalamazoo’s local arts community took a noticeable downward shift: performance arts like theater, dance, and live music receded from the spotlight while public visual art began a rise to prominence after the widespread community practice painting projects, some of which are currently being actively removed by the order of government officials, according to an article aired on NPR. While a temporary surge in recognition marked a turning point for visual artists, it also created challenging obstacles for performance-based art forms.

During our interview, it was clear how deeply Hudson-Prenkert’s passion for justice in the arts runs. Her dedication to fostering connection, resilience, and celebration in uncertain times can be found within all of her creations, including the festival itself. It is tempting, she admitted, for artists to lose hope, to believe that larger systems neither see nor hear them. 

But she reminds us that within our local communities, there are people building safety nets, lifting each other up, and working to ensure that performances will survive and thrive. Over coffee and croissant sandwiches, the conversation flows easily. 

“I almost feel like we’re, I dare say, on the verge of a renaissance,” she says, “like, something really different, because we know that certain things aren’t working — but we’re trying to come into old systems to do this new visionary way of working together and collaborating.”

That, she insists, is reason enough to keep going. Sounds of the Zoo will run from September 22 to 28, 2025, showcasing a diverse lineup of talented performers and Kalamazoo-based artists in many genres, including jazz, hip-hop, world music, folk, and soul.

New this year:

• A premiere of Kalamazoo Gals, a short documentary honoring the women who built Gibson guitars during WWII, with public screenings in Bronson Park on Sept. 26-27.
• The launch of a second-line parade, ending at Bronson Park on Friday, Sept. 26. The entire community is invited to join in a lively, participatory tradition celebrating Kalamazoo’s deep musical roots and vibrant future.

To view a schedule of events, click HERE.