MSU-Meridian Police Officer Terry Boler came by his musical talent honestly.

When he was old enough to sit on a drum stool, he learned to play gospel music, which led to singing and playing keyboard and eventually forming bands with his young church friends. This foundation and talent also led him to his most recent musical success—backing the country’s most recent American Idol winner, Jamal Roberts, who garnered the coveted spot by earning votes from 26 million Americans.

Like many accomplished Mississippi musicians, Boler and Roberts honed their talents in church. At Congregation Church of God in Union, they formed friendships and musical bonds so tight that the bandmates are still together 15 years later.

“I come from a lineage of musicians,” Boler said. “My dad and my uncles formed Dawns of Faith, a gospel quartet they started in the early ’70s. They brought us up singing and playing. At 12, we created our first band and called it Spiritual Gold.”

As a teenager, Boler formed the band Men of Faith with the same group of church youth, performing gospel in area churches and at events. The boys were transported from gig to gig by Roberts’ father, Carlos Roberts. When Boler’s parents started their own church, Faith Tabernacle Christian Center in Meridian, Boler was introduced to a Hammond B-3 organ and fell in love with the instrument.

Meanwhile, he also dreamed of entering the military and was unsure of the right career path until a friend told him about the police academy.

He signed up and passed the academy’s strenuous physical test in 2017, and then served as a police officer for the Meridian, Union and Meridian Community College police departments before joining the MSU-Meridian Police Department last year.

“I’ve grown to love it,” Boler said. “It has grown me as a man and in life.”

Boler said his university responsibilities still allow him to balance his love for music and his role as keyboard player and leader of his own group, The T4 Band, with longtime bandmates James Harrison (guitar), Jaquan Hill (drums), Joshua Jackson (organ) and Kam Rackley (bass).

Although American Idol has propelled the band’s vocalist into stardom and the group into higher profile gigs, Boler and Roberts said they haven’t forgotten their musical roots, even though they now perform in big venues in places like Nashville and New York City.

“I feel like I’m living the Batman life. By day, I’m Bruce Wayne with a day job, and at night I’m Batman, performing as a piano player for this world-famous guy,” Boler said.

The 2025 American Idol winner and Boler’s friend said, “No matter what, I can’t leave my gospel roots. That’s why I chose the guys behind me, because we all came from the same church, the same beginnings.”

The increased media attention hasn’t changed the group much, Boler said.

“We’re a brotherhood,” Boler said. “It’s my job to keep us in tune as a unit.”