Music of Athens, Georgia
Athens became a center for music in the region during the Civil War and gained further fame in the early twentieth century with the founding of the Morton Theatre, which was a major touring destination for African American performers.
[8] The Theater burned down in June 2009, but has been fully remodeled into a state of the art music venue reopening in early August 2011), the Caledonia Lounge, the historic Foundry Music Venue (which was originally built in 1850 as an iron foundry), and the UGA Performing Arts Center, home to the Ramsey Concert Hall and the Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall.
[17][18][19][20] The Athens Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1978 as a firmly non-profit, strictly volunteer organization, conducted by Albert Ligotti of the University of Georgia.
Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter and performer "Whispering" Bill Anderson attended UGA and used to play guitar around campus.
[26] In the 1870s, the city was almost half African American, and local black-owned industry flourished; among the residents was Bob Cole, born in 1868 to a musically active family.
Cole would later become a pioneer in African American theater, known for works like the 1898 musical A Trip to Coontown and the song La Hoola Boola.
This area was known as the Hot Corner, and was owned by a number of black professional businesses, as well as many performance spaces and a renowned opera house in the Morton Building that hosted such national figures as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
[9] In the 1950s, the city's musical life consisted primarily of dances at local venues like the American Legion Hall and the YMCA, where popular bandleaders included most famously Jimmy Dorsey.
The Canteen was a spot in Memorial Park in Athens, which became an important performance space after local musician Terry "Mad Dog" Melton and his group began playing there in 1958.
This period has been called the Normaltown River of Music, and included long-time local performers like Mad Dog Melton as well as Brian Burke, Davis Causey and Randall Bramblett, many of whom later worked with Gregg Allman, Sea Level and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
[6] With the local industry's growth in the 1980s, the 40 Watt Club moved to a larger space, and in 1989 the landmark Georgia Theatre was reopened as a music venue.
Perhaps more importantly, his off-the-wall sense of humor and warmly iconoclastic personality (and his thrift-sale wardrobe) were regularly on display at parties, gigs and musical venues around town.
[33] A final element in creating and sustaining the Athens musical culture was the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art.
They were known for their campy thrift store fashion, and their unusual and eye-catching music videos for hits like "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack".
moved to Athens to work and/or attend the University of Georgia, including bassist Mike Mills and former drummer Bill Berry.
By 1991's Out of Time album, which featured vocals by Kate Pierson of The B–52's —and its acclaimed follow–up Automatic for the People (named after the motto of Weaver D's, a local Athens soul-food eatery), R.E.M.
have remained fixtures in Athens as they have also become international stars, helping out local performers like Vic Chesnutt, the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies and Jack Logan.
[3] The Elephant 6 Collective, a group of like-minded indie bands, gained limited nationwide exposure starting in the mid-1990s with the rise of Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power and Olivia Tremor Control.
The same period saw the Kindercore Records roster find critical acclaim, including the bands Sunshine Fix, Masters of the Hemisphere, Japancakes, Love Tractor, Gresham Disco and Of Montreal.
Some of Athens' most notable solo singer-songwriter performers are Vic Chesnutt, Corey Smith, T. Graham Brown, John Berry, Patterson Hood, along with younger, emerging musicians like Thayer Sarrano and T. Hardy Morris.
[53] Athens also was the launching point for some nationally recognized contemporary Christian music artists including Mark Heard, who started playing while a student at the University of Georgia, and the Vigilantes of Love.
[57][56][58][59][60] Notable performers include Beto Cacao, Grogus, Incatepec, Athens Tango Project, Quiabo De Chapeu, and Bichos Vivos.
[69] There have also been collaborative efforts between Will Cullen Hart from The Elephant 6 Recording Company, Pylon's Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Athens Tango Project.
[70][71] Athens has been home to several notable acts, including Kishi Bashi, Dead Confederate, Futurebirds, Reptar, The Whigs, New Madrid, of Montreal, Perpetual Groove, Phosphorescent and Lera Lynn.
[76] It is a semi-update of the 1980s film Athens, GA: Inside/Out and features interviews and performances by Reptar, New Madrid, Nana Grizol, John Fernandes of Elephant 6 Collective, David Barbe, Gordon Lamb of Flagpole Magazine, Nate Mitchell of Wuxtry Records and many more.
Andrew N. Shearer of Gonzoriffic cited it as a great follow up to the film in his podcast, and Flagpole similarly noted it as being of significance, saying "It provides a pretty realistic impression of a particular time and place, without attempting to glamorize or mythologize itself.
