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Local Birmingham Music Scene Birmingham has not produced a lot of famous rock stars, but it was mentioned in one of rock's most famous songs, "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Over a quarter of Alabama's population lives in the Birmingham area. The population has been declining in recent decades due to a high crime rate, although the Downtown area has a low crime rate thanks to the City Action Partnership. The Birmingham Folk Festival is held every year at Avondale Park. The local music scene is covered by Al.com. Major campuses include University of Alabama at Birmingham and Birmingham Southern College. The history of the Birmingham music scene includes Beth Thornley, who has found success in Los Angeles. Act of Congress * Ages Apart * Alamantra * AppleSpaceBar * Arrangement * Ashley Guin * Banditos * Beth Thornley * Bobby Smith * Caddle * Chad Fisher Group * Drew Holland * Duquette Johnston * Erin Mitchell * FisherGreen * Frankie Velvet & The Mighty Veltones * Gabriel Tajeu * George Scherer * Good Morning Lucy * H2E * Inverso * Karyn Allen * Lard Bucket Bluegrass Band * Lauren Krothe * Louie Blue * Marc Gunn * Matt Pitt * Matthew Mayfield * Maylene & The Sons of Disaster * Meghan Elliott * Natalie Taylor * Rollin In The Hay * Sebastian Kole * SharBaby * Shavon * Shurlock * Stoned Cobra * SunMoon * Tanner Anz * Telluride * Tia Shae * Todd Simpson * Tommy Carter * Trey Thomason * Waiting For Tyler * Within Reason * Birmingham Local Music Scene History The Birmingham local music scene has been documented by national publications such The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic. Homegrown acts that have ventured beyond the local scene over the years include Verbena, Brother Cane, Telluride and 8-piece soul band St. Paul and the Broken Bones. The local scene was elevated in 2010 with the arrival of internet station Birmingham Mountain Radio. The station was picked up at 107.3 FM in 2013. The Birmingham husband and wife team of Matt and Heather Waldrep have opened up their duplex home in the Southside area to share music with their community. They hosted their first open house music show was on January 2014 with local songwriter Wilder Atkins and Nashville artist Matt Hectorne. The couple named their unique home venue "The Common House." As of September 2015 they have worked with 40 booked artists and have attracted a following of 150 people. Guests are encouraged to meet with the artists after the shows. The Secret Stages Festival was assembled to showcase up and coming talent in the Birmingham and surrounding regions, including bands from Mississippi, Georgia and Texas. Local acts appearing in the 2013 lineup included Banditos, The Birmingham Seven, Chris Fogg featuring Lovelight, The Dirty Lungs, The Great Book of John, The Grenadines, JazzMine Garfield, Mic Militia, Midnight Risers, The Ninjaz, Nuckols, Carnaggio & Eaton, Through the Sparks and Younger Siblings. The two day concert on August 2-3 was written about in this Jared Downing article 7/30/2013 on AL.com. A new Downtown Birmingham festival in the Lakeview district debuts in October 2013 called The Cask and Drum Festival. The event is about a mix of part music and part beer and wine tasting. Performers on the bill headlined by Dwight Yoakam include Shovels & Rope, Railroad Earth, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Lord Huron. The show is divided into two stages with one of them organized by Birmingham Mountain Radio host Scott Register for Reg's Coffee House. That stage features Kopecky Family Band, Courtney Jaye, John & Jacob, The Lonely Wild, Shelly Colvin, Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden. This new festival was written about in this Mary Colurso article 8/12/2013 on AL.com. Birmingham's nightlife economics are characterized by plenty of venues but not enough people to enjoy them, according to The Bottletree Cafe co-owner Merrilee Challis, although she feels the love for her club by patrons. She believes that Birmingham's renaissance is finally hitting a critical mass. She was written about in this interview by Alex Walsh 8/15/2013 on AL.com. |
