June 4, 2015 · 1:11 pm

#TBT: The Muscle Shoals Legacy of FAME, I

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Apollo

“The Muscle Shoals Legacy of FAME” isn’t the same telling of the FAME story you know. Rather, this story is about the impact Florence Alabama Music Enterprises, the recording studio and publishing company, had on the community that surrounded it and how it changed the next fifty years of music in Muscle Shoals.

I couldn’t make all of the photos that I had at my disposal work in the book, and over the next couple of weeks, I’ll try to provide a little more context for this story with some of the photos that I couldn’t use.

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May 22, 2015 · 9:34 pm

The Best of Hangout 2015

IMG_1106The Best of Hangout 2015

The sixth year of the Hangout Music and Arts Festival is in the books, and while the festival never officially sold out this year, there were plenty of acts to satisfy plenty of fans on the beaches of Gulf Shores. EDM didn’t seem to weigh quite as heavy on the schedule this year as it has in recent years, with the exception of Skrillex, who closed out Saturday night on the Surf Stage. He also joined Diplo for an unexpected set opposite Foo Fighters’ headlining slot on Friday as Sam Smith’s recent vocal cord surgery forced the British crooner to cancel his appearance just before the festival.

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May 22, 2015 · 9:30 pm

The Best of Shaky Knees 2015

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The Best of Shaky Knees 2015

It didn’t rain. Even a little. Quite the opposite, actually, Atlanta earned its often locally balked at nickname, HotLanta. Saturday and Sunday were scorchers for the third annual Shaky Knees Music Festival, this year at Central Park, but after the downpours of the first two years, sunshine was enthusiastically welcomed. Festival vendors sold shirts this year with a rain cloud on the front and the words “100% CHANCE OF RAIN” emblazoned across the back. I actually recall leaving last year and thinking aloud, “Would Shaky Knees even be the same without the rain?”

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May 22, 2015 · 1:44 pm

The Muscle Shoals Legacy of FAME is due June 29

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The Muscle Shoals Legacy of FAME is due June 29

To celebrate the release of The Muscle Shoals Legacy of FAME, I’ll be doing a signing at Alabama Booksmith in Homewood on June 29 from 4-6 p.m. There, you’ll be able to purchase a limited edition hardback first edition of the book. If you’d like to reserve one of these hardcovers in advance, you can do so at Alabama Booksmith’s site. Alabama Booksmith will be the only place hardbacks can be purchased. Hardbacks are $27.99.

Live out of the area? I’m hoping that I can make my way to you soon, but in the meantime, you can preorder the book on Amazon.

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April 21, 2015 · 4:40 pm

“I didn’t say that”

Billy Joe Shaver’s highest charting record is Long in the Tooth, his Lightning Rod debut released last year just before the outlaw country singer’s 75th birthday. But the country singer-songwriter is no stranger to a hit. “Live Forever” may have been his biggest, but he’s been recording for more than 40 years. Continue reading →

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March 27, 2015 · 5:55 pm

Farewell, BottleTree.

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Farewell, BottleTree.

You know, maybe this is a two part post. I don’t know. Because on Saturday, a lot of things are going to happen. A lot of new memories are going to be made. It’s going to be a big time. But I wanted to share some of the photos that I have dug up before Saturday arrives.

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March 19, 2015 · 10:15 pm

Veteran Singer-Songwriter Lucinda Williams on opening acts and success

Lucinda Williams released her 12th studio album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, in 2014, and it’s among her best work. The 62-year-old has been recording for 35 years, but didn’t see her biggest success until her eponymous record was released at the age of 35. She’s fiercely Southern, having spent ample time in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, but now she calls Los Angeles home. Continue reading →

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March 8, 2015 · 10:25 pm

Smooth soul in Wrangler jeans

Leon Bridges is on fire. His first full-length record isn’t yet out, but the buzz surrounding the Fort Worth, Tex. soul singer feels a lot like the buzz that surrounded Alabama’s own Alabama Shakes and St. Paul and the Broken Bones before him. Continue reading →

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February 23, 2015 · 10:27 pm

Twin Forks frontman Chris Carrabba on what a punk kid listens to when he grows up

Chris Carrabba fronts Twin Forks, a Nashville-based Americana/Folk band that joins the Ryan Bingham/Lucero co-headlining tour as the opening act. Before this eponymous record, Carrabba fronted Dashboard Confessional and Further Seems Forever before that.
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February 18, 2015 · 10:21 pm

Spiritual Matters

Rattler is the newest creation of Elliott McPherson of the Dexateens. It’s a Magic City supergroup of sorts, featuring McPherson and Brian Gosdin of Dexateens, Wes McDonald of Vulture Whale, Mike Gaut of Model Citizen and Taylor Hollingsworth of Conor Oberst Mystic Valley Band. The project is loud. It’s punk. And it’s spiritual, a concept McPherson conceived after reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Continue reading →

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