In its first year, the Athens Community Music Festival consisted of one concert on the roof of the city parking garage. This Saturday, over 35 bands will play at the seven different venues around Athens, although the parking garage will not be one of them.
It was a great show
but doing the show up there requires a lot more work and time to get together whereas putting it in the clubs where they are already equipped to handle live music has proven to make the whole thing run more efficiently Scott Winland said. Winland, who books shows for the Union part-time, organized the festival and has been involved since its inception.
Besides that
I think it's nice to not only celebrate all the great music in Athens but also the venues that support it
Winland said.
For the musicians, one of the best parts is getting to see everyone else play.
We got a wristband
and we could just walk around and see all these different bands that normally we have to space out and see on different nights
said Tris Kinsley, whose band, the Princes of Hollywood, will play at O'Hooley's on Saturday. This is their second year playing at the festival.
The 35 acts include veterans such as Eric Leighton from the Paranormals, who has played all six festivals, and first-time festival performers such as the Usual.
You get to see all the Athens bands playing at once. It gives you a chance to see more bands you've been meaning to see
Adam Remnant said. Remnant will be playing twice -once as a solo act at Donkey Coffee and later at Casa Nueva with his band, Southeast Engine.
The festival will be the last show for the band's bassist, Nick Moore, who is moving to Colorado.
It's a good chance for all the Athens musicians to kind of bump into each other all night
Remnant said.
If there were a highlight event, it would be J.D. Hutchison and Realbilly Jive, playing at the Union at 8 p.m. Every year there is one show that doesn't conflict with any others, according to Remnant, so musicians can join the rest of the concertgoers all in one place.
All of the bands at the Front Room are playing uncontested because their shows start at 6pm and end at 8pm, before concerts begin at the other venues. The night of music is also kicked off at the Front Room, at 5:30pm.
The itinerary is typically dictated by the schedules of musicians who play in several bands. I have to make sure we're not double-booking anyone
and also if at all possible
to have musicians in this situation not have to run all the way across town to play their next set. It's a fun little puzzle every year
