Alt-country band Futurebirds has teamed up with beloved Athens-based coffee roaster Jittery Joe’s to release “Baba Java,” the first release in what’s purported to be a line of “Athens music coffee.” The collaboration between the band and the coffeemaker was inspired by a famous local performance, according to the press release:
Athens has a long and storied history with music, and since it’s inception Jittery Joe’s has had a culture steeped in this history. The original Jittery Joe’s cafe was established in 1994 next to the 40 Watt Club in downtown Athens. Originally open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, Joe’s was a hangout for musicians and students alike. When Jeff Mangum‘s Live at Jittery Joe’s was released, Jittery Joe’s was forever intertwined with music.
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When we decided we wanted to honor this tradition and history, we reached out to Dave Barbe at the UGA Terry School of Music for a brainstorming session. The result was a partnership to honor the past and future of the Athens music scene, and Dave suggested up and coming Athens band the Futurebirds as the inaugural ambassador of our new line of Athens music coffee.
In addition to the beans—whose flavor is described as a “medium body blend that has an up front brightness complemented by orange zest and cherry flavors”—Futurebirds are gearing up to release the Baba Java EP, the follow-up to last year’s Baba Yaga (Flagpole review). The four-song independent release is out Sept. 16. That’s the cover art above.
The band will also play the Georgia Theatre on Friday, Sept. 26.
Read our October 2013 cover story on Futurebirds here.
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