GOIN’ UP THE COUNTRY: Athens nonprofit Artist2Artist will present its ambitious Athstock day-long event at Southern Brewing Co. Saturday, Aug. 5 from 12–9 p.m. Musically, the event seeks to mirror the lineup of the original Woodstock festival from 1969. To this end, featured acts are Tre Powell (playing Richie Havens), Heli Montgomery & the Ash Haulers (playing Joan Baez), Cam and his Dam Jam Band (playing Creedence Clearwater Revival), Aquatic Soul Band (playing Sly & The Family Stone), Gimme Hendrix (take a guess, right?), Patio (playing Jefferson Airplane), Jim Kautz & the Vibratones (playing Ten Years After), Fester Hagood & Dangfly (playing The Band), Dire Wolf (playing Grateful Dead), Déjà vu (playing Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Rick Fowler Band (playing Johnny Winter), Classic City Jukebox (playing The Who), and Seth Hendershot (playing Joe Cocker). This event is a benefit for Acceptance Recovery Center. Now, y’all know you should carpool or ride-share to this, right? Parking is quite limited and should pack out super quickly. This event is all ages, and kids 12 and under are admitted free. Everyone else pays $20 in advance. For tickets, please see bit.ly/AthStock (note: follow this URL exactly as it’s printed, capitals and all), and for more information on the organizers and beneficiary, please see facebook.com/athensA2A and facebook.com/acceptancerecoverycenter.
53 MILES NORTH OF EATONTON: Scott Creney and Brigette Adair Herron (each of Tunabunny) are now living in New York State but currently celebrating the release of their co-authored book The Story of the B-52s: Neon Side of Town. The pair will appear in a virtual reading event hosted by Avid Bookshop on Thursday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. Registration is required for this event and included with purchase of the book from Avid online. However, no purchase is necessary to attend. A link to a Zoom meeting will arrive in the email inboxes of registered attendees one hour before the event begins. To register for free, or to purchase and register at the same time, please follow this absolutely biblically long URL: avidbookshop.com/event/virtual-evening-scott-creney-and-brigette-adair-herron-story-b-52s-neon-side-town. In other news, look for a feature story on the authors and book to appear in these pages the week of the event.
AIN’T NOTHING GOING ON BUT THE RENT: The always busy Athens rocker Elijah Johnston just released his new single “Downtown Living,” which is his first release for Strolling Bones Records. It’s a frantic, but resolute instead of nervous, track that blasts out of the gate and somehow keeps getting louder and louder, with an ever-increasingly crowded arrangement, as it builds. If you dig classic rockers like, say, Jim Carroll or even The Strokes, this might well be your jam. Find it and his entire catalog on all major streaming services. Johnston next plays locally at Buvez on Friday, Aug. 4. For some more information, please see facebook.com/elijahmjohnston, which is badly in need of an update.
STAY SCRAPPY: Make your plans now for the fourth instance of hip-hop festival Scrapstock presented by Volumes Hip Hop and Aubrey Entertainment. This goes down Friday, Aug. 25 and Saturday, Aug. 26. The first night is free, runs from 6:30–10:30 p.m., and happens at Athentic Brewing. Featured acts are Caulfield, Motorhead2X, Only1Riggs, Cardynal, Molly Tu Hott, Baybay, P.O. The Priceless One and Amun-Ra. The second night happens at Southern Brewing from 3–10:30 p.m., and tickets are $15 advance and $20 at the door. Featured acts for Day 2 are East Rich, Trvy & The Enemy, S.U.R.F., BYV_Trubb, Blesstheplaya, Goodie, Tyl3er Davis, Cam The Artisan, Kxng Blanco, Wix Patton, Minnie Lea, Wyatt Patton and Gue$$. For advance tickets, visit bit.ly/ScrapStock2023. For more information, please see facebook.com/volumeshiphop.
AFTER THE RAIN: Athens blues guitarist Matt Howels just released a small collection of demos titled, appropriately enough, Ridge Avenue Demos. Howels is originally from South London, England and spent over a decade playing in and around New York City before settling in Athens. Howels favors dirtier tones à la Muddy Waters and Albert King, and I’m right there with him. It’s clear, though, that the blues isn’t the whole of his musical language, as evidenced on the nearly indie-pop tracks “Miss My Wife” and “Moving.” All in all, it’s a nice little slice of what’s going on. Find Howels on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Nowhere Bar Blues Jam. For more information and music, please see matthowelsmusic.com and find the new demos at matthowels.bandcamp.com.
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