POWERHOUSE: You may already be aware of the upcoming four-part release of Let’s Go Dancing: a Celebration of Kevn Kinney, which is slated to be released at the clip of one LP every three months beginning Nov. 24. Or, you may not be aware. That’s why I’m here. The first LP is titled Said the Firefly to the Hurricane, and it features a knockout cover of the Drivin N Cryin classic “Count The Flowers” performed by the Pylon Reenactment Society. The group’s version was recorded and mixed by David Barbe at Chase Park Transduction. These releases arrive courtesy of Tasty Goody Records, helmed by visual artist Ann Jenson. Other artists appearing on this first edition include individual tracks by Gordon Gano (featuring Boy Dirt Car) and Brian Ritchie, each of Violent Femmes, Scott McCaughey (feat. Peter Buck), and The Tunes. In other news, Pylon Reenactment Society will open for Drivin N Cryin at Southern Brewing Co. on Friday, Sept. 8. Advance tickets are $20, and it’s $25 at the door. For tickets, please see bit.ly/DrivinNCryinSept8, and for more information on the albums, please see annajensenart.com.
WAY TO GET BORN: Mover, shaker and longtime music scene participant and aficionado Tommy Valentine will celebrate his 40th birthday at the 40 Watt Club under the couldn’t-be-more-appropriate banner of Fortyfest. The event happens this week on Saturday, Sept. 2. The show runs from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. This event is free, open to the public, and donations for Nuçi’s Space are highly encouraged. Seriously, bring a few cash dollars with you and give it up. One hundred percent of the proceeds are going to benefit Nuçi’s—literally every single dollar collected. This lineup is bonkers, too. Appearing are T. Hardy Morris, Cassie Chantel, Calvin Orlando Smith, Ishues, Nicholas Mallis, Ant Tha Ripper, Blacknerdninja, Celeste Ngeve, Dave Marr, Elite Tha Showstoppa, Kxng Blanco, Life The Griot, Motorhead2X, P.O. The Priceless One, Trvy, Uniqe, Whisper The Freak and more. In the spirit of full disclosure, I was invited to be on the organizing committee for this event and have been helping out as much as I can. While you can take your chances at just waltzing up this evening and getting in, you may also secure your place with a free ticket from bit.ly/fortyfest.
MOOD ELEVATOR: Longtime Athens musician and songwriter Eric Sales (Liquor Cabinet, Teeveez, The Primates, et al) just released a brand new full-length album named Strings and Arrows. It’s full of personality, nicely melodic tunes and a variety of styles, albeit nearly all trodding somewhere near traditional rock and pop arrangements. Beginning with the kind of dark “Moons Grove” and then the quirky bluesy-grassy “County Line,” it quickly shifts into pop gear with Ramones-ish “Don’t Wanna Hang With The Grown-ups At Christmas.” Other highlights here are the utterly tuneful “Don’t It Bring You Down,” the sort of Widespread Panic sounding “Put It Down,” “Madame Alcohol,” “Mercy Me” and “Phenix City.” This was really enjoyable to listen to, and you can enjoy it for yourself on all major streaming services.
GOOD MORNING: The new album by A.M. Rodriguez, American Doggerel vol. 1, was released a few months ago, but I wanted to sit with it a while before I put down my thoughts about it. This is a nicely arranged collection of both alt-country/Americana as well as some fairly traditional country tunes (“Hurricane Brewing Over the Gulf Blues”). I was particularly taken by the Springsteen-oriented “Incorrigible Boy,” “Hello, Damnation” and album closer “End Of Your Life.” Rodriguez has a very distinctive voice that’s often a little shaky in performance but just as often completely confident in its execution. It warbles and weaves around these songs in an act of total ownership, as if they could only be performed by him. Find this at amrodriguez.bandcamp.com.
SAVE THE DATE: Historic Athens announced the full lineup for this year’s Porchfest event, which happens Sunday, Oct. 15. This event has grown exponentially since its debut and now occupies porches and yards across the following neighborhoods: Boulevard, Normaltown, Buena Vista Heights, Newtown, Pulaski Heights, Cobbham and the Reese-Hancock area. Y’all, 201 acts are scheduled to play this year. No, I’m not listing them here, but you can see the lineup for yourself online. Like any festival, a lot of your planned listening will overlap due to needing to walk between spots, but I’m also a big fan of just enjoying wherever you find yourself. Chances are nearly 100% that you’ll see something you didn’t count on, never heard of, and walk away loving. See the complete lineup and other details over at historicathens.com/porchfest.
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