Hello Y’all,
As we’ve done for the past several years, we’d like to take this week to remember the year ahead. With this in mind, please enjoy this recap of 2024. It’s literally* unbelievable…
JANUARY: As the gathering places for music scene enthusiasts are no longer centered almost exclusively downtown, there aren’t any more must-attend events that ring in the New Year. Even so, local bands did their social media best trying to convince folks that whatever event they were playing was, indeed, the place to be. However, by the second week of the month, no one on either side of this equation cared anymore.
FEBRUARY: Chunklet Music Preservation Project head honcho Henry Owings continued on his mission-from-God-level quest to scan and document every single scrap piece of paper ever generated by any corner of the music scene. This month, after finally emptying the state’s last plastic tub of old detritus, he moved on to flyers and tickets of any kind. By mid-March, he already had a new book filled with yard sale announcements, missing pet posters and take-a-number delicatessen stubs.
MARCH: Due to the ever-increasing costs of touring to Austin for South By Southwest, not to mention the prohibitively expensive costs of hotels and meals, several Athens bands decided to overshoot this destination by 50 miles to the west. They set up in an empty parking lot along the main drag of East Main Street in Johnson City, TX (population: 1,868) and played for four days straight.
APRIL: Musician and entrepreneur Bain Mattox roared into 2024 fresh from his (and his partners’) knockout launch of bar Hidden Gem. Seeking a new challenge, and continuing his commitment to seeing potential in undervalued and sometimes difficult-to-access properties, he leaned heavily into his quest to sell snacks on the newly installed bike lanes on Prince Avenue via a mobile cart that just follows folks down the road as they ride. “No, don’t slow down,” he said. “We’ll bring the convenience to you.” His Hot Air Balloon bar concept was, unfortunately, nixed by the Federal Aviation Administration before it could take off.
MAY: As the past few years have given rise to a fantastic renewal of the Athens experimental music scene, it was only a matter of time until its participants went all-in on socio-political causes. Seeking to rise above the nitpicking minutiae that splits so many movements apart, though, a group of no fewer than 45 people released a four-sided double album tribute to composer John Cage’s 4′33″ with each contributing their own special spin on silence. One member of this cadre said, “It’s like We Are The World, but ‘we’ are local cassette enthusiasts and ‘the world’ is the very end of Winston Drive.”
JUNE: The executive director of AthFest Educates, Mary-Eleanor Joyce, took steps this year to shake things up downtown. Creating a bizarro version of the Athens Music Walk of Fame, plaques were installed around town honoring those things which do not contribute to our rich musical legacy. Specific honorees include the definition of family ordinance, zero restrictions on downtown liquor licenses and more high-rise apartment buildings than you can count.
JULY AND AUGUST: All shows these two months were held inside a misting tent installed in the side yard of Little Kings. As meteorological phenomena relentlessly bathed our town in summer heat, this was the best respite for all concerned. It was a little quiet, though, as the laws of physics banned the use of electricity.
SEPTEMBER: A “Welcome to Athens” event to usher in the new school year happened, but the organizers decided to kick it extremely old school. In this case, that meant the whole show was a two-band bill that cost $3 and started at midnight, but beer was only $1, so all 20 people in attendance got a great deal without even needing to use their senior citizen’s discount.
OCTOBER: King Of Halloween Timi Conley filed a request for injunction against any and all other celebratory events in the Classic City for the entire month. The founder of the Wild Rumpus parade and party said, “Look, there’s not gonna be more than one king, and you can’t swing a dead cat in this town without hitting someone on their way to the Rumpus. The public has spoken!”
NOVEMBER: This was the month that all Athens bands began the mad scramble to book some shows before the end of the year. Never mind that Athens has followed the rest of the industry into the habit of booking shows several months out—hope sprang eternal.
DECEMBER: As the Athens music scene slid into the final month of the year, several participants considered entering their own float in our town’s annual parade, but no one filed the paperwork on time. In any case, everyone had a blast standing around and watching, even though it just hasn’t been the same since the three-legged dog walked by the Humane Society was in attendance.
*Literally as in literally. Nothing here should be believed.
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