Music of Athens, Georgia

The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave.[1] The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The B-52's, and several long-time indie rock groups.[1] Athens hosts the Athens Symphony Orchestra and other music institutions, as well as prominent local music media, such as the college radio station WUOG.[2] Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city.[1][3] The University sponsors Western classical performances and groups specializing in other styles.

Athens became a center for music in the region during the Civil War and gained further fame in the early twentieth century with the founding of the Morton Theatre, which was a major touring destination for African American performers. The city's local rock music scene can be traced to the 1950s, with live music at Allen's Hamburgers in Normaltown. International attention came in the 1970s when The B–52's began releasing the first of several best-selling recordings.[3] Athens-based rock bands have performed in a wide array of styles, and the city has never had a characteristic style of rock; most of the bands have been united only in their quirky and iconoclastic image.[3]

Music author Richie Unterberger describes the town as an unlikely center for musical development, as a "sleepy [place where] it's difficult to imagine anyone working up a sweat, let alone playing rock music."[3] The contributions of Athens to rock, country music, and bluegrass have earned it the nickname "the Liverpool of the South", and the city is known as one of the American birthplaces for both modern alternative rock and new wave music.[4][5] Athens was home to the first and most famous college music scene in the country, beginning in the 1970s.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "First-time Visitor's Guide to Athens Music". Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Website | Explore Georgia.org. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  2. ^ "Athens Music History Walking Tour" (PDF). Athens Welcome Center and Flagpole Magazine. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2008. Attributed to Rolling Stone, February 20, 2003
  3. ^ a b c d Unterberger, Richie (1999). Music USA: The Rough Guide. The Rough Guides. pp. 133–140. ISBN 1-85828-421-X.
  4. ^ Foster, Margaret (July 27, 2004). "Piece of Music History Needs a Tune-Up". Preservation Online. Archived from the original on November 6, 2005. Retrieved December 1, 2005.
  5. ^ Montgomery, Jeff (December 4, 2001). "Athens has served as wellspring of musical talent". OnlineAthens. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2008. OnlineAthens cites the "mother of modern music" to Esquire
  6. ^ Kruse, Holly (January 1993). "Subcultural Identity in Alternative Music Culture". Popular Music. 12 (1): 33–41. doi:10.1017/S026114300000533X. JSTOR 931257. S2CID 54917938.