Filed under: B'ham social events, bhamterminal.com/citystages/, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, city stages, City Stages 2007, City Stages Flickr Group, Commentary, Magic City Flickr Group, music, Photographs, street festivals, The Terminal
A little rain (actually, a lot of rain) didn’t seem to keep festival goers away from Birmingham, Alabama’s City Stages festival. Yours truly figured that he’d wait out the storm and then go, and it turned out to be a good thing. Festival organizers delayed the start of performances but that didn’t seem to keep steady, decent sized crowds from showing up.
I’ve been trying to update the online guide I created for The Terminal, so I’ve been a little groggy for most of the day.
But I didn’t want to get too far into the second day without sharing a couple of shots from last night. (more…)
Filed under: AL, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, cajun dance, Catalyst, city stages, Civic Engagement, Commentary, L'Angelus, music, music venues, My Birmingham, urban issues
With commercials on television and conversations going on in bars and at parties around town, you’d think that the buzz surrounding the City Stages campaign was starting to die down. I think you’d be wrong, and that the reality is that the campaign may be just starting to heat up. Click here to get an idea of the conversations going on and here to get a taste of the comments from the town hall meeting held in November. Talk alone will not help Birmingham, Alabama’s long running music festival, so read on to see what else is planned next weekend as people try to do what they can.
City Stages Idol Karaoke Contest
Polish off your best impersonation of your favorite singer, or at least be prepared to blow away the competition. Catalyst sponsors this contest where participants have a chance to win one of TWO spots on the Home Grown Stage at City Stages this year. And yes, these will be singing spots on the stage! The event will take place at WorkPlay next weekend, with auditions taking place throughout the day on January 27, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
There are two separate ways to make it to the Homegrown Stage. First of all, the best 15 singers from Saturday auditions advance to Sunday finals. The finals will take place on Sunday, January 28 from 2 – 5 p.m. The winner selected on Sunday as the best sings at City Stages!
Just how will the other winner be decided? With your wallets: $1 = 1 vote. The five singers with most votes (or friends to come out and support them) on Saturday advance to Sunday finals. Again, the most votes wins on Sunday and sings at City Stages!
There is a $20 entry fee for those interested in participating. Those that want to come and check it out will pay $5 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday. For more information, visit www.sustaincitystages.org, call 251-1272 or e-mail bhamidol@gmail.com.
Cajun Dance Concert (featuring L’Angelus)
After you’ve suffered the agony of defeat (or the thrill of victory) on Saturday, you may want to head over to Saturday, January 27, 2007, 8:00 – 11:00 pm at the Elks Lodge Cloud Room, located at 6815 2nd Avenue South, on the 27th starting at 8 p.m. to listen to L’Angelus. It’s sponsored by theAssociation of Cajun Music Enthusiasts (ACME). Tickets for this fundraiser is $20. And it’s worth it just to see the Cloud Room property.
All proceeds from these events will benefit the annual music festival. Check out the Sustain City Stages site to learn some more about the events going on around town in the coming months and how you can do one yourself. Or just chime in with your thoughts, positive, negative, indifferent or otherwise.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: Birmingham, Bottletree Cafe, city stages, Just a Few Cats, music, music venues, radio, Ruben Studdard
We ended 2006′s normal posts talking in part about music over the airwaves. It only seems fitting that we begin 2007 taking a look at Birmingham’s music scene past and present. Considering that I also made a prediction that this would be the year of culture for the city, I figured I should make sure that I do my part in making this a reality.
Attendees of this year’s Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting were treated to a double shot of what Birmingham means to the music industry; a performance by Ruben Studdard and his old band Just a Few Cats, and to a unique music sampler showcasing musicians, past and present, that have a connection to Birmingham, Alabama.
The liner notes included with the 2-disc collection, entitled “A Magic City Music Samploer,” focus on the city’s reputation as a “shed town,” the influence that City Stages has brought to the scene, and the continued influence of many of our local musical venues, including the Bottletree, The Nick and Zydeco. The playlist that follows has no links to the actual songs. They do link to whatever information we could find about the artist that was most comprehensive. Hopefully you’ll want to learn more about these artists and hear more of their music.
The Temptations – The Way You Do the Things You Do
Emmylou Harris – Boulder to Birmingham
Hotel (featuring Marc Phillips) – You’ll Love Again
Birmingham Heritage Band – Tuxedo Junction
Claire Lynch and the Front Porch String Band – I Found You
Eric Essix – Rainy Night in Georgia
Brother Cane – Got No Shame
Azure Ray – For No One
Chuck Leavell – Tomato Jam
The Birmingham Sunlights – Jesus Have Me Water
Anthony Crawford – Glory Bound
Dorothy Love Coates – You Better Run
Wayne Perkins – Mendo Hotel
Karen Bentley Pollick – Jesse’s Joy
Wayne – Whisper
Odetta Holmes – Yonder Comes The Blues
Lola’s – I Can’t Stand It
Roszetta Johnson – Summertime
Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Eliot Morris – Balancing the World
Eddie Steele – Groove Me Mama
Bobby Horton – Pristine
Birmingham J Featuring Venus – Move Back
The Primitons – Seeing is Believing
Robert Moore – Sweet Birmingham
Baker Knight and the Knightmares – I Want My Cadillac Back
After Class – Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier
The Distortions – Thank You John
Verbena – Junk for Fashion
Backwater – 14th Avenue South
Topper Price – Wade in the Water
Lolly Lee – Perfect World
Larry & the Loafers – Panama City Blues
Mots Roden and Don Tinsley – The Way I Did
Jason Bailey – Butterfly Breakdown
Birmingham Heritage Band – Birmingham is My Home
As the Chamber suggests in the liner notes, this should only want to have us want to learn more about the musical heritage of Birmingham and not to limit the search to the those listed here. Support our local music scene and the cultural offerings of the city in general as we begin the New Year. We’ll see what we can do to help out the cause. You could also always contact the Chamber and make sure that they send that CD to someone that’s on the fence about coming to town. It’s not a slam dunk, but it will get them thinking.
Enjoy the day!
Cheers.
Filed under: bhamterminal.com/citystages/, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, city stages, Commentary, Dr. John, music
Right place, right time
I’d heard Dr. John’s songs. I’d seen Earth Wind & Fire play several times at City Stages. So I gave into curiosity and ventured over to what has long been known as the singer-songwriter stage, and I was not disappointed.
It was a great performance and I’m glad I got there early. When I say I got there early, I ended up catching the tail end of Marcia Ball’s performance as well. Both of them were incredible. I did venture elsewhere in the festival grounds but I also checked out Icon over at The Tutwiler Hotel.
The crowds were a bit lighter in the afternoon, but it seemed like everyone that was going to come out did after the sun went down. The Birmingham News is reporting that festival organizers think they can break even based on Friday’s numbers. Friday was quite steady, but not crowded, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens based on last night and today.
I think that day 3 will be the “tipping point” and a test to see what can happen in the future. A return of a gospel stage with top flight acts is great, as is the idea of (maybe coincidence?) booking several bands considered to be Christian alternative throughout the stages today. It will be interesting to see what the numbers reveal afterwards.
Today Betsy performs with the Birmingham Community Mass Choir as part of the festivities. She’s looking forward to it. I’m wondering how fast I’ll fall asleep when I finally head on home later on today.
Cheers, and Happy Father’s Day!