The Birmingham Music Scene In 2017: The Audiovore Weighs In

BIRMINGHAM, AL - As 2017 comes to a close, a look back on the year reveals that there was never a shortage of big news headlines in Birmingham, with political changes, drama, crime, progress, construction and more all dominating the news wires in the year. What also has been newsworthy is the ever-growing music scene in Birmingham. With the continued success of local artists like St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Matthew Mayfield and Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, the Magic City has been a hot bed for music news this year. One person who definitely has his fingers on the pulse of that music scene is Birmingham DJ, radio personality and music guru Lee Shook, who is better known by his listeners as The Audiovore.

Patch caught up with Shook and asked him what the biggest music events in Birmingham were in 2017. Was it a hit album release by a local artist? A concert that came to town? A local music festival? Here are his top 15 music moments in the Magic City for 2017:

1. Sloss Fest 2017
- Birmingham’s premier new music festival proved once again why it is a calling card for the Magic City with a robust lineup of diverse musical acts in one of the most unique concert venues in the South, drawing such big name artists as Sturgill Simpson, Widespread Panic, Alabama Shakes and Run The Jewels for two days of sweaty, frolicking fun in the summer sun. As a major festival that also highlights great local music— giving a platform to Birmingham favorites like of Wray, Nerves Baddington, and Holy Youth— I can’t wait to see what they have lined up for us in 2018.

2. Secret Stages in Wall Street Journal
- Birmingham’s very own “Music Discovery Festival” received well-deserved national attention in 2017 for their bold programming and forward-thinking mentality— highlighting mostly under-the-radar and up-and-coming acts— with a full write-up in one of the country’s most revered newspapers, legitimizing 7 years of hard-fought existence. Having championed countless artists who would later go on to national acclaim after appearing at the festival, Secret Stages really seemed to come into its own this year and continues to be a beacon of light for those on the lookout for the “next big thing” both here in Birmingham and around the country.

3. St. Paul & The Broken Bones playing for Doug Jones
- These white-hot Southern soul revivalists stepped up to the plate in the waning moments of 2017 to hold a “Get Out The Vote” rally for insurgent Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones at Boutwell Auditorium in what would prove to be the decisive final days of a heated campaign against beleaguered Republican candidate Judge Roy Moore. Although the performance was short and done as a stripped down acoustic duo, featuring just lead singer Paul Janeway and guitarist Browan Lollar, the band’s willingness to join the ranks of other high profile Alabama acts like Jason Isbell and the Drive-By Truckers in the fight to keep Moore away from Washington was an inspiring rallying cry for people who care about the future of Alabama politics.

4. Reg’s Coffeehouse 20th Anniversary Concert
- Highly respected local radio personality Scott Register held his 20th anniversary concert at the Alabama Theatre this year with an all-star lineup featuring Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Durand Jones & The Indications and Maddie Medley, honoring two decades of musical taste-making and broadcasting in the Magic City. A well-deserved tip-of-the-hat to a beloved media personality here in town, the concert highlighted several acts Register has championed in recent years, and was a super fun show at one of Birmingham’s most iconic venues.

5. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires- Youth Detention
- This socially conscious band of cultural crusaders once again “dereconstructed” prevalent Southern myths and paradigms to stand up for a new era of politically-minded rock & roll in the state of Alabama with an expansive and hard-charging double LP on Don Giovanni Records. As another local musical act that took to the streets for Doug Jones on the night before the special election— zipping around the state as an electrified duo in the back of a pickup truck to rabble rouse on Jones’ behalf— the group proved why they are one of the leading lights of the new Southern music scene, particularly here in their hometown of Birmingham.

6. Seasick 4-Year Anniversary Party w/ Superchunk, Lady Legs & Holy Youth
- Newly-minted bastion of local record collecting held a bone-shivering bash in the cold to commemorate it’s fourth year of existence with an incredible lineup featuring indie rock icons Superchunk, alongside up-and-coming locals like Lady Legs and Holy Youth, highlighting the youthful energy of Birmingham’s crate digging community. Held outside in their parking lot in Crestwood, the frigid temperatures couldn’t keep diehards away, and proved to be a great celebration of a much-loved musical hub for our city.

7. Jeffrey Cain playing with The Church
- Remy Zero co-founder, and Communicating Vessels mastermind, Jeffrey Cain got to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing with personal heroes— and Aussie music legends— The Church as a “gun-for-hire” this year on their 2017 US and Australian tours, cementing his friendship with longtime musical collaborator Steve Kilbey. Having proven his worth on the road as an ace utility player, manning both guitar and keyboard duties, there’s speculation that Cain may be working more with the band going forward in the future, putting yet another feather in the cap of one of the Birmingham music scene’s driving forces.

8. Matt Slocum plays with John McLaughlin
- Local keyboard whiz, and stalwart of the Southern jamband scene, Matt Slocum got to experience the collaboration of a lifetime as a member of Jimmy Herring’s Invisible Whip this year, who spent the latter part of 2017 touring and performing with British guitar legend John McLaughlin and his band the 4th Dimension, as they criss-crossed the country playing technically demanding sets of fusion-inspired meta-music, culminating each night in a marriage of the two outfits as they performed celebrated compositions from the Mahavishnu Orchestra catalog. As McLaughlin’s last official tour, having a Birmingham resident be a part of it is something we can all be proud of and speaks to the level of musicianship and talent we have here in the Magic City.

9. Moon Taxi
- Featuring several members with Birmingham roots, this Nashville-based alternative rock band continued on their meteoric rise to fame this year with the release of their anthemic single “Two High” and their signing to revered major label RCA Records. Featuring three members who grew up in the suburb of Vestavia, the band has been tearing up venues around the country and are poised for big things in 2018. If you don’t know them already, you will.

10. Heath Green & The Makeshifters debut album
- Longtime Magic City musician Heath Green finally got his due this year with one of the best rock and soul albums to come out of Birmingham in recent memory with the release of his self-titled album on Alive Naturalsound Records. Accompanied by a fiery group of local ax-slingers— including two members of indie faves Through the Sparks— Green’s howling lead vocals and bluesy delivery saw him opening up for everyone from the Drive-By Truckers to St. Paul & The Broken Bones in 2017, hopefully paving the way for wider recognition and bigger audiences outside the Birmingham music scene in 2018.

11. Sound Edge Festival
- The Alabama Symphony Orchestra proved once again why it is one of the most progressive classical music outfits in the country with a community-minded and boundary-pushing festival that encompassed everything from opera and indie rock to hip-hop and the avant-garde. Sonically diverse and rich in texture, it’s still unclear if the festival will be making a return in 2018, but was a great event that highlighted many facets of Birmingham’s ever-evolving music scene, showing off some of the more esoteric fringes of our city’s musical tastes.

12. Sinkane at The Syndicate Lounge
- My personal show of the year. Sparsely attended, but one of the best— and most sonically uplifting— live music experiences I had in 2017, Ahmed Gallab’s unique blend of indie afro-pop and infectious dance grooves was truly something to behold and left me buzzing for days afterward. He also happened to put out one of my favorite records of the year with the great Life & Livin’ It on City Slang. The Syndicate Lounge will be moving in 2018 to a new location, but has been a great venue in downtown for exciting young acts to hone their chops in, and having groups like Sinkane stop by to play there is one of the reasons I will continue to go back.

13. Kamasi Washington at Saturn
- Cosmic jazz connoisseur Kamasi Washington played to a sold out crowd of attentive listeners at one of the country’s best live music venues this December— the inimitable Saturn in Avondale— proving yet again that Birmingham is hungry for sonic experiences beyond the standard fare of rock, rap, soul, and country. As one of the most buzzed about musicians of the past couple of years, having Washington and his crack band roll into the Magic City— home of space jazz pioneer Sun Ra— to a packed house ready to go wherever the music took them was really inspiring to watch. Definitely one of my favorite shows from 2017.

14. Opening of The Jaybird
- This literary-minded and roots-centric music community center opened its doors to a standing ovation in 2017, providing a unique space near Avondale for “old time” music and jam sessions— as well as poetry readings, art shows, and even more modern artistic endeavors— showing off Birmingham’s commitment to serving creativity of all stripes. A collaborative enterprise in the truest sense of the word, and run by some of Birmingham’s favorite movers and shakers, it’s one of my “venues to watch” for 2018.

15. John Strohm heads Rounder Records
- Blake Babies and Lemonheads alum, leading entertainment lawyer, and Birmingham ex-pat, John Strohm got the nod this year to head one of the most respected “roots” record labels in the country, reminding Birmingham once again of some of the influential figures who have passed through the city over the years and still maintain deep ties to our community. And although he doesn’t reside here anymore, as the lawyer responsible for guiding the careers of local Alabama favorites like St. Paul & The Broken Bones and Athens’ Alabama Shakes— as well as many other nationally renowned acts like Sturgill Simpson and Bon Iver— Strohm continues to make the Magic City proud through his championing of music both old and new, and I’m sure will continue to do so through his leadership at Rounder.

So what can we expect for 2018 in Birmingham? Shook weighs in:

"New Artists To Watch In 2018- Early James & The Latest, Lady Legs, Taylor Hunnicutt, Nerves Baddington, Love Moor and Raquel Lily."

He added, "The Magic City is awash in local talent and these upcoming artists on the Birmingham music scene could prove to be the next big thing from our little burg. From country blues and hip hop, to indie rock, neo-soul, and Americana, they’ve got you covered. As I like to say on my show, 'If you got ears, you gotta listen.'”

The Audiovore can be heard on Birmingham Mountain Radio (107.3 FM, bhammountainradio.com) on Sunday nights from 10-midnight.

Photo courtesy of The Audiovore/Lee Shook