All tagged Train to Birmingham Column
The state of Alabama has a rich history of producing musical talent. Hank Williams is a good place to start since he set the standard for every country star since and his son made quite an impression as well. “Bocephus” had quite a run from the late 70s through 80s with a string of hit albums mixing his version of outlaw country with Southern rock and a bit of the blues. The group “Alabama” was the first to make the concept of a self-contained band in country music popular with the mainstream and rose to unprecedented heights in the 80s.
When Maggie Rose was ready to record what would be her third release, Have A Seat, she made the conscious decision to get away from all of the Nashville distractions and did what so many artists have done in the past…headed to the relative seclusion of Muscle Shoals. Now an independent artist, she could be much more involved in the sound of her new record and the legendary FAME studio was where she wanted to go to capture that funky soul that has always been bubbling beneath the surface of her work. She got David Hood to play bass which reinforced the authentic groove as he was one of the four original “Swampers” that helped establish the “Muscle Shoals Sound” of the 1960s and 70s. Rose was not the first Americana artist to journey to northwest Alabama looking for a hit, just the most recent.
Independent music venues were among the many small businesses crushed by the effects of the Covid pandemic. Virtually every city can count at least one that was forced to close permanently. Many have only begun to host shows but with strict mandates forced by state or local governments and some still have yet to re-open. But, others have found a way to survive and are back to a regular schedule of live music. Recently, the calendar worked out where Mike and the Moonpies were winding down a tour with a swing through the Deep South all within a few hours of our Birmingham, Alabama home. We were able to catch the last five-night run but this isn’t about the band or those shows. It’s a celebration of the venues where they played.
With high temperatures hovering just below the century mark on the last weekend of July, the banks of the Arkansas River in Fort Smith was certainly not the most comfortable place to spend a weekend outdoors with live music, but a diverse lineup and solid production made it worthwhile.
Peacemaker turned seven this year and the festival has overcome some huge obstacles the past two summers. In 2019 the Arkansas flooded the festival site just weeks before the event but the river receded and the show went on even though they had to find a replacement headliner for the Turnpike Troubadours who had just gone on permanent hiatus. Of course last year’s pandemic shut down most festivals but Peacemaker held on even with some last-minute lineup changes and literal last-second changes from the state health department to stand as one of the few two-day outdoor festivals in the country. This year it was the heat that tried to ruin the party but this is one tough festival.
