Athens, Georgia

A city of indie rock legend, Athens is far more than your usual college town. In the late '80s and early '90s, the home of the University of Georgia became the epicenter of a music revolution. Led by R.E.M., B-52s, Pylon and various acts from the Elephant Six Collective, the college rock revival took over the country and then the world. Nowadays the tradition is kept alive by acts like Drive-By Truckers, The Whigs and Casper and the Cookies with rock club 40 Watt still going strong and breaking new bands. With a vibrant music scene supported by the continuous onslaught of musicians and music fans relocating to the city for college, there are many different well-attended gigs each night. If you're a stranger to the area, get to know some of the local bands first, who will likely welcome you with open arms with a support gig or two.

Guide to Gigging in MEMPHIS

Book a Gig: Venues

40 Watt Club
285 W. Washington St
Athens, Georgia 30601
(706) 549-7871
www.40watt.com
An obvious one to anyone who is even vaguely familiar to the Athens music scene of long ago and today, the 800-capacity 40 Watt Club broke bands like R.E.M. and Pylon and today frequently has shows for acts like Venice Is Sinking, The Pendletons, Ginger Envelope and Dark Meat. The 40 Watt can be found toward the west end of downtown. Send a press kit first (with a CD), then wait a few weeks before contacting booking agent Velena Vego by email at fortywatt@athens.net or on the phone Monday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Georgia Theatre
215 North Lumpkin St
Athens, GA 30606
(706) 353-3405
www.georgiatheatre.com
A lovely theatre with inviting balcony seats and standing room on the sloping floor, the Georgia Theatre is the biggest independent venue in town. Usually the place is packed with country or bluegrass bands, like The Packway Handle Band, but the venue is open to music of all kinds. Send band information, contracts, riders and recordings to physical address or email Scott Orvold at scottorvold@charter.net.

Tasty World
312 E. Broad St
Athens, GA 30601
(706) 543-0797
www.tastyworld.net
This decade-old venue is known for having a huge array of genres claim its various stages (it has two — one per floor — with each having a capacity of roughly 200). Anything from hip-hop to bluegrass to metal is welcome there. Send an email first to tastyworld@mindspring.com with your contact information and an EPK with online music links. Feel free to follow up with a call to Murphy or Claire Wednesday or Thursday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Flicker Theatre and Bar
263 W. Washington St
Athens, GA 30601
(706) 546-0039
www.flickerbar.com
Part movie theatre, part bar, part performance space, Flicker is making the move from being an acoustic-only venue to branching out to all sorts of music. With new owners behind the booking (flickerbooking@yahoo.com), this tiny 100-capacty venue is always likely to host some interesting bands.

Caledonia Lounge
256 W. Clayton St
Athens, GA 30601
(706) 549-5577
www.caledonialounge.com
This small venue packs a wallop with its heavy rock and metal shows. Prepare to have crowds crammed in and sweating a lot to very loud music. Email booking@caledonialounge.com to book a gig.

Promote a Gig: Media

Flagpole
P.O. Box 1027
Athens, GA 30603
(706) 549-9523
www.flagpole.com
The usual local alternative weekly, but since this is Athens, Flagpole tends to be rather music-heavy. Send your band’s CD and press kit to music editor Chris Hassiotis at music@flagpole.com or your gig information to calendar@flagpole.com to be included in the weekly listings.

The Red and Black
540 Baxter St
Athens, GA 30605
(706) 433-3000
www.redandblack.com
The University of Georgia’s daily independent student newspaper, The Red and Black publishes an “Out and About” section every Thursday with music listings and reaches a prospective 40,000 students. Send your band’s show information (name of the band, venue name, the gig’s date and time, cover charge and short description) to Alec Wooden at awooden@randb.com by Tuesday to be included in the next week’s issue.

Gear / Repairs

Musician’s Warehouse
www.yourmusicstore.com
(706) 548-9599
447 E. Clayton St
Athens, GA 30601
Independently owned and operated for over a decade, Musician’s Warehouse is in the right place (central Athens, across from Junkman’s Daughter) and well stocked. The store has been part of the community since its founding, and can easily have items delivered the next day.