What are good local music towns in the southeastern US?
August 6, 2015 2:45 PM Subscribe
My husband and I have lived in the northeast our whole lives and are ready to move somewhere south of this area without going too far west. We are quiet musician/tech types in our early 30s. Neither of us has traveled much through the southeastern US and, while I am aware of a couple places that might fit what we're looking for, I'm hoping people here can give more ideas for places we should consider.
He works in tech and I'm a singer-songwriter who works day jobs. We're both very introverted. We have no children and are not religious. Aside from wanting to get away from the northeast's brutal winters, we want to be somewhere that feels much less dense and harried than the urban/suburban areas in and around New York City.
Here is a list of qualities we would really like our future living place to have:
- has an active and supportive local music scene, especially one that isn't only college students and early 20-somethings so I don't feel like a crazy person for wanting to start a non-cover band and play at small local venues in my 30s.
- doesn't feel densely urban or overpopulated, and navigating traffic and parking is not a constant headache outside of rush hour.
- south enough that, although a little snowfall here and there is okay, generally if snow falls it all melts within a day or two.
- easy access to beautiful and expansive nature.
- relatively low cost of living but doesn't feel dilapidated or like it's in economic ruins.
- left-leaning politics.
- local tech industry would be cool but not essential.
Does this town or small city exist in or near the southeast US? If so, where is it?
He works in tech and I'm a singer-songwriter who works day jobs. We're both very introverted. We have no children and are not religious. Aside from wanting to get away from the northeast's brutal winters, we want to be somewhere that feels much less dense and harried than the urban/suburban areas in and around New York City.
Here is a list of qualities we would really like our future living place to have:
- has an active and supportive local music scene, especially one that isn't only college students and early 20-somethings so I don't feel like a crazy person for wanting to start a non-cover band and play at small local venues in my 30s.
- doesn't feel densely urban or overpopulated, and navigating traffic and parking is not a constant headache outside of rush hour.
- south enough that, although a little snowfall here and there is okay, generally if snow falls it all melts within a day or two.
- easy access to beautiful and expansive nature.
- relatively low cost of living but doesn't feel dilapidated or like it's in economic ruins.
- left-leaning politics.
- local tech industry would be cool but not essential.
Does this town or small city exist in or near the southeast US? If so, where is it?
Best answer: Came into say Durham also. Any of the three cities in the Triangle region (Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill) would work, really.
posted by something something at 2:51 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by something something at 2:51 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Durham or Carrboro (just outside of Chapel Hill) would fit the bill. Nashville wouldn't be a bad bet, either.
posted by torridly at 2:52 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by torridly at 2:52 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Athens, GA for sure.
Also check out Nashville, Baltimore and Richmond.
posted by veery at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2015
Also check out Nashville, Baltimore and Richmond.
posted by veery at 2:53 PM on August 6, 2015
Or Asheville. For the south, western North Carolina is definitely your best fit I think.
posted by wps98 at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by wps98 at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
The South is full of places like this, frankly. I'm most familiar with Athens, GA, where it seems like everyone of all ages has a band, but I'm sure Durham and Asheville are very similar.
posted by crazy with stars at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2015
posted by crazy with stars at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2015
Best answer: nthing the Triangle. IndyWeek will give you a good sense of the music scene. It perhaps falls short on 'beautiful and expansive nature' -- there's a lot of meh to the landscape of middle NC -- and the summers might be a little too warm for your linking, but you find a lot of NY metro transplants there for a reason.
Or Asheville.
No. Musically, Asheville punches above its weight, but it's not really affordable, doesn't really have a tech scene, and it snows proper snowy snow in winter.
posted by holgate at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Or Asheville.
No. Musically, Asheville punches above its weight, but it's not really affordable, doesn't really have a tech scene, and it snows proper snowy snow in winter.
posted by holgate at 3:01 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I was going to say Durham, but since everyone got that maybe Savannah, GA.
posted by bradbane at 4:50 PM on August 6, 2015
posted by bradbane at 4:50 PM on August 6, 2015
Birmingham, AL.
It is cheap. It is filled with lovely old trees and hundred-year-old houses. It has a world-class medical center and a bounty of restaurants, bars, breweries, clubs, and performance spaces. The arts community is small and active; it's comparatively easy to get to know people and find your creative niche. It is a city with a rich musical heritage and a culture that supports live music.
And it is a city making a real comeback. Residential construction downtown is booming. The recently completed Railroad Park, next to Good People Brewery and the stadium that is the home of the AA Birmingham Barons, is in the process of extending a walkable, bikeable greenway that will run thru the heart of downtown along reclaimed railroad lines all the way to Ruffner Mountain, a small nature sanctuary that is open to the public and features great bird-watching, bouldering, and hiking. The recently renovated Lyric Theater is a jewel box of a performance space around the corner from the stately Alabama Theater, both of them just blocks away from the innovative mixologists at Collins Bar and Carrigan's. This fall a city-wide bikeshare program gets underway (with electric bikes, because Birmingham's hella hilly). And yes, during the farmer's market every Saturday at Pepper Place, you can get your artisanal maple bacon donuts.
Asheville and Durham are both lovely towns. As is Athens, GA. But those are all places that have already made it, you know? Birmingham is right now in the process of making it. It's a really good time to live here.
Join us!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 5:01 PM on August 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
It is cheap. It is filled with lovely old trees and hundred-year-old houses. It has a world-class medical center and a bounty of restaurants, bars, breweries, clubs, and performance spaces. The arts community is small and active; it's comparatively easy to get to know people and find your creative niche. It is a city with a rich musical heritage and a culture that supports live music.
And it is a city making a real comeback. Residential construction downtown is booming. The recently completed Railroad Park, next to Good People Brewery and the stadium that is the home of the AA Birmingham Barons, is in the process of extending a walkable, bikeable greenway that will run thru the heart of downtown along reclaimed railroad lines all the way to Ruffner Mountain, a small nature sanctuary that is open to the public and features great bird-watching, bouldering, and hiking. The recently renovated Lyric Theater is a jewel box of a performance space around the corner from the stately Alabama Theater, both of them just blocks away from the innovative mixologists at Collins Bar and Carrigan's. This fall a city-wide bikeshare program gets underway (with electric bikes, because Birmingham's hella hilly). And yes, during the farmer's market every Saturday at Pepper Place, you can get your artisanal maple bacon donuts.
Asheville and Durham are both lovely towns. As is Athens, GA. But those are all places that have already made it, you know? Birmingham is right now in the process of making it. It's a really good time to live here.
Join us!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 5:01 PM on August 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
Tulsa ticks off most of your boxes except that it's not that liberal overall, though there is a strong and active liberal / progressive community. Easy access to nature, snow generally melts within a day or two, cost of living is reasonable. Lots of live music and lots of music lovers.
posted by bunderful at 5:36 PM on August 6, 2015
posted by bunderful at 5:36 PM on August 6, 2015
Charlottesville, Virginia might have too much snow and not nearly enough of a tech scene, but the music scene is incredible. Durham/the triangle is a nice enough place, but it doesn't strike me as hitting enough of what you're looking for. Other than the college scenes, there isn't a ton of culture.
posted by guster4lovers at 5:55 PM on August 6, 2015
posted by guster4lovers at 5:55 PM on August 6, 2015
You should check out Louisville KY! It looks to me like all your criteria are met, especially--Democratic voting, very affordable cost of living, vibrant local art and music scene that is not centered around the university, great urban park system and an easy couple-hour drive from incredible state parks.
posted by chaoticgood at 7:38 PM on August 6, 2015
posted by chaoticgood at 7:38 PM on August 6, 2015
Gotta echo Athens, GA. It really fits all of your listed qualities. Come visit some time!
Edit to add: check out Flagpole magazine for a taste of Athens.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 7:52 PM on August 6, 2015
Edit to add: check out Flagpole magazine for a taste of Athens.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 7:52 PM on August 6, 2015
Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It's roughly in the center of the diamond formed by Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Birmingham, so if you find yourself traversing between these towns, Muscle Shoals is worth a drive-through. It's a tiny
It doesn't have a music scene that I'm aware of, but since every town in the Southeast is about 6 hours or less from every other town, I'm going to pitch it to you by asking you to watch this movie trailer for the documentary Muscle Shoals.
Thanks to some strange chemistry of its staff rhythm and brass sections, it was the location of first one, and then after a schism, two great music studios in which some of the biggest blues hits you've ever heard of were recorded in these studios. Both the original Fame Studios as well as the splinter faction's Muscle Shoals Sound are still around, and both appear to have some offering for tourists.
If you happen to be a fan of Drive-By Truckers, which was formed by two men who grew up in Muscle Shoals (one of whom is the son of a member of the aforementioned rhythm section), you'll know about that town as well as nearby Zip City and maybe Pulaski, Tennessee. DBT bases itself in Athens, now, though, for reasons found above, and probably below.
Muscle Shoals is also the home of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, about which I have no idea if it's worth a visit. Helen Keller's birthplace is in nearby Tuscumbia, as well.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:22 PM on August 6, 2015
It doesn't have a music scene that I'm aware of, but since every town in the Southeast is about 6 hours or less from every other town, I'm going to pitch it to you by asking you to watch this movie trailer for the documentary Muscle Shoals.
Thanks to some strange chemistry of its staff rhythm and brass sections, it was the location of first one, and then after a schism, two great music studios in which some of the biggest blues hits you've ever heard of were recorded in these studios. Both the original Fame Studios as well as the splinter faction's Muscle Shoals Sound are still around, and both appear to have some offering for tourists.
If you happen to be a fan of Drive-By Truckers, which was formed by two men who grew up in Muscle Shoals (one of whom is the son of a member of the aforementioned rhythm section), you'll know about that town as well as nearby Zip City and maybe Pulaski, Tennessee. DBT bases itself in Athens, now, though, for reasons found above, and probably below.
Muscle Shoals is also the home of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, about which I have no idea if it's worth a visit. Helen Keller's birthplace is in nearby Tuscumbia, as well.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:22 PM on August 6, 2015
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posted by Metroid Baby at 2:49 PM on August 6, 2015 [5 favorites]