Is Atlanta a Good Place for a Budding Music Career to Flourish?

May 18, 2010 4:52 AM

How does the Atlanta music scene (for musicians AND for fans, but mostly for musicians) compare to that of other well-known music cities?

I'm thinking of Los Angeles, NYC, and Austin primarily. Or are there other big ones I'm missing? Where is the best place for one to try to break into the local - and hopefully later, national - music scene? How does the Atlanta scene stack up in terms of venues, fans, musician-to-musician camaraderie, recording studios, local radio involvement in up-and-coming acts, opportunities, etc.? Again, is there anything else important I'm missing? All answers greatly appreciated.

posted by jitterbug perfume to Society & Culture (10 answers total)

You might consider Nashville, of course. And not just for country music, though it is heavily skewed towards country and related genres (Americana, Folk, Bluegrass, etc).
posted by jquinby at 5:30 AM on May 18, 2010

In the South, the flagship school towns- Austin, Athens, Chapel Hill, have generally had more developed rock scenes than the centers of commerce (Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte). Each of them supports successful indie labels, and a lot of smaller label opportunities. But so much here depends on how you define music genre-wise, and how you define "breaking in".
posted by bendybendy at 5:56 AM on May 18, 2010

bendybendy beat me to it: Athens is an hour from downtown Atlanta (nearly 'metro Atlanta' these days) which makes it the hub for most things indie/college. Hip-hop, R&B and DJ stuff happens in the ATL; Creative Loafing might be a decent place to start your reading.
posted by holgate at 6:22 AM on May 18, 2010

Chicago's pretty rocking, if you like indie dance pop.
My friend's doing pretty well.
There aren't too many under-21 bars, but there is more than enough of a below-ground scene that could be easily broken into.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 6:24 AM on May 18, 2010

Best answer: I love NYC and it's obviously an incredible place for music. But I actually see Atlanta as a great jumping off point. There are a surprising number of bands that have their roots in Atlanta, either by their members growing up there, or by finding like-minded musicians to start a band with.

I now live in Brooklyn, and the saying I came up with to describe my experience in NYC is, "Man, Atlanta rolls hard." As in, I don't even live in Atlanta anymore, but everybody I meet in the music industry is from Atlanta, is best friends with someone from Atlanta, had an EP put out on a label from Atlanta, etc. etc. And what's awesome is that they do roll hard, together: Atlanta people always go to Atlanta shows and buy Atlanta music. (Because it's all in the family!)

Here are some bands (some are friends of mine, some not) that all have a connection to Atlanta somehow:

Snowden (Atlanta-Brooklyn shuttle)
Adron
Helado Negro
A Sunny Day in Glasgow (Atlanta label)
OutKast/Lil Wayne/TI/Dem Franchise Boyz/Etc...
Au Revoir Simone (Brooklyn, Atlanta label)
Cartel
Black Lips
Soft Circle
Maserati (Brooklyn)
Bear in Heaven (Brooklyn)
Mastodon
Pacific Theater (Brooklyn)

(Sorry, don't have time to look up links...)

As far as for fans, well, look at me. I will always have a softspot for music from Atlanta. More so than music "from Brooklyn," because nobody is really "from Brooklyn." But Atlanta has its own special something that will follow you around for the rest of your career, and that fans recognize as theirs.

Man, I guess I'm more biased than I thought. But that's my take on it, YMMV.
posted by functionequalsform at 6:35 AM on May 18, 2010

Oh, yeah. And Athens is awesome too. Jeff Mangum...*swoon.*
posted by functionequalsform at 6:38 AM on May 18, 2010

I'll also echo Athens being so close to Atlanta. I graduated from UGA and the music scene is very very active there. Downtown is a basically a few block concentrated area of bars and venues, of which almost all have show space. I think there was like 50+ bars went I attended.
For a taste of what's going on, check out the Flagpole magazine.

I think Athens also tends to have a strong indi vibe with things like AthFest.

The one thing to realize is that among 30k+ students, a lot think they're the next big musician and will try to get those shows instead of you. Talent and dedication will outshine them, but there is definitely that competition.
posted by jmd82 at 6:45 AM on May 18, 2010

Atlanta has a very vibrant music scene in most genres, with lots of live music venues and a significant number of production studios and labels. And, as mentioned, Athens is only an hour away if you can't find something to your taste one night. You could do much, much worse.
posted by kjs3 at 10:01 AM on May 18, 2010

The Atlanta music scene ebbs and flows, but I have to say it is really strong right now. It can be a little clique-ish and impenetrable at times, but give it time and you'll find your way. Stomp and Stammer is the local music rag. And The Earl is the best rock club in the country, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by spilon at 12:22 PM on May 18, 2010

I'd go Austin. I've had a gigging band in Austin for a couple of years now, but I'm about to move away. In general, it's a really crowded scene, which is probably true of a lot of places, and it's largely a networking game to get the gigs you want here. But the gigs are there, people will listen, and, while it's clique-ish, you can walk up and talk to strangers pretty easily.

A few local bands doing well right now:
The Bright Light Social Hour
The Frontier Brothers

As far as clubs, the Mohawk is probably the flagship venue at the moment. Hope all this helps.
posted by Eddy at 11:18 AM on May 30, 2010