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Thursday, July 3, 2008
NPR looks at Atlanta’s indie soul scene
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
India Arie performing at the Trumpet Awards in January 2008. Photo: File.
We know the Atlanta music scene is a big deal, but it seems National Public Radio knows it, too.
On July 4, NPR begins a summer music series on “All Things Considered” about cities’ local music scenes. The segments will delve into what defines each city’s music scene, speak to some of the musicians and examine how a sense of place influences the music.
First up in the series is a piece on Atlanta’s indie soul scene, which will air July 4. This initial installment was the suggestion of a fellow NPR staffer, “Talk of the Nation” director Gwen Outen, says series editor Tom Cole.
“She’s just a big fan of the music and she put together a really interesting pitch, talking about how the scene developed, how it evolved and what’s happened to it since the heyday of the ’90s,” Cole says. “We thought it was a good story and decided to start there.”
For the inaugural report, NPR spoke with one of the scene’s biggest success stories, India Arie, along with fellow musicians Anthony David and Julie Dexter and Freddy Luster, owner of the now-defunct Yin Yang Cafe, among others.
The series will continue at roughly two-week intervals, at least through the summer. In the coming weeks, Cole says, there will be segments on a burgeoning rock en Español scene in Charlotte, N.C., and the thriving avant-garde jazz community in Albuquerque, N.M.
“All Things Considered” airs locally on WABE-FM (90.1) from 4-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
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Ashton Shepherd at Lenox Square on July 4
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ashton Shepherd. Photo: Danny Clinch.
The fireworks won’t be confined to the sky at the Salute to America festivities at Lenox Square on July 4. The organizers have booked some fiery entertainment, too, and it’s your chance to catch Ashton Shepherd on her way up, because the next stop for this buzzed-about country singer is a fall tour with Sugarland.
Shepherd was born in the tiny town of Coffeeville, Ala., about three hours south of Birmingham and about two hours north of Mobile. On a map, it looks like the middle of nowhere. You couldn’t pick a more appropriate place of origin for a country singer. And I’m talking about a real, honest-to-goodness country singer here, not some pseudo-Southerner with a fake accent. Shepherd’s voice has that honky-tonk mojo, but it’s tempered with feminine warmth. Heck, on the cover of her debut, “Sounds So Good,” she’s sitting on the end of a pool table.
There’s also a little of the sweet home part of Alabama in her deeply country songs. Take “I Ain’t Dead Yet,” for instance (you can hear it on her MySpace page). It’s about a wife and mother who still likes a cold beer every now and then, but she’s happy with her life: “I know my obligations, and believe me they’re met.” Shepherd manages to wring about four syllables out of “met.” It’s a stunner that could inject about 40 acres of rural dirt into country radio’s squeaky clean, pop-heavy landscape. There’s a good reason for all those Loretta Lynn comparisons she’s getting.
Live musical entertainment begins at 6 p.m. (Shepherd is scheduled to perform at about 9:05 p.m.). Fireworks display begins at approximately 9:40 p.m. Free. Lenox Square, 3393 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-233-6767, www.lenoxsquare.com.
