Live music like a local
by Lisa Love
photography by Jessica Whitley
Earlier this year, a SPIN article by Jesse Fink traced the rise and fall of Capricorn Records and answered any lingering questions about how cold the creek was when Stephen Paley photographed the Allman Brothers Band for their debut LP’s gatefold. The story also illuminated how a taste-making Southern music scene once attracted international rock stars, artists like Andy Warhol, governor and soon-president Jimmy Carter, and a BBC documentary crew to Macon, Georgia.
Fast forward 50 years, and Macon is reclaiming its music city moniker with a boutique scene encompassing venues, studios, record stores, museums, events, festivals, tours, local radio shows, education programs, and a growing community of artists and entrepreneurs. Visitors are coming to explore, and musicians are coming to record. With all the positive media the city has garnered in the past year, don’t be surprised if the BBC shows up again. Here are just a few of the live music spots to experience:
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
JBA
425 Cherry St.
In the four years JBA spent on the corner of MLK and Poplar, it became a central stomping ground for local music fans. Its mix of homegrown and touring bands, plus signature events like Music Therapy—the Tuesday jam session hosted by Kenny Ray Williams Band—and Thursday Karaoke with record store owner Willie D., are all settling nicely into their new, roomier home on Cherry St.
Capitol Theatre
382 2nd St.
The iconic Capitol Theatre first opened in 1916 as a cinema. Shuttered in 1976, the balconied, 650-seat auditorium was rehabbed and reopened in 2006. Successive naming rights sponsors Cox Communications and Hargray were integral in sustaining the historic space. But this past April, owner Moonhanger Group announced the venue would once again stand on its own under the original “Capitol Theatre” name. Teddy Swims, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and North Mississippi All-Stars have all taken the Capitol stage this year.
Macon Arts Center
4570 Pio Nono Ave.
In 2020 during the height of COVID-19, Macon Arts Center opened its nine-and-a-half-acre entertainment complex in the old Whiskey River location with a series of outdoor concerts. Today the Center hosts some of Macon’s largest hip-hop events, comedy performances, wrestling, and on July 1, presents its inaugural MacFest ’23, a music, arts, and culture festival.
ARTIST SPACES
Capricorn Sound Studios
530 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
While Capricorn’s historic Studio A has been booked steadily the past few months with artists including Chuck Leavell, Marcus King, Brent Cobb, and Eddie 9V cutting tracks, the adjoining Studio B is emerging as a quintessential listening room. Tinsley Ellis, Mike Farris, and Jake Fussell have all filled the space of late with fans eager for the intimate “songs and stories” format. Parker Millsap, Elizabeth Cook, and Adeem the Artist are scheduled in the coming months.
Gallery West
447 Third Street
While Gallery West primarily features the renowned music photography of Kirk West, owner Kirsten West has invited other visual artists including Johnny Mo, Rhonda Sunshine Miller, Anna Kinney, and Rick Diamond to show their works alongside her husband’s. The gallery often hosts opening receptions with musical performances, which have recently included Kevn Kinney, Robert Lee Coleman, Blak Pearl, and Abe Partridge.
Triangle Arts
206 Lower Elm St.
As a 4-acre multi-use collective of buildings, galleries, studio spaces and outdoor venues, Triangle Arts prides itself on serving as a place for creatives to work and visitors to discover local and regional artists. Solo musicians, bands, and DJs can often be found performing across the campus in conjunction with festivals, special events, and the ongoing Triangle Arts Market.
RESIDENCIES
Big Mike
A.P.’s Hidden Hideaway Every Sunday at 2 p.m.
In what surely has to be one of the longest-running residencies in America, Big Mike Ventimiglia has been performing Sunday afternoons on the deck at A.P.’s Hidden Hideaway since 1999. The blues guitarist and singer is often accompanied by members of his longtime band, the Booty Papas, and special guest musicians. There’s never a cover at the beach-themed, biker-friendly bar, and patrons love the home cooked comfort food.
Macon Music Revue
Grant’s Lounge Every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Last fall, Visit Macon and 100.9 The Creek joined forces to develop the Macon Music Revue, a weekly celebration of the city’s formidable music roots. Charles Davis & the Velvet Sound perform two sets every Wednesday, interpreting material from hometown legends including Little Richard, Otis Redding and Allman Brothers Band, as well as Macon- and Capricorn-associated artists from Johnny Jenkins and Sea Level to Wet Willie and Swamp Dogg.
SINGING & DANCING
The Crazy Bull
473 2nd St.
With three stories featuring live bands and top DJs, The Crazy Bull’s dance floors stay packed; weekend entry queues snake down the street. Up-and-coming country and Southern rock acts regularly perform at the club, and artists including Lainey Wilson, Bailey Zimmerman, Travis Denning, and Riley Green have all made stops at The Crazy Bull as they climbed to the top of the charts.
El Paraiso Bar and Grill
2822 Bloomfield Drive
Whether it’s salsa, bachata, or the traditional two-step, dancers pack the floor at El Paraiso for some of the best Latin bands around, including Los Caminantes and Los Cadetes as well as popular DJs like Ghost Sound and Mr. Mix.
Serenity Entertainment Complex
427 Poplar St.
Wednesday night R&B Karaoke at Serenity features singers so powerful, it’s hard for listeners to remember they are on Poplar St. and not at an American Idol finale. Owner Anthony Howard, Jr., a former touring drummer and keyboardist, says his music industry friends from Atlanta and Houston visit the club on Wednesdays specifically to scout talent.
OUTDOOR STAGES
Society Garden
2389 Ingleside Dr.
Since expanding its outdoor stage last year, Society Garden, the Ingleside Village beer garden, has upped the game on live music, regularly presenting touring acts and local faves like Mount Pilot, Megan Fowler, and Shane Bridges, plus Reggae Sundays with Dean Brown & Dub Shak and the perennially sold out Purple Madness show.
Yollah
894 College St.
Not only are the empanadas and Micheladas divine, but during the spring and fall, the cozy back garden at Yollah makes a wonderful spot for lounging pets and early Sunday evening performances by local artists including James Poe, Rachel Forehand, Nick Malloy, Cruz Ward, Charlie Thomas, and more.
