"Everything we write is from the point of view of the every person. We’re all in it together. I think the undertone of most of the music we write is inclusivity. Everyone can relate to it. Everyone can feel it.” That’s Mary Beth Richardson, lead vocalist of the beloved roots rock outfit Banditos. She’s talking about the song “On My Way,” a standout track off the band’s genre-defying new album Right On, on Egghunt Records. But she gets at the core of what makes Banditos so special, the secret sauce that built a rabid following for the Nashville-based, Birmingham-born quintet, who first burst on the scene with their acclaimed self-titled Bloodshot Records debut in 2015.
The Little Mercies are a folk trio of songwriting multi-instrumentalists. ‘Boy Genius meets Dixie Chicks,’ their genre-defying sound has gained national recognition and awards. With vocal harmonies, twin fiddles, and palpable joy, they promise an authentic, exuberant experience.
When we saw they were playing the contra dance with FOOTMAD this year in the AUMC church, we knew we had to talk them into a set on the Main Stage!
In 1959, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Choir was formed to provide the music that would fuel the mass meetings and marches of Birmingham's Civil Rights Movement. The Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir -- named in honor of that group's late director -- brought together members of that original choir, along with additional singers, to preserve the music and the memory of the local movement. They continue to share their songs and stories with audiences of all ages today.
-Southern Music Research Center
Over 50 years after his widely influential self-titled album on Leon Russell’s Shelter Records, Willis Alan Ramsey returns to his childhood home of Birmingham, AL. Ramsey’s debut in 1972 earned scores of accolades from artists ranging from The Allman Brothers to Lyle Lovett. The album was mined by many artists for their own recordings including Jimmy Buffett, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Shawn Colvin, Captain & Tennille, Jerry Jeff Walker, Waylon Jennings, and so many more. Since that landmark first release, Ramsey has toured only occasionally, spending time instead honing his craft in Austin, Nashville, and London, educating himself in the science of audio recording and composing new songs.
Sahi On Ko Djony
Pronounced (sah-hee on co jonee) is a community-based Educational Program that exposes its
participants to the captivating and magical charisma of West African drumming, dance, and
folklore. The name is a term derived from the Fulani culture of Guinea, West Africa, which
means “The Time Is Now!” Our mission is to Learn, Preserve and Present the culture of West
African Dance, Drumming, and Folklore.
Jeffery Broussard was just 8 years old when he debuted on drums in his father's band, Delton Broussard and the Lawtell Playboys. In the decades since, Jeffery Broussard has been a torchbearer for Zydeco, influencing young musicians with a traditional Creole music he learned decades ago. At the Forefront of Nouveau Zydeco, Jeffery Broussard and Robbie Robinson founded Zydeco Force in the late 1980s, a band that became an icon on the zydeco scene at the forefront of the nouveau zydeco movement. The band provided a template for a new generation of artists. Broussard has come full circle - growing up in traditional zydeco, bringing in a new sound in the 1980s, and now returning to his roots anew.
Astronauts of Albania, rather than being an ironically named hipster band, is actually led by Albanian emigre flutist Geni Skendo, a true musical explorer whose life of adventure has brought him to Birmingham. The group plays the Albanian folk music of Skendo's youth, as refracted through his experience in jazz, classical and global music. Even the instrumentation tells the story: shakuhachi and bass flute, guitar, bass, and drums. Distinctive, odd meter Balkan grooves provide both a skeleton for dazzling solos and a contrast with free-improvised sections; sonic excursions spin out of international instrumentation and lead in ever surprising directions.
Award winning songwriter Shannon Slaughter is the featured mainstay of this band which includes members Cliff Bailey, Andrew Walker, and Luke Wilborn. Anchored by powerful singing and ultra-tight harmony; they are a band that focuses on innovative instrumentation and arrangements, yet possesses the ability and desire to pay homage to tradition. Winner of the prestigious 2012 Chris Austin songwriting contest, (I've Hit Everything in My Life (But My Knees)), Slaughter writes a wealth of the band's material and always manages to mix fresh original material with time-honored traditional bluegrass and country favorites.
Wax Monkey is a 5-piece jam band composed of childhood friends hailing from Birmingham, Alabama. The members first started jamming together in high school before officially forming the band in 2023 while attending the University of Alabama. Rooted in the spirit of musical exploration, Wax Monkey draws inspiration from legends such as The Grateful Dead, Phish, and The Allman Brothers Band—blending aspects of Southern rock, psychedelic rock, and improvisational jams.
At the roots of hip-hop — now a global phenomenon that speaks words of hope and compassion to people in their own language — are guardians of its precious gem of simplicity. Shaheed and DJ Supreme are two such sages, reminding future generations that all you need to tell your story are your rhymes and a rhythm to run it through.
-Communicating Vessels
