AUGUSTA GA - By now you’ve heard about the big fire that gutted the historic Georgia Theatre in downtown Athens last week. This great music venue has hosted some of the best live shows in the region since the ’70s, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen a few myself, most notably The Replacements and The Pixies, before their respective breakups in the early ’90s.

Word is that the owners are planning on rebuilding, and, hopefully, this will be the case. I’m sure the Athens musical community will be stepping up big time to do their part to bring back this important city landmark. I remember the support we had after the Soul Bar fire, so I’m assuming the same will be happening in Athens, but on a much bigger level. To see what you can do to help out, check out georgiatheatre.com.

Athfest is also taking place this weekend, and bands scheduled to perform at the Georgia Theatre have already been moved to The Morton Theatre. Headliners for the outdoor stages include The Black Lips, Dead Confederate, Bloodkin, Patterson Hood & The Screwtopians, Dreams So Real and Randall Bramblett. You then add over 150 bands in the various venues in downtown Athens and you begin to get an idea about how awesome an event this is. For all the details go to athfest.com.

Randall Bramblett

A couple of noteworthy shows taking place in Athens in July include Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band on July 21 and M. Ward on July 27 at another great venue, the 40 Watt Club. Visit 40watt.com.

Back in the AUG, we have several shows this weekend at the Bell Auditorium, including Musiq Soulchild and Anthony Hamilton on Friday, June 26, and Boney James headlining Smooth Jazz Fest 2009 on Saturday, June 27. Shout out to former Augusta resident and “trumpet master” Carl Brown for opening this show. Awww Sookie, Sookie.

Other shows of note include Soulja Boy at the James Brown Arena on First Friday, July 3, and Hootie frontman Darius Rucker at the Bell on Thursday, Aug. 27.

Global Spectrum continues to impress with their management of the Augusta Entertainment Complex, and with the newly restructured coliseum authority now in place, I think it’s safe to say that we are in good hands when it comes to bringing in high-quality, diverse entertainment to the CSRA. Visit augustaentertainmentcomplex.com.

Looks like the Jessye Norman Riverwalk Amphitheatre is getting more use these days. After the announcement that The Avett Brothers will be performing there in September for Westobou, I just received word that Corey Smith will be in concert there on Saturday, Aug. 8, followed by A Day By The River Lee Laurence Memorial Concert on Saturday, Aug. 15, featuring Bloodkin, In Like Flynn and possibly Dead Confederate.

Local music legend Larry Jon Wilson just released his new album, “Larry Jon Wilson,” on Drag City. That’s right, the legendary Chicago based indie-label Drag City which has also released records by Pavement, Royal Trux and Will Oldham, just to name a few. This unlikeliest of pairings proves that supreme talent trumps hipsterdom every single time. You can get your own copy of this sure-to-be collector’s item album at PVC on Eighth Street next to Rock Bottom Music. Visit dragcity.com.

Downtown Augusta lost another young soul with the passing of Joe Swindell last week. An avid supporter of the local music scene, a good bass player, a great friend to many and son to Fred, he will be missed. Rest in peace.

Adios,
Coco