Classic City American Music Festival 2025 at The Foundry

Details

Aubrey Entertainment presents...

• Venue is located at 295 E Dougherty Street in downtown Athens, GA
• All ages welcome - Kids 12 & under are FREE! Venue is indoors and mostly seated.
• Tickets are $10 adv, $15 door ($10 at door with UGA ID)
• Doors open @ 1:30pm
• BBQ menu available (menu coming soon...)

began their journey in late 2012. Beginning as a bluegrass duo, then soon after as a trio with a drummer, the pieces began to fall into place and Grassland String Band was born. A few years later, the band had grown into a multi-generational six-piece band that included members with backgrounds in classical organ, bass, jazz guitar, banjo and violin. This diversity created a jazz-folk-pop and bluegrass influenced, improvisational live performance style -a hybrid the group calls Amerigrass. Now a widely-recognized seven-piece band entering its 13th year with four albums and a fifth in the works, Grassland has held steadfastly to its music roots.

At live shows, every element of the band is turned up to eleven. This is not a show you’ll see fans chatting through. The crowd yells “woo”s of encouragement. They slap their thighs. They sing along. They dance. The band’s chemistry positively fills the room as they grin their way through the set, extending some of their tracks into improvised jams. Sometimes it looks a little like bluegrass. Sure, it has a banjo, a fiddle and a mandolin. But there is the electric guitar, a drum kit, and the occasional keys and pedal steel. It’s jazzy, bluesy, soulful, country and rock. It’s something much more, something modern and amorphous. It’s music that crosses generations, crosses genres, and will cross your soul. It just happens.

Athens, Georgia, band “Norma Rae '' writes songs about the South, blending original lyrics with inescapably Southern vocals into its Americana sound. All the stories –inspired from true Southern experiences—are indelibly sown from the unpretentious, and unpredictable, “soggy” part of the real South – the part where both good and evil take root in the same soil, and where certainly everything grows…

Norma Rae was formed in Athens, Georgia, in 2008 as an independent music project – a collection of songs addressing contemporary Southern concerns, told from a female perspective, hence the project’s name. The “Norma Rae project” would grow into a full, permanent band by the summer of 2011.

In 2013 the band released a self-titled EP, and in 2014, Norma Rae’s song “Muscle Shoals” was featured nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens.

Norma Rae’s songwriters Jeff Soileau and Kelly Hoyle, were featured in Southern Distinction magazine’s 2017 article, “Best of Unknown Athens --Athens Best Kept Secret”. Jeff Rieter, Zach Wright and Wade Newbury round out the Norma Rae line-up.

“We always love coming to Athens, just a great town with a great venue, the Georgia Theatre, and always really great people. What’s not to love? We had a lot of fun after the show up on the rooftop listening to local band Norma Rae, who were great. Check ‘em out!”

-Lucinda Williams (Facebook, May 5th 2016)

Norma Rae is:

Kelly Hoyle - Vocals and GuitarJeff Rieter-BassZach Wright - Pedal SteelWade Newbury- DrumsJeff Soileau - Guitar

The numerically challenged consists of John Evans (guitar) Bryan Varin (bass) Hal Misseri (mandolin), Sayward Evans (vox) and George Boggs (banjo).

Blending American roots with globe-trotting grooves, this genre-blurring outfit weaves bluegrass ,folk, Americana, swing, and whatever else they accidentally pick up along the way.

Armed with strings, rhythm, and questionable travel documents, The BorderHop Trio jumps stylistic fences with the grace of a goat. Perfect for festivals, front porches, and anywhere that needs a little more joy and a little less genre-policing,

is a feel-good, family-friendly band that brings joy to every performance with upbeat covers that everyone knows and loves. With just the right touch of folk, Bluegrass and Americana, 38 Strings delivers music that brings generations together—one catchy chorus at a time.

was born in 2023 out of the rich musical soil of Madison County, Georgia—a region steeped in Appalachian tradition and Southern charm. The group brings together four seasoned musicians: Pete Dybdahl on fiddle, Corey Helms on banjo, Michael McWilliams on upright bass, and Michael York on guitar. With a name that nods to their hometown of Comer, Georgia, they craft a sound that’s both rooted in tradition and refreshingly original. From local porches to music festivals, CSC pays homage to the time-worn sounds of yesteryear, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure.

is a collaboration between longtime Athens musicians, Tommy Jordan on acoustic guitar and banjo and William Tonks on dobro and electric guitar. Individually, they could play with anyone, anywhere. Together, the effortless blend of their wide range of musical experiences and styles results in a synergy that always leaves listeners wanting more. Their performances reveal a joyful and relaxed musical relationship between two exceptional musicians. Flagpole Magazine calls them “two of Athens favorite pickers”. MrJordanMrTonks self-titled six-song CD was officially released in March, 2013. Their most recent CD, Troubles, was released in late-2019 - just in time for the pandemic.

Event Host

Aubrey Entertainment