Афина, Джорджия: Музыка тарихы мен мәдениеті

History of popular music in Athens, Georgia
The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart topping bands like R. E. M., Widespread Panic, The B 52's, and several long time indie rock groups. Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city. Music author Richie Unterberger describes the town as an unlikely center for musical development, as a "sleepy [place where] it's difficult to imagine anyone working up a sweat, let alone playing rock music." Athens was home to the first and most famous college music scene in the country, beginning in the 1970s.

Athens' local music is based primarily in the small downtown area of the northern part of the town. Other major music venues in the city include the Georgia Theater, a converted cinema that hosted both local and touring performers. Athens has never produced a major local label like many similar indie rock towns; the most important label of the 1970s and 1980s was DB Records, based out of Atlanta, though jangle pop pioneers Kindercore Records and Wuxtry Records were also Athens based. Local music institutions include the Athens Symphony Orchestra, Athens Choral Society (founded in 1971), Athens Youth Symphony and the Athens Folk Music and Dance Society. The Athens Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1978 as a firmly non profit, strictly volunteer organization, conducted by Albert Ligotti of the University of Georgia. The faculty of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music operate the Georgia Brass Quintet and Georgia Woodwind Quintet. Student institutions include the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, Men's and Women's Glee Clubs, several concert choirs, jazz bands, and brass and woodwind ensembles, the Redcoat Marching Band, the University Philharmonia and a Symphony Orchestra. The University of Georgia also has multiple a cappella groups, including With Someone Else's Money, Noteworthy, and the Accidentals, who are regionally known. The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team who play at Foley Field feature organist Matthew Kaminski (musician).

The earliest music in North Georgia, including what is now Athens, was that of the Native Americans of the area, principally the Creek and the Cherokee. Athens was officially chartered in 1806, and began growing rapidly near the middle of the 19th century. By the time of the American Civil War in the 1860s, the city was an important part of musical life in Georgia. The war accelerated the development of the city's musical importance, as Athens was largely spared widespread destruction while the larger city of Atlanta took a long time to recover. Major touring acts like the Dixie Family and The Slomans visited Athens during the war; the Dixie Family, a prominent touring group, performed disastrously, according to local newspapers, who said that the highlight of the performance came from four local African American musicians, and the Dixie Family had absconded with the concert's proceeds, which had been promised to the local Ladies Aid Society. In the 1870s, the city was almost half African American, and local black owned industry flourished; among the residents was Bob Cole, born in 1868 to a musically active family. Cole would later become a pioneer in African American theater, known for works like the 1898 musical A Trip to Coontown and the song La Hoola Boola. African American industry, churches and other institutions grew rapidly in prominence through the end of the 19th century. The city's African American community was well established by the beginning of the 20th century, when the corner of Lumpkin and Washington Streets became a major center for the city's black culture. This area was known as the Hot Corner, and was owned by a number of black professional businesses, as well as many performance spaces and a renowned opera house in the Morton Building that hosted such national figures as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. The Morton Theater was one of the preeminent venues in the city in the early 20th century, and is the only such theater to survive to the present, though it was not in operation for many years, until re opening in 1993. Studio 1093 was rented to R. E. M. and remained an Athens staple until 2018 playing host to both established musicians and those just starting out. Ort's Oldies, a used record store on Jackson Street, and its proprietor, William Orten Carlton, commonly known as Ort, were among the institutional figures that made the Athens music scene possible. Ort has an excellent memory for rock trivia, which served him well in running the store. Perhaps more importantly, his off the wall sense of humor and warmly iconoclastic personality (and his thrift sale wardrobe) were regularly on display at parties, gigs and musical venues around town. Rock photographer, Jason Thrasher has documented many Athens musicians in his 2017 book, Athens Potluck. The B–52's and R. E. M. became by far the most famous musical products of Athens in the 1980s, when both bands launched a string of hits. Athens' modern contributions to the field of bluegrass include the Packway Handle Band and BlueBilly Grit. Athens' local country scene has never been as significant as the profusion of indie rock bands; however, modern Athens rock takes many elements from the folk, bluegrass and country traditions, including such bands as the Normaltown Flyers. The band Drive By Truckers, Power Play, and the Holman Autry Band, have done much in recent years to make country rock a major part of Athens' musical identity. Recent bands such as The Broken String Band have emerged influenced by the folk rock genre. The rapper Bubba Sparxxx, originally from South Georgia, has also helped diversify Athens' country heritage, by adding a rural image and elements of country music to his Dirty South style of hip hop music. Folk artists and singer songwriters have always flourished in the Athens atmosphere, albeit, as mentioned, not as significantly as pop and rock. Some of Athens' most notable solo singer songwriter performers are Vic Chesnutt, Corey Smith, T. Graham Brown, John Berry, Patterson Hood, along with younger, emerging musicians like Thayer Sarrano and T. Hardy Morris. Athens also has an Irish band community representing several Irish folk bands such as The Green Flag Band. Athens also was the launching point for some nationally recognized contemporary Christian music artists including Mark Heard, who started playing while a student at the University of Georgia, and the Vigilantes of Love. A Latin music scene has emerged since 2019 with a diverse array of different musical styles that include bossa nova, samba, salsa music, and tango. According to Flagpole Magazine Latin music was once relegated to the fringes of Athens music, but has become a much larger part of the music scene. Latin events hosted in Athens include the LatinxFest, Argentina Food, Wine and Culture Festival, Milonga Tropical, and regular Latin Night events presented by Athens Latin, hosted by rotating venues. Notable performers include Beto Cacao, Grogus, Incatepec, Athens Tango Project, Quiabo De Chapeu, and Bichos Vivos. Musicians have also presented Latin music through stage play performances such as Lupita's Revenge, a silhouette puppet show in conjunction with a five person band that plays a variety of Latin American musical styles in a multicultural theme. Local Athens musicians have been supportive of Latin music and there have been collaborative efforts between prominent Athens musicians and Latin Music artists. Art Rosenbaum helped to produce Beto Cacao's album, Undocorridos. There have also been collaborative efforts between Will Cullen Hart from The Elephant 6 Recording Company, Pylon's Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Athens Tango Project.

Athens has been home to several notable acts, including Kishi Bashi, Dead Confederate, Futurebirds, Reptar, The Whigs, New Madrid, of Montreal, Perpetual Groove, Phosphorescent and Lera Lynn. In 2017 Kindercore Records revamped as Kindercore Vinyl, which is one of the few vinyl pressing plants in the United States. Kindercore has pressed for artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Cindy Wilson, and Willie Nelson. There have been a few documentaries released about this era. The 2018 documentary, Athens Rising: The Sicyon Project: Volume One, presents stories about the arts in Athens and features several acts from this era, including Athens Tango Project, Dimmen, Potted Plant, Half Acid, Linqua Franqa, Scooterbabe, Cinemechanica, Waitress, Blue Bodies, A. Mack, Joe Shadowy Peeples, The YOD, Follow Forever, KXNG BLANCO, Caulfield, WesdaRuler, Murk Daddy Flex, Jay Gonzalez (Drive By Truckers) and Calico Vision. The 2020 documentary, Athens, Georgia: Over/Under, is an inside look at the DIY scene of the town, featuring concerts and footage from 2010 to 2019. It was originally started as a project for WUOG. It is a semi update of the 1980s film Athens, GA: Inside/Out and features interviews and performances by Reptar, New Madrid, Nana Grizol, John Fernandes of Elephant 6 Collective, David Barbe, Gordon Lamb of Flagpole Magazine, Nate Mitchell of Wuxtry Records and many more. It serves as a counterpoint to the idealism of Athens, GA: Inside/Out and shows the progress of the town from the viewpoint of director Thomas Bauer and The Rodney Kings, showing the rise of bands like Reptar and New Madrid in the 2010 scene, to later disintegration of bands, and ends with the closing of Go Bar on New Year's 2019. Andrew N. Shearer of Gonzoriffic cited it as a great follow up to the film in his podcast, and Flagpole similarly noted it as being of significance, saying "It provides a pretty realistic impression of a particular time and place, without attempting to glamorize or mythologize itself." In August 2020, it was included in Athens Clarke County Library's archive of works of importance.

Athens was the home of Robert Prince, a long time Athens musician, when he wrote the music and created the sound effects for early computer and video games, including the Commander Keen series, Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Athens is also the home of the rock band, Bit Brigade, who play shows in which they recreate the soundtracks to the video games Castlevania, Contra, Mega Man 2, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, and The Legend of Zelda, while a speedrun of the featured game is played live.