The Red and Black

Issue date: 6/26/09 Section: Variety

Workers start to put up the AthFest main stage Friday morning. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: WAITES LASETER Many interesting concerts have been housed at the Georgia Theatre through the years, including Shpongle, who came on May 7. Concerts scheduled to play at the Theatre during AthFest have been relocated to the Morton Theatre. [Click to enlarge]

When considering AthFest then and now, it's easy to consider the festival as a typical metaphor for maturation.

In the first year, AthFest consisted of only two outdoor stages, side-by-side in front of the Athens-Clarke County courthouse.

"The first festival was put together in 10 weeks. It had never been done before, so it was a real experiment. It was much smaller, we only had 60 bands, and it was strictly music," said Jared Bailey, the founder of AthFest and Flagpole magazine.

Put together in a short amount of time and completely unknown as a festival, AthFest had nothing but room to grow in the coming years. The first list of performers included Kevn Kinney of Drivin' N' Cryin', Harvey Milk and Family Mover.

Now a ripe teenager at the age of 13, the festival has grown slowly and steadily in content and quality by pulling names such as the Randall Bramlett Band and Shawn Mullins, as well as including artists, filmmakers and adding a KidsFest.

"[KidsFest] is one of the most popular parts of the festival. It brings in a whole group of people that might not normally come downtown at night to see live music," said Bailey.

The festival has been responsible for giving several unknowns a head start into bigger stages, such as Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland and John Mayer. It also supports local legends Drive-By Truckers, The Whigs and Modern Skirts. As for the most popular act of the day, it seems that picking favorites is tough.


"It depends on the artist, but in general the main stage will have larger crowds because we book the headliners there, and the bands play longer," said Bailey. The main stage is located in the middle of Washington Street and is free for everyone, solidifying its popularity.

When considering the difference between AthFest now and 13 years ago, Jared Bailey likens the festival's growth to being one of a kind. "Bonnaroo has been going on for five or six years, and every year it has grown exponentially. We have avoided that. We are not-for-profit, and we have to find our space in the city, but we have a different outlook as well. We are promoting local artists," said Bailey.

When asked about the impact of the devastating fire of June 19th at the Georgia Theatre on the festival, Bailey retained a positive outlook. "I think it will have good and bad consequences. There will be a lot of outpouring of emotion for the Theatre, so there may be overall more people coming out to support the music. More people will definitely be focused on music this weekend."

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