2016 Index of Winners
Best Dance Music Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Opera Nightclub (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Dance Music Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
IRIS aka Rush Lounge (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
RUSH LOUNGE AKA the IRIS is the quintessential spot for 18-and-up nightlife, and all things trap, EDM, and candy bracelets. This late-night Buford Highway haunt is a stomping ground for such lauded DJs and producers as Ployd, Skymatic, Eddie Gold, and many more. But this year’s resident DJs Strangermore...
RUSH LOUNGE AKA the IRIS is the quintessential spot for 18-and-up nightlife, and all things trap, EDM, and candy bracelets. This late-night Buford Highway haunt is a stomping ground for such lauded DJs and producers as Ployd, Skymatic, Eddie Gold, and many more. But this year’s resident DJs Stranger Candy and Syl-O set a high standard for electronic dance music, and they always know how to keep the people on their feet. The weekly ESP 101 Learn to Believe parties are the spot for those in the know.
less...
Best Acoustic Music Club/Venue BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Eddie’s Attic (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Best After Hours Spot BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Octopus Bar (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Local Albums BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Anatomy of the Image Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Lyonnais presents the perfect mystery. The group’s members are scattered throughout Los Angeles, Atlanta, and London. Sometimes they go for more than a year without playing a show. It would be completely reasonable to believe that TJ Blake, Farbod Kokabi, Farzad Moghaddam, and Lee Tesche had gone theirmore...
Lyonnais presents the perfect mystery. The group’s members are scattered throughout Los Angeles, Atlanta, and London. Sometimes they go for more than a year without playing a show. It would be completely reasonable to believe that TJ Blake, Farbod Kokabi, Farzad Moghaddam, and Lee Tesche had gone their separate ways. Yet the arrival of their second album, ANATOMY OF THE IMAGE, proves that distance equals beautiful music. Anatomy of the Image exists outside of time and out of place. Songs such as “Vienna Circles,” “Pan Am Sun Isles,” and “Hyperblues” teem with the kind of darkness, old-school post-punk, and industrial textures that could’ve landed the group on stages with Joy Division and the Durutti Column in the late ’70s. Each song reaps the rewards of four years spent in production, and it’s a reminder that greatness cannot be rushed. www.geographicnorth.bandcamp.com/album/anatomy-of-the-image-3.
less...
Best Band Name BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Spore Lord Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Star Community Bar (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Bartender/Mixologist BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Blue Ribbon Grill
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Bar to Drink Alone BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Righteous Room (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Righteous Room AND http://thealbertatlanta.com
Best Bar to Hook Up BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
www.sisterlouisaschurch.comhttps://www.sisterlouisaschurch.com AND theivybuckhead.com
Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Graveyard Tavern (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Bar with Games BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Ormsby’s
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Bathroom Graffiti BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Earl (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Blues Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Blind Willie’s (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
BLIND WILLIE’S has been a dependable destination for local and national blues acts since 1986. That’s three decades spent slinging out every style of blues music to dedicated audiences that expect a rollicking good time. Little has changed over the years: The T-shirts, menu, furnishings, sound, themore...
BLIND WILLIE’S has been a dependable destination for local and national blues acts since 1986. That’s three decades spent slinging out every style of blues music to dedicated audiences that expect a rollicking good time. Little has changed over the years: The T-shirts, menu, furnishings, sound, the bands, and even the reasonable cover charges are all about the same as the last time you were there. But you don’t go to a place like Willie’s looking for the shiny and new. You go for the friendly faces and to drink a few cold ones. Blind Willie’s is still one of the only joints to book up-and-coming as well as established talent in the roots field, and supports some of the best local blues artists. The monthly calendar boasts regular performances by such long-standing blues fixtures as “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin, Watermelon Slim, and Beverly “Guitar” Watkins as well as more contemporary acts like Mudcat, Joe McGuinness, and the Matt Wauchope Trio. Blind Willie’s has earned its stripes as an Atlanta institution and a go-to spot that any lover of the blues can call home.
less...
Best Blues Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Blind Willie’s (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Blues Journeyman BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Tinsley Ellis Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Atlanta has its fair share of homegrown blues journeymen, but few can boast the longevity or have logged the tens of thousands of miles guitarist TINSLEY ELLIS has. In addition to touring the globe, he’s churned out rugged Southern-tinged blues, rock, and soul discs at a steady clip since 1988’smore...
Atlanta has its fair share of homegrown blues journeymen, but few can boast the longevity or have logged the tens of thousands of miles guitarist TINSLEY ELLIS has. In addition to touring the globe, he’s churned out rugged Southern-tinged blues, rock, and soul discs at a steady clip since 1988’s appropriately titled solo debut Georgia Blue. Starting in 2013 Ellis achieved newfound praise for a series of impressive albums on his Heartfixer imprint, named after his first band, the Heartfixers. At one release a year, starting with the rollicking all-instrumental Get It, and the rigorous road work, Ellis shows that even as he’s pushing 60 there’s plenty of gas left in his tank. This year’s acclaimed Red Clay Soul fortifies his reputation as Atlanta’s blues-rock ambassador, one who, like the greats that inspired him, only improves with age. www.tinsleyellis.com.
less...
Best Bouncer BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Ormsby’s
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Bowling Alley BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Painted Pin (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Burlesque Troupe BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Blast Off Burlesque Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Cocktails BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Kimball House (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best College Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Moondogs
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Comeback BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Gucci Mane Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Let’s all just take a moment and revel in the fact that GUCCI MANE is back in the mix. Elvis had a ’68 comeback — Gucci’s ’16 comeback is looking lean and mean. Guwop is drug free, focused, and a distinguished beard covers that ice cream cone on his face. With this new reformed disposition,more...
Let’s all just take a moment and revel in the fact that GUCCI MANE is back in the mix. Elvis had a ’68 comeback — Gucci’s ’16 comeback is looking lean and mean. Guwop is drug free, focused, and a distinguished beard covers that ice cream cone on his face. With this new reformed disposition, the Mane is unstoppable. Immediately upon his release from prison, new songs and collabs with the likes of Southside, Young Thug, Zaytoven, Kanye, Mike Will Made-It, and more filled up errrbody’s Facebook and Google news feeds. But nobody anticipated the arrival of his latest and greatest album, Everybody Looking. “1st Day Out tha Feds” is the album’s lead single, and it carries with it a message that mirrors the cautionary tale Gucci delivered with 2009’s “Heavy”: Being a trap god is hard work when there’s so much temptation and felonious behavior at your fingertips. But with “1st Day Out,” Gucci’s looking at the flip side: “Trying to be patient but nigga I can’t wait/On the chase to kill my enemies and beat my case.” Gucci’s mind and body are in a good place, and the path of righteousness lies before him. Still, he pines for the good old days. What he’ll do next is keeping the world in suspense. www.guccimaneonline.com/everybodylooking.
less...
Best Concert of the Past Year BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Concert Venue BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Tabernacle
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Bar to Hook Up BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Johnny’s Hideaway
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Country Music Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Atlanta Coliseum
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Cover Band BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Yacht Rock Revue Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Dance Floor Collab BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Speakfoxx & Bosco’s Girls in the Yard Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
A-Town homegirls SPEAKERFOXX & BOSCO’s GIRLS IN THE YARD mixtape collaboration arrived this year as a bass-dropping, confetti cannon-popping summer jam with a lesson in self-esteem to boot. Released by Fool’s Gold Records, the project is full to the brim with anthemic girl power and party songs.more...
A-Town homegirls SPEAKERFOXX & BOSCO’s GIRLS IN THE YARD mixtape collaboration arrived this year as a bass-dropping, confetti cannon-popping summer jam with a lesson in self-esteem to boot. Released by Fool’s Gold Records, the project is full to the brim with anthemic girl power and party songs. Think of “Shooter” as the ride-or-die chick’s club-banger lament upon realizing her dude ain’t quite the hitter he hyped himself up to be, followed by the sense of empowerment that comes from being unafraid to fly solo. With individual grinds that have established them as noteworthy Atlanta-based artists and tastemakers for years, this collective effort is fueling a heightened level of success for both. You might say they’re on some grown woman shit. www.soundcloud.com/speakerfoxxx/bosco-speakerfoxxx-girls-in-the-yard.
less...
Best Dance Music Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
MJQ Concourse (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Dance Music Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
MJQ Concourse (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
MJQ CONCOURSE is Atlanta’s staple spot for all flavors of old-school, new-school, and worldly hip-hop. Want proof? Look no further than the legendary Fantastic Friday nights, featuring D.R.E.S. tha BEATnik, DJ Fudge, Majestik, and DJ Lord (when he’s not on the road with Public Enemy) every first,more...
MJQ CONCOURSE is Atlanta’s staple spot for all flavors of old-school, new-school, and worldly hip-hop. Want proof? Look no further than the legendary Fantastic Friday nights, featuring D.R.E.S. tha BEATnik, DJ Fudge, Majestik, and DJ Lord (when he’s not on the road with Public Enemy) every first, third, and fourth Friday of the month. Come back for Face Off Fridays with DJ Rasta Root and Jah Prince every second Friday. Trap, that old-school, up top sound, Caribbean inflections, EDM, and ’90s classics are all on the playlist.
less...
Best Dive Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
The Highlander (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
One of the best dive bars in town hides in plain sight amid the Midtown Promenade’s many restaurants. THE HIGHLANDER is an old-school punk and metalhead hangout, without being so exclusive to any music scene that curious passersby feel out of place stopping in for some pub grub. The music is loud andmore...
One of the best dive bars in town hides in plain sight amid the Midtown Promenade’s many restaurants. THE HIGHLANDER is an old-school punk and metalhead hangout, without being so exclusive to any music scene that curious passersby feel out of place stopping in for some pub grub. The music is loud and the servers nod along to the whiplash riffs of Metallica as they take your order. Inside feels like the calm before the storm at a classic metal show. The picnic tables on the beer garden patio are the perfect spot for a chill respite from the Southern heat at night. Drinks are reasonably priced and the chicken wings are underrated. The Highlander also makes a worthwhile date night diversion before walking to the nearby Midtown Art Cinema. If you want to stuff your stomach, check out the all-you-can-eat crab legs Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (or while supplies last). Some nights, the back bar hosts live music from gritty, working-class punk and metal acts who just want to throw down.
less...
Best Dive Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Northside Tavern (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best DJ Lineup on Edgewood BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
The Music Room (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Dark basement venue THE MUSIC ROOM boasts a solid stage for live music on Edgewood Avenue. R&B and soul music take over the club for Thursday’s Muddy Waters Live on Edgewood nights. But every night after 10 the Music Room claims the throne as Atlanta’s leader in cutting edge house music withmore...
Dark basement venue THE MUSIC ROOM boasts a solid stage for live music on Edgewood Avenue. R&B and soul music take over the club for Thursday’s Muddy Waters Live on Edgewood nights. But every night after 10 the Music Room claims the throne as Atlanta’s leader in cutting edge house music with a 2016 roster of resident DJs including Mike Zarin, Ramon Rawsoul, Treasure Fingers, and Bobi Stevkovski. DJ Kemit breaks the mold a bit with a blend of old-school hip-hop, soulful house, and funk, and WHINE, the WERC crew’s monthly celebration of global riddims are world class.
less...
Best DJ Night BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Gold Room
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Drag Queen BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Brent Star Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Local Electronic Act BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Mayhem Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
In the last year, Anthony Rotella, aka MAYHEM, accomplished more than seems humanly possible. Between long bouts of European touring, the Atlanta-based DJ and producer collaborated with Atlanta trap star Waka Flocka Flame and classic crunk mastermind Mr. Collipark to release the song “Bust” for Pornmore...
In the last year, Anthony Rotella, aka MAYHEM, accomplished more than seems humanly possible. Between long bouts of European touring, the Atlanta-based DJ and producer collaborated with Atlanta trap star Waka Flocka Flame and classic crunk mastermind Mr. Collipark to release the song “Bust” for Porn Hub Records. He also remixed Barely Alive’s “Scoop” alongside EDM icon Antiserum and set dance floors ablaze with his remix of Rich Homie Quan’s “Type of Way.” In the midst of it all he played more than 30 North American dates on the massive Seven Deadly Sins Tour. We could run down a laundry list checking off the dozens of other EDM, trap, drum-and-bass, and hip-hop artists he’s shared the stage with, collaborated with, and remixed in 2016. But there just isn’t enough room in this short blurb to do the man’s track record justice. Just check him out the next time he plays another hometown gig, if it isn’t sold out. www.soundcloud.com/mayhem.
less...
Best Sound Guy BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Jonny Rhum Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
JONNY RHUM truly sees the potential a band brings to the stage. A belief that good sound fosters good community made him the Earl’s go-to sound engineer and philosopher in residence for six years, deploying a mix of the Socratic method, yogic meditation principles, and an easy smile to help musiciansmore...
JONNY RHUM truly sees the potential a band brings to the stage. A belief that good sound fosters good community made him the Earl’s go-to sound engineer and philosopher in residence for six years, deploying a mix of the Socratic method, yogic meditation principles, and an easy smile to help musicians relax and play. Rhum’s ability to listen to and meet the needs of bands, audiences, and his own instincts developed into an artistic touch with sound. Rhum retired from his post at the Earl for a new life in Asheville, North Carolina, but the good vibrations Rhum created in making something beautiful each time he twisted the knobs, along with his skill for deep conversation and-pitch perfect sound, will always be music to ours ears.
less...
Best Local Experimental Music Act BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Dialogue Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
A Berklee College of Music graduate and classically trained pianist making a hard left into extreme noise seems like an unexpected move. But when Alexa Lima joins forces with Keith William of Atlanta hip-hop outfit Wake, their talents come together in a wash of abstract sound called DIALOGUE. The collaborationmore...
A Berklee College of Music graduate and classically trained pianist making a hard left into extreme noise seems like an unexpected move. But when Alexa Lima joins forces with Keith William of Atlanta hip-hop outfit Wake, their talents come together in a wash of abstract sound called DIALOGUE. The collaboration began as a means of deconstructing Lima’s 2015 self-titled EP. Paired with William’s noisy impulses, Lima’s modern classical compositions are deconstructed to reveal a universe of hidden possibilities through sampling and an avant-garde approach to sound. This year, their efforts culminated in a hypnotic visual compilation titled “Study No. 3,” in which any semblance of hip-hop production or traditional structure melts into a haze of open-ended sonic texture. To call the result of their deep musical interaction noise sells their works short. But to call it anything else is misleading. On stage, they run a turntable into a sampler and synthesizers. William samples and manipulates records live while Lima plays keys and twists knobs. The music is composed, but done in a language that’s singular to this pairing of musicians. Abstractions, a debut cassette featuring Lima’s EP on the A-side and Dialogue’s deconstruction on the flip side, is due out in September. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT6SaypdpPk.
less...
Best Gay Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Mary’s (Featured)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Hip-Hop Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Bulldogs
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Since 1978, BULLDOGS has served as Peachtree Street’s premier hot spot for gay African-American men. After 38 years in the game, the club still fosters a thriving scene, rich with hip-hop beats and a smoking dance floor. It’s also one of the more intimate clubs in town. So be prepared to get a littlemore...
Since 1978, BULLDOGS has served as Peachtree Street’s premier hot spot for gay African-American men. After 38 years in the game, the club still fosters a thriving scene, rich with hip-hop beats and a smoking dance floor. It’s also one of the more intimate clubs in town. So be prepared to get a little closer. And when the DJ blends a NOLA bounce track with a straight-up Dirty South beat, the joint is lit. Be prepared for a bouncing, bumping, and grinding good time.
less...
Best Homegrown Music Festival BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
One Musicfest Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
When ONE MUSICFEST announced a Dungeon Family and Organized Noize reunion as part of 2016’s lineup, a collective cheer rang out across the Perimeter. Sure, packing out the daylong festival’s seventh year with headliners such as Ice Cube, Big Boi, Gary Clark Jr., Erykah Badu, A$AP Ferg, and more ismore...
When ONE MUSICFEST announced a Dungeon Family and Organized Noize reunion as part of 2016’s lineup, a collective cheer rang out across the Perimeter. Sure, packing out the daylong festival’s seventh year with headliners such as Ice Cube, Big Boi, Gary Clark Jr., Erykah Badu, A$AP Ferg, and more is plenty enough to draw accolades from far and wide. But reuniting the old-school Dungeon Family and Organized Noise crews — Killer Mike, CeeLo, Sleepy Brown, Goodie Mob, Cool Breeze, Backbone, Big Rube, Rico Wade, Ray Murray, Slimm Calhoun, and the almighty Witchdoctor — is unprecedented. It’s the party we’ve all been awaiting for decades but never thought would actually happen. One Musicfest made Atlanta hip-hop history in 2016. www.onemusicfest.com.
less...
Best Hookah Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Anatolia Cafe & Hookah Lounge
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Hotel Bar BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
W Atlanta - Buckhead (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Indie Pop Princess BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
ABRA Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
ABRA’s successes this year have made her 2016’s flagship act for Atlanta’s misfit art hip-hop collective Awful Records. She’s grown from the self-proclaimed “darkwave duchess” to darkwave Princess, the title of her July 15 EP released by True Panther Sounds. She has a natural ability to risemore...
ABRA’s successes this year have made her 2016’s flagship act for Atlanta’s misfit art hip-hop collective Awful Records. She’s grown from the self-proclaimed “darkwave duchess” to darkwave Princess, the title of her July 15 EP released by True Panther Sounds. She has a natural ability to rise above indie hip-hop and bedroom production by creating an atmosphere of dark, sultry ruminations about life in the Dirty South. She’s a young, savvy, and empowered artist breaking free from musical clichés, and forging her own path. “If you wanna roll the dice on me, OK/If you think you can afford it/Come play, come play,” she sings in the song “Vegas.” Judging by the media blitz surrounding the Princess EP, she has no plans for chilling out or slowing her prowess as one of the defining artists navigating the underground music scene. www.soundcloud.com/darkwaveduchess.
less...
Best Local Instrumentalist BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Rafael “Rafa” Pereira Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Percussionist RAFAEL “RAFA” PEREIRA celebrated July 4, 2016, in the White House, sitting at the dinner table alongside the president and first lady. It’s one of the job perks of being the percussionist for Janelle Monáe’s live band. Such an evening would be the highlight of anyone’s year,more...
Percussionist RAFAEL “RAFA” PEREIRA celebrated July 4, 2016, in the White House, sitting at the dinner table alongside the president and first lady. It’s one of the job perks of being the percussionist for Janelle Monáe’s live band. Such an evening would be the highlight of anyone’s year, but for Pereira, this has been a year of highlights. In addition to becoming a father, Pereira released his latest album, Zabaduo, a collection of hypnotic Brazilian-flavored numbers with bass player Charlie Wooton, on his self-run Tribo Records label — an offshoot of Ropeadope Records that Pereira uses to showcase Brazilian talent from Georgia and abroad. Pereira has an uncanny ability to adapt as a musician. The Brazilian-born Atlanta transplant has spent the last 13 years in the city allowing his South American percussion style to flourish without letting it define him as an artist. What makes a good musician great is the ability to adapt to whatever the situation calls for. Whether picking up a wedding gig with OutKast cohorts Horns Inc., rolling out polyrhythms alongside Wooten, or guiding the retro-future rhythms of Monáe’s R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and sci-fi show on stages everywhere from the clubs to the White House, Pereira’s résumé from the last year alone raises the bar high for musicians around the world. www.triborecords.com.
less...
Best Local Jazz Act BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Monkier Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Innovative groups such as MONKIER are changing the face of modern jazz by fearlessly blending sounds and reshaping the character of the music. Since starting in 2013, Monkier has expanded into an eight-piece ensemble featuring Zac Evans (sax and vocals), Andrew Lastrapes (guitar), Robert Boone Jr. (drums),more...
Innovative groups such as MONKIER are changing the face of modern jazz by fearlessly blending sounds and reshaping the character of the music. Since starting in 2013, Monkier has expanded into an eight-piece ensemble featuring Zac Evans (sax and vocals), Andrew Lastrapes (guitar), Robert Boone Jr. (drums), Brandon Boone (bass), Umcolisi Terrell (sax), Justin Powell (trumpet), Will Hollifield (sax), and Richard Sherrington (trombone). With ambitious compositions such as “Cold Open/Closure” from this year’s Highs/Lows full length, the group straddles the fringes of hip-hop and jazz, flowing from intimate rap verses into sprawling fusion breakdowns. With each new song Monkier revels in musical spontaneity and adventure, and raises the bar for Atlanta music. www.whoismonkier.com.
less...
Best Jazz Night BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Churchill Grounds Jazz Cafe (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Karaoke BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
10 High Club
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Latin Club BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Loca Luna (Permanently Closed)
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Best Leather Show BOA Award Winner
Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Atlanta Eagle
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
ATLANTA EAGLE is the low-key leather daddy spot. Its black-walled mystique and fortress-like façade maintain an old-school Ponce flavor amid the rapidly gentrifying cityscape. Walk through the door and hear the pulse of cutting-edge techno playing in the house speakers. In 2016, the Eagle offers a much-neededmore...
ATLANTA EAGLE is the low-key leather daddy spot. Its black-walled mystique and fortress-like façade maintain an old-school Ponce flavor amid the rapidly gentrifying cityscape. Walk through the door and hear the pulse of cutting-edge techno playing in the house speakers. In 2016, the Eagle offers a much-needed respite from the mean streets of new Atlanta.
less...
Browse by Category
After Dark
Cityscape
Consumer Culture
Index
Oral Pleasures
Poets, Artists & Madmen