After Dark

Vision guides Atlanta’s best and brightest. Whether it’s through Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher’s work on Ember City, the new rehearsal studio and practice facility he’s overseeing in Capitol View, or young artists such as ABRA pushing the aesthetics of bedroom pop, R&B, and hip-hop production to dark and inventive new places, Atlantans are never satisfied with the status quo.

New development shuffles the city’s people and cultures around the perimeter like pawns on a chessboard. It’s disruptive, but it only makes us more aware of the relationships Atlanta’s residents have with the urban landscape, and with each other. Experimental hip-hop producer and MC Keith William and modern classical pianist Alexa Lima reinvented their respective musical aesthetics by mashing them together and stripping them of traditional expectations. Lil Yachty rounded up a team of his hometown peers to form his own “yacht club” and push Atlanta hip-hop into artfully gritty new terrain. And Fantasy Guys transformed the city’s tried-and-true rock clubs into all-night beach parties.

Neighborhood-centric DIY music and arts scenes grew out of the Mammal Gallery’s incubator for musical experimentation in South Downtown. Elliott Street Deli & Pub in Castleberry Hill facilitated a thriving grassroots jazz community that’s connected by a scene of world-class musicians. Percussionist Rafael Pereira has built a network that led him all the way to a July Fourth gig at the White House. The festival circuit has boomed. The annual Shaky Knees Festival grows larger with each passing year, and the Wrecking Ball digs deep into punk, hardcore, and emo music to fill a much-needed niche.

In 2016, Atlantans looked thoughtfully at the city around them to find new potential, and plant new roots amid the changing scenery.

— Chad Radford

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)

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)

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www.eddiesattic.com

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

Best Local Albums Best of Atlanta Award

The best local albums produced by Atlantans. | more...

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...