BOA Section Header NEW2.57d983e1e50d1


2016 Index of Winners

Best Alternative Art Space BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Jungle Atlanta
JUNGLE ATLANTA is the spot for touring DJs and fabulous drag shows on a stage that’s fitted with a massive sound system and a light show that puts the Starship Enterprise to shame. This is more of a performance space, but definitely comfortable for solid night out of sensory overload. Between the club’smore...
JUNGLE ATLANTA is the spot for touring DJs and fabulous drag shows on a stage that’s fitted with a massive sound system and a light show that puts the Starship Enterprise to shame. This is more of a performance space, but definitely comfortable for solid night out of sensory overload. Between the club’s main room and the cabaret room, Jungle Atlanta makes 2016 look like the future. less...

Best Place to Hear Local Music BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Earl

Best Place to Hear Music For Free BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Piedmont Park

Best Place to Play Pool BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Twain’s Brewpub & Billiards

Best Dance Music Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
the Sound Table
THE SOUND TABLE is the cornerstone of Edgewood Avenue, where the current epicenter of Atlanta’s weekend nightlife developed its sense of style. Since opening its doors in 2010, the Sound Table has served as an essential spot for delicious dining and making moves on the dance floor. The club’s DJsmore...
THE SOUND TABLE is the cornerstone of Edgewood Avenue, where the current epicenter of Atlanta’s weekend nightlife developed its sense of style. Since opening its doors in 2010, the Sound Table has served as an essential spot for delicious dining and making moves on the dance floor. The club’s DJs spin a sophisticated set of funk, soul, R&B, and hip-hop. This year, the addition of Drums On Fire on the first Thursday of every month, added of bit of old-school Atlanta flare by exploring underground beat culture through the lens of DJs Ryan Rasheed (LebLaze, Prefuse 73), Chris Devoe, and Gnosis. less...

Best Progressive Pop Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
CLAVVS
After first meeting at an East Atlanta house show in 2013, CLAVVS singer/songwriter Amber Renee and producer Graham Marsh used their shared love for pop and Atlanta’s trap music production to jump-start their electrified modern psychedelia. This year’s mesmerizing debut EP Halfblood combines dancemore...
After first meeting at an East Atlanta house show in 2013, CLAVVS singer/songwriter Amber Renee and producer Graham Marsh used their shared love for pop and Atlanta’s trap music production to jump-start their electrified modern psychedelia. This year’s mesmerizing debut EP Halfblood combines dance beats on codeine with a gothic atmosphere. “Cover it with sugar and then feed it to ’em slow/If they spit it out, open up their mouths/Shove it down their throats,” Renee sings in “Throats.” Marsh is a four-time Grammy winner, and has made a career from working with artists like Janet Jackson, CeeLo Green, and T.I. Renee has been singing her whole life. Yet despite their obvious mainstream appeal, the duo stay true to the ominous musical terrain that fascinates them both. CLAVVS’ eerie pop soundscapes are fitting for soirees and séances alike. www.soundcloud.com/clavvsatl. less...

Best Local Promoter BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Ari Fouriezos
When bands talk about ARI FOURIEZOS of Sorry, Mom! Productions, it’s hard to tell whether they’re talking about their favorite promoter or one of their best friends. Fouriezos’ ability to constantly hustle over email, book shows in Atlanta and tours for Atlanta bands, work the door at venues, givemore...
When bands talk about ARI FOURIEZOS of Sorry, Mom! Productions, it’s hard to tell whether they’re talking about their favorite promoter or one of their best friends. Fouriezos’ ability to constantly hustle over email, book shows in Atlanta and tours for Atlanta bands, work the door at venues, give away boatloads of free advice, and always take the time to give a big smile and an even bigger hug when passing you in the street all made Fouriezos critical to Atlanta’s musical community in 2016. She supports bands across genres (Chelsea Shag and Man Up, Yancey) and Sorry, Mom! has booked stand-out shows all over the city. Crafting bills at traditional venues like the Earl, untraditional pop-up shows at places like American Sushi Recording, outdoor neighborhood festivals, and magic DIY shows at the Sewing Room takes patience, creativity, and lots of stamina, which Fouriezos never seems to run out of. www.sorrymomproductions.com. less...

Best Psychedelic Experience BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
The 4th Side of the Eternal Triangle
“Welcome to Side Four” kicks off the Difference Machine’s latest album, THE 4TH SIDE OF THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE (Psych Army Records), and begins a headlong trip into the rabbit hole. Hip-hop, surrealism, the Illuminati, and the dark side wriggle and writhe around each other in an unrivaled, intoxicatingmore...
“Welcome to Side Four” kicks off the Difference Machine’s latest album, THE 4TH SIDE OF THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE (Psych Army Records), and begins a headlong trip into the rabbit hole. Hip-hop, surrealism, the Illuminati, and the dark side wriggle and writhe around each other in an unrivaled, intoxicating musical experience. On stage, the Difference Machine experience has always been about jamming the senses — dazzling the eyes and the ears with a show of massive visual projections and bombastic sounds. The 4th Side of the Eternal Triangle presses it onto wax. Time drags, rhythms open up to reveal a kaleidoscope of meanings, symbolism, and spiritual epiphanies via songs such as “Smoke” ft. Homeboy Sandman, “It’s Alive” ft. Paten Locke, and “Kingdom of Earth” ft. Alexa Lima. This is music that smashes through the boundaries of what hip-hop is to what it can be. There are no musical clichés on display here. One could label it “experimental,” but to do so implies that the crew isn’t completely in control of this trip. Turn on, tune-in, freak out! www.thedifferencemachine.bandcamp.com. less...

Best Rapper to Push ATL’s Buttons BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Lil Yachty
Pitchfork gave LIL YACHTY’s Lil Boat mixtape a paltry 4.8/10, but this rapper will always score a solid 10 in our hearts. Curmudgeonly critics and old-school purists say he’s contributing to the “death of lyricism,” but as this rapper grows, he’s leaving traditional style conventions in themore...
Pitchfork gave LIL YACHTY’s Lil Boat mixtape a paltry 4.8/10, but this rapper will always score a solid 10 in our hearts. Curmudgeonly critics and old-school purists say he’s contributing to the “death of lyricism,” but as this rapper grows, he’s leaving traditional style conventions in the past. Young, imperfect, and fearless, he shines most when he combines lyrical eccentricity with catchy rhapsodic melodies, and diverges from the trap aesthetic his Atlanta forefathers mastered. The fact that he counts Quavo and Young Thug among past collaborators, however, shows that the scene believes in his potential. What do critics know, anyway? www.soundcloud.com/770rd.’’ less...

Best Role Model BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Brock Scott
As the singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter for orchestral rock outfit Little Tybee, BROCK SCOTT knows how to whip an audience into a euphoric state with top-notch players and timeless arrangements. As a conceptual artist, marketing master, and businessman, he knows the value of keeping a closemore...
As the singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter for orchestral rock outfit Little Tybee, BROCK SCOTT knows how to whip an audience into a euphoric state with top-notch players and timeless arrangements. As a conceptual artist, marketing master, and businessman, he knows the value of keeping a close eye on all of his creative pursuits. In the last year, Scott founded his own record label/creative agency called On the Grid Creative. He also spearheaded innovative branding and Kickstarter campaigns to fund Little Tybee’s self-titled fourth album. The results of his creative hustle yielded more than $21,000 to fund the album. In an era when major-label deals and support are as elusive as the Sasquatch, and indie labels are mostly curators of taste sans budget, Scott’s efforts revealed there are ways to work around the old label system. Independent artists can empower themselves with a little bit of sweat, and a whole lot of brainstorming. This is how it’s done. www.littletybee.com. less...

Best Sex Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Trapeze

Best Sports Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Hudson Grille AND Taco Mac
www.hudsongrille.comhttp://hudsongrille.com AND www.tacomac.com

Best Strip Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Clermont Lounge

Best Stripper Other Than Blondie BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Barbie (Clermont Lounge) AND Lux ATL (Pink Pony)

Best Trivia Night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Hip Hop Trivia ATL
Bar trivia got bigger and deffer in 2016, thanks to HIP HOP TRIVIA ATL. Though not the first in Atlanta, it’s quickly become the best. Case in point: Name another hip-hop trivia night where the answer to your question is liable to be found rubbing shoulders with you at the bar? Since taking over Wednesdaymore...
Bar trivia got bigger and deffer in 2016, thanks to HIP HOP TRIVIA ATL. Though not the first in Atlanta, it’s quickly become the best. Case in point: Name another hip-hop trivia night where the answer to your question is liable to be found rubbing shoulders with you at the bar? Since taking over Wednesday nights at Slice on Piedmont last May, the notable guests just keep rolling in — from iconic names in the game (Andre 3000, Diamond D, Killer Mike) to tastemaker artists/DJs (Trendsetter DJ Sense, Sean Falyon, DJ Dibiase, Wally Sparks, DJ Kerosene, DJ Hourglass), from hip-hop journalists (Benjamin Meadows-Ingram) to industry heavyweights (Kawan Prather). When noted culture and lifestyle writer Branden Peters got the idea to mix two of his favorite things — hip-hop and bar trivia — it was only natural that he huddle up with his Day 1 Radio homie and co-host Maurice Garland, as well as Need My Music’s own Crystal Thomas. And Hip Hop Trivia ATL was born, with Peters and Garland as co-hosts. But it’s the regulars with their ironic team names (Brew Tang Clan, Shug Lite) and theme nights (Pimp Trick Gangsta Clique, #1 Hit Wonders) that make it a good time. Forget that pretentious, see-and-be-seen vibe. This is where real heads go head-to-head in dance/karaoke drink challenges. With $5 drink specials for all and $50 bar tabs for the winning team, ain’t nothing to lose. Wednesdays. 8-11 p.m. Slice, 75 Piedmont Ave. N.E. Suite 150. www.instagram.com/hiphoptriviaatl.’’ less...

Best Trivia Night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Adult Trivia at the Local no.7 AND Dirty South Trivia at Grindhouse Killer Burgers AND Geek Trivia at Battle & Brew

Best Urban Music Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Halo Lounge

Best Contribution to Atlanta’s Urban Design BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Wrecking Bar Brewpub
New development continued displacing Atlanta’s cherished cultural institutions in 2016. None, however, received such a raucous send-off as the Masquerade thanks to WRECKING BALL ATL. The venue’s decades-long tenure as a staple for Atlanta nightlife came to a close with a two-day punk, hardcore, andmore...
New development continued displacing Atlanta’s cherished cultural institutions in 2016. None, however, received such a raucous send-off as the Masquerade thanks to WRECKING BALL ATL. The venue’s decades-long tenure as a staple for Atlanta nightlife came to a close with a two-day punk, hardcore, and emo blowout that brought everyone from Gorilla Biscuits to the Julie Ruin to the Masquerade and Historic Fourth Ward Park. Music lovers young and old bonded over the role the Masquerade’s Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory rooms have played in their lives. The vibe was warm, the sun was hot, and the music was loud. But the festival symbolized the closing of one chapter and the opening of another for Atlanta music, with Atlantans coming out in full force to raise a drink to the Masquerade’s legacy and a middle finger at the looming luxury apartments moving in. www.masq.com. www.wreckingballatl.com. less...

Best Weekly Club Night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Whiskey Park - Permanently Closed

Best Local Country Music Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Levi Lowrey

Best Local Metal Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » After Dark » Trophy Case
Mastodon
At the dawn of the 21st century, MASTODON was born of blood and thunder. Since then, the group has smashed eardrums one twisted metal opus after another. Grammy nominations come and go, but good music is timeless and Mastodon has left a gargantuan footprint on Atlanta’s music scene. The group is stillmore...
At the dawn of the 21st century, MASTODON was born of blood and thunder. Since then, the group has smashed eardrums one twisted metal opus after another. Grammy nominations come and go, but good music is timeless and Mastodon has left a gargantuan footprint on Atlanta’s music scene. The group is still basking in the glories of 2014’s sixth album, Once More ’Round the Sun. New material abounds as each member of the group embarks on his own journey. Guitarist Brent Hinds has worked with Alice in Chains’ William DuVall recording as Giraffe Tongue Orchestra. Singer/bassist Troy Sanders teamed up with Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen for Gone Is Gone. Drummer Brann Dailor was spotted sitting in with the house band on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Closer to home, guitarist Bill Kelliher is building out Ember City, a new multi-room practice facility in the Capitol View neighborhood. All the while, Kelliher rolled out two new signature ESP guitars over the summer. Whew! Mastodon has earned our eternal respect. www.mastodonrocks.com. less...

Best Bike Ride / Urban BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
The Silver Comet between Dallas and Rockmart
If you love biking long distances but have yet to channel your inner road warrior, sometimes a flat paved path is a gift from heaven. You can find that on THE SILVER COMET BETWEEN DALLAS AND ROCKMART. The 15-mile route follows an old railroad corridor along a ridge and through blasted rock and is relativelymore...
If you love biking long distances but have yet to channel your inner road warrior, sometimes a flat paved path is a gift from heaven. You can find that on THE SILVER COMET BETWEEN DALLAS AND ROCKMART. The 15-mile route follows an old railroad corridor along a ridge and through blasted rock and is relatively flat, straight, and completely rustic. Strap your bikes to your car, pack your gear (there are no water fountains along the route), and head 45 minutes to Dallas, Georgia. Park at the Rambo Road Trailhead (or at the Tara Drummond Trailhead lot, if you want bathrooms and water fountains), hop on the trail heading west, and keep pedaling. Along the way, you’ll travel over the 126-foot-high Pumpkinvine Trestle, wind through woods filled with turkeys, turtles, and deer, and pass through an 800-foot-long old railroad tunnel. Pedal past Coot’s Lake to Rockmart, where you can grab some ice cream, or walk around the small city’s Downtown. Stretch, fill up your water, and then pedal back. www.silvercometga.com. less...

Best Local Athlete BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Jeff Francoeur’s call up from the minor leagues
Many people had thought Atlanta Braves outfielder JEFF FRANCOEUR’S CALL-UP FROM THE MINOR LEAGUES was either a publicity stunt or a really expensive act of kindness by the down-on-its-luck Bravos. But the Parkview High School graduate surprised fans by matching his career batting average and othermore...
Many people had thought Atlanta Braves outfielder JEFF FRANCOEUR’S CALL-UP FROM THE MINOR LEAGUES was either a publicity stunt or a really expensive act of kindness by the down-on-its-luck Bravos. But the Parkview High School graduate surprised fans by matching his career batting average and other impressive stats (at one point, the former SI cover boy had a team-high batting average). The summer before he was considering retirement after enduring a stint at a triple-A club in El Paso. But he had a good run — until the Braves, being the Braves, traded him. atlanta.braves.mlb.com. less...

Best Architect BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
John Portman

Best Bed & Breakfast BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Sugar Magnolia Bed & Breakfast

Best Biblio-Building Boosters BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Friends of the Central Atlanta Library
It’s no mystery that Downtown’s Central Atlanta Library is long overdue for a renovation. The boxy Brutalist building that opened in 1980 has broken elevators, dysfunctional doors, and spotty cell service. Some elected officials had proposed bulldozing the Marcel Breuer-designed building and startingmore...
It’s no mystery that Downtown’s Central Atlanta Library is long overdue for a renovation. The boxy Brutalist building that opened in 1980 has broken elevators, dysfunctional doors, and spotty cell service. Some elected officials had proposed bulldozing the Marcel Breuer-designed building and starting from scratch. But to FRIENDS OF THE CENTRAL ATLANTA LIBRARY, the architecturally significant building is not outdated, just unloved. The group turned discussion away from spending tens of millions of dollars on building a subpar replacement and argued why the library needs a makeover. (If only FOCAL were around when the original Carnegie library, which once stood where Central is located today, was torn down.) Despite pressure from heavy-hitters, FOCAL won the hearts and minds of elected officials and  reminded residents of the asset. The victory sent a signal to the powers that be: Don’t keep knocking down things we can’t replace. www.facebook.com/focalpage. less...

Best place to ride your bike BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
10th Street

Best Bizarro Local News Story BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Sweetwater Bar and Grill

Best Bizarro Local News Story BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Young Thug rode a horse around
Young Thug has proudly embodied many entities. The rapper has masqueraded as a therapist, a Martian, a fashion icon. All those facets of Thugga’s identity may be true, yet the entire city of Atlanta (and the whole Twitterscape) scratched their proverbial heads when he added equestrian to that list.more...
Young Thug has proudly embodied many entities. The rapper has masqueraded as a therapist, a Martian, a fashion icon. All those facets of Thugga’s identity may be true, yet the entire city of Atlanta (and the whole Twitterscape) scratched their proverbial heads when he added equestrian to that list. In March, YOUNG THUG RODE A HORSE AROUND to announce the tour supporting his album Hy!£UN35. The mini equine-based tour to announce the larger one cruised around Poncey-Highland before stopping to mug beneath Plaza Theatre’s marquee, which displayed the tour details. The resulting photograph featured Young Thug, clad in tight white pants, beaming like a kid on a sugar high. Was the curious publicity tactic inspired by cosmic sway? A lean-fueled fever dream? We’ll likely never know, but then again, some mysteries are better left unsolved, and perhaps Thugga’s horsing around should be counted among them. twitter.com/youngthug. less...

Best Bus Route BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Route: 110 Peachtree St./”The Peach”

Best Nonprofit BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Lost-N-Found Youth- Thrift Store

Best Child Care Center BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Primrose School of Midtown at Colony Square
And other metro Atlanta locations.

Best City View BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Jackson Street Bridge

Best College BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
General Assembly Atlanta

Best College BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Georgia Institute of Technology

Best Community Garden BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Wylde Center

Best Convention BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Dragon Con

Best Local Market BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Carver Neighborhood Market
Along McDonough Boulevard and Jonesboro Road in south Atlanta, businesses tend to be fenced-off industrial operations and shops pushing lottery tickets or cigarettes. That’s why the year-old CARVER NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET is right when it calls itself an “oasis.” In a neighborhood that lacks placesmore...
Along McDonough Boulevard and Jonesboro Road in south Atlanta, businesses tend to be fenced-off industrial operations and shops pushing lottery tickets or cigarettes. That’s why the year-old CARVER NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET is right when it calls itself an “oasis.” In a neighborhood that lacks places to buy good food, the former thrift shop is an asparagus-to-zucchini grocery store that shares space with the Community Grounds Coffee Shop. Some of the groceries are local, and that’s as intentional as the healthy fresh inventory, the site’s inviting sunlit design, and the store’s new bike-delivery option for nearby residents. It’s the kind of place that would bring any neighborhood together, and that many places like south Atlanta sorely need. www.carvermarket.com. less...

Best Country Music Station BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
94.9 FM The Bull
949thebull.iheart.com

Best Co-Working Space BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Roam Innovative Workplace - Dunwoody
And other metro Atlanta locations.

Best Contribution to Atlanta’s Urban Design BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
“Honey, now we’re urban”
If Rip Van Winkle passed out 30 years ago behind the Clermont Hotel and woke up this week, he’d likely have a heart attack upon seeing Ponce de Leon Avenue. He might find comfort in artist Chris Veal’s “HONEY, NOW WE’RE URBAN” mural along the wall of the former Marco’s Pita (and previousmore...
If Rip Van Winkle passed out 30 years ago behind the Clermont Hotel and woke up this week, he’d likely have a heart attack upon seeing Ponce de Leon Avenue. He might find comfort in artist Chris Veal’s “HONEY, NOW WE’RE URBAN” mural along the wall of the former Marco’s Pita (and previous home to the legendary Tortillas). Veal says the idea of the wealthy couple in the mural came to him with the “changing of faces in the area.” He said images such as “people leaving Ponce City Market then get upset they have to walk by the day laborers on Ponce” served as his inspiration for the project. We talk all the time about how the city is changing, and what is gained and lost. Sometimes we need a multicolored hit in the face. www.instagram.com/caveal. less...

Best Decision By a Sports Team That Hasn’t Played a Single Game BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Atlanta United FC
Earlier this year, some metro Atlanta teenagers who had participated in tryouts for ATLANTA UNITED FC’S YOUTH ACADEMY heard a knock on their doors. When they opened they discovered a small package on their doorstep. Inside was a jersey and an invitation to join the Major League Soccer team’s leaguemore...
Earlier this year, some metro Atlanta teenagers who had participated in tryouts for ATLANTA UNITED FC’S YOUTH ACADEMY heard a knock on their doors. When they opened they discovered a small package on their doorstep. Inside was a jersey and an invitation to join the Major League Soccer team’s league aimed at growing and grooming talented players at its under-construction Marietta facility on Franklin Road. For the young men, it was a fitting welcome to an incredible opportunity to improve their skills at a facility that will benefit the metro region’s soccer community. The academy is no after-school clinic for kids with good dribbling skills. It’s a multimillion-dollar training ground led by former Liverpool director Richard Money that could groom hometown talent for future spots on the pro team — they will sometimes train alongside the pros — and create stars that will always have a link to the city. www.atlutd.com. less...

Best Dog Park BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Piedmont Dog Park

Best Contribution to Atlanta’s Urban Design BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Dennis Creech
DENNIS CREECH has been an evangelist for being smart about energy since the ’70s, when he had to explain to people what he meant when he said he was studying “ecology.” He’s retiring this year from the helm of Southface, a nonprofit that finds and promotes ways to save money and protect the environmentmore...
DENNIS CREECH has been an evangelist for being smart about energy since the ’70s, when he had to explain to people what he meant when he said he was studying “ecology.” He’s retiring this year from the helm of Southface, a nonprofit that finds and promotes ways to save money and protect the environment through better building. So when Atlantans take it for granted that they can buy sustainable building materials, find a solar electrician, or get help planning an efficient building, it’s in large part due to years of efforts from Creech and Southface to make energy efficiency mainstream. www.southface.org. less...

Best elementary school BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Mary Lin Elementary School

Best Freedom Fighters BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Stephen Bright
For lawyer STEPHEN BRIGHT, May 23, 2016, was a sound victory in a long career spent fighting for the legal defense of people on death row. Bright had argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that his client, Timothy Tyrone Foster, a black intellectually limited man convicted of the 1987 killing of a 79-year-oldmore...
For lawyer STEPHEN BRIGHT, May 23, 2016, was a sound victory in a long career spent fighting for the legal defense of people on death row. Bright had argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that his client, Timothy Tyrone Foster, a black intellectually limited man convicted of the 1987 killing of a 79-year-old white woman and sentenced to death, didn’t get a fair trial. Bright was armed with newly discovered notes showing the local prosecutor kicked black people out of the potential jury pool because of their race. It was the quintessential unfair trail. Justices agreed and Foster was granted a new trial — and Bright’s record before the highest court in the land became 3-0. His influence is large as an attorney, an author, a professor — he’s taught at Yale University for decades — and a longtime leader of the Southern Center for Human Rights. Because of Bright, and the attorneys he’s helped lead, arguments against racial bias in prosecutions and for fair indigent defense are louder across the South. Not bad for a former trial lawyer who, concerned over the lack of legal resources available to people facing state-sponsored execution, moved to Atlanta decades ago with nothing to his name but a car donated by a homeless shelter. www.schr.org. less...

Best Free Annual Event BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Atlanta Dogwood Festival

Best Free Thing to Do in Atlanta BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Critics Pick
Atlanta Streets Alive
Every couple months, men, women, and children reclaim the streets with bicycles, in-line skates, unicycles, or just their feet, and enjoy the freedom of the open road without any cars during ATLANTA STREETS ALIVE. A brainchild of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, visitors bike, skate, sprint, dance, skip,more...
Every couple months, men, women, and children reclaim the streets with bicycles, in-line skates, unicycles, or just their feet, and enjoy the freedom of the open road without any cars during ATLANTA STREETS ALIVE. A brainchild of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, visitors bike, skate, sprint, dance, skip, spin, hula-hoop, cartwheel, lag, or move in any shape, way, or form they please for exercise or just to reconnect with their communities. Businesses set up things like hula-hoop contests or field day events; restaurants adorn the streets with outdoor seating areas. The April event showed how easy it is to get around the city when you don’t have steel beasts breathing down your neck. With a vibrantly colored sea of bodies, helmets, high-fives, and bouncy music, the event celebrated cultures — free of traffic and free of price. www.atlantastreetsalive.com. less...

Best Free Thing to Do in Atlanta BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Atlanta Beltline Inc

Best Georgia Beach Retreat BOA Award Winner

Year » 2016
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
Tybee Island

Browse by Category

After Dark
After Dark
Cityscape
Cityscape
Consumer Culture
Consumer Culture
Index
Index
Oral Pleasures
Oral Pleasures
Poets, Artists & Madmen
Poets, Artists & Madmen