After Dark

A new era of nightlife has arrived in Atlanta, but it didn’t happen overnight. Over the last several years, the city has redefined itself as a vibrant place where traditional, trendy, experimental, edgy, and exotic sounds collide. Case in point: Edgewood Avenue. In the last five years, the revitalized stretch of street near the corner of Boulevard has become well established as Atlanta’s nightlife vanguard. Thanks to newer venues such as Erosol/Department Store and older ones such as Church and the Sound Table that helped start the nightlife renaissance here, you can find hip-hop, EDM, rock ‘n’ roll, Caribbean rhythms, house music, karaoke, or a marching band full of tubas any night of the week.

On Buford Highway, drag gets the dinner theater treatment at Lips Atlanta. Behind the establishment’s unassuming exterior, lavish costumes, over-the-top interior design, and some of the region’s best performers make for one of the city’s most electric drag productions.

Exceptional musicianship revealed itself in 2014 through the likes of burgeoning songwriter Eliot Bronson, indie rockers Warehouse, marimba player Chris Childs, and dozens of other fresh faces. At the same time, Atlanta legacy acts such as Mastodon and Black Lips rolled out stellar albums. Even the almighty OutKast returned to the stage after spending more than a decade in limbo. Seeing each of these long-running ATL ambassadors return for a strong year serves as a reminder of just how deep our city’s roots run.

The A3C hip-hop festival’s 10th year looks to be its biggest yet. The metal scene continues grinding along as Hellgoat trolls the depths of demonic riffage. And Dasher’s post-punk/hardcore dirge has continued to draw national attention. For this year’s Best of Atlanta issue, we went backstage for an insider’s look at some of the winners. It’s easy to get caught up in the image that Young Thug brings to the covers of magazines such as Complex and the Fader. But he wouldn’t be the cultural enigma he is if not for the contributions of his cohorts and producers Dun Deal, TM88, and Southside.

Sometimes, witnessing the process of what goes on behind the curtain is just as important as seeing it all unfold for a live audience. As our man Fort Knox says any time he steps onto a stage to host a hip-hop event, “It’s gonna be HEAVEE, HEAVEE HEAVEE!”

— Chad Radford, Music Editor

Best Local Albums BOA Award Winner

Year » 2014
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2014 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Faun and a Pan Flute

Best Local Albums Best of Atlanta Award

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

No album better embodies young Atlanta’s passion for drawing out the undeniable beauty tucked away in the city’s forgotten corners than FAUN AND A PAN FLUTE’s self-titled LP (Mission Trips). The album is a masterpiece of experimental composition, an impenetrable enigma that takes serious risksmore...

No album better embodies young Atlanta’s passion for drawing out the undeniable beauty tucked away in the city’s forgotten corners than FAUN AND A PAN FLUTE’s self-titled LP (Mission Trips). The album is a masterpiece of experimental composition, an impenetrable enigma that takes serious risks in the name of furthering a regional musical accent. Elements of jazz, modern classical composition, rock, and improvisation meld into a singular sound that challenges listeners to reconsider the possibilities of each genre. As a metaphor, Faun and a Pan Flute mirrors the city’s tangled structural maze of logic while chipping away at Atlanta’s perpetual identity crisis. When it comes to shared chemistry, song composition, pure musical ability, and personality Faun and a Pan Flute tops anything else Atlanta has seen in 2014. It’s an absolute pleasure on the ears. www.faunandapanflute.bandcamp.com. less...

Best Atlanta Legacy Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2014
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2014 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Black Lips

Few groups can claim to have not only left a profound mark on the local music scene that spawned them, but also to have altered the DNA of indie culture at large. BLACK LIPS is one of those rare bands. On the heels of 2005’s Let It Bloom (In the Red), and later signing with Vice Records to releasemore...

Few groups can claim to have not only left a profound mark on the local music scene that spawned them, but also to have altered the DNA of indie culture at large. BLACK LIPS is one of those rare bands. On the heels of 2005’s Let It Bloom (In the Red), and later signing with Vice Records to release 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil, the group provided a soundtrack to Vice’s late-aughts stranglehold on hipster culture. The group never seems to stop touring, spreading Southern garage rock riffage like rock ’n’ roll missionaries. Black Lips is one of the few bands that has toured through Iraq and been chased out of India, all while turning out albums that push the group’s sound forward. With the arrival of 2014’s critically acclaimed album Underneath the Rainbow and concurrent world tour, the group continues to further its garage rock legacy. As the scene at Atlanta’s ground level has continued evolving, Let It Bloom has become an American underground classic. And whenever a Black Lips show happens on the band’s home turf, it’s still a night to remember. www.black-lips.com. less...

Best Bands in ATL BOA Award Winner

Year » 2014
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2014 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Mastodon

Best Bands in ATL Best of Atlanta Award

The Best Bands in Atlanta. | more...

In June, MASTODON released its sixth album, Once More ’Round the Sun. It arrived as a slab of hooky hard rock and immediately became the band’s highest charting record yet, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. True metal heads are quick to eat their own. It’s been a delicate balancing act formore...

In June, MASTODON released its sixth album, Once More ’Round the Sun. It arrived as a slab of hooky hard rock and immediately became the band’s highest charting record yet, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. True metal heads are quick to eat their own. It’s been a delicate balancing act for the band to craft those tangled and monstrous riffs that keep longtime fans headbanging, while pushing the group further toward commercial success. The 11 songs on Once More ’Round the Sun hit the sweet spot. Credibility on both fronts comes thundering in on such sleek, stately, but still brutally skull-crushing songs such as “Tread Lightly,” “High Road,” and “Diamond in the Witch House.” Mastodon’s fusion of the prog/sludge perfection of such past victories as Leviathan (2004) and Blood Mountain (2006) constrict around tempered pop-metal the group brought with Crack the Skye (2009) and The Hunter (2011). The group’s endless touring schedule has left a deep impact. Once More ’Round the Sun resonates with the same almighty roar that catapulted these mammoth rockers far out into the cosmos. www.mastodonrocks.com. less...