Most people think of Hip Hop when they think of the Atlanta Music Scene.  Who can blame them?  Atlanta is the center of a fascinating and nuanced international Hip Hop movement.  But, most people don’t realize there’s a lot more to Southern Sound than just Hip Hop.

A New Southern Sound came together this weekend at the SweetWater 420 Music Festival in Centennial Park, Atlanta. The sound weaves American roots music into a consistent quilt to curl into when it’s cold outside, and you’re alone.  It has the emotionality of Ray Charles, the guitar solos of The Allman Brothers, the psychedelics of The Grateful Dead, lyrical like Bob Dylan, with the drawl of Lynard Skynard,  care for the downtrodden like Woody Guthrie, a bit of twang like Willie Nelson, moving ballads like the Beatles, and the impromptu jam sessions of Miles Davis.

I Needed a Music Festival

I thrive on new experiences.  So, I can’t go too long without at least a little adventure. And we’d both been working hard since our vacation to Patagonia.

Nothing can fix the need for a getaway and satisfy the urge for art in its rawest form like a music festival.  If you like live music you could save a buck and wander around dive bars paying a $5 cover to see the band. That’s a lot of fun, especially if you have a group of friends into discovering new music too. I’ve stumbled on some amazing bands doing that.  But, you usually get what you pay for. On the other hand, you could spend hundreds of dollars for a concert ticket to see that one big-name-band for one night of great music.  Or, even better, pay hundreds of dollars to go to a music festival and get three days of great music.

Plus, music festivals are a real getaway.  True, you sleep in your bed (a massive plus for me) but you’re transported into different worlds and different lives every day, so it feels completely new.  I like to think of music festivals as a pure celebration of all that’s good, beautiful, and true.  But, then I remember the world we live in. In any event, a good music festival can be pretty awesome.

Defining Terms for the New Southern Sound

Let’s make sure we’re on the same page about the different types of roots music before I explain more. Here’s how I view the roots coming together into what I’m calling the New Southern Sound.

Jazz

Jazz typically contains horns, keys, and stringed instruments.  It has a swinging rhythm and involves improvisation and jams.  I love watching impromptu jams.  One member gushes music, pouring out his soul in sound while the others maintain the beat and perhaps a simple melody.  They pass around it around like that, each band member getting a solo.  Jazz crowds usually applaud each soloist’s music while the solo is transferred to the next person. Here’s a university professor explaining jazz.  Did anyone else find that Prof’s being weird about ‘not wanting to be the jazz police’ off-putting and aggressively post-modern?

The Blues

Blues music typically includes string instruments, rhythm (bass guitar and/or drums), and vocals. The blues form is a cyclic musical form in which a repeating progression of chords mirrors the call and response scheme commonly found in African and African-American music.

In other words, the Blues feels like a rolling, undulating swell of melody and rhythm.

Bluegrass

Bluegrass relies on stringed instruments played at a high tempo, workday themes, and hails from the Scotch/Irish in the hills of Appalachia. It’s vocals tend towards harmonies among many singers.  Bluegrass music always makes me smile because it reminds me of the movie O Brother Where Art Thou with George Clooney. I include folk music here in the style of ‘alone on the stage with just me and my guitar.’

Rock

Rock was probably the most significant contributor to the New Southern Sound.  That is to say, only the good stuff.  I heard echos of greats like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Lynard Skynard, Eric Clapton, etc.  I hadn’t heard new music like this since before Nirvana.  Nirvana was the end of real Rock and Roll in my opinion.  That’s not saying there’s anything wrong with Nirvana.  I like them a lot.  But, they’re not Rock and Roll.  Nirvana spawned a whole generation of alternative, some of it was good.  Although, the genre has mostly disappeared. It never measured up to the greats of real Rock & Roll. Although distinctive in style, I think the New Southern Sound is just as good as Rock & Roll at its best.

I’ve always liked excellent rock.  That’s why I stopped listening to popular music.  Many popular musicians try to stake a claim as Rockers, but they fall short.  Imagine Dragons is one of the most popular pretenders to Rock.  Why do I think they’re fake Rockers, you ask? Let’s start with the fact that Imagine Dragons are such politically correct, man-ginas that they put cuddly, inoffensive puppets in their music videos anywhere that might vaguely be considered threatening. Check out minute 1:12 in this music video.  Most of this video is trying to be badass until the puppet fight scene where they introduce a weird juxtaposition of cuddly puppets while still trying to come across as badass rockers.  What the bloody hell! Really, a puppet fight scene? You know they did it to avoid triggering some post-modernist, woke-scold, suck-ups.

The music isn’t bad though they lack any genuine musical talent.  Imagine Dragons usually has an over-synthesized-simplistic guitar rift or two, then they hit a drum a little, and the rest is handled by the computers. Meaning, the rest of the song is synthesized.

Take another popular band like The White Stripes.  They’re a step above Imagine Dragons in terms of badass Rockers.  They’ve got a great sound that makes you want to move.  But they don’t have a lot of musical talent.  The drummer girl just got the job because she was the lead singer’s girlfriend.  Jack White has a great voice but lacks any real guitar skills, just pounding out a couple of rifts on the guitar with a lot of distortion, so no one notices he’s not very good.  I like The White Strips.  They’re true to their punk rock traditions and play with a lot of heart.  But they’re not Rock, they’re not original, and nothing to write a blog post about.

Sweetwater 420 Music Festival

Alright, back to the festival.  They say that actions speak louder than words, and the little things at a music festival make a big difference. I could tell immediately that I fit in at the Sweetwater 420 Festival.

First of all, it was a good crowd. Unlike Coachella, most women wore pants. Does anyone else feel like people without any pants are just kind of, well, deficient in some way? An exciting outfit like tie-dyed bell bottoms says so much more about you as a person than no pants at all. Back when I was single, I really enjoyed the flirting and banter involved with getting women out of their pants.  But, meeting a lady who’s already taken her pants off doesn’t seem like much of a challenge for some reason.

Anyway, it ended up getting unseasonably cold, so the ‘no pants’ variety of festival goers didn’t last long.  Tha

t left only the rugged outdoorsy types who had the equipment and skill to keep comfortable given a turn in the weather.

The other aspects of the festival felt authentic and well thought out.  I hate going to these things and feeling like the organizers are taking advantage to squeeze every penny possible out of you.  That wasn’t the case with the Sweetwater 420 Festival.  They sold $3 Braut’s with the proceeds going to charity, so I felt good about my food purchases. They had fun things to do in between sets like tour camper vans built by a local startup.

New Southern Sound

The sound that came together this weekend blew me away.  I’m a big fan of local music, and I’ve enjoyed following the evolution of the New Southern Sound for a while. I like to see musical experimentation.  It takes a lot of courage to get on stage in front of a group of strangers and do something no one else has ever done.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But, what really struck me this weekend was the consistency of the sound coming together across so many bands.

The New Southern Sound weaves together the root styles above.  It typically includes a variety of stringed instruments, a steady rhythm, and keys.  Its most distinctively noted by the use of a synthesized organ. Also noteworthy is the musician’s mastery of multiple instruments and deep musical expertise. It often includes moving Bob Dylan-esque ballads.  If you like ballads too, you’ll love this blog post.

Avett Brothers Demonstrate New Southern Sound

This clip from The Avett Brothers performance at the SweetWater 420 Fest illustrates the New Southern Sound.

It starts with Bluegrass harmonies then quickly progresses to a massive rock jam  A few minutes in we begin to see jazz-esque jam session with piano, violin, cello, and organ. The organ was on the other side of the stage during the piano jam but you can hear its siren call.

The next song in this clip moves into a heartwarming expression of Bluegrass Ballads.

Finally, the Avett Brothers move into a remake of Jim Croce’s Operator. This homage to one of the great balladeers of all time is touching and introduces young people to an essential member of the roots tradition who’s often overlooked.

Cory Wong Jazzes Up the and New Southern Sound

Cory Wong’s performance blew me away.  They were the best all instrumental band I’ve ever seen.  They have so much heart and gave it their all.  Cory literally bends over backward when he’s really jamming.

They exhibit an intense blues and jazz influence while staying true to the Southern Sound of strings, rhythm, with keys and synthesized organ.  I really liked their use of horns (they had a sax and trumpet on stage at the festival, but I couldn’t find their performance on YouTube).

Blues and Ballads Influence on New Southern Sound

Jason Isbell is one of the best balladeers of our time.  Here, he sings Decoration Day.

The Alabama Shakes are one of the pioneers of the New Southern Sound.  Here they are playing Hold On.

What Happens Next

Will this New Southern Sound grow and blossom into an important contribution to American Music or will it fade away and become a footnote in musical history like Alternative?  I’ve watched this genre evolve over the years.  My ears always perk up when I hear a smoking organ jam, like the one below. I’ve listened to music like this in local Atlanta bars and churches for years, but I’ve never seen it come together like it did this weekend at the SweetWater 420 Musics Festival.

I hope it continues so more and more people can enjoy that New Southern Sound.  Music that’s light-hearted and full of experimentation, music who’s soulful ballads bring a tear to your eye, music that’s familiar yet new, music that makes you want to dance yet makes you think at the same time is a joy for everyone.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading to the end! This blog is my project in the pursuit of truth. I spend dozens of hours researching each blog post, so I hope you found something useful.

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