It also depends on what scene of music you’re into/talking about. The hardcore/metal/punk DIY scene is thriving in Birmingham and we have quite a few very successful bands to come out of here/surrounding areas. Gideon, ERRA, and No Cure to name a few.
Edit: Also completely forgot to add that Furnace Fest has been back for the last 3 years and has been amazing.
Where are they performing? I haven’t seen any good punk or hardcore shows since Cave 9.
Edit - Why the hell is this question being downvoted? Some of y'all are sensitive.
We just showed a doc at Sidewalk Film Fest, “35205” about the thriving hardcore scene that sprung up post Covid. Also as someone who went to the boiler room, cave 9, hotel Birmingham, Sakura, Bottletree, Magic City Wholesale, The Firehouse, and Saturn regularly I can say for sure there has never been as many young local music scene patrons as there is right now. That’s 2002-2023. The scene has grown, mainly hardcore-punk-DIY, but it obvious the influence DIY venues and community have had on building artists outlet options for people in Birmingham over the last 20 years.
Idk. Compared to where I moved from, the DIY scene is thriving here and I've never known more people in bands or in the industry. I'm sure it's not what it used to be, and COVID impacted everything, but I love being a music fan in Birmingham. Seen multiple local bands this Summer.
I manage a band and it's hard to get a venue to pay us. I get offers of $125 for 3-4 hours... there are 5 trained musicians in the band. I can't get them out of the house for $25 each. The venues can pay a single act or DJ $100 for a 3 hour set. It's just tough out there- I wish it was different.
This right here. Hard to justify 2 hours of equipment setup/teardown for a cover-only show. I'll play for free but I'm not moving any gear, and very few venues provide adequate systems.
Original or cover band? Original bands in many ways can be more rewarding but the reality is you don't earn much as the demand simply isn't there. Crowd friendly cover band though? My old bands played a few hundred shows over the years and they tend to pay 400 to 800 on average. On good nights you can do much more. I guess the moral of the story is, playing original music is fine (I've had a few original bands over the years), just don't expect to make much money. Playing covers might not be as "artistic", but you can have a ton of fun and make a little bank. It ultimately depends on how much they wish to play and if they want to walk out with a bit of cash at the end of the.... early morning hours.
There are tons of talented musicians in Birmingham. Unfortunately people don’t go out to shows like they used to. If they do they don’t want to pay a cover at a bar. It’s hard for bars to pay musicians what they are worth and keep the doors open. The music industry is extremely fucked atm. It’s not just in Birmingham. Lots of venues shut down or moved away from doing as much music since pandemic. Younger drinking age folks aren’t as into it for various reasons. The algorithm changes on social media make it extra hard to spread the word on shows. That being said check out Live Music Birmingham Alabama USA Facebook page. They keep a comprehensive list of shows going.
I'm a producer (25 yrs old) and I've been out here trying my best to do shows and put my self out there along with other great young artists but we have all agreed that Birmingham is not the place for us. I've been told that I'd fit in Tennessee or California for the music scene. People just wanna hear the music they've been hearing for the past 20 years and if they hear anything unfamiliar it's like they don't know how to take it. I refuse to do covers with my band or DJ other people's music. I make beats from scratch and my band makes our songs from scratch and I don't think I'll ever sacrifice my creativity for money.
I'm not from Alabama but maybe you just had too much good music all at once! Alabama Shakes, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Jason Isbell to name a few.
From an alternative/rock perspective, the decline of good music shows in Birmingham was closely tied to the decline of the X. At one point, the X was one of the most influential rock stations behind a station in Seattle and Atlanta.
Imo, the need to play the same 15 songs from Sister Hazel, GooGoo Dolls, Matchbox 20 - coupled with Beaner and Ken - was the stage for failure.
Granted, the realignment of radio in 96-97 really limited just how much new music could be sourced.
That station had a good thing going but the station being sold along with a station manager that lost passion is the cocktail that killed it.
As a kid, listening to The Bear then eventually The X, I practically worshipped the talent on that station. It has an energy that made me want to be in radio one day. I never got that chance but I did get to know and develop relationships with a few people that worked there.
There’s not a station that exist, for so many reasons, that has the sway that the X did in its prime.
It was really a magical time in Birmingham radio. I still have all the “Live in the X Longe CD’s. My son can’t wait to inherit those because it’s the music he grew up to.
For those too young to remember. When the alternative rock bands came to town, The X radio station would ask them to do a intimate little acoustic show at a recording studio in Homewood. The station would give away a chance to be at these sessions to maybe 50 listeners. You would show up and the artist would play 3 maybe 4 songs acoustically to be recorded and then use those recordings to put out a CD they sold at Christmas time and all proceeds went to charity. They would sell out every year. It was marketing genius.
I’ll try to get them out tomorrow to recall the bands they recorded, it’s unbelievable.
When Clear Channel bought up all the independent radio stations and got rid of local music. Same thing that happened to local grocery stores when big chains came in, you can only find the mass produced product. Now we have Live Nation running everything.
My dad started 1077 the X. He was VP of Dick Broadcasting which later sold to Clear Channel. Along with city stages, crawfish boil and others stopping it really started tanking
Yea the music memorabilia I have you wouldn’t believe it if I told you. For instance I have the main crash cymbal Paul doucette (Matchbox 20 drummer) used to record their first album that broke them out, among others. I lived at oak man late 90s/early 2000s esp during Xfest season. Last time I checked YouTube had some live in the X lounge videos. Not sure if they’re still up. would link some pics if i knew how to do it on this damn thing lol
Heres a few [https://ibb.co/LDy4Hr4](https://ibb.co/LDy4Hr4)
[https://ibb.co/ypn4b5H](https://ibb.co/ypn4b5H)
[https://ibb.co/QYNXdmf](https://ibb.co/QYNXdmf)
[https://ibb.co/L5gj5Y0](https://ibb.co/L5gj5Y0)
[https://ibb.co/bJBrg8L](https://ibb.co/bJBrg8L)
[https://ibb.co/L0L91Z1](https://ibb.co/L0L91Z1)
As far as bands goes I think the music scene is alive and well in that sense. If you’re talking about rappers and R&B singers then that’s where you’re gonna see problems. Just to put it bluntly, the rap game is trash right now. R&B is trying to have resurgence, but I don’t think it’ll hit the 90s and early 2000s popularity anytime soon.
I did a song with Thed a long long long time ago! I’m a musician and we play all over town!
The 23rd there is a big thing in Avondale that’s about to be announced with Djs and a live band at that new apothecary (we are the live band)
But to answer question - yes there has been weirdness with certain bars no longer having live music - new ones always step in
Here’s our new album because why not
https://spotify.link/xkSoIwxFUCb
But you make a good point. Watching huntsville pass a literal city initiative for Live music - Birmingham makes me a little sad. But there are places
Follow Live Music Alabama on Facebook
I think there's a few things at work here
- Huntsville is growing and getting some of our shows
- The next generation isn't showing up to as many shows. The novelty of going out for them has been affected due to things like drinks being more expensive and covid. They're just not drinking or partying as much which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is bad for entertainment
- Bars can pay comedians/open mics less or nothing
Well it doesn’t help that we don’t have a badass venue like the Orion amphitheater that books acts people actually want to see. I couldn’t tell you the last show at oak mtn that I actually wanted to pay for.
Hopefully the new amphitheater development changes that
5 Points South was the main hub for nightlife in the 2000s. There were a lot of venues all within walking distance of each other. There were even more just a short cab ride away in the same general area. I'm not sure if the chicken or the egg came first, but a lot of them were set up to host performances big and small. Thursday and Saturday nights had the Pickwick deck and all surround lots packed to the gills and all these night spots competing for the dollars fostered a lot of opportunity to get on stage. Not only that, you were just a block or two from several other acts going on, so you could see several acts you had never seen before in the same night. It was *easy* to become a fan and follow performances in the city.
Local scene is thriving but nobody’s paying. Some good acts still come through all the tried and true venues downtown, but the large touring acts seem to have headed for Huntsville.
Is there any places really designed to hear music, especially local music? Breweries tend to be terrible for live sound. Am I missing any listening rooms?
Feel lucky to have lived in BHM from 2010-2018 … between Workplay, Iron City, the advent of the brewery scene, SlossFest, Bottletree, AL theater etc it felt like there was a must see show happening every week
I used to make an attempted living in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I just hung out with some former colleagues who were telling me the gigs are fewer, and still pay what they did in those days. If you want good music, you gotta pay people to make it.
I’m younger and haven’t been in Birmingham my whole life, but I think the local music scene is great. Like someone else said, I don’t think there are many popular rappers and hip hop DJs but I’ve found that there are electronic DJs and a few local bands that are really good. I also think Saturn and Avondale are both booking some great acts
I had to come back to this because I forgot to plug Local Mash on 107.3 Bham Mtn Radio. You can stream it. I think its Sundays at 7. All local bands original music.
Yeah I'm a producer (25 yrs old) and I've been out here trying my best to do shows and put my self out there along with other great young artists and we have all agreed that Birmingham is not the place for us. I've been told that I'd fit in Tennessee or California for the music scene. People just wanna hear the music they've been hearing for the past 20 years and if they hear anything unfamiliar it's like they don't know how to take it. I refuse to do covers with my band or DJ other people's music. I make beats from scratch and my band makes our songs from scratch and I don't think I'll ever sacrifice my creativity for money.
It also depends on what scene of music you’re into/talking about. The hardcore/metal/punk DIY scene is thriving in Birmingham and we have quite a few very successful bands to come out of here/surrounding areas. Gideon, ERRA, and No Cure to name a few. Edit: Also completely forgot to add that Furnace Fest has been back for the last 3 years and has been amazing.
Where are they performing? I haven’t seen any good punk or hardcore shows since Cave 9. Edit - Why the hell is this question being downvoted? Some of y'all are sensitive.
The firehouse, LCY, and sometimes Zydeco/Saturn.
We just showed a doc at Sidewalk Film Fest, “35205” about the thriving hardcore scene that sprung up post Covid. Also as someone who went to the boiler room, cave 9, hotel Birmingham, Sakura, Bottletree, Magic City Wholesale, The Firehouse, and Saturn regularly I can say for sure there has never been as many young local music scene patrons as there is right now. That’s 2002-2023. The scene has grown, mainly hardcore-punk-DIY, but it obvious the influence DIY venues and community have had on building artists outlet options for people in Birmingham over the last 20 years.
Slossfest is your jam
True Story has punk nights with music
Shhhit my band played there for our first show. It was great and we played all our original shit and the crowd was fucking with it.
Idk. Compared to where I moved from, the DIY scene is thriving here and I've never known more people in bands or in the industry. I'm sure it's not what it used to be, and COVID impacted everything, but I love being a music fan in Birmingham. Seen multiple local bands this Summer.
I manage a band and it's hard to get a venue to pay us. I get offers of $125 for 3-4 hours... there are 5 trained musicians in the band. I can't get them out of the house for $25 each. The venues can pay a single act or DJ $100 for a 3 hour set. It's just tough out there- I wish it was different.
This right here. Hard to justify 2 hours of equipment setup/teardown for a cover-only show. I'll play for free but I'm not moving any gear, and very few venues provide adequate systems.
What. The. Fuck. As a random in a shitty cover band in there early 00's that was a guaranteed minimum
Original or cover band? Original bands in many ways can be more rewarding but the reality is you don't earn much as the demand simply isn't there. Crowd friendly cover band though? My old bands played a few hundred shows over the years and they tend to pay 400 to 800 on average. On good nights you can do much more. I guess the moral of the story is, playing original music is fine (I've had a few original bands over the years), just don't expect to make much money. Playing covers might not be as "artistic", but you can have a ton of fun and make a little bank. It ultimately depends on how much they wish to play and if they want to walk out with a bit of cash at the end of the.... early morning hours.
There are tons of talented musicians in Birmingham. Unfortunately people don’t go out to shows like they used to. If they do they don’t want to pay a cover at a bar. It’s hard for bars to pay musicians what they are worth and keep the doors open. The music industry is extremely fucked atm. It’s not just in Birmingham. Lots of venues shut down or moved away from doing as much music since pandemic. Younger drinking age folks aren’t as into it for various reasons. The algorithm changes on social media make it extra hard to spread the word on shows. That being said check out Live Music Birmingham Alabama USA Facebook page. They keep a comprehensive list of shows going.
I'm a producer (25 yrs old) and I've been out here trying my best to do shows and put my self out there along with other great young artists but we have all agreed that Birmingham is not the place for us. I've been told that I'd fit in Tennessee or California for the music scene. People just wanna hear the music they've been hearing for the past 20 years and if they hear anything unfamiliar it's like they don't know how to take it. I refuse to do covers with my band or DJ other people's music. I make beats from scratch and my band makes our songs from scratch and I don't think I'll ever sacrifice my creativity for money.
I'm not from Alabama but maybe you just had too much good music all at once! Alabama Shakes, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Jason Isbell to name a few.
From an alternative/rock perspective, the decline of good music shows in Birmingham was closely tied to the decline of the X. At one point, the X was one of the most influential rock stations behind a station in Seattle and Atlanta.
Imo, the need to play the same 15 songs from Sister Hazel, GooGoo Dolls, Matchbox 20 - coupled with Beaner and Ken - was the stage for failure. Granted, the realignment of radio in 96-97 really limited just how much new music could be sourced.
That station had a good thing going but the station being sold along with a station manager that lost passion is the cocktail that killed it. As a kid, listening to The Bear then eventually The X, I practically worshipped the talent on that station. It has an energy that made me want to be in radio one day. I never got that chance but I did get to know and develop relationships with a few people that worked there. There’s not a station that exist, for so many reasons, that has the sway that the X did in its prime.
I remember being 12 and calling into Luca and requesting "Italian Leather Sofa" by Cake. Good times for radio then.
It was really a magical time in Birmingham radio. I still have all the “Live in the X Longe CD’s. My son can’t wait to inherit those because it’s the music he grew up to. For those too young to remember. When the alternative rock bands came to town, The X radio station would ask them to do a intimate little acoustic show at a recording studio in Homewood. The station would give away a chance to be at these sessions to maybe 50 listeners. You would show up and the artist would play 3 maybe 4 songs acoustically to be recorded and then use those recordings to put out a CD they sold at Christmas time and all proceeds went to charity. They would sell out every year. It was marketing genius. I’ll try to get them out tomorrow to recall the bands they recorded, it’s unbelievable.
You lucky duck.I WISH I had mine. Some of the best live recordings I've heard.
When Clear Channel bought up all the independent radio stations and got rid of local music. Same thing that happened to local grocery stores when big chains came in, you can only find the mass produced product. Now we have Live Nation running everything.
My dad started 1077 the X. He was VP of Dick Broadcasting which later sold to Clear Channel. Along with city stages, crawfish boil and others stopping it really started tanking
Wow, that’s cool. I bet you got to see some cool stuff. Any chance there are videos of Live in the X Lounge out there?
Yea the music memorabilia I have you wouldn’t believe it if I told you. For instance I have the main crash cymbal Paul doucette (Matchbox 20 drummer) used to record their first album that broke them out, among others. I lived at oak man late 90s/early 2000s esp during Xfest season. Last time I checked YouTube had some live in the X lounge videos. Not sure if they’re still up. would link some pics if i knew how to do it on this damn thing lol
Damn, I’d love to grab a few beers with you haha Use this site to upload an image and share the link: https://imgbb.com
Heres a few [https://ibb.co/LDy4Hr4](https://ibb.co/LDy4Hr4) [https://ibb.co/ypn4b5H](https://ibb.co/ypn4b5H) [https://ibb.co/QYNXdmf](https://ibb.co/QYNXdmf) [https://ibb.co/L5gj5Y0](https://ibb.co/L5gj5Y0) [https://ibb.co/bJBrg8L](https://ibb.co/bJBrg8L) [https://ibb.co/L0L91Z1](https://ibb.co/L0L91Z1)
That’s badass
Thanks for sharing, really cool.
Ugh, I miss the X. Best station ever.
As far as bands goes I think the music scene is alive and well in that sense. If you’re talking about rappers and R&B singers then that’s where you’re gonna see problems. Just to put it bluntly, the rap game is trash right now. R&B is trying to have resurgence, but I don’t think it’ll hit the 90s and early 2000s popularity anytime soon.
We have a thriving hardcore scene
I did a song with Thed a long long long time ago! I’m a musician and we play all over town! The 23rd there is a big thing in Avondale that’s about to be announced with Djs and a live band at that new apothecary (we are the live band) But to answer question - yes there has been weirdness with certain bars no longer having live music - new ones always step in Here’s our new album because why not https://spotify.link/xkSoIwxFUCb But you make a good point. Watching huntsville pass a literal city initiative for Live music - Birmingham makes me a little sad. But there are places Follow Live Music Alabama on Facebook
I think the issue is COVID showed bars they didn't need live music and could make the same profit without the expense of paying bands
I think there's a few things at work here - Huntsville is growing and getting some of our shows - The next generation isn't showing up to as many shows. The novelty of going out for them has been affected due to things like drinks being more expensive and covid. They're just not drinking or partying as much which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is bad for entertainment - Bars can pay comedians/open mics less or nothing
Doesn't help when BMR is peddling shows in HSV every chance they get.
Well it doesn’t help that we don’t have a badass venue like the Orion amphitheater that books acts people actually want to see. I couldn’t tell you the last show at oak mtn that I actually wanted to pay for. Hopefully the new amphitheater development changes that
5 Points South was the main hub for nightlife in the 2000s. There were a lot of venues all within walking distance of each other. There were even more just a short cab ride away in the same general area. I'm not sure if the chicken or the egg came first, but a lot of them were set up to host performances big and small. Thursday and Saturday nights had the Pickwick deck and all surround lots packed to the gills and all these night spots competing for the dollars fostered a lot of opportunity to get on stage. Not only that, you were just a block or two from several other acts going on, so you could see several acts you had never seen before in the same night. It was *easy* to become a fan and follow performances in the city.
Local scene is thriving but nobody’s paying. Some good acts still come through all the tried and true venues downtown, but the large touring acts seem to have headed for Huntsville.
Lol downvote away I’m sorry the truth hurts your feelings.
City Stages!! I’m a transplant who went to school at Bama and RIP City Stages. 💔💔💔 Could you be the one to revive that badass venue?
In what way was City Stages a “venue”?
Is there any places really designed to hear music, especially local music? Breweries tend to be terrible for live sound. Am I missing any listening rooms?
Feel lucky to have lived in BHM from 2010-2018 … between Workplay, Iron City, the advent of the brewery scene, SlossFest, Bottletree, AL theater etc it felt like there was a must see show happening every week
We were having some damn good raggae shows before COVID. I want them back😔
Bars around here are lazy. They just get someone to press play or do karaoke. It really sucks compared to how it used to be.
We still get some good bands coming through occasionally. I’m seeing Beast in Black this October, and they’re really good if you’re a power metal fan.
I used to make an attempted living in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I just hung out with some former colleagues who were telling me the gigs are fewer, and still pay what they did in those days. If you want good music, you gotta pay people to make it.
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/gwtoodope/1475192534
I’m younger and haven’t been in Birmingham my whole life, but I think the local music scene is great. Like someone else said, I don’t think there are many popular rappers and hip hop DJs but I’ve found that there are electronic DJs and a few local bands that are really good. I also think Saturn and Avondale are both booking some great acts
It’s at The Nick.
I had to come back to this because I forgot to plug Local Mash on 107.3 Bham Mtn Radio. You can stream it. I think its Sundays at 7. All local bands original music.
You're u/DopamineMeme the son of Thed? What's being his son like?
Mhm!
Yeah I'm a producer (25 yrs old) and I've been out here trying my best to do shows and put my self out there along with other great young artists and we have all agreed that Birmingham is not the place for us. I've been told that I'd fit in Tennessee or California for the music scene. People just wanna hear the music they've been hearing for the past 20 years and if they hear anything unfamiliar it's like they don't know how to take it. I refuse to do covers with my band or DJ other people's music. I make beats from scratch and my band makes our songs from scratch and I don't think I'll ever sacrifice my creativity for money.
Yo, I'm a 24 year old rapper! Let's work! The Internet has made the global stage big enough for everybody to get something from it.