Flagpole Magazine

“Twenty years ago to the day,” Charlie Maddox told me, reminding me of his race against then-mayor Heidi Davison in 2006. He was a little bit off—local elections back then were still held in the fall—but a clearly emotional Maddox could be forgiven for misremembering the exact date. He had just seen Dexter Fisher achieve what he did not do back then: become the first Black mayor of Athens. “We finally got it,” Maddox said. “I feel great.” He should. His campaign invented the formula for Fisher’s victory—teaming up Black and Republican voters. Four years later, Nancy Denson would add a smattering of moderate white Democrats on top to beat progressive Gwen O’Looney. It didn’t work for Harry Sims in […]

Georgia Republicans abruptly changed course on redistricting last week, retreating from their plans to redraw congressional and state district lines for the 2028 election less than an hour before lawmakers gaveled in for the special session. In a joint press conference July 17, House Speaker Jon Burns, a Newington Republican, and Senate President Pro Tem Larry Walker III, a Perry Republican, told a boisterous crowd that they planned to focus on securing property tax relief and ratifying last month’s gas tax suspension rather than redistricting. Lawmakers must also address a July 1 deadline for QR codes to be removed from Georgia’s ballots. “As we convene today, the Georgia House Republicans are focused on Georgia’s future and the issues that really […]

Historic Athens formally submitted a petition during a Juneteenth festival to name a new downtown pocket park after Athens’ first two Black state representatives. The petition seeks to name the space Richardson-Davis Park for Alf Richardson and Madison Davis, two African Americans elected to the Georgia legislature in 1868, after the Civil War and subsequent Constitutional amendments created equal rights for former slaves. Tragically, this era of legal equality ended along with Reconstruction in 1876. With Jim Crow laws suppressing Black voting rights, Athens would not elect another African American for 100 years. The third Black state representative from Athens, Michael Thurmond, told those gathered for the ceremony that he was inspired to run when he came across a dissertation […]

Athens Film Festival, an organization created to elevate local films by connecting filmmakers with an engaged audience, is hosting a late-night AthFest screening of The Elephant 6 Recording Co. Released in 2022, this documentary feature film is about the indie-rock music collective of the same name. Elephant 6 was active primarily in the 1990s and included local bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, Elf Power, of Montreal, Dressy Bessy, Great Lakes and more. Though a “local” collective, Elephant 6 was a key part of the wider alternative and indie rock movement of the ‘90s, and its members bonded over their DIY methods and resistance to being defined. This event is open to the […]

Adoptable Animals at ACC Animal Services

This weekend, the 28th annual three-day AthFest Music & Arts Festival takes place June 26–28 across several blocks of downtown. With more than 100 performers of various genres and styles filling three outdoor stages and 14 club crawl venues, there’s something for all ages and musical tastes. The free festival also features an artist market, vendors, food trucks, kids’ activities and more.

The AthFest Music & Arts Festival is taking place downtown this weekend, June 26–28, with three outdoor stages, an artist market, a kidsfest area, 14 club crawl venues and more. For the full schedule of events and descriptions of each performer, see below. You can also view all of the live music events in Flagpole‘s online calendar by using the “event category” filter “AthFest.” For more information and details about the festival as a whole, see “Flagpole’s Guide to the AthFest Music & Arts Festival.”

Nostalgic indie rock, power pop band Little Gold released its single “Public Dog” on all streaming platforms today ahead of its album release for Public Dog on July 24. As the title track the album (available for preorder now), frontman Christian DeRoeck says that it’s about that one friend everyone roots for but can never get their life together. “This song evaded me for months. I recorded roughly 12 different demos, each one slightly tweaked, slightly closer to correct, incrementally torturing myself all while wondering, ‘Is this even good?’ I finally got the structure and lyrics to a place I was happy with, and we went into the studio to lay down the basic tracks,” says DeRoeck. “Brandon [Page] and […]

The Athens Music Walk of Fame Committee officially announced five new inductees for 2026 in between acts during the AthFest Music & Arts Festival on Friday, June 26. Honorees included Mary Frances Early, Elite tha Showstoppa, Hugh Hodgson, The Jesters and Wuxtry Records. Each will have their own bronze plaque installed into a downtown sidewalk. Celebrating Athens’ rich cultural legacy, the project spans a two-square-block area bound by Pulaski, East Washington, North Lumpkin and East Clayton streets. The Athens Music Walk of Fame debuted in 2020 with 10 inductees: The B-52s, Danger Mouse (Brian Joseph Burton), Drive-By Truckers, The Elephant 6 Recording Company, Hall Johnson, Neal Pattman, Pylon, R.E.M., Vic Chesnutt and Widespread Panic. The following year, honorees included Bob […]

The AthFest Music & Arts Festival kicked off yesterday with attendees catching all the fun and offerings of KidsFest, the artist market, food vendors and the live music stages. Flagpole photographer Jake Zerkel was on the scene to catch the outdoor portion of the festival.