I am a sports ignoramus. It’s my blind spot, a subject for which I have little interest, a very scary attitude for someone in the media business to have. So when I came to Birmingham two decades ago, the Magic City Classic held, well, no magic for me. Eventually, that changed. Continue reading →
When Birmingham’s Artwalk began 10 years ago to draw people to the downtown Loft District and celebrate art there, there wasn’t a whole lot of “there” there. What a difference a decade makes.
Can lightning strike twice in the same place? Forces of nature are hard to contain, especially when it comes to the power of music.
At last year’s inaugural launch of the BAAM Festival, co-founder Sharrif Simmons and his band played “Beautiful Day,” where the superb bass player lays down this hard-thumpin,’ blood-pumpin,’ signature funk rhythm that makes you wanna jump, jump, up and down. And so the crowd at Stillwater Pub went wild. As much as I wanted to do the same, I couldn’t because I was holding my little video camera. Continue reading →