Growing up in Nashville, I was spoiled with easy access to excellent music. Since artists don’t dare leave Music City off their tour, there is usually some kind of concert going on at one of the nine major music venues on almost any given day. Throughout my 18 years, I have gotten the chance to see some incredible artists. Good music is abundant, and finding a place to hear live music is never more than a stone’s throw away. In fact, everything about Nashville is centered on music, from the minor league baseball team, the "Nashville Sounds," to the guitar pick-shaped signs in downtown. To me, much of the city's charm is how much music affects everyday life.
When I moved to Birmingham, Alabama, last year, I expected to find an abysmal music scene, one that wouldn’t compare to the grandeur of my hometown. I thought that my days of great concerts would be over. I believed that the only live music I would be able to find is country music, a genre that I’m not very fond of. The fact that Birmingham was the home to only four major music venues frightened me, and even though I was excited to move to this new city, I was scared that I would be missing out on the incredible music Nashville brought me on a daily basis.
What I did not know at the time I was making these speculations was that Birmingham has been working on expanding its music scene. Birmingham has increased the variety of music in its venues and even succeeded in bringing a music festival to the city. Sloss Music and Arts Festival made its debut this year at the historic Sloss Furnaces, and I was fortunate enough to attend. Above all things, I was blown away by the lineup and the turnout at the festival. It was crowded with thousands of people enjoying spectacular artists like Young the Giant, the Avett Brothers and Modest Mouse. However, it was St. Paul and the Broken Bones, a band native to the city of Birmingham, that rose above the rest in terms of performance. As lead singer Paul Janeway sang his heart out, he gave thanks to Birmingham for the many opportunities and endless support this city has provided him. The men of St. Paul and the Broken Bones proved to the whole crowd that the city of Birmingham has lots to offer to the world of music.
Moving to Birmingham was the first time I realized that music isn’t the heart of every city. Even though Nashville and Birmingham are less than 200 miles apart, the culture of the two cities could not be more different. Birmingham found its charm through old industrial factories and steel mills rather than rock and roll legends and country icons. After a year spent in Birmingham, I have learned that a city doesn’t need nine music venues to have an incredible music scene. Just because it isn’t the heart of a city doesn’t mean there is no music at all. Rock on, Birmingham.
