Dwindling group of area musicians always searching for a place to play

ALBANY – Imagine, music fans, having up to a dozen local venues to choose from for live music on any given weekend. Imagine, too, there being enough well-known local artists to fill those venues.

That was the case from the late 1980s to the end of the century, when Albany bands lined up to perform for eager fans, many of whom went from venue to venue to hear their favorites.

Compare that era to today, when no more than a handful of local bands performs at a much-smaller number of clubs and venues that offer live music.

“It kind of puzzles me,” restaurateur/musician Bo Henry, whose eponymous band has performed throughout the region for the past three decades, said as he talked about the local music scene. “There were days not that long ago that there were seven, eight, nine bands all playing on any given weekend. People who liked those bands would travel from place to place to hear them.

“Now, you might get two or three bands playing on a weekend night. Maybe it comes in waves, but there just doesn’t seem to be as much interest right now in hearing live music.”

Chris Hayes was one of the musical artists who lived through what we’ll call a “golden age” of live music in Albany and southwest Georgia. Now 55, Hayes played in the bands Ex-It 7, Discount Superstar, Swill, Another Alien Astronaut and Blastov before putting away his music for more “mature pursuits.”

“I loved music; I always wanted to be playing,” Hayes said of his 1980s-early 2000s musical experience. “And we always had places to play. With Discount Superstar, which was very popular, we were paid by two different venues to play just one show a month at their places.

“Can you imagine that? We were paid good money to play only one show a month so that people who supported live music would come see us only on those specific days. Today … you have, what, the O (Oglethorpe) Lounge, Harvest Moon and a couple of places on the Eastside that have live music regularly?”

Rodney Rouse, who has worked in radio in Albany for more than 50 years as DJ Jaxon Riley, served as an emcee for many of the shows that came to town.

“There’s no call for that anymore,” Rouse, who worked at Albany clubs like the Monkey Palace, the PT Club and the original Sand Trap Lounge, said. “Now, there are staples like Harvest Moon, the Moose Club, the VFW and the old Lee Pub that cater to a specific audience.”

As Rouse, Hayes, Henry and members of the band Holly Drive talk about the golden age of music in Albany, club names come in bunches.

“The Lot (at Harvest Moon), CIA’s (Changes in Attitude), the Train Depot, the (Veterans Park) Amphitheatre — before it got fancy — the Cab Stand, Charley B’s, The Box, the Art Park, Detour 21, the State Theatre, the O …,” Hayes says. “They always had live music, and back then they paid well. If you were a band then and you wanted to play, there were plenty of places to play.”

Henry, whose Harvest Moon – initially in downtown Albany and now on Dawson Road – has been a mainstay for local musicians, said he believes there is still a core group of music fans who love live music. He sees many of them every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night – except on nights that the Bo Henry Band is playing out of town – when Harvest Moon hosts live music.

“When we started playing 30 years ago, we played at all the clubs around town,” he said. “I draw a blank on some of them, but off the top of my head I remember, Galveston’s, Dave’s Bar, Fundamentals, Time Out Sports Bar, the Cab Stand, the Crowbar, Henry’s, Dave’s, the Eastside Country Club, the Elk’s Club …,” he says.

“One of the reasons I decided to open Harvest Moon downtown is that our band would always have a place to play.”

Riley adds to the list, noting many of the clubs where he introduced bands, played music or went to see shows.

“AJ’s, Gator’s Horseshoe Saloon, MC’s, Banana’s, the POB (Putney Oyster Bar), Jungle Jim’s, Classics, the Train Depot … there was always music going on at that time,” he said. “There just aren’t that many places with live music now.”

Henry said generations that enjoy seeing live musical shows appear to be cyclic. He also notes that today’s younger music fans have plenty of other distractions.

“Back then, people didn’t have everything at their fingertips,” he said. “Folks today have their phones, their computers with livestreaming. They can sit at home and watch a concert pretty much any time they want. And these folks would rather do that than experience being at a show and watching musicians perform live.

“This is a new generation, and they do things differently. But I believe there’s always going to be a core group from every generation that loves – and wants to see and hear – live music. I know we don’t have any plans to change at Harvest Moon. As long as there are people playing, we’re going to welcome them at our place.”