Blog Topic: Upcoming in Athens

Homedrone: 2014 Athens Hip Hop Award Nominees Announced

By Gabe Vodicka | January 2, 2014 11:29am

Yung'N Restless

Just in time for the new year, the nominees for the second annual Athens Hip Hop Awards have been announced. Once again, the awards aim to celebrate not only the musicians, promoters and DJs that comprise the local scene but also its many adjunct support systems: Barber shops, soul food restaurants and poets find homes on this year's ballot.

More after the jump.

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Culture Briefs: Go Ice Skating at the Classic Center

By Blake Aued | December 13, 2013 11:14am

But please, leave your pipes at home.

The Classic Center's new ice skating rink opens Saturday for a week-long sneak preview. Here's the 411:

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Culture Briefs: Artist Brock Gordon Exhibits New Series at 'The R. Kelly House Party'

By Jessica Smith | December 12, 2013 4:30pm

Right in time to hear the recent release of R. Kelly's 12th solo studio album, Black Panties, The World Famous is hosting "The R. Kelly House Party," an eclectic art exhibit and dance party combo, on Friday, Dec. 13, beginning at 10 p.m. Brock Gordon, a 2013 graduate of the MFA program at UGA's Lamar Dodd School of Art, will exhibit a series of paintings that recreate the R. Kelly mansion room by room. DJ Quincy (John Swint of Modern Skirts) will provide a special R. Kelly-themed set, and chapters of the infamous "Trapped in the Closet" rap opera will be screened throughout the night.

Read the artist statement below.

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Grub Notes: Rashe's Cuisine to Open on Tallassee in 2014

By Hillary Brown | December 10, 2013 10:48am

The always promising but also always problematic space at Tallassee and Mitchell Bridge still best known as the former Caliente Cab (Google Maps screenshot above) is about to get a new tenant. Rashe Malcolm, who has been running a personal chef service for a while, both in Athens and elsewhere, is opening up Rashe's Cuisine, a Jamaican restaurant, in the new year.

In a phone conversation, Malcolm related her travels from St. Mary's Hospital, where she worked in food service, to North Carolina, where she worked for Marriott, to a stint doing contract work for the EPA. When her contract was up, she decided to "take a leap of faith," as she put it, and dive into the restaurant business.

More after the jump.

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Grub Notes: Always Baked Returns in a New Place and Form

By Hillary Brown | December 10, 2013 4:22pm

After leaving its location in Athens Bagel Company on Jackson Street (ostensibly to focus on delivery but coincidentally closing on the heels of chain Insomnia Cookies opening around the corner), Always Baked is returning to a walk-in location, this time in the former YoDawgs on Baxter. Brian Gamsey writes:

Always Baked Goodies is very excited to announce we will be opening a new store front at 723 Baxter Street (the old YoDawgs). The menu will include all of the old favorites cookies, fried goodies and other munchables. We will also have an expanded menu including "Get Baked Panini's" - creating your sandwich with your choice of cheese and meat grill pressed on Texas Toast and "Pack a Bowl" - french fries with your choice of cheese and/or chili. The store is scheduled [to] be open around the beginning of this coming Spring semester.

So… they're not abandoning their clientele.

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Homedrone: New Drive-By Truckers Album Has a Name, Release Date, Cover Art

By Gabe Vodicka | December 3, 2013 2:47pm

The new record from local Southern rock kings Drive-By Truckers, which was formerly scheduled for a February release, will now come out Mar. 4, 2014 via ATO. The thing has a name, too—English Oceans—and some pretty damn fantastic cover art, which you can see above.

The band will make its first semiannual hometown stand of 2014 in February, when it will perform three consecutive nights at the 40 Watt Club. A full U.S. tour will follow; dates will be announced next month.

From the press release:

In typical DBT fashion the songs depict an array of characters. “Pauline Hawkins,” is based on a new novel by Willy Vlautin. DBT’s ever-keen political edge can be seen in two songs on the record. Cooley’s “Made Up English Oceans” and Hood’s “The Part of Him.” “It’s about political assholery -- there’s someone new playing that role every few months,” says Hood. “Grand Canyon,” the final song on the album, is an emotionally overwhelming tribute to Craig Lieske, a longtime member of DBT’s touring family. Lieske died suddenly in January and the album is dedicated to him.

Check the album tracklist after the jump.

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Culture Briefs: Athens Symphony Christmas Concert Tickets Available Now

By Gabe Vodicka | December 2, 2013 10:59am

Starting today, you can pick up complimentary tickets to the Athens Symphony's annual Christmas Concerts from the Classic Center Theatre box office. The performances will take place Saturday, Dec. 14 and Sunday, Dec. 15, and will feature musical pieces such as “Gloria in Excelsis,” “White Christmas” and “O Tannenbaum.”

Tickets are limited to four per person, and are required for entry. The Classic Center box office is open Monday–Friday from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

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Grub Notes: New Viva Location and Hi-Lo Are Open

By Hillary Brown | November 27, 2013 12:38pm

Photo via Yelp.com.

The once-Eastside-based restaurant is opening its new location in the Bottleworks on Prince this coming Friday, so if you're sick of turkey and want something different, head over.

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Grub Notes: Chili Cook-Off at Terrapin and Other Food Events

By Hillary Brown | November 19, 2013 4:09pm

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Athens Area Humane Society will hold its fourth annual Charity Chili Cook-Off this Saturday, Nov. 23, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. at Terrapin Beer Co. (on Newton Bridge Road). The $22 tickets benefit AAHS, and competitors include 13 local charities (Dee’s Haven Parrot Rescue, Athens Community Council on Aging, Free IT Athens, BikeAthens, Learning Ally, Oconee Warrior Foundation, Humane Society of Morgan County, Georgia Equine Rescue League, Oconee Regional Humane Society, Casa de Amistad, Hope Haven, The Ark and Community Connection).

The charity that wins the most votes gets a $300 cash prize. Tickets are $10 for ages 13-21 and kids 12 and under get in free. Groovekid will supply music, and there will be adoptable dogs on hand to look at you with sad brown eyes.

More foodie news after the jump.

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Grub Notes: Vegan Cookbook Author Isa Chandra Moskowitz at Avid Next Sunday

By Hillary Brown | November 4, 2013 11:16am

Avid Bookshop continues to do a great job focusing on special events, and it has emphasized food-related ones since the beginning. The bookstore's next in the category features Isa Chandra Moskowitz, host of "Post Punk Kitchen" and author of Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance and, most recently Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week, which she'll be signing Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. (in Fire Hall No. 2, next door to Avid).

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