This Saturday, October 21st, will kick off the inaugural Highball festival at Pullman Yards in Atlanta featuring 2 days of rock ‘n’ roll curated by Athens, Georgia’s own Futurebirds, who have been putting on killer live shows around the southeast and across the US for over 10 years.
With a collaborative effort by Futurebirds and Rival Entertainment, one of Atlanta’s premier concert producers including other festivals like Candler Park Fest and running Center Stage, the new festival is two years in the making and now includes partners Pabst Blue Ribbon, The Georgia Hemp Company, Código 1530 Tequila, and Bulleit Frontier Whiskey. A collaboration between partners like that already sounds like a good time, while the festival promises a “two-day festival experience will feature notable artist performances, locally renowned food purveyors, and a distinctive live experience alongside the railroad tracks of Pullman Yards”. This is already sounding nice.
Throw in that this festival is taking place at the historic Pullman Yards in Kirkwood, this is sounding like a great October fest. A quick rundown of Pullman Yards for those that don’t know the history: Initially built in 1904 by Pratt Engineering, the site was home to the manufacturing of fertilizer bombs during WWI and the patenting of liquid carbonated gasses purchased by a then startup, The Coca-Cola Company. After that, The Pullman Company took over and was a manufacturer of passenger railcars, developing a train yard in order to manufacturer and repair deluxe passenger railcars that would continue until the 80s. Within that was The Brotherhood of the Sleeper Car Porters, the first organized African American labor union that was instrumental in the civil rights movement. In 2017 Atomic Entertainment, a film production company, took over the space leading the way to movies like he Hunger Games, Baby Driver, Divergent, and more. Of course there is so much more history along the way, but really Pullman Yards is a cool new mixed use area with a lot of history that should be a killer setting for a music festival.
Of course it all comes down to the music, right? And with Highball being curated by Futurebirds, you have to expect a pretty good lineup. Futurebirds frontman and guitarist Carter King said: “It’s a wild wild dream to have the chance to help curate a festival bill, full of some of our favorite bands and best friends, in our home state, not far from where a handful of us grew up and experienced live music for the first time. It’s a full-circle experience, and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity. The lineup is insane; the venue is gorgeous. I can’t wait to see y’all out there in October.”
The Futurebirds are well known over the last 10 plus years in the southeast as a great live band, and since releasing their first EP in 2009, the word has gotten out across the nation with sell out shows all the way to Oregon. Across more than 4+ full length albums and multiple EPs, the band has become known for their folk rock sound with four-part harmonies, lead singers switching per song, and plenty of twang to let you know their roots. But don’t let the words like folk and twang fool you, these guys are rock ‘n’ roll at their core and know how to wow stages with an energy that spreads right to their audiences. And with Futurebirds curating this lineup, you can expect plenty of the same from the artists on this lineup.
Let’s take a look at the artists making up the two day Highball fest that includes a Futurebirds set on both days:
Doors open at 3PM each day. Two day, single day, and VIP tickets are available here.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st:
3:45-4:15 – T. Hardy Morris
T. Hardy Morris is another beloved Georgia artist best known for his work with Dead Confederate, and also the supergroup Diamond Rugs with members of Deer Tick, Black Lips, and Los Lobos. He’s also released 4 solo albums including his latest, 2021’s The Digital Age of Rome, a favorite local from Athens to Atlanta, that has earned national recognition for his rock ‘n’ roll that hits on everything from psych to grunge, to punk, to southern rock, to folk. T. Hardy Morris is one of the best.
4:45-5:45 – Seratones
Across the whole Highball lineup, Shreveport, Louisiana’s own Seratones may stick out the most from the rest of this highly curated lineup if only because of the word soul music attached to the band led by stellar frontwoman AJ Haynes. Since releasing their buzzed about debut album in 2016 via Fat Possum Records, and two more albums since including 2022’s Love & Algorhythms, Seratones have hit on everything from soul, R&B, to funk, while also being a “southern band”. And if you want to go with the theme and throw in that “folk” term, well we know the reality of soul and folk is a web that always crisscrossed despite what those terms you may think tells you about them in 2023. Plus, trust, Seratones freaking rock. So yeah, they actually fit right in.
6:15-7:15 – Wednesday
If you are looking for the hottest, most buzzed about band on this lineup in 2023, look no further than Asheville’s own Wednesday. Led by chief songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, Karly Hartzman, and a talented band that includes lap steel guitarist Xandy Chelmis, and Jake Lenderman, aka MJ Lenderman, who is also a buzzed about artist blowing up from Asheville, Wednesday has released 5 full length albums since 2018 including 4 consecutive albums, one of which was a covers album, in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Each year the buzz has risen for Wednesday, hitting a crescendo with the April release this year of Rat Saw God. There have been Pitchfork features, NPR, and more, including sold out shows not only in the US but across the pond. While Karly’s songs across their work shows her as one of the best songwriters today with lyrics that relate today in 2023, that theme of “folk” and “rock” rings through with Wednesday. One song can be the perfect modern folk rock song, the next song shoegaze, the next song grunge, without ever fully leaving their southern roots. In fact, there has been a new genre attached to Wednesday and MJ Lenderman lately, Country Grunge, which actually seems fitting when you can still hear that lap steel guitar, even when rocking out like they are Nirvana. Rat Saw God is easily one of the year’s best albums, and can confirm Wednesday’s live show is in fact, all that. Don’t miss this set, plus Karly is a HUGE Drive-By Truckers fan, so there is sure to be at least one DBT cover this set.
7:45-9:00 – Futurebirds
The boys will be throwing it down on stage and loving every minute of together. Guitars will flare and harmonies will extend from four parts, to plus a thousand as the crowd sings along.
9:30-11:00 – Band of Horses
What is there to say about Band of Horses? Born in Seattle back in 2004, and now based in Charleston, South Carolina, heavily involved in that scene and avid Georgia Bulldog fans, Band of Horses have taken the indie rock scene by storm across six albums including their latest, 2022’s Things Are Great. Since releasing their 2006 full length debut album, Everything All the Time, and 2007’s Cease to Begin, both via Sub Pop, Band of Horses became essential listening for any millennial type indie head, especially southern indie heads, not that the band was at all directly southern rock, but you could certainly hear the southern influences that sort of made them “our” indie band at the time here in the south. But really it’s singer songwriter Ben Bridwell’s haunting vocals and delivery that really made the band so special and landed their songs like “The Funeral” in TV shows, video games and advertisements while continuing to raise their profile across the six albums including a Grammy nomination for 2011’s Infinite Arms. Band of Horses is certainly a fitting and most worthy headliners for day 1, Saturday night of the Highball fest.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22nd:
3:30-4:00 – Hotel Fiction
Hotel Fiction is an Athens, Georgia-based band consisting of best friends Jade Long and Jessica Thompson. While both have been playing music for over ten years, they began writing, performing, and playing together in 2019, before releasing their debut single as Hotel Fiction in 2019. Since then, the duo released their debut album, Soft Focus, in 2021 with multiple singles and EPs since. Hotel Fiction’s sound has been described as genre-fluid, with indie, pop, and rock influences, oh and you guessed it folk. With Jade’s dynamic vocals and piano and Jessica’s complementing lead guitar and harmonies, the two create a unique experience for listeners and have been wowing audiences since, which should make for one nice opening set.
4:30-5:15 – S.G. Goodman
The other most buzzed about up and coming artist on this lineup has to be Western Kentucky’s own, S.G. Goodman. You want to talk about folk rock to the core, and who looks to be one of the next great song writers of the upcoming era, just ask our friends at The Bitter Southerner about S.G. Goodman. With her debut album, 2020’s Old Time Feeling, produced by My Morning Jacket’s frontman Jim James, that stamp of approval right there was enough to start the buzz, but that obviously proved well earned with one stellar debut. That only continued with her sophomore release, 2022’s Teeth Marks, which showed S.G. Goodman as a song writing force to be reckoned with. S.G. Goodman is as southern as southern comes, just listen to her talk between songs live, she is SOUTHERN and was raised in a strict Baptist home, yet she’s openly queer, and that background has raised her to the forefront of what is “Southern” today, despite what others may think of as southern. It’s a beautiful thing to see, and once again, one we can confirm is a fuzzed out, stellar live show full of folk rocks songs. S.G. Goodman is not to be missed.
5:45-6:45 – The Whigs
Another Athens, Georgia band, another legend from the scene. The Whigs were all the rage back in the mid 2000’s, the Athens band with the national buzz forming back in 2002, releasing five studio albums from 2005-2014, being artists to watch for Rolling Stone, Spin, and more, and plenty of Late Night appearances on Letterman, Conan O’Brien and more. These days the band is still beloved locally and nationally, while reuniting on occasion like for Highball, while members are off doing big things on their own, including drummer Julian Dorio touring with Eagles of Death Metal and more, and frontman Parker Gispert releasing multiple very great solo albums including 2022’s Golden Years. When The Whigs get together, it’s like a family reunion, not only for the band members but for the audience also, and Highball should only further that love.
7:15-8:15 – Futurebirds
One more set from the boys, the hosts, the curators, Futurebirds that you know is sure to be hype.
8:45-10:00 – The Head and the Heart
Headlining the second and final night of the inaugural Highball fest is Seattle’s The Head and the Heart. Next to the Seratones, they may just stand out the most next to the rest of the bands on the lineup, yet they are way more attached to the “folk” genre. Forming in 2009, The Head and the Heart blew up upon their eponymous 2011, self titled studio album, getting lumped into the “indie folk” explosion with Mumford and Sons and others in the early 2010s. The “folk” part is still strong in The Head and the Heart these days across five studio albums, including the latest 2022’s Every Shade of Blue, with their star continuing to shine brighter with every album while getting out of the indiesphere, “indie folk”, and continuing to grow into more popular modern music. They aren’t quite the rock ‘n’ roll that the other bands bring to the lineup, yet they definitely know how to put a big, bold headlining set to close the weekend.
All this to say, the inaugural Highball festival should be a great weekend of live music and more at a stellar setting at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood. We couldn’t think of a better way to spend an October weekend in Atlanta with the Futurebirds and all their friends. Get your Highball tickets here and all your info on this weekend’s festival at their website here. There is also an official Pre-Party at Center Stage on Friday night with the JERRY GARCIA BAND COVER BAND featuring members of Futurebirds and Bobby’s Shorts, get your tickets to the Pre-party here. Food and beverages at Highball include Grindhouse Killer Burgers, Mothers Best, Roti Rolls and more!
