The music room at 5 Seasons Brewing Company in Sandy Springs was packed last Thursday for the “Little House” fundraiser to help Darwin’s get moved into their new location at the former Steve’s Live Music building and open for business. It was an act of love for Lindsay Wine and Jonathan Aiken and their club, which won the Keeping The Blues Alive Award in 2016 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, plus a sign of our determination to keep the live music scene healthy in Atlanta.

Fourteen bands and a slew of fans filled the space for 5 hours, with each band providing two songs. Some of the musicians were more familiar to me than others,but they all put their hearts into it. Many of them  were regulars at Northside Tavern’s Monday night jam, who generously gave their time to help out the cause.,  while others came from all over the local scene. It was all organized by Lola Gulley, who did a magnificent job even with a last minute emergency when the venue that was supposed to host the event closed without warning just a few days earlier.

Tennessee John started things off, with Jacob Holliday accompanying him. Jake, one of Atlanta’s favorite bass players, was everywhere during the night, playing with a number of people and helping with set up as well. Tennessee John showed up again later in the night on harmonica as well.

Next was a new group to us, The Quasars, and then a still new but more familiar group, Stiff Kitty. They were followed by Nathan Nelson, with new short hair. Things got a little confusing with the quick changes and the less familiar groups, but I believe Dani Mac and Co. played next.After them was Brian Futch with Lola on drums and a great harmonica player. Then Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck, loved by every blues fan in Atlanta I believe, came on with Tennessee John helping out. Cody Matlock sang and played, with Jon Swenke in his band, and Michael Preston came next, with Charlie Korch on drums and Darryl Lee on bass. .Everybody was playing with everybody at this point, and i am only telling you who I remember off the top of my head, which was spinning so just consider these snapshots from my vantage point!

After Michael Preston came Heaven Davis, with Cody Matlock helping out on guitar and Jake Holliday on bass, and then Donna Hopkins turned her 2 songs into a major jam, with Lola on keys, Randy Chapman on guitar, and a fabulous flute player whose face and music is familiar but whose name I still don’t know.

The Rockaholics were on stage when we realized it was not the weekend and as much as we wanted to see Truett and Lola end the show, we had to leave and make our way back to Kennesaw so Ken could go to work Friday morning. I am positive they were great because they always are!

Word is a lot of money was raised. Equally important, a lot of love and good vibes were shared all around. It was a pleasure, and a testament to the power of the blues to create a strong and vibrant bond between people and places!

To Donate to Help Darwins Move to the new location Go to their GOFUND PAGE