MACON, Ga. — There's a debate going on right now in Macon – is it music town, or is it a music history town?
Some local musicians are working together to shift the focus from Macon's artists of the past to artists of the present.
Through our partnership with Mercer University, Amyre Makupson tells us more about the Macon Music Movement.
“Everybody knows about Macon's music past and that's amazing, but to really call yourself a music town, we really need to be supporting and cultivating the current scene,” said singer-songwriter James Worsham.
Worsham recently moved to Macon.
“After finally kind of getting in the music scene a little bit and meeting several other artists around the area, the same concept and theme kept coming up and it was there's not much support from the community for original music here anymore,” he said.
So, James teamed up with Macon Music, a local music show on WMUB, to present a Music Town Songwriters Showcase allowing Macon artists to take the stage at the Society Garden one night a month to play for a hometown crowd for free.
“I think there's plenty of music to be had here in Macon and plenty of diverse music. It's just a question of getting the community out to support them on a regular basis,” said Macon Music co-host Steve Moretti.
It just kicked off in April and the showcase is gearing up for its next concert later this month.
“Right now, we're just trying to find people who are in Macon, or in the area, that are writing their own songs and want a place to play them in a safe environment where the audience is there to hear original songs,” said Worsham.
The goal is to keep Macon music moving forward.
“Having something for artists to work towards, right? So, there's a showcase now that artists are hearing about, they want to be on it so this will inspire artists to want to keep creating and working on songs and working on new material,” said Moretti.
The showcase is the last Wednesday of every month over the summer. To find out more about it and other events highlighting Central Georgia artists, search for the Macon Music group on Facebook and request to join.