NEW YORK (ASCAP) - ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will be joining with two of Alabama's leading music organizations - The
Music Preservation Society and The Muscle Shoals
Music Association - in presenting the W.C. Handy
Music Festival/Songfest 2004, a unique weeklong music festival (July 23-July 31), which celebrates the very fertile musical ground of northern Alabama.
Florence,
Alabama was the birthplace of W.C. Handy (1873-1958), revered worldwide as "the Father of the Blues," and composer of the enduring classic, "St. Louis Blues," recorded by everyone from Bessie Smith to Chet Atkins to Leonard Bernstein. Just across the river is Muscle Shoals, the legendary
Alabama music center where countless memorable sides were committed to tape by the likes of artists ranging from Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter, Arthur Alexander, Tommy Roe, Otis Redding,
Etta James and
Bobby Blue Bland to Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones,
George Michael, Mac Davis, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, Paul Simon,
Joe Cocker and Willie Nelson, among many others. This year, Songfest is working in conjunction with the long-established W.C. Handy
Music Festival.
W.C Handy/Songfest 2004 will feature educational seminars & panels and songwriters in the round as well as a golf tournament. In addition to the more than 200 W.C. Handy Music Festival events featuring jazz, blues and gospel, several Songfest events have been added as Songfest 2004. Highlights include:
- Celebrity Golf Tournament on Tuesday, July 27, at Cypress Lakes in Muscle Shoals.
- Concerts and events featuring Gary Baker and Friends (Jason Scheff - lead singer of Chicago, Steve Diamond); Muscle Shoals - The Next Generation (Gary Nichols, John Paul White, James LeBlanc, Brad Crisler); and the Anointed Jackson Sisters. More to be announced.
- A day of educational and musical panel discussions featuring top songwriters, recording artists, radio personalities, studio musicians and producers, sponsored by ASCAP at the Florence Event Center. Among those taking part are Norbert Putnam, David Hood, Jerry Carrigan, Jimmy Johnson, David Briggs, Sonny Burgess, Paul Burch, Sid Selvidge, Carson Chamberlain, Tony Mullins, Gordon Bradberry, Jeremy Spillman, and others.
- Other primary sponsors: American Airlines, Big River Broadcasting, Holiday Inn, Springfield Water, Crown Royal, Long-Lewis Limousine, MSMA, Mitchell Printing.
American Airlines is the official airline sponsor of SongFest.
The full calendar of events can also be found at: www.muscleshoalsmusic.org, www.wchandymusicfestival.org
