✦ If artists are the heartbeats, pumping out music, then DJs are the people with their fingers on the pulse. People in-tune with the rhythms that allow you to feel how love, longing, and light in a song, and in your soul. There are DJs that play arenas, clubs, weddings, backyard BBQs, and every place in-between. They can make or break or night, but my goodness the right DJ can transform a dance floor into a time machine; into a place that can take you to the past, into the future, or just make time stand still. Atlanta has some of the best DJs on the planet. On our new series, “Thank You DJs” we'll sit down with DJs you know, DJs you don't, and DJs you should, so that we might know them, their journey, and their love for music a little better. First up DJ Greg Nyce.

✦ What do you do when you're stuck at home during the pandemic, with too much free time and no creative outlet? For Atlanta Symphony Orchestra bassist and composer Michael Kurth, you create a chamber group. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more on the Ridibund Chamber Music Society.

✦ City Lights Collective member, podcaster, and self-proclaimed history nerd Victoria Lemos recently took a deep dive into the Southern institution that never sleeps — Waffle House. From its roots in a chance friendship in Avondale Estates, to being used as a FEMA disaster barometer, she traced how two neighbors turned a $4,000 investment into a 24-hour empire. This is more than just breakfast — it's a story of Southern identity, innovation, and two visionaries who made waffles a way of life.

✦ You know as well as I do that there is always a plethora of things to do in Atlanta, and we have earned the title of "The Cultural Capital of the South." Mike Jordan, senior editor at the AJC, and Sammie Purcell, associate editor at Rough Draft Atlanta, know this well too. They join us weekly to share a few of their picks for your weekend entertainment. Today, their mix includes free music, peaches, and a trip to the stars.

✦ It's been a long road since The Swell Season first captured hearts with their Oscar-winning song "Falling Slowly" and the hit film Once, which dramatized their real-life connection. That breakout moment led to a beloved Broadway adaptation and the release of their critically acclaimed second album, Strict Joy. Now, 16 years later, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová reunite for a new collection of heartfelt songs—and will bring their long-awaited return to Atlanta with a performance at the Woodruff Arts Center on August 2. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane sat down with the duo to discuss their reunion and everything that has unfolded in the years since.

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✦ From street corners to collectors' closets, sneakers have become more than just footwear. They're currency, they're conversation starters, and they're Culture. In Atlanta, sneakers have found their way into exhibitions, college degrees, and even job opportunities. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans recently laced up to learn more about the billion-dollar industry behind the kicks that turn heads and spark hype.

✦ It's time to check in with our artistic community and hear from an artist in their own words. Today, we're catching up with poet Lauren Doriahna. She's an Atlanta lyricist, and she's here to share the rhyme and reason behind the art of language.

✦ City Lights Collective member Shane Harrison spends his days at Arts ATL looking for cultural events to share with readers. He joins us weekly to share highlights, and today, his mix includes a few options for Comedy and details on a 3-band show at the Garden Club with a few of Georgia's finest.

✦ Five Eight is playing the Garden Club with Magnapop, Anna Kramer, and Easy Now on Saturday. Five Eight emerged from the Athens scene in the late 1980s with live shows fans described as "brilliance bordering on a train wreck," delivered with frontman Mike Mantione's trademark honesty and immediacy.  As mentioned, there's a documentary called "Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight," created by filmmaker and music journalist Marc Pilvinsky, which was filmed over a nine-year period. Ahead of the Five Eight show this Saturday, we listen back to Kim's 2024 conversation with Five Eight's Mike Mantione and documentarian Marc Pilvinsky.

✦ Artist and music enthusiast Kosmo Vinyl spent several decades immersed in music and began his professional career at London's pioneering indie label, "Stiff Records." In 1979, Kosmo started working exclusively with "The Clash" and stayed by their side until the punk icons disbanded in 1986. Over the years, Kosmo's record collection became legendary. In 2014, he began posting about his favorite releases on social media for his series, "Kosmo's Vinyl of the Week," and he joins us weekly to share the stories behind the records he treasures. Today, he tells us the story behind Them's version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."

✦ In his YouTube documentary series "Our Voices, Our Lives," Atlanta-based filmmaker William Feagins Jr. shines a light on our city's creatives of color. The program has been running for 7 years, and City Lights Collective member Jacob Smulian recently spoke with the award-winning documentarian to learn more about the celebratory project.

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✦ 0:30 - Atlanta's music scene is often associated with sold-out arenas, local small stages, or eclectic late-night venues. But hidden in corners of the city, another kind of music space is thriving, one powered by turntables, vintage speakers, and the warm crackle of vinyl. These are Atlanta's listening rooms, where music isn't just played; it's experienced. The rooms come in various flavors, shapes, and styles; almost all have opened within the last two years. City Lights Collective member Jacob Smulian has more.

✦ 11:24 - After three weeks of intensive workshops at Alliance Theatre's Palefsky Collision Project, twenty metro-Atlanta teens will showcase their original productions on July 25 and 26.  WABE arts reporter Summer Evans shares more.

✦ 13:23 - Atlanta Artist Jym Davis describes himself as a myth builder. And that's true. However, the creative, better known as "False Face," is also a sculptor, photographer, online content curator, and a five-time National Park artist-in-residence. Davis's primary medium is elaborate and otherworldly papier-mâché masks inspired by nature. The artist then wears the masks in natural settings and captures their essence using performative photography. The result is enchanting. City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently spoke with Davis to learn more about his practice and how he curates his incredibly successful and beautiful Instagram account.

✦ 28:19 - Stone Mountain stands over 800 feet tall, making it the largest exposed piece of granite in the world. While it offers incredible views of the Atlanta skyline, it has a dark history and was once a well-known meeting ground for intolerance and hate. Photographer Jean Shifrin hopes to change that narrative by showcasing the diverse range of people who make the mile-long trek up to its peak year-round, and she aims to reframe Stone Mountain as a place for unity and diversity. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans recently spoke with the photographer about her new book, "Rise Above: On Top of Stone Mountain."

✦ 42:10 - Through light and sound, the sensory manifestations of mathematics, quantum physics, and vast archives of raw data are dancing on the walls of the High Museum this summer. In an immersive exhibition, critics are praising as "awe-inspiring" and "visceral," leading Japanese artist and electronic composer Ryoji Ikeda invites us to experience "data-verse." City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane recently spoke with High curator Michael Rooks about Ryoji Ikeda's epic installations.

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✦ 0:40 - The five main food groups that are important for anyone’s diet include—fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and chocolate…okay, maybe not the last one. However, it remains an essential building block of a balanced diet. A new exhibition at the Museum of Design Atlanta, also known as MODA, explores the origins of chocolate, its evolution into a global commodity, and the designs of some of the most popular chocolate brands we know today. WABE arts reporter Summer Evans visited MODA to check out this delicious exhibition.

✦ 11:28 -  We preview of this week’s WABE’s Sounds Like ATL music documentary series. For the unfamiliar, the show dives into the heart of Atlanta’s music scene. And each week, Sounds Like ATL spotlights a local artist—sharing their creative process and a few live performances. You can catch new episodes every Wednesday on the YouTube channel, @WABE ATL. Here’s a preview of the episode coming in a couple of day that features singer-songwriter, Kira. 

✦ 15:03 - A new development is promising to reconnect neighborhoods and restore opportunity in the city’s core. It’s called BLVD NEXT and City Lights Collective co-host Jon Goode went to the groundbreaking ceremony to learn more about the arts organization that’s been tapped to collaborate.

✦ 26:42 - City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta’s visual art print magazine, “GULCH”, want you to get out and engage with the city’s art scene. Each week they spotlight five standout happenings, and today their mix includes: Blaxploitation film posters on display at ADAMA, live figure model drawing at The Supermarket, and the all-ages Contemporary Kids art program at Atlanta Contemporary.

 

✦ 38:12 -  One of Atlanta’s own is heading to Switzerland this summer to participate in the first-ever “European Throat Singing Festival and Competition.” City Lights Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently caught up with Atlanta throat singer Aileen Loy ahead of her upcoming European adventure.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

✦ The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever is dancing into its 10th year in Atlanta on Saturday, July 26, in Candler Park. City Lights Collective member, Chantelle Rytter, has more on this odd Atlanta tradition that brings Kate Bush and Emily Brontë fans together in a public dance.

✦ Today marks the 5th anniversary of Congressman John Lewis' death. Lewis dedicated his life to advancing the cause of freedom and equality in America and was a towering figure in our country's struggle for civil rights. He inspired countless people, including the band members of the Cabbagetown band, Evan Stepp & The Piners. They recently released a single titled "Good Trouble," and Evan joined us recently to share the story behind the song.

✦ The West End's Portrait Coffee is hosting an event this weekend called "A Place to Play," and City Lights Collective co-host Jon Goode recently sat down with co-founder Marcus Hollinger to learn why play is not a game.

✦ Today, we trace the history of one of Atlanta's most nostalgic institutions: the Science & Technology Museum of Atlanta, or SciTrek. From its grassroots beginnings to becoming a downtown sensation, SciTrek brought science to life for a generation. City Lights Collective member, podcaster, and self-proclaimed history nerd Victoria Lemos recently traced SciTrek's journey through civic politics, fundraising highs and lows, and the love Atlantans still have for the museum today. If you grew up here (or wish you had), this nostalgic deep dive is for you.

✦ You know as well as we do that there is always a plethora of things to do in Atlanta, and we have earned the title of "The Cultural Capital of the South." Mike Jordan, senior editor at the AJC, and Sammie Purcell, associate editor at Rough Draft Atlanta, know this well too. They join us weekly to share a few of their picks for your weekend entertainment.

✦ ATL Comic Convention is this weekend, and a couple of the stars from the hit saga "Twilight" will be in town to participate.  WABE arts reporter Summer Evans spoke with two of the vampires—actors Kellan Lutz and Jackson Rathbone, or for you fangs out there, that would be Jasper Hale and Emmett Cullen, ahead of their appearance at the Georgia World Congress Center.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

✦ It's hard to believe that just a two-hour drive north of Atlanta, just past the end of 985 on Highway 441, brings you to a place where art, nature, and history converge in the most beautiful ways. City Lights Collective Member Zachary Brown recently hit the highway to learn more about the Hambidge Center.

✦ Atlanta's first-ever Halal Food Festival is coming to Atlantic Station on Saturday. Mouthwatering food  such as tandoori chicken, shawarma sandwiches, kebabs, and gyros is just some of the cuisines being served by the over 80 vendors.

✦ What do you get when you mix sketch comedy, improv, and Georgia-grown talent with a dash of storytelling? That would be Sketchy Business ATL, a live showcase from Trilith Institute, the non-profit part of Trilith production studios. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane sat down with event host Christian Noel alongside Trilith Institutes co-founder Jeffrey Stepakoff to find out more.

✦ WABE's Sounds Like ATL documentary series dives into the heart of Atlanta's music scene. Each week, it spotlights a local artist, sharing their creative process and a few live performances. You can catch new episodes every Wednesday on the YouTube channel, @WABE ATL. Today, we preview the recent episode with Uriel UMC.

✦ What will the world look like 100 years from now? This question about the future inspired artist T.W. Pilar and creative technologist Ivan Reyes to construct the exhibition "Technoterria," an immersive exhibit currently on view at the Georgia Tech Library.

✦ Visual artist and music enthusiast Kosmo Vinyl bought his first LP when he was nine. He spent the next several decades immersed in music and began his professional career at London's pioneering indie label, "Stiff Records." In 1979, Kosmo started working exclusively with "The Clash" and stayed by their side until the punk icons disbanded in 1986.  Over the years, Kosmo's record collection became legendary. In 2014, he began posting about his favorite releases on social media for his series, "Kosmo's Vinyl of the Week," and today, he shares the history of Tom Waits' song, "Jockey Full of Bourbon."

✦ City Lights Collective member Shane Harrison spends his days at Arts ATL looking for cultural events to share with readers. He joins us weekly to share highlights, and today, his mix includes a Plazadrome event with former TCM 
Underground host and film historian Millie De Chirico, and a daytime dance party hosted by drag superstar Lady Bunny.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

✦ Can you name a feeling? Dashill Smith and the musicians and vocalists that join him at TenATL certainly think so. City Lights Collective co-host Jon Goode recently went to visit TenATL in East Atlanta to learn more.

✦ In honor of MLB All-Star Week, Truist Park isn’t the only place in Cobb County to see baseball this summer. A new exhibition at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art features the work of artist Mike Schacht—a prolific painter of baseball legends.

✦ Known to soap opera fans as the hold no prisoners mob by Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital, actor Maurice Bernard has earned several daytime Emmy awards and the attention of millions of fans. However, in recent years, he has stepped into the role of a lifetime: mental health advocate. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Bernard has used several platforms, including his podcast, State of Mind, to raise awareness about living with mental illness. He'll share his candid experiences at the Punchline on July 24th with his one-man show, Maurice Bernard: Live on Stage.

✦ Artist, illustrator and educator Faith Ringgold showed us our world through the eyes of young children in every medium you can think of –books, paintings, drawings, sculptures, even quilts.

Trained and extensively honored in the fine art and academic circles of New York City, Faith Ringgold nevertheless focused her work on the children who remained her lifelong muse, working as an art teacher in New York City public schools for decades. Now, the High Museum is presenting the most comprehensive exhibition to date of Faith Ringgold’s art from her children’s books, including never-before-seen pieces.

✦ Municipal Support for the Arts

✦ They play on street corners, beneath overpasses, and in MARTA stations — creating the soundtracks of Atlanta’s daily hustle. But who are these street performers, and what drives them? WABE arts reporter Summer Evans explores the city’s vibrant busking scene and learns how it compares to other musical cities.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

✦ World Listening Day, coming up on July 18th, celebrates the simple yet profound act of listening. As we tune in to the world around us, more of us are also experiencing our favorite stories through sound. City Lights Collective member and "Bookmarked" contributor Alison Law recently explored the growing popularity of audiobooks and what's next for this booming industry.

✦ The Happy Black Parent 4th annual Children's Book Festival is coming to Pittsburg Yards on Saturday.  WABE arts reporter Summer Evans has more.

✦ After over three decades on Atlanta walls, streets, stickers, wheatpastes, and flyers, the iconic art of R. Land is now on view at Atlanta Contemporary through September 7th. His work, like "Pray for ATL" and "Loss Cat," has previously been preserved for posterity at the Atlanta History Center and the Georgia State Capitol. Still, those pieces only represent a fraction of his artistic career. City Light Collective co-host Kim Drobes recently caught up with Land to discuss his first-ever retrospective solo exhibition, "Landmarks: The World of R. Land."

✦ City Lights Collective members Jasmine Hentschel and EC Flamming, the creatives behind Atlanta's visual art print magazine, "GULCH", want you to get out and engage with the city's art scene. Each week, they spotlight five standout happenings, and today their mix includes: an outdoor film screening on the Beltline by Off the Wall, art in three dimensions at Kai Lin's group show opening, and discussions about fine art curation on Edgewood Avenue with the Obsidian Collective.

✦ WABE's 'Sounds Like ATL' documentary series delves into the heart of Atlanta's music scene. Each week, it spotlights a local artist, sharing their creative process and a few live performances. You can catch new episodes every Wednesday on the YouTube channel, @WABE ATL. Today, we preview their latest episode with the band Anna Kramer and Easy Now.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

✦ WABE's "Sounds Like ATL" music documentary series explores Atlanta's renowned music scene. Each episode spotlights a local Atlanta musician, allowing viewers to witness their creative process while they perform a couple of songs. The weekly segments are released on our YouTube channel, @WABE ATL, and we share a preview of their recent episode, spotlighting singer and songwriter E'lanah.

✦ Atlanta fashion icon and philanthropist Lauren Amos recently gifted millions to the High Museum of Art to fund a new fashion-focused initiative that will bring a dedicated curator, cutting-edge exhibitions, and public programming and events to Atlanta. City Lights Collective member Jasmine Hentschel recently caught up with Amos to learn more.

✦ WABE's Kenny Murray has the story behind the Georgia Film Academy's recent announcement that it is partnering with one of metro Atlanta's most prominent movie studios. The aim is to provide education and workforce training to a new generation of professionals in the film and television industry.

✦ In the spring of 1955, the Heart of Atlanta Motel was built in downtown Atlanta, a flashy monument to mid-century hospitality. However, by the 1960s, it had become a civil rights battleground. A place where John Lewis was arrested, where hundreds protested, and where a segregationist attorney named Moreton Rolleston Jr. took his rage all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. City Lights Collective member, podcaster, and self-proclaimed history nerd Victoria Lemos recently traced the rise and fall of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, as well as the jaw-dropping twist involving Tyler Perry that emerged decades later.

✦ When you hear pancakes, booze, and art, what comes to mind? How about a festival combining this unlikely trio into a unique art experience? The Pancakes and Booze Art Show is a traveling festival coming to Underground Atlanta on July 19th. City Lights Collective producer Josh Thane recently spoke with festival organizer Justin Allen and Lyle Baldes, special events coordinator for Underground Atlanta, to find out more about this culinary culture mashup.

✦ Did you know that the last car Elvis Presley ever purchased is permanently located 50 miles northwest of Atlanta? The 1977 Cadillac Seville sits in an eclectic museum known as Old Car City USA. WABE Arts Reporter Summer Evans visited the rural town of White, Georgia, to explore how this 32-acre American car junkyard intersects with nature and art.

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✦ Summertime is officially upon us, and there’s nothing better to help cool you off on hot Atlanta days than ice cream. City Lights Collective food contributors Akila McConnel and Chef Asata Reid know this well, and they’re taking us back to 1870 to learn the history of ice cream in our city.  

✦ Praised by jazz legends Ramsey Lewis and Les McCann, Atlanta jazz pianist Joe Alterman has never been a gatekeeper. He knows that jazz is for everyone, and it’s not rocket science – in the words of Duke Ellington, “If it sounds good, it is good.” Now, Joe Alterman is lending his voice, wisdom, and impeccable taste to WABE listeners with a brand-new radio show, “The Upside of Jazz,” with the first episode airing July 12th at 7pm. He’ll also be performing live at Eddie’s Attic on July 10th.

✦ City Lights Collective member Shane Harrison spends his days at Arts ATL looking for cultural events to share with readers. He joins us weekly to share highlights, and today, his mix includes things to do even if you’re not one of the three hundred thousand Atlantans heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Beyoncé’s four-night stand.

 

✦ Visual artist and music enthusiast Kosmo Vinyl bought his first LP when he was nine. He spent the next several decades immersed in music and began his professional career at London’s pioneering indie label, "Stiff Records." In 1979 Kosmo started working exclusively with "The Clash" and stayed by their side until the punk icons disbanded in 1986. Over the years, Kosmo's record collection became legendary, and in 2014, he began posting about his favorite releases on social media for his series, "Kosmo's Vinyl of the Week," and he joins us weekly to share the stories behind the records he treasures. This week he shares the history behind Mongo Santamaria’s version of “Fever.”

 

✦ City Lights Collective co-host Jon Goode tells us about his recent visit to The Book Bird, an Avondale Estates nook, that sales physical books, and closes down so that you can open up.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.