Want to shake a leg to some stratospheric live music on a balmy summer evening? Main Street Anniston has answered the call with a new outdoor music series called “Downtown After Dark.” Get out your lawn chairs and get ready to head out to Noble Street Park every 2nd and 4th Friday from 7-9 pm as a fresh, dynamic featured band takes the stage to rock the night away!
An Outdoor Music Series for the Entire Family
You may have noticed the lovely new city park–Noble Street Park to be exact–nestled on the corner of 11th St. and Noble St. in downtown Anniston. This inviting spot will be the setting for Downtown After Dark. With a quaint pavilion and lawn for lounging, Noble Street Park will accommodate a different band bi-weekly beginning Friday, June 28.
Noble Street has been alive on the 4th Friday of each summer month in past years with its Fourth Friday series, which promoted food trucks, street vendors, an old car show, and activities for kids. Downtown After Dark will replace that series, focusing on a 2-hour concert performed by a prominent local band.
Main Street Anniston hopes that this new spin on spotlighted entertainment will encourage folks to take advantage of the rich array of downtown offerings Anniston has to offer. Restaurants like Lulu’s Place, Classic On Noble, The Peerless Saloon & Grille, Rack and Roll Billiards and Sports Bar, Coldwater Mountain Brewpub, Besitos Mexican Kitchen, and Effina’s Downtown will provide plenty of delicious dining options, while places like Below Zero Creamery and Sinclair Social will satisfy locals with scrumptious desserts and thirst-quenching beverages. Local shops on Noble Street and surrounding streets will also be open for business.
The Bands for Summer 2024
So what can you expect at any given “Downtown After Dark” concert? Karla Eden of Main Street Anniston shared, “We’re showcasing the incredible musical talent right here in our own backyard! You’ll get to hear everything from smooth R&B to ‘swamp grunge,’ 80s and 90s classic rock to ‘jam band’ vibes. There’s going to be something for everyone.”
The series runs from Friday, June 28 to Friday, September 27, and the scheduled acts are as follows:
| Friday, June 28 | Birkenhëd |
| Friday, July 12 | Melanin Magic |
| Friday, July 26 | Railroad Avenue |
| Friday, August 9 | Stadium Drive |
| Friday, August 23 | Swoop |
| Friday, September 13 | Hour Kind |
| Friday, September 27 | FM Revival |
Birkenhëd is a 6-member Anniston band that has garnered many fans since its debut around the beginning of 2024. They specialize in Southern rock, covering bands like Lynrd Skynrd, Metallica, Dire Straits, Black Sabbath, Marshall Tucker Band, Alice in Chains, Aerosmith, Molly Hatchet, and Stone Temple Pilots. They’re super-stoked to be the first slated band in the series in just a week, saying, “What an honor to represent the scene and kick off an awesome concert series! We are literally bringing swampgrunge to the streets! Buckle up!”
Delivering on grooving classic, Southern, and 90s alternative rock since 2017, Stadium Drive has been nominated for The Anniston Star’s Reader’s Choice Awards for best local band (among others like Birkenhëd), and is currently working on an EP. The original songs on it, “…are very different from our earlier singles ‘Street Corner Girls’ and ‘Jump the Gun.’” As to playing the first year of Downtown After Dark, they said, “We’re super excited! We hope that this series will bring our local musicians and music lovers together for some good memories and good music.”
Railroad Avenue, a local band out of Anniston, specializes in performing a mix of covers ranging from rock to country to Motown. With Ralph Wheeler on lead guitar/vocals, Matt Neighbors on guitar/vocals, Doug White on bass, and Gary McCormick on drums, this up-and-coming local band has played a variety of area venues. Doug White noted:
“The music scene in Anniston has grown so much over the past two years, thanks to the support of our local community and having so many other talented musicians and bands to play with. We’re privileged to get the opportunity to call them our friends and play with and for them. When Karla mentioned having a Downtown After Dark music series, we were excited to jump on that opportunity to play for everyone! We want to do anything we can to bring as many people downtown to support Anniston! Can’t wait to see y’all there.”
Hour Kind, an Alabama-based band fairly new to the local scene, describes itself as “a jam band with a side of debauchery.” It features Sam Lewis on guitar/vocals/mandolin; Ted Tedder on guitar/vocals/harmonica; Billy Abbott on Bass/Keys/Sax/Vocals; and David Fincher on drums/percussion. Listeners will be treated to a mix of funk, alternative, hip-hop, and jam rock.
Rounding out the series at the end of September is a band that thrives on covering popular hits of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s–FM Revival. FM Revival, also nominated for a Reader’s Choice Award, had this to say about Downtown After Dark:
“We are super excited about this concert series and are very honored to be a part of it. Noble Street has always been a staple for local bands to perform, and this series just adds to that, not only by showcasing some very talented musicians, but showing the crowd that they are supported and loved by the community. If you can rock with the music, you can rock with life!”
There’s one thing that all the scheduled bands have in common. They have proven themselves in Calhoun County and beyond, and are trusted to bring family-friendly, electrifying performances to Anniston that will entertain all who attend. Be sure to mark your calendars for the upcoming dates, bring your lawn chairs and blankets, and expect to have a rocking great time!
