7:59 AM. Friday Morning. I was awaken from a text from a friend saying that the Georgia Theater was on fire. What an alarm. By the time I drove up to Downtown Athens, I was met with a downtown-wide power outage. Restaurants, stores, and traffic lights were completely dark and the streets were filled with cops. The smell of smoke was present and helicopters flew above me. It was a scary time to be in Athens.
Walking up to the crowd of people behind the caution tape, I saw the smoke still filling the sky above the Georgia Theater. On the outside, it seemed fine, but from the smoke, it was obvious the inside would be gutted. I met up with many friends trying to see what exactly was going on. Everyone was shocked. I could overhear different people talking about the fond memories they've had at the historic venue.
The Georgia Theater's website has been updated with this message:
"It is with immense emotion that we sadly report the Georgia Theatre burned down Friday morning, June 19. There are a lot more questions than answers right now and we will do our best to keep the public informed as we learn more."
Attending Jump's last concert. Countless Gamedays. Planning the 80's for the Ladies benefit concert there. Numerous Abbey Road Live shows. Watching Contraband rock out. These are just a few of my fond memories from the Georgia Theater. We all share very fond memories at the Georgia Theater and the wonderful thing is, the Athens music community is not going to let them fade away. Already, musicians and different venues around downtown Athens are pulling together to help bring back the Georgia Theater.
Perpetual Groove, who were supposed to perform at the theater on Friday and Saturday night, performed elsewhere and donated the proceeds to the Georgia Theater.
This Tuesday, June 23rd, The Whigs and Dead Confederate will be performing at The Melting Point to benefit the Georgia Theater staff. Doors open at 6pm and tickets are only $10. Hope everyone can make it!
Also, the Georgia Theater has release a new shirt to help offset the damage done by the fire and help support the staff who are now out of work. Click here for more details.
On the shirt it reads, "Built to last... We shall return," and I believe they will.
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