Fall 2014 Movie Preview
We round up some of the most anticipated movies for fall, all filmed in the South, and starring some big names like Jeff Daniels, Nicolas Cage, Michelle Monaghan, Jennifer Lawrence and Oprah Winfrey.
Year of Alabama Music
For music lovers, there’s no better time than now to visit “Sweet Home Alabama.” by Bobby L. Hickman Alabama state leaders have designated 2011 the “Year of Alabama Music” to salute the many artists, events and destinations that make the state a unique draw for music lovers from all genres. Communities across Alabama are pulling out all the stops this year to draw musically inclined visitors. So this summer and fall provide the perfect time to hear live music at concert halls, parks and juke joints; visit the birthplaces of legends; explore recording studios and museums; or enjoy music-themed festivals throughout the state. The list of Alabama musical artists covers a wide range of genres over the past century. There’s Hank Williams ( both Sr. and Jr.), Jimmy Buffett, Wilson Pickett, Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers Band, Clarence Carter, Emmylou Harris, Lionel Ritchie, “American Idol” contestants Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard -- and of course, country supergroup “Alabama.” Muscle Shoals has the Swampers … When many people think of Alabama music, their first thought is often Muscle Shoals. And why not? For more than 100 years, the Shoals area has played a major role in the development of American music – from
If You Still Like Hank
by Jesse Peters I feel cold today. I want to drive across the South with you again, the sun baking us in our old black Chevy, listening to that Hank Williams cassette we wore out. The warped, dragging sound funny at first, but eventually gone, leaving only a blank tape with the label rubbed off. The cotton is blooming around Oxford and the peach trees glowing pink. We can eat boiled crawfish in New Orleans, sucking the heads like Cajuns and tourists do. We can drink bourbon on the levee, listening to Big Daddy Kinsey’s blues coming from the club below. Or let's park on the beach in Pensacola and sleep in the back of the Chevy, sweating as the waves beat us to sleep. Let's eat a breakfast of dry cereal and Coke on the banks of the Chattooga, watching the sun rise from behind the steaming Carolina mountains. But not today I wonder how you spend your time, if you still like Hank, if you still have that green flannel shirt. I feel cold today— The old black Chevy is up on blocks, and I know my sun is in someone else's sky. Jesse Peters is a professor of English at University of North Carolina at Pembroke and grew up on a farm in rural, Southern Georgia. His work has appeared in The Lullwater Review, Zone 3, The Denver Quarterly and Pembroke Magazine. About his subjects, Peters says: "I think those of us who rise up