Georgia Southern Bar Brings New Sounds to Statesboro
STATESBORO, Ga - In the larger cities of Atlanta and Savannah, finding a venue for live music may be as simple as walking around the corner. However, when it comes to the rural city of Statesboro, Georgia – home to Georgia Southern University and a total population of around 30,000 people – it begins to become more difficult to find a live-music venue.
In Statesboro, local bars have led the way in serving as venues for live performers on the weekends. Typically, these live performers have been local country artists playing an acoustic set.
That isn’t to say that larger acts haven’t passed through the small college-town before. Acts like Roscoe Dash, Sam Hunt, and Cole Swindell have played at various bars in the area, but these appearances seem to be few and far between.
That is, until Club 125 came to Statesboro in late 2014.
The club, now in its sixth month of operation, has brought a fresh feel to the live music scene in Statesboro.
The first entertainer to perform at the night club was hip-hop star Waka Flocka Flame, just a month after the club opened.
Meg Elwood, graphic designer for Club 125, described the event as completely chaotic.
“The people were just animals around someone famous like Waka Flocka. It was absolutely crazy. The audience was going crazy for his music,” she said.
Elwood has attended almost every live event that Club 125 has hosted and points out how diverse the crowd’s musical tastes seem to be. She said she thinks hip-hop is the most popular genre among the Georgia Southern students, but there has also been a great turnout whenever other genres pass through.
Through the past four weeks, Club 125 has played host to a weekly concert series put on by Airbound Entertainment, a local Statesboro artist management and booking agency.
The concert series features music from various genres, including “jam style” bands, Electronic Dance Music artists, and country artists.
William Bridwell, operation owner of Airbound, says he thinks this area is a great market for live music.
“With the college being here, the diversity is amazing,” he said. “We have this great market because of the college. We can bring in bigger acts so people won’t have to travel to Atlanta or Athens.”
Bridwell said before Club 125 opened up, the problem in Statesboro was having a big enough venue to house these types of concerts. He says now that there is such a venue, people just need to come out and support the new scene.
“And that’s why we try to get genres across the board, to cater to the diversity of the community,” Bridwell said.
Between Airbound’s concert series and Club 125’s own booking, Statesboro’s diversity has been catered to.
Andrew Colter, junior political science major, has enjoyed seeing a vast array of talent pass through the area.
“I’m from a small town too, so having these acts pass through is awesome,” he said. “It’s great that we can have Roscoe Dash and Waka [Flocka Flame] one week, and then a country band the next…What they’re doing for GSU is great.”
Club 125 is currently one of the largest bars in Statesboro, but hopes to take on that role of being the best place to go to hear live music.
“We’re really trying to be the concert venue here, so it won’t just be that single genre. People are really trying to get a nice mix, and that’s what 125 is trying to do right now,” Elwood says.
Club 125 and Airbound Entertainment continue their diverse lineup over the next two weeks by bringing in a Jimi Hendrix tribute band and the Ryan Kinder Band, a rising country act.
