Gig Guide
FRIDAY AT THE COX CAPITOL THEATRE
Athens is more than 2,000 miles away from San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, nexus of Deadhead lore and culture, but that hasn't stopped the town's premier Grateful Dead cover band, Cosmic Charlie, from truckin' along since 1999. They bill themselves as "a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands," using the legendary improvisers' songs as "foundation on which to build" and doing the rest for themselves, making music in a communal experience with the audience. The journey is the destination, maaaaan. Doors: 7 p.m./Show: 8 p.m. $10-$13.
Gideon, Come & Rest, After Me the Flood, Beware the Neverending, As Animals Eat My Insides
FRIDAY AT CENTRAL CITY SKATEPARK
The Macon Venue Project began way back in the late aughts as a way to showcase bands from the "underground scene," but more importantly, to provide a location for fans of all ages to listen to music. The group eventually opened a venue on Cherry Street and put on several memorable shows, but the success was short-lived. Now, older and wiser, the Macon Venue Project is back, claiming there's still a need in Macon for an all-ages venue. For now, that venue is Central City Skatepark, where the group is hosting a slew of bands from over in the hardcore/metal spectrum of musical styles. Hopefully this will be the first of many more shows to come for the newly revived group. Doors: 5:30 p.m./Show: 6 p.m. $13-$15.
Copious Jones
FRIDAY AT BILLY'S CLUBHOUSE
Copious Jones hails from Atlanta and plays original music that they describe as "something akin to Dave Matthews meets Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead." Pleased to meet y'all. Since their formation, the band has been hitting the road hard, sharing bills with like-minded acts and even hopping on some festivals like New York's Mountain Jam and Florida's Bear Creek, which saw them sharing space with folks like the Allman Brothers Band, Bob Weir, Chris Robinson and Umphrey's McGee. Those seem like nice folks to meet as well. 10.
Mothers with Elroy Love and Rewind Retry
SATURDAY AT THE HUMMINGBIRD STAGE AND TAPROOM
Mothers is the musical project of Athens' Kristin Leschper, who formed the band while she was a printmaking student at the Lamar Dodd School of Art as a means of exploring other creative avenues. The intricate, detailed process of printmaking still informs her music, giving it a particular intimacy, but Leschper is also a fan of noise and math rock, which makes for music that "flirt(s) between strength and vulnerability." Mothers will be joined by Macon's hottest new boy band, Elroy Love, led by Thomas Young and members of Dalmatian, as well as local spacey rockers Rewind Retry. 10:30 p.m. $5.
Keller Williams
THURSDAY AT THE COX CAPITOL THEATRE
Playing a brand of music he describes as "acoustic dance music," Keller Williams has amassed a wide and loyal fanbase throughout his career, which now has spanned a few decades. While Williams does in fact perform by himself, his performances are a far cry from the traditional singer/songwriter approach. Choosing to deftly create loops on the fly to accompany himself, he creates a sound that is revered by anyone who digs a groovy jam band sound, despite the fact that he is all alone on stage. Doors: 8 p.m./Show: 9 p.m. $20-$25.
This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Gig Guide ."