When Bo Hicks texted Brittany Howard to ask if she’d perform at Tuscaloosa Get Up 3, she immediately answered yes.
“Bo is out there fighting the fight to keep live music going in the community,” Howard tells AL.com via email, “and it is very important to me that new and upcoming bands have all of the opportunities I had and more. Also, selfishly, we had so much fun playing the shows in the past so I knew it would be an exciting way for me to finish off a long 2024.”
A generational singer and prismatic maestro, Howard is known for solo hits like “Stay High” and classics like “Hold On” with her former band, Athens soul-rockers Alabama Shakes.
Hicks is cofounder of Druid City Brewing Co., one of few remaining Tuscaloosa venues focused on original music. Back in the day, Hicks was a member of beloved local bands like funk group Chinese Dentist and alt-rockers Baak Gwai, the latter of which made AL.com’s “20 bands and groups from Alabama who should’ve been bigger” list.
Bo Hicks
Proceeds from Tuscaloosa Get Up 3, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Tuscaloosa’s Bama Theatre, “will help Druid City Brewing in their continuing mission to bring the best in live and original music to Tuscaloosa,” according to the event’s website.
“It’s hard as a small business to make sure bands make a livable wage,” Hick says, “and that’s something that’s very important to us. And as venues have started to become fewer and fewer, it gets harder and harder for musicians find a place that cares. When I was younger and playing and touring, we got by on the kindness of a lot of venues that actually cared about the artist, and not just about money.”
Some of the artists that have performed at Druid City Brewing include The Pollies, a Shoals band that recently teamed with R&B singer Billy Allen for the theme song to hit Netflix show “The Madness.”
In addition to Howard’s headlining set, Get Up 3 boasts a stocked pond of Alabama indie icons and rising talents: Drive-By Truckers guitarist Mike Cooley, acclaimed spitfire Lee Bains III, Huntsville songbird Wanda Wesolowski and Tuscaloosa muso Jameson Hubbard. Tickets are $37 to $67 including fees through ovationtix.com.
Howard’s won five Grammys already in her career, solo and with the Shakes, and up for another one for her 2024 album “What Now.” Her star’s never been brighter or higher. Her time has never been more in-demand. So it says something she prioritized performing at Get Up 3.
It’s also worth noting some of the Alabama venues Howard performed early in her career with Alabama Shakes, including legendary Tuscaloosa dive bar Egan’s and Huntsville’s Crossroads Music Hall, have since shuttered.
“Look, the music business has gotten even harder post-pandemic on all levels,” Howard says in an email. “It feels like opportunities are dwindling. Venues closing is one example of that. We really need venues like Bo’s to thrive to give opportunities to bands trying to make it. I want to do what I can to help.”
Howard was part of Hicks’ two previous Tuscaloosa Get Up concerts, with Alabama Shakes, which also featured drummer Steve Johnson, guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell. The band performed at the original 2012 version, which benefited a family who lost their home in a tornado. Get Up 2 benefited Habitat for Humanity of Oklahoma, The Bama Theatre Restoration fund and The Red Barn, a Leeds nonprofit that promotes and supports equine assisted educational and therapeutic activities.
Bama Theatre has a capacity of around 890. Founded in 1938 via the Public Works Administration, the venue’s interior was inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture. The ceiling is done in a sky motif with stars that twinkle.
Back in 1979, Bama Theatre hosted an early U.S. performance by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band The Police. Other artists that have played there include: Woodstock opener Richie Havens, ‘80s star Bryan Adams and folk legend Joan Baez. The venue also frequently hosts children’s plays and community events.
For Howard’s Get Up 3 performance, she’s bringing her vintage Teisco guitar, another guitarist, a bassist, drummer and keyboardist. “It was tough at this time of year to get my whole band together,” Howard says, “but I am bringing a condensed version just so I can open-up the song book a bit more.”
On Jan. 12 at another benefit show, this one at Nashville venue Basement East, Howard will debut her latest project, hardcore punk band Kumite.
I ask via email if her Get Up set might preview Kumite material, include something from her 2015 side-project Thunderbitch, and maybe even a Shakes song? Howard replies, “That looks like a fun set!!! Lol. I am going to leave it as a surprise to keep everyone on their toes.”
A big reason Howard’s own music is prismatic is her listening tastes, which go from Black Sabbath to Nina Simone. Lately, she says she’s “been listening to a lot of instrumental music lately, Hermanos Gutierrez and LA LOM in particular.”
After releasing and touring “What Now” this year, Howard says for 2025, “To be honest, I don’t have a ton of plans right now. This has been a long year, so I am looking forward to some down time to work on new music.”
Howard’s connection with Hicks extends beyond these Tuscaloosa Get Up concerts. He guested on congas with Alabama Shakes onstage, including a Birmingham show at Sloss Furnace and when the Shakes opened for Neil Young at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. They’ve also gone fishing, a longtime Howard passion, together.
Hicks says, “She’s one of the genuinely sweet humans I’ve ever met in my life. Her creativity’s awe-inspiring, and it’s refreshing to see somebody that’s achieved so much success that still wants to help out people like us.”
SOURCE: al.com