Athens’ Futurebirds curate their own festival playlist at Highball

“We’ve always enjoyed throwing a party,” laughs Futurebirds co-founder Carter King. “I mean, even when we first started playing in Athens, we’d do these little fall festival things.”

Well over a decade ago, the rootsy band would host small autumn gatherings for friends and fans, featuring acoustic jams, pumpkin carving and even bobbing for apples. “Now we’re just doing a bigger version of it. The folks at Rival Entertainment in Atlanta really helped us get it done. Rival really did the magic to make everything happen. We just came up with the idea.”

Next week, the crafty crew — including King, singer/guitarists Thomas Johnson, Daniel Womack, bassist Brannen Miles, pedal steel player Kiffy Myers, keyboardist Spencer Thomas and drummer Tom Myers — hosts Highball, a sprawling, two-day event featuring national and local acts near and dear to the hearts of the psychedelic rockers. The expanded party has also moved from their Classic City origins to the rustic Pullman Yards in Atlanta.

“It’s been really cool to see how it all works, rather than to just show up and play a show,” agreed singer-guitarist Thomas Johnson.

Credit: Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP

Credit: Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP

Envisioned as an extended version of their homegrown carnival concept, the event has morphed from a self-described “retreat” in Asheville, North Carolina, to the fully realized event coming up in Atlanta. “We ended up having to cancel the whole Asheville thing in 2020 due to the pandemic and refund the tickets, but that’s kinda how it all started. Now we’re finally on the right track.”

The event is literally “on track,” explained Lucy Lawler-Freas, head booker at Rival Entertainment and festival director of Highball. “We’d been having conversations with the band for a while and we were trying to decide on the perfect venue for it. Candler Park was an early option, but Pullman Yards has such a fascinating history, especially considering the railroad connection.”

She added that the boutique festival allows the creators to add their own unique footprint. Multilevel entrances, including general admission and VIP access, add to the festival’s decidedly carnival atmosphere. “We’re also going to include what is known as Building 6, which will house a giant bar area with big-screen televisions, a merch section and a VIP area with a separate lounge — as well as sponsor areas and food truck vendors.”

Credit: Al Wagner/Invision/AP

“Yeah, it’s a party and all,” said guitarist Womack, “But at the end of the day, it’s all about the music.” The band and the reps at Rival created separate wish lists of possible musical guests for the occasion. “Since the Futurebirds are performing both nights, we wanted to make sure the line-up appealed to both their younger and older audiences,” added Lawler-Freas.

Likewise, the name of the event had a multi-purpose appeal. “We landed on Highball because it’s associated with trains,” Lawler-Freas continued. “It’s a railroad term that basically means, there’s nothing in the way, so the train can proceed at a high rate of speed. It’s sort of train-speak for ‘go for it.’”

“We love the name,” agreed King. “We wanted something that could take on its own meaning and Highball sounded good because it could be pretty much anything you might imagine. It’s a migratory birdcall and we loved that idea — for obvious reasons. But as Lucy says, it’s also train related, which is perfect for Pullman Yards. It’s also a wonderful cocktail glass — so it’s all about going for it and just being merry. And now here we are. I think it really works for what we’re doing with the whole festival.”

At press time, the stage was still in production mode but the lineup is set. “The Band of Horses were an obvious choice for us,” explained King. “They weren’t available last year so that was another good reason to wait and do it right this time. The Head and the Heart, we’ve been friends with for a while now and they’re super cool people. And Wednesday, man, they’re really blowing up right now. We’re just lucky to even have them on the show. The Whigs haven’t played a show in four years, so that’ll be a special thing. S.G. Goodman just won emerging artist of the year at Americanafest in Nashville, so it’s a really good lineup for everyone, with a good new Athens band, called Hotel Fiction.”

“I think it’s fun to have a festival that resembles our own personal playlists,” mused Johnson.

The members agree eclecticism is a creative standard for a band for Athens. “That town is a huge part of our DNA and we’re honored to have Athens on our side,” said King. “Anywhere you go, people have a connection to Athens. We’re on the road so much, we’re a little out of touch with what’s going on there nowadays — because we’re out for maybe 100 dates a year. But that’s why we have new bands like Hotel Fiction on the bill — to be able to see them ourselves and to bring them to everyone’s attention.”

“But that’s the thing about Athens. It’s small enough to support new bands but big enough to have the big national bands coming through,” King continued. “It’s just a great place for creativity. Athens encourages creativity and experiments. It’s our cosmic hometown and it’s where our heart is.”

The creative cradle of the city is mirrored in the band’s sonic approach. “It kinda happens naturally,” said King. “We don’t try to sound like a ‘country rock’ band or whatever, it just happens and it seems to resonate with the people who hear us. We don’t even try to label it anymore. We just call it a good time and leave it at that because songwriting to us is an adventure. With three different songwriters, we bring a lot of influences so we can just play off of each other. If people want to call it Americana or cosmic-ana or psychedelic rock or country rock or whatever else, it’s all cool with us. Whatever you want to call it, we’ll agree! Let’s just go for it and see what happens.”