Mason Music Fest is back and bigger than ever! The nonprofit impressed fans with their huge 10-year anniversary special last year, and have returned for even more fun with the 2023 lineup which includes Birmingham-area favorites like Futurebirds, Colony House, The New Respects, The Secret Sisters, Annie DiRusso, Carver Commodore,and Mason Music Student Bands. The festival takes place this Saturday, July 29th, at Avondale Brewery and is going to be an all-day affair.
“Mason Music was officially founded in 2012. It’s really the result of a lifetime of playing music and learning music in my personal time. I started playing piano when I was 6 and my life has been shaped in so many ways by my music teachers and the opportunities I’ve had to play music. I ended up touring in a band (Moses Mayfield) after college and performed a lot live locally and nationally. When it was time to settle down and start a family, I took something I was passionate about and kind of accidentally fumbled into this ownership,” the nonprofit’s founder - Will Mason - recollects. Music lessons eventually turned into a store front in Cahaba Heights. “We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of support in the community for music education. The music opportunities in public school are pretty minimal - you learn recorder in 5th grade and you have band in middle school but there’s not a guitar class or piano class or anything like that. We really have found a need in the community that folks really see that value of and that’s kind of what’s led to our success over the last 11 years.”
As we’ve already noted, this year’s lineup is a thing of great beauty. The Mason Music Fest teams, their booking agents, and a lot of local friends in the music industry worked hard to get the feeling just right. The bands all have a strong following in the Magic City, but none actually call Birmingham home. “We’ve got Nashville, Florence, Muscle Shoals, and Athens represented,” Mason shares, going on to explain that “From a genre and style perspective, we wanted to have a lot of overlap. If you’re familiar with Colony House you probably also like Carver Commodore. It’s not all one silo, but it’s close enough that everything’s adjacent but there’s a good amount of variety. You’ve got neo-soul/funk with The New Respects. You’ve got The Secret Sisters who are amazing acoustics duo/female harmonizers. They are intoxicating. It's so good. And then Futurebirds, which is a borderline jam band. Super fun, great songwriting, harmony, and guitar solos.”
There will also be food trucks, photo booths, and other fun festivities planned as a backdrop to a day of incredible tunes. The best part? 100% of the proceeds go to supporting the important cause at Mason Music! Every ticket bought goes towards helping teach music classes to families that may not have been able to easily afford them before. The nonprofit is excited to return to Avondale to host their shindig. “Avondale Brewing is fantastic to work with. Obviously they have a great venue, huge stage, and put on good shows there all the time - and the beer. But they are also just really good people to work with and they understand the cause we are supporting with this event.”
The growth of the festival has coincided with the growth of Mason Music and the growth of Birmingham - and it’s making for exciting times. “I’ve lived in Birmingham for 30 years so it’s definitely home, and I’m very dedicated to this community. The past few years I’ve put a lot of work into community efforts like our nonprofit in Woodlawn - we’ve recently finished a new facility for that,” Mason explains, “Learning more through interactions with people who have different backgrounds than I do - I have an even bigger heart for the city of Birmingham based on its history and where we are today. There’s so many good things happening here and I’m really excited to be playing a small part in the story of Birmingham as we look ahead to the next 50 to 100 years of what the city is capable of. I’m a big supporter of Birmingham and believe in Birmingham.”
For all that Mason Music has accomplished, they recognize that there have been many who helped them get to this point of success. “We’ve had so much support. Back in the day we would drive to people’s houses and set up in living rooms or a kitchen table, and some of those families now sit on our board of directors for our nonprofit. There’s been such support from the communities that we serve over the mountain and more recently Woodlawn and the city of Birmingham. We couldn’t do what we are doing without those people,” Mason Music’s founder shares, “Every parent in the city who cares enough about their kid to make the investment in music lessons is a part of our story as well. Our teachers are the best. They’re the ones sitting in the classroom practicing their patience and investing in these kids. Loving on them, giving them encouragement and advice, and helping them grow as young people.”
Venues like WorkPlay, Iron City, Saturn, and of course Avondale have played huge roles in giving Magic City kids stages to play loud music on and boost their confidence. Saturday we get to celebrate all this magic that is happening at Mason Music.
Cover image provided by Mason Music Fest
