Capacity crowd expected for bicentennial celebration
The organizers of Tuscaloosa’s yearlong bicentennial celebrations expect a capacity crowd for the Saturday music festival.
“We are really excited about tomorrow (Saturday),” Mayor Walt Maddox said Friday.
The mayor recalled the dreams of city leaders eight years ago when the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater opened.
“Tomorrow (Saturday) was the day we were imagining,” Maddox said.
The Bicentennial Bash is free, and no tickets are required to attend the day of music and activities. The amphitheater can hold about 7,500, and there will also be a family zone on the western side with activities and rides. A large LED screen will simultaneous play footage of the acts on the stages.
The current forecast for the Tuscaloosa area predicts a chance of rain during the afternoon, with showers likely during the evening. The event will follow the typical weather procedures for the venue, according to organizers. Performances will go on rain or shine, except in the event of severe weather, which would be the city’s call on whether to continue the performances.
The bash is the latest event in a yearlong celebration of the 200th anniversary of the city’s founding. The celebration has monthly themes that began with history in January. March’s theme was civic involvement and women. April’s theme is culture and religion. Other themes include education, transportation, natural resources, veterans and the future.
“We are also excited about those things that are going to come,” said Shelley Jones, the chair of the bicentennial commission’s community engagement subcommittee.
Cathy Randall, one of the co-chairs of the bicentennial commission, praised the generosity of the corporate sponsors and participating organizations that made the free events of the bicentennial celebration possible.
Maddox noted the bash will occur on the riverbank of the Black Warrior, the waterway which played a foundational role in the city’s history.
“This has been a community-driven initiative. It reflects who we are,” Maddox said of the celebrations. “Tomorrow (Saturday) is a celebration of not only who we are but who we are going to be in the future.”
Here’s the schedule for the Bicentennial Bash:
• 1 p.m.: Gates and kids’ zone open
• 2p.m.: Lamont Landers Band, main stage. Blues-soul-rock-funk quartet out of Decatur.
• 2:30 p.m.: Jus Gruv, TTown 200 stage. R&B/Motown/Top 40 cover band from Tuscaloosa.
• 3 p.m.: Blind Boys of Alabama, main stage. Five-time Grammy-winning gospel group whose roots extend back to 1939, and an institute for the blind in Talladega.
• 3:45 p.m.: Early James and The Latest, TTown 200. Birmingham-based blues-folk-jazz acoustic duo.
• 4:15 p.m.: Moon Taxi, main stage. Indie-alt rock band out of Nashville, though it was founded by a pair of high-school pals from Vestavia. Moon Taxi’s cut five discs, performed on numerous late-night talk shows, with Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, Seth Myers and Jimmy Kimmel, and been featured on the Coachella, Hangout, Firefly and other music festivals.
• 5 p.m.: The Allen Tolbert Unit, TTown 200. Veteran bluegrass and jazz-infused jam-grass band from Birmingham.
• 5:30 p.m.: The Commodores (minus Lionel Richie), main stage. Funk-soul band formed around students at Tuskegee Institute (now University) in the early ’70s. Their dance hits include “Brick House,” “Too Hot Ta Trot,” “Fancy Dancer,” and “Lady (You Bring Me Up).” Though former lead singer Richie’s not out with them, the band still performs its ballad hits “Easy,” “Three Times a Lady” and “Nightshift.”
• 6:15 p.m.: Matt Jones, TTown 200. Tuscaloosa singer-songwriter with four albums of original work recorded.
• 6:45 p.m.: St. Paul & The Broken Bones, main stage. The Birmingham-based retro-soul band, lead by ecstatic belter frontman Paul Janeway, busted out in 2013 with an acclaimed EP “Greetings From St. Paul & the Broken Bones.” They’ve hit Tuscaloosa a number of times, from Green Bar to Druid City Music Hall, up to the Amphitheater, opening for Hall & Oates in 2017.
• 8 p.m.: Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, main. Green Hill native Isbell has won four Grammys, and after leaving Drive-by Truckers, scored back-to-back No. 1 solo albums in 2015′s “Something More Than Free” and 2017′s “The Nashville Sound.” Isbell’s played Tuscaloosa numerous times with the DbT, as a solo artist, and most recently performed at the Amphitheater in 2015.
• 9 p.m.: Fireworks.
Any necessary weather alerts will be broadcast throughout the venue, and through cell services via the Amphitheater app.
For more on policies and prohibited items, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com. To learn more about the year’s other bicentennial events, see www.tuscaloosa200.com.
