Meet SoulGrown writer, Sara! Sara Watkins is SoulGrown’s expert on North Alabama’s newest and best. Residing in the region, Sara writes from a heart connected to her community. She is always in-the-know of local stories that deserve statewide awareness and brings them to our readers through her witty and clever way with words! Here are 10 fun facts about Sara:

Each June, we celebrate Pride Month to commemorate those involved with the Stonewall Riots, celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, and promote equality and acceptance in our country. Throughout the month, organizations, groups, and communities in Alabama are hosting events to celebrate. From trivia nights to drag shows, here are 15 events to attend this month.

If a high note breaks your beer glass, it’s not the alcohol singing—it’s Opera Shots. Far from the stodgy image of the large woman in a Viking helmet, this progressive opera company takes opera to the street, the bar, and the brewery. Opera Birmingham showcases its singers before unsuspecting audiences who get a sip of culture along with their cocktail.

When summertime rolls around, it’s all about America’s pastime. In Birmingham, most associate baseball season with Regions Field, the downtown home field of minor league team the Birmingham Barons. However, just a few miles down the road is another baseball park with more than a century of history as Birmingham’s baseball hub. Built in 1910, Rickwood Field is a huge part of the city’s history and remains an active part of the community today. Here are 5 things you didn’t know about Birmingham’s Rickwood Field.

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the Hangout Music Fest is making its triumphant return this weekend from May 20–22. The annual three-day music festival has been held on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama since 2010. Every year, thousands of music lovers from across the country (and even the world!), flock to Alabama to see their favorite artists perform in a truly one-of-a-kind atmosphere. The entire affair is essentially a giant beach party hosted by top musical performers. I mean, where else can you see Grammy award-winning artists play their top hits while you’ve got your feet in the sand and a clear view of the blue-green ocean? Here are three things not to miss if you’re lucky enough to be headed to Hangout this year. 

Long thought of as a hotbed for only collegiate sports, the state of Alabama in recent years has proven that there’s a lot more to see when it comes to athletics than the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers. In addition to minor league baseball teams in cities like Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery, the Magic City is making some big moves in the world of sports, in large part thanks to the opening of the new Protective Stadium downtown. With the World Games making its debut in Birmingham later this summer from July 7–17, it’s shaping up to be a hot summer for sports in Alabama. Though the World Games events last just 10 days, Alabama’s many minor league and semi-professional sports team offer a sport for every season. Get to know your home teams below!

Let’s get to know SoulGrown’s new CEO a little better, shall we?

When Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit take the stage in Huntsville on May 13, it will be an extra special homecoming for the band. Their performance, along with those of other Alabama artists Brittany Howard, Drive-by Truckers, Emmylou Harris, John Paul White, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and Mavis Staples is part of the First Waltz, a grand opening weekend-long event for the city’s new state-of-the-art music and event venue Orion Amphitheater. The venue, developed by Mumford and Sons’ band member and owner of entertainment and hospitality group Venue Group Ben Lovett, will usher the beginning of a new era for the city’s growing music scene. 

Lilly Hart’s junior year of high school was supposed to be the busiest time of her life. During the spring of 2020, the high schooler from Lilburn, Georgia was set to travel to several cities as part of her school’s basketball team, play in the golf state championship, and finish the year with a 4.0 GPA. All that changed when March rolled around, and COVID-19 turned everything upside down. Never one to sit still, Hart immediately pivoted and began exploring another passion of hers: music. “I had written before but this time I took it seriously,” she says. “I started to set goals and one of those goals was to release a song on all platforms. It was a hard process to navigate but I ended up reaching that goal when ‘Love is Addiction’ came out in the fall of 2020. After I released one, I kept writing and setting goals.”

Oscar-winning filmmaker, musician, producer and composer, Questlove, took a meaningful approach to the year’s theme of “Gilded Glamour” by “representing for African-Americans in this country.” Questlove explained in an interview with Vogue that “because the Gilded period is a little bit different for our story… I wanted to highlight Black women who have sacrificed for the country. So I’m rockin’ their quilt right now.”

The Agriculture Adventure Trail encourages the public to engage with local agricultural businesses in a fun and educational way. You’ll find all kinds of cool things to do on the Agriculture Adventures Trail: hands-on farms, orchards, farmer’s markets, made-on-the-farm products, farms with animals, U-pick farms, vineyards & wineries, farm-to-table dining, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, living history farms, farm festivals, and so much more!

Here are 4 highlights from the 35 stops along the Agriculture Adventures Trail.

Five porches on Pratt Avenue in Five Points Historic District will host musicians from Huntsville, Nashville and the Shoals. Bring a blanket, chair and cooler to enjoy a unique evening of music.

The Alabama Symphony Orchestra began with a group of volunteer musicians in 1921. Over the last 100 years, a small volunteer ensemble transformed into the state’s only full-time professional orchestra. In addition to the 54 talented musicians—saxophonists, flutists, harpists, trombonists, and more—who bring the Alabama Symphony Orchestra to life, the ensemble is often accompanied by the ASO Chorus. 

Green beer, Irish whiskey, and drinks like the unfortunately named Irish Car Bomb will drench St. Patrick’s Day parties across Alabama and the United States this month.

If you can’t make the pilgrimage to Ireland or see Chicago’s famous green river for St. Patrick’s Day, then celebrating at one of Alabama’s many parades or events is your next best bet. This year’s holiday falls on a Thursday, so celebrations across the state span the week before and after. Whether you want to grab a pint of Guinness and dance an Irish jig, or get dressed in head-to-toe green and march in a parade, there are plenty of ways to find your pot of gold (and maybe even a bit of luck!) this St. Patrick’s Day. 

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In Anniston, located an hour east of Birmingham, you can learn all about the Freedom Riders’ harrowing journey as they protested segregated bus seating. On May 14, 1961, seven members of the Congress of Racial Equality boarded a Greyhound bus in Atlanta on its way to Birmingham.

The Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association has created a new podcast all about north Alabama. The Unexpected Adventures in North Alabama podcast spotlights everything that makes the Mountain Lakes region so special. From the well known to the unknown, it’s all there, just a listen away.

In 2015, friends and college students Melvin Griffin, Lauren Williams, and Pelatiah Ishmael “I$H” Morgan, started a radio show on UAB’s student-run station Blaze Radio. Every week, they’d get together to talk all things hip-hop, from new music releases to their opinions on artists. Their passion for music was evident, but that passion grew to new heights once they shifted their focus from mainstream artists to local up-and-comers. When that passion outsized their humble college radio show, the three friends created The Kickback, a creative collective that promotes local talent through music showcases featuring local and regional rappers, R&B singers, and hip-hop artists. Their organization also supports other creatives through regular art exhibitions, pop-up shops, and events for local artists and makers.  

When people think of America’s most notable music cities, several Southern cities come to mind. There’s New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz; Memphis, where rock ‘n’ roll got its start; and Nashville, our nation’s country music capital. But there’s one more place that should be added to the list of legendary music towns, and it’s Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Located in North Alabama, the Florence-Muscle Shoals metropolitan area includes Florence, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, and Sheffield. Together, the four cities make up The Shoals, an area with rich music traditions dating to the 1960s and extending into present day. 

When it comes to ringing in the new year, Alabama may not have a giant ball drop or thousands of people crowding into Times Square, but we certainly know how to celebrate. With parties and events happening across the state, from the Magic City to the Rocket City, the shores of the Gulf and beyond, here are the best ways to usher in 2022 in Alabama.