An exhibition on display at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries takes music lovers on a tour through some of the legendary locations of Athens’ house parties all in one spot.
The exhibition “House Party: Digging into House Show History in Athens” rifles through the abodes that hold a special place in the city’s music history. Photographs, fliers and even pieces of the buildings themselves set the stage.
The show spans the 1940s to the 2000s, with a nod to the 18th-century colonists who danced the minuet before fraternity and sorority parties began offering a stage for live band performances. Most of all, it features the most popular musical stomping grounds of the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s that launched the careers of R.E.M., the B-52’s, the Elephant 6 Collective, and more. Spots highlighted include the decommissioned church where Peter Buck and Michael Stipe lived as students when they began making music together in the legendary group R.E.M. and the Lounge at the Rivers Edge Apartments that became a home base for the Athens hip-hop scene.
The House Party exhibit will remain on display through mid-December in the Hargrett Gallery. The Special Collections Libraries Building is located on the University of Georgia campus in Athens and is open to visitors for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with extended evening hours until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.