Do you have old recordings, programs, or posters from local musical groups and events?
Help Preserve Elmore County Music History at The Southern Music Research Center’s Community Archiving Day — Saturday, May 3, at The Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts! We’ll digitize and return your music artifacts — including personal and family photos, programs, flyers, and recordings — and include them in a public online archive devoted to the musical heritage of this region.
Maybe you have some old photos, a scrapbook in the attic, or home recordings that reflect the music of your family or community. Maybe a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt played piano, banjo, harmonica, or horn, taught music, or sang in the choir. Maybe you’ve got a stash of posters from a long-gone, beloved venue, or clippings chronicling a favorite local band. We would love to help preserve your musical artifacts, whether that’s a single photo or a thick collection of materials. You’ll keep your original items, we’ll provide you a digital copy, and together we’ll create a lasting document of the River Region’s music.
We’re interested in all genres and all eras: marching bands, church choirs, hip hop, bluegrass, classical music, campfire singalongs, punk rock, gospel, big bands, country, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, shape note singing, front porch and backyard jam sessions, and more. Our mission is to document the musical experiences of ordinary Alabamans, reflecting the ways music shapes all our lives — but we need your help to tell the full story.
SMRC staff will be at the Kelly from 10 to 3 on Saturday, May 3, ready to scan and return your items. We’ll also have a station set up to record brief oral histories if you’ve got a music story to share. Note that some oversized items and recording formats may not be able to be digitized on site at the event, but we’ll work with you to find the best solution for preserving that material, too.
Questions? Email [email protected] or call (205) 335-5608. To explore our archive, visit at www.southernmusicresearch.org.
301 Hill Street,
Wetumpka, AL 36092
P.O. Box 641
Wetumpka, AL 36092
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