The Tuscaloosa bar scene thrives on local musicians, and one contributor to this is singer-songwriter Sean Rivers. As with many musicians, Sean Rivers got his start in church choir. He would secretly write songs and hide the lyrics in his closet. It wasn’t until college that he taught himself to play guitar and booked his first gig.
His first show was given to him by his friend and then-manager of The Jupiter Bar, Jeremiah Jones. Jones, now owner of The Jupiter Bar, said Rivers was very persistent in inquiring about opportunities to perform.
“He told me that if I could get a decent crowd, he would book me every week,” Rivers said. “We had over 100 friends show up and eventually became a staple of the Tuscaloosa bar scene.”
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Rivers started to see a consistently positive turnout for his shows. Now, Rivers said, audiences can expect energy, captivation and four sweaty dudes.
“We like for our audience to feel like they are all at an epic house party with all of their best friends,” he said.
Their target audience is generally college students, so Rivers said he feels Rounders is a good fit for them, but they do not cater only to college students. Rivers’ goal is to play music someone will enjoy listening to, regardless of age. Rivers said one of his favorite parts about performing live is looking in the crowd and seeing people singing his original songs back to him.
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“That’s a pretty amazing feeling. The first time that ever happened was probably my proudest moment in music,” he said. “Looking out and seeing people who are ultimately strangers singing the words to songs that you wrote is your ultimate favorite moment as a performer.”
In the future, Rivers hopes to complete his degree from The University of Alabama and continue playing music.
“This school means the world to me, and I would love to get my degree from here,” Rivers said. “But music eventually took over, became my main goal, stayed my main goal and will be my main goal until the Lord takes me home.”
Sean Rivers will play Rounders Bar on the Strip on Saturday night.
(See also “Rockin’ the Haus: Local artists create underground music scene“)
