The 2017-2018 school year was one for the books. The Tuscaloosa and UA communities flourished in terms of art, theatre, music and film, and The Crimson White’s culture desk was on the ground reporting it all. Students produced their very own dance film festival, musicians sparked a campus jam band movement, one student racked up 90,000 followers on Instagram and local breweries stunned with compelling ales, hops and stouts. Tuscaloosa, and neighboring Birmingham, were certainly landscapes for creativity. Below are our favorite stories from the year that are representative of that creativity and show the best of Tuscaloosa arts and entertainment. Read below to experience a handful of what we at culture desk covered this year.
Margaret Atwood returns to Tuscaloosa
Two episodes of the second season of the popular Hulu original “The Handmaid’s Tale” premiered this week, but before the story was bumped to television fame, it was a book by author Margaret Atwood. Last fall, staff reporter Serena Bailey covered Atwood’s speech and Q&A hosted for the English department’s Visiting Writer’s Series. In 1985, Atwood served as the Honorary Chair of the Master of Fine Arts program at the University. She returned to Tuscaloosa in September to the tune of a sold-out crowd.
For students in Tuscaloosa, National Championship a night to remember
Monday, January 9 was one night few students will forget. As the Crimson Tide rolled to a 17 national title in Atlanta, students and fans flooded the streets of Tuscaloosa in a frenzy of joyous mayhem. Staff reporter Caroline Smith was there to see it all, and she interviewed students about the crowds and craziness of National Championship night on the Strip. Smith wrote: “Friends or strangers, everyone out celebrating came together in jubilee.”
Green Bar an expanding niche for original music
Staff reporter Katie Huff wrote this feature about the changing scene at local music venue Green Bar. Once a relaxing hub for micro-touring bands, Green Bar has become a mainstay in the Tuscaloosa music scene. Local and regional bands like Ice Station Zebra and Space Phunk Express are playing and supporting bands at Green Bar at an almost weekly rate. UA junior and guitarist Carter Lockwood of Space Phunk is at the helm of the growing jam band scene. Read more from this feature to learn about Green Bar’s new management and its nurturing environment for growing bands.
Left Hand Soap Co. settles into new downtown location
Left Hand Soap Co. has been a popular local staple for almost 20 years. This spring, owners abandoned their original production space for a brick-and-mortar on University Boulevard. Once briefly the home of T-Town Market, an upscale convenience store, the location now welcomes consumers to the cozy soap shop selling Left Hand’s beloved, natural products. “We couldn’t imagine it would fit as perfectly as it does,” owner Soapy Jones said.
Following Las Vegas, country musicians struggle to find their free speech footing
The nation was floored after the massive shooting in Las Vegas last September. The country music community was left especially raw and confused, wondering where the fate of live music and the country family lies. When the Country Music Awards attempted to prohibit the media from asking artists about Las Vegas, the community fought back. The CMA’s actions are representative of the often right-leaning bias that runs deep in the country community. This piece detailed artists’ unrest about sharing political opinions with the public and fans’ reactions.
Student production class makes video for local singer
UA student Lanecha Turner is a vocal powerhouse. When students in the University’s only multi-camera production class needed a subject for a music video, Turner went to bat. Film students worked with the singer to create an audition tape for Turner’s application to the vocal program at Florida State. “This is actually my first time in front of a camera doing a studio set and not in a lab recording studio, so I enjoyed being able to see myself actually perform and how I looked or what I did,” Turner said.
