A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity saw Australian musician Lucie Tiger granted an 'All Access' pass to the 100th anniversary concert of the legendary music city of Muscle Shoals. A frequent visitor to the Shoals, Lucie has forged firm friendships with musicians in the city, all of whom played at the concert which saw an audience of 7,000 enjoy ten hours of live music that showcased music created in Muscle Shoals. 

The 100th anniversary concert on April 22, 2023, featured an array of prominent artists and session musicians playing songs that became famous after being recorded in the city. The event was imbued with magic from the ‘singing river’ which runs through the Shoals, and it reflected the spirit of Muscle Shoals, where music underpins the strong sense of camaraderie that flows throughout the city.  

Muscle Shoals, where legend says the Yuchie Tribe called the Tennessee River ‘the singing river’ because the flowing waters sounded like a woman singing, became renowned as a music mecca shortly after producer Rick Hall established the Florence Alabama Music Enterprises (F.A.M.E.) recording studio. Hall’s first hit song, Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On", provided the funds to build the current facility on East Avalon Avenue, Muscle Shoals in 1963. Hall went on to produce an astonishing catalogue of hits, thanks in large part to the legendary Swampers, the talented session musicians that constituted the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section: Jimmy Johnson, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Norbert Putnam, and David Hood. The Swampers were ably assisted by the Muscle Shoals Horns including Harrison Calloway Jr., Ronnie Eades, Harvey Thompson, and Charles Rose. 

Over time, other studios were established in the Shoals including the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio (founded by the first generation of Swampers), East Avalon Recording Studio (owned by Charles Holloman who recently established the Church of Sound), Widget Studio (part owned by Dave Cobb), Clayton Ivey's Wishbone Studio, Michael Shane Wright's Ivy Manor Studio, Cypress Moon Studio, and Jimmy Nutt's Nutthouse Studio. 

The cool thing about the Swampers is not only their expert musicianship but their numbers evolved over time. New session musicians began to sit in, including Clayton Ivey, Bob Wray, Kelvin Holly, Travis Wammack, and Will McFarlane, and eventually a younger cohort including Justin Holder, Brad Kuhn, Evan Lane among others. The Swampers are an evolving phenomenon that continues to entice artists to record in this legendary town.

Musicians are an integral part of Muscle Shoals fame and in turn, the city has played a key role in the fame of many artists. Aretha Franklin - who cut her first hit at FAME Studio - went on to record more songs with the Swampers including ‘Respect’. Check out this article in The Guardian. Duane Allman is said to have camped out in the carpark at FAME before becoming a session musician at the studio and later forming the Allman Brothers. Etta, James, Wilson Pickett, Cher, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones, Boz Scaggs, Bob Seger, Tony Joe White, Candi Staton, Rod Stewart, Bobbie Womack, Mavis Staples, Helen Reddy and Alicia Keys are just some of the artists who have cut hit songs and iconic albums in the Shoals in the past. 

More recently, Jason Isbell was a songwriter at FAME before joining the Drive-By Truckers and later forming the 400 Unit and winning a Grammy along with Amanda Shires, John Paul White (of the Grammy award-winning duo the Civil Wars) lives and records in the Shoals along with the LeBlanc family (Angela Hacker, James LeBlanc, Dylan LeBlanc, Bay Simpson), Gary Nichols (who replaced Chris Stapleton in the Steel Drivers and won a Grammy in 2017), Austin Bohannon, and Caleb Elliott. The Black Keys recorded their 6th album in the Shoals and Chris Stapleton recorded his Grammy-winning single ‘Cold’ at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 2018. Aside from Americans, a host of songwriters and musicians record in the Shoals including several Australians such as Mia Dyson, Lucie Tiger and Murray Cook's Soul Movers. Incidentally, 2023 also marks the 60th anniversary of FAME's studio on East Avalon Avenue which is now run by Hall's widow Linda Hall and one of his sons Rodney Hall.

The 100th anniversary concert coincided with the 10th anniversary screening of the Muscle Shoals documentary by Magnolia Pictures on Friday April 21, 2023. The evening started with cocktails at the GunRunner bar with the film-makers followed by the screening of the documentary at the historic Shoals Theatre. The after-party at Pickett on Court featured live music played by some of the best musicians in town including Kelvin Holly, Gary Nichols, Will McFarlane plus Jerry Phillips, son of legendary Sam Phillips who was born in the Shoals and founder of Sun Records in Memphis. A guitarist, producer, singer and songwriter, Jerry Phillips and his daughter Halley Phillips own Big River Broadcasting in the Shoals and the radio stations WXFL-FM KIX96 and WQLT-FM. The night was highly memorable with excellent live music, impromptu jam sessions, dancing and maybe a little moonshine.  

Magnolia Pictures promo for the documentary: Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama has helped create some of the most important and resonant songs of all time. Overcoming crushing poverty and staggering tragedies, Rick Hall brought black and white together to create music for the generations. He is responsible for creating the “Muscle Shoals sound” and The Swampers, the house band at FAME Studios that eventually left to start its own successful studio known as Muscle Shoals Sound. Gregg Allman and others bear witness to Muscle Shoals’ magnetism, mystery and why it remains influential today.

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