35 years later, Georgia's own B-52s are still going strong
Almost 35 years after the B-52s formed, the seemingly ageless group is still kicking it. Openly gay Keith Strickland and his fellow B-52s colleagues Fred Schneider (also gay), Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson will perform at Chastain Park next week alongside Blondie, combining classics hits such as “Love Shack” with newer material.
Although the band still tours regularly, they decided a few years back to do a new album.
“I think the idea was to come up with ideas to sing live,” says Strickland. “We needed new material and just decided to do it.”
Lesbian rocker Melissa Etheridge performs tonight at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center
Melissa Etheridge’s list of accomplishments is long even for a celebrity: In the 22 years since her first major label album debuted, she’s released 10 studio records, come out as a lesbian, won two Grammys and an Oscar, become the mother of four children, survived breast cancer, and been an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights, environmental awareness and other issues.
But the rocker, 49, isn’t slowing down. In April, she released her 10th album, “Fearless Love,” followed by a tour that brings her to Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on July 23.
“I love Atlanta. It’s always a great place to play — this mecca in the middle of the South,” Etheridge says in a July 5 interview from New York City, where she enjoyed July 4 fireworks the night before.
Georgia native David Carter is the author of “Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution,” the meticulously researched 2004 book on which the film “Stonewall Uprising” is based.
As this weekend marks 41 years since Stonewall, and 40 years since the first Gay Pride celebrations, we caught up with Carter — who now lives in New York City — to discuss his role in making the film, the myths that still surround the riots, and what we can still learn from Stonewall today.
'NCIS' actress Pauley Perrette appeared at the Atlanta Film Festival last night.