Lee Bains III is coming to ALGA

I saw a post about an artist I love who’s coming to town but I had to do a double take. Is this for real? Is Lee Bains III really playing at ALGA Beer Company?

Then I remembered being in ALGA a while back and seeing a Bitter Southerner, “Abide No Hatred” flag up on the wall. I even took a photo.

I love the Bitter Southerner. If you’re not familiar, it’s kind of a modern literary magazine that aims to explore the complexities of the South and tear down stereotypes about the region and the people. And the place I truly fell in love with Bains was on the Bitter Southerner website. So now it all makes sense. ALGA and Bains are kindred spirits. But let me back up.

I first came across Lee Bains III through an alt-punk Tuscaloosa, Alabama based band he was in years ago called The Dexateens. I lived in Tuscaloosa for a while but they came along after my years there so It wasn’t until I heard of another Dexateens connection that I started to check them out.

In 2012, the former bass player for the Dexateens, Matt Patton, became the current bass player for one of my all-time favorite bands, the Drive-by Truckers. When Matt joined the Truckers, I read a little about his history with the Dexateens and when I searched I found this incredible video. 

That's Matt on bass. The guitarist in the plaid shirt in that video is Lee Bains III, who by the time I was discovering the Dexateens, had left and started his own band, Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires. So then I followed that thread and fell in love with them too. But it wasn’t until I read a story about Bains on the Bitter Southerner website and saw a video of him solo, on a porch, that I really appreciated him. One man, one guitar, so much power.

There’s an alt-southern-punk-rock feel to the sound and a Woody Guthrie meets Springsteen, everyman message to his lyrics. And man, what lyrics. (Bains has had poetry published in The New Yorker)

Consider the weeds downtown, and how they grow:

How the Queen Anne's Lace covers hot parking lots like snow.

Paris and New York don't have honeysuckle vines like the ones on 32nd Street.

I know that Birmingham gets you down, but look what it raised you up to be.

Those lyrics are from his song The Weeds Downtown. There’s so much love for Bains at ALGA, they have a beer named after the song.

According to the post ALGA made about the show, they've been trying to get him to come play for years and this year, “the stars aligned”. Thank you for your persistence ALGA. I can’t wait to kick back with a couple of those special beers and hear the man in person. Come join me, Saturday, September 14th 2024.