The Honor Roll

From - The Flagpole

Saturday, June 16 @ Tasty World

Downtown Athens isn't particularly friendly to music fans under the age of 18, but with the CD release show for its debut self-titled EP, local emo band The Honor Roll's looking to remedy that shortcoming by catering to the under-represented with an early
Caged Juliet Photography

all-ages show.

"Honestly, especially in our genre, we have a lot of younger fans," says Honor Roll vocalist Donny Roll via email, "and it's not fair to them not to be able to see us since they aren't old enough to drink. Bottom line, Athens is a college/ party town, so clubs NEED to sell alcohol to make money. [I'm] not saying that's a bad thing, 'cause God knows we love to party just as much as the next band. But there are also [high school-age] kids around here who never get a chance to play at places downtown… I think an all-ages venue with high-school street teams would do well here."

Allison Weiss, also on the bill with her backing band The Bandits, agrees. "High-school kids are some of the most dedicated fans a band could ever have," she says. "They'll come to every show and cheer you on with no shame. Athens is a college town, so I think it's just assumed that the majority of people attending shows will be of-age. And that's probably true. But I wish there were more opportunities to play all-ages shows like this. I've got a lot of fans who would be willing to drive over an hour to come to a show, but they can't even get into the venues, so they don't bother."

Today's all-ages show costs $6 and starts early, at 5 p.m., with the bands wrapping up by 8:30 p.m. in time for a later show. And take note, show-goers - it's a no-alcohol show, so even if you're over 21, you won't be able to get a drink; the intoxicating effects of youthful enthusiasm will have to do.

Chris Hassiotis

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