Tapestry

Local Music

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WBHM Interviews

August 9, 2007:

• A fearless Federal judge who left a legal legacy
• Meet the new Executive Director of the ASO
• Sounds Around Town
• Community Calendar
• Birmingham singer-songwriter Kelly Stewart

This Saturday, people from around the country will gather in Hayneville, Alabama to remember the life of seminarian Jonathan Daniels and others who were killed during the civil rights struggle in Alabama. That tumultuous decade from 1955 to 1965 might have had a different outcome were it not for the intervention of a young federal judge named Frank M. Johnson. Johnson was a native of Winston County, Alabama, a county that sided with the Union during the Civil War. He would take that contrarian's point of view with him to the bench where, in a series of land-mark cases, he helped dismantle the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation. Journalist Frank Sikora's book, The Judge, tells the story of Frank Johnson's life on the federal bench. I asked Sikora what Johnson meant to the civil rights movement in Alabama.

Interview with Frank Sikora

Frank Sikora's book, The Judge: The Life and Opinions of Alabama's Frank M. Johnson, Jr., has been updated and reprinted by New South Books.

Trey Devey is just 35, but already he's scored an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, consulted for Fortune 500 companies and managed symphony orchestras. Now, he brings that expertise to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra - as the new executive director. Devey tells WBHM's Michael Krall that after spending several years in the corporate world he wanted to return to managing orchestras -- but not just any orchestra.

Interview with Trey Devey

Occasionally on Tapestry we invite listeners to tell us about their favorite place in town and a piece of music that reminds them of it. We call it Sounds Around Town...

Sounds Around Town

If you have a favorite song that reminds you of a place here in Alabama, drop us an e-mail.

To hear the audio portion of the Community Calendar from Tapestry, click here.

Want to know more? Activeculture.info is a one-stop source for finding out what's going on in the Birmingham metro area.

Singer-songwriter Kelly Stewart is a self-taught guitarist and drummer. She grew up in Birmingham in a family of artists. Her mother was a choral singer and pianist - and imbued Kelly with a love of music. Her father, a mystery author, passed on his love of language. Both influences are apparent in her songwriting - which draws from folk, country, rock and choral music. This song is "Easy Lightening". (AUDIO MONTAGE) .

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott, Michael Krall and Hunter Bell. Islara Vazquez tracks community events and Robert Brooks provides production assistance. I'm Greg Bass, and we'll see you next week.