Best Atlanta Legacy Act

Few groups can claim to have not only left a profound mark on the local music scene that spawned them, but also to have altered the DNA of indie culture at large. BLACK LIPS is one of those rare bands. On the heels of 2005’s Let It Bloom (In the Red), and later signing with Vice Records to release 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil, the group provided a soundtrack to Vice’s late-aughts stranglehold on hipster culture. The group never seems to stop touring, spreading Southern garage rock riffage like rock ’n’ roll missionaries. Black Lips is one of the few bands that has toured through Iraq and been chased out of India, all while turning out albums that push the group’s sound forward. With the arrival of 2014’s critically acclaimed album Underneath the Rainbow and concurrent world tour, the group continues to further its garage rock legacy. As the scene at Atlanta’s ground level has continued evolving, Let It Bloom has become an American underground classic. And whenever a Black Lips show happens on the band’s home turf, it’s still a night to remember. www.black-lips.com. less...