Vulcan 
AfterTunes 2010
Cool Tunes. Fresh Brews. Sweet Views.
Sundays this Fall at 3:00 pm
September 19th, October 3rd and October 17th
Price: $10 General Admission; $5 Vulcan Members; $4 Ages 5 -12; FREE for Children 4 and under!
This fall, enjoy cool tunes, fresh brews and sweet views on Sunday afternoons with your favorite cast iron statue, Vulcan. Vulcan AfterTunes is a three-part concert series featuring local and national singer/songwriter acts. Chill out in Birmingham’s backyard and end your week with friends and family (of all ages) while listening to some of the area’s best music. Admission is charged. Ticket price includes admission to Vulcan's Observation Balcony and Museum.
Event FAQs
1. Where can I buy tickets for Vulcan AfterTunes?
Advanced tickets and series passes are available online ONLY and for a limited time! Click the button above to purchase now. Tickets are also available at the gate on the day of each concert. All tickets are general admission and first-come, first-served. ALL SALES FINAL. No refunds, rain checks, or exchanges. Gates open at 1:00 p.m.
2. Will there be food and drinks available?
Yes. MAFIAoZa's select menu items will be availlable for purchase during each concert. Drinks will also be available for purchase (water, soft drinks, beer and wine.)
3. Can I bring my own alcohol?
No. Outside alcohol may not be brought in. All coolers brought onto the park grounds will be checked for alcohol.
4. Should I bring blankets and/or a chair?
Yes. Blankets and lawn chairs are strongly encouraged. Seating is on the park grounds and is first-come, first-served. Gates open at 1:00 p.m.
5. Are pets allowed?
No. For safety reasons, pets are not allowed on the park grounds during Vulcan AfterTunes.
6. Is there parking and/or shuttles available?
Vulcan Park and Museum provides FREE parking to its visitors everyday, however, our parking is very limited. Once our parking lots are at capacity, there will be a free shuttle service available in the Jefferson County Board of Education parking lot across the street from Vulcan Park and Museum’s main entrance. All parking is FREE.
7. I am driving in from out of town. Where can I find information on nearby restaurants and hotels?
The Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau will be helpful in planning your visit.
Vulcan Park and Museum is a smoke free environment. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at info@visitvulcan.com. We look forward to seeing you soon at Vulcan AfterTunes!
Sunday, September 19th
Mike Doughty
Fresh Brews from Magic Hat Brewing Company
Mike Doughty is an indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist. His best known songs include "Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well" and "I Hear the Bells", both of which were featured on American television shows. Some of his other well known songs include "27 Jennifers" (from the album Golden Delicious), "Busting up a Starbucks", and "(You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)".
Doughty maintains a widely read blog that chronicles his unique shows, international travels, and creative endeavors. He’s currently writing a memoir, recording an electronic album entitled Dubious Luxury, and working on a photo book about Eritrea’s capital city of Asmara, for Yeti Books. He also recently published a play, Ray Slape is Dead, in 24 by 24: The 24 Hour Plays Anthology, alongside Terrence McNally and Theresa Rebeck.
But for now, Doughty is looking forward to a fall ‘09 “Question Jar” tour with his friend Scrap and releasing Sad Man Happy Man. “Basically I’m trying to make stuff I want to listen to,” he says of the album. “And I mean that in a literal sense, not like, “Were I a listener, I would like this,” but rather something I can listen to on the subway on headphones and really dig. This is my life, this is what I do. That sounds matter-of-fact, but I really do look at it as a sort of calling — and being an artist at its best is selfless. I’m working for the language, I’m working for the music, I’m working for the songs. I’m a happier guy when I’m conscious of that.”
Sunday, October 3rd
Tift Merritt
Fresh Brews from Boulevard Brewing Company
Songstress Tift Merritt is a North Carolina native. Her father taught her guitar chords and Percy Sledge songs. With her longtime band, she has built a unique and critically acclaimed body of work of sonic short stories and poignant performances.
In her early twenties, though Tift had gigged by herself, she decided she was not very good at music and better suited for writing short stories. She and her dog Lucy started school at UNC to study creative writing. There, she met Zeke Hutchins, whose band had just taken a haitus and who had decided to become a school teacher. With his encouragement and a big box of LPs from the 70’s that they both liked, they started a band. Zeke set drums up in the kitchen of Tift’s farmhouse on the outskirts of town, and they practiced songs at her red piano. The Carbines played Chapel Hill haunts like the Cave, the Cat’s Cradle, and the front porch of the General Store in Bynum, NC. Tift also made a guest appearance on the Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt EP. In 2000, Tift won Merlefest’s Chris Austin Songwriting contest, and with the help of Ryan Adams, found herself with a manager and a recording contract with Lost Highway records. The band headed to LA to record her first release, Bramble Rose, in 2002, produced by Ethan Johns. The record landed on Time Magazine’s and New Yorker’s top ten lists and was called the best debut of the year in any genre by the Associated Press. Tambourine followed in 2004. Produced by George Drakoulias, featuring Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers on guitar, Tambourine was a soul-rock throw down, Grammy-nominated for Country Album of the Year, even though it was really not a country album. It was also nominated for three Americana Music Awards. The tour opened for Elvis Costello, recorded Austin City Limits, releasing the performance as a live DVD, and made Home Is Loud, a document of the tour’s homecoming concert in Raleigh, NC. As the tour was winding down, Tift ran away to Paris looking for her mojo and, without intending to, started writing songs that would become Another Country. Another Country was released on Fantasy Records in 2008, again with George Drakoulias and her longtime band at the helm. Buckingham Solo, recorded in England, is an intimate concert behind Another Country, released on Fantasy in April 2009. Also in 2009, Tift had her first art exhibit, Other Countries, bringing the journals and pictures behind Another Country to light. Tift’s latest release, See You On The Moon, produced by Tucker Martine, is her most visceral work to date, and finds her doing what she does best more directly – and better – than she ever has.
Sunday, October 17th
Joe Ely
Fresh Brews from Terrapin Beer Company
Joe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist from Amarillo, Texas whose music touches on honky-tonk, country and rock and roll. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo, Los Super Seven, The Clancy Brothers and James McMurtry in addition to his early work with The Clash and more recent acoustic tours with Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Guy Clark.
In February 2007, Ely released Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch on his own label, Rack 'Em Records. Ely said in an interview with Country Standard Time that he thought it would be easier to release the material on his own label instead of dealing with a regular record label and their release cycles. A book of Ely's writings, Bonfire of Roadmaps, was published in early 2007 by the University of Texas Press. In early 2008, Ely released a new live album featuring Joel Guzman on accordion recorded at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas late 2006.
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