Flames Fest 2016

Main Street Toccoa will be honoring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group The Famous Flames with a four week event called “Flames Fest.” The original Famous Flames, Bobby Byrd, Nafloyd Scott, Nash Knox, Johnny Terry and Sylvester Keels, were all from the Toccoa area. In the early 1950’s, James Brown joined the group, which had started as a gospel group and later became the Famous Flames. They performed as a group from 1953 – 1968. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 14, 2012.

The first concert of the series will be on February 11 and will feature one of Toccoa’s own, Milkshake Mayfield. In 1980, Milkshake formed the Milkshake Quintet (MSQ), known for its distinctively smooth and silky contemporary and straight ahead jazz, with a taste of bebop and funk.  His debut CD entitled “In My Time” was released in 2002, and he is currently working on his Gospel/Jazz and holiday CDs, that will feature the soulfully soothing vocals of his lovely and talented wife, Christine (Tine), MSQ’s featured vocalist. The concert will be on February 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Schaefer Center. Admission is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Toccoa Chamber of Commerce and at City Hall.

The second event will be on Saturday, February 20 at 3:00 p.m. at the Schaefer Center. St. Matheus Episcopal Church will be sponsoring the movie, “Selma.”  The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. There is no admission fee for the movie and it will begin at 3:00 p.m. Before the movie, there will be a Lunch With Legends event at Shirley's Sole Food (124 West Currahee Street) beginning at 12 p.m. Stephens County residents will be sharing about what it was like in Toccoa and Stephens County during the Civil Rights Movement.  

On Saturday, February 27, the Still Waters Youth Sinfo-Nia of Metropolitan Atlanta will perform at 7:00 p.m. at the Schaefer Center. The orchestra is celebrating 25 years of instructing thousands of young talented instrumental and dance students, as well as providing over 400 performances locally, nationally and internationally. Sinfo-Nia is under the artistic direction of David E. Robinson, III, a 5th generation, 32-year string teacher of the DeKalb County School System. Sinfo-Nia performs various types of music, most of which are arranged by David himself. “Still Waters” symbolizes the works of the world’s greatest black composers being under-represented and under-recognized like buried treasure beneath the sea of waters in a distant ocean. A “sinfonia” is a short symphonic work or a small orchestra that intimately offers a variety of music to be enjoyed by any audience. Therefore Still Waters Youth Sinfo-Nia is a tribute to rare works by black composers such as William Grant Still.

Sinfo-Nia’s fundamental purpose is to give talented, young artists an opportunity to perform a variety of multicultural productions, become more proficient musicians, travel, meet other young artisans, prepare to earn college scholarships, and consider careers in the music/dance industry. The Orchestra has its own dance company that offers instruction in ballet, modern, tap, jazz, African and hip-hop styles.

The concert will be on February 27, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Schaefer Center. Admission is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Toccoa Chamber of Commerce and at City Hall.

The final concert of The Flames Fest will be on Thursday, March 3, and will feature Francine Reed. Reed is an American blues singer, solo artist, and regular singing partner of Lyle Lovett since the 1980s and member of Lovett's Large Band. Reed has also recorded duets with Willie Nelson and Delbert McClinton and others. She was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in October 2014. She is well known as the one who sings Ida Cox’s song, “Wild Women Don’t Sing the Blues.” Her new CD was released in November, 2015.

The concert will be on March 3, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Schaefer Center. Admission is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Toccoa Chamber of Commerce and at City Hall. The concert is sponsored in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.  GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.