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The W.C. Handy Music Festival is an annual ten day series of events held in the Northwestern part of Alabama.  This area is famously referred to as The Shoals, or Muscle Shoals, or “The Hit Recording Capitol of the World”.  The Festival was named after William Christopher Handy, born in 1873 in the Shoals city of Florence, Alabama.  Handy became known as “Father of the Blues” and was the first to present that genre to the world in the form of sheet music.  The Festival has been endorsed by the family of Mr. Handy, who have participated several times through the years, and who still operates Handy Brothers Music in New York.  Handy’s music has been featured world wide, and his influence on modern music is unparalleled.  The W.C. Handy Music Festival is scheduled each year around the last full week of July.

The W.C. Handy Festival has been presented since 1982 by the Music Preservation Society (MPS), Inc.  The first Handy Festival was a long weekend of music featuring Dizzy Gillespie as the headliner artist, and was presented with the help and encouragement of Willie Ruff, a professional musician born in Sheffield, Alabama.  Since then, the Handy Festival has evolved from a long weekend into a ten-day annual celebration of approximately 300 events at locations throughout the Shoals.   Music isn’t the only entertainment to be found at the Festival. The schedule is a mosaic of diverse events that offers something for everyone, including music, art exhibits, theatre, educational programs, a Music Camp, car shows, and recreational and sports activities.  Handy Festival athletic events vary but typically include the Century Bike Ride (ranked as one of the top five in the U.S.), a 5K run, 1 mile run and walk, and sometimes fishing tournament, golf tournaments, swimming, tennis, and volleyball matches as well.  As a multi-disciplinary arts event, the Festival also includes “Determined,” a play about the life of W.C. Handy. The Festival also sponsors mini-concerts in a dozen area nursing homes. 

The W.C. Handy Music Festival has hosted a wide variety of headliners including the aforementioned Dizzy Gillespie, Ellis Marsalis, Diane Schuur, Nancy Wilson, Ramsey Lewis, Bobby Blue Bland, Roy Ayers, Roberta Flack, Manhattan Transfer, Phil Woods Quintet, Billy Taylor Trio, Take 6, Mac McAnally, and The Great Guitars, among many others.  However in keeping with MPS’s mission, which is to present, preserve, and promote the music of the Shoals, the Handy Festival offers a mix of local, regional, and nationally recognized musicians.  The Shoals has produced and attracted talented and internationally lauded industry professionals, and forms the base point of a musical triangle that extends from Memphis to Nashville and back.

MPS and the Handy Festival committee often partner with other organizations, including the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Alabama Tourism, Alabama Folklife, and the Muscle Shoals Music Association to produce events that will bring together professional musicians, artists, publishers, writers, producers, engineers, and management related to the industry.  MPS is under contract with the University of North Alabama (administrators of the ALDOT project grants) to develop the Roots of American Music Trail.  In 2011, MPS will work with the Smithsonian Institution to present programming related to W.C. Handy's influence on music and musicians of the 20th Century.  Both the Music Preservation Society and the W.C. Handy Festival Committee extend its appreciation to the family of William Christopher Handy for its support of the W.C. Handy Music Festival.

2011 FESTIVAL HEADLINER
Rocking The Blues Concert: Drive-By Truckers
Special Guests The Decoys with Donnie Fritts and Spooner Oldham

The Music Preservation Society in partnership with Alabama Folklife Association presents the 2011 W.C. Handy Music Festival Headliner concert, featuring Drive-By Truckers and special guests, The Decoys with Donnie Fritts and Spooner Oldham. The concert will be held at Norton Auditorium on the University of North Alabama campus Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m.  Tori Bailey, Chair of the W.C. Handy Music Festival, stated, “Handy Festival organizers are excited about our partnership with Alabama Folklife Association.  Together, the two organizations will present a series of events on the final Saturday of the Festival titled ‘Rocking the Blues:  The Story of Rock in The Shoals,’ which will culminate with the headliner concert featuring several Shoals musical icons.  This is a perfect way to cap our 30th Handy Festival and to celebrate Alabama's Year of Music here in the Shoals.”

As part of a day long look at the Muscle Shoals music legacy on July 30, a series of free events will take place at the Guillot Performance Center at the University of North Alabama beginning with a 1 p.m. lecture by Peter Gurlanick, The Revolution that Started in Florence Alabama. Continuing at 2:30 p.m. a panel discussion, Passing Down the Shoals coordinated by Dr, James Hall, University of Alabama Humanities Scholar, and moderated by special guest music historians, Terry Pace and Robert Palmer will take place. Included in this panel are first and second generation music legends, David and Patterson Hood, Jimmy and Jay Johnson and others. The discussions are made possible by grants from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Art Works and South Arts.  The day continues with a 4 p.m. screening of the rock documentary about Drive-By Truckers, The Secret to a Happy Ending, produced by Barr Weissman and followed by a question and answer session.  The Secret of a Happy Ending was selected for the Best in State award at the 2011 George Lindsey University of North Alabama Film Festival. For additional information please go to http://alabamafolklife.org. This film contains adult language. The afternoon events at the Guillot Performance Center are free, however guests are encouraged to register online at http://muscleshoalsmusic.eventbrite.com/. Of the six members of the The Drive-By Truckers three members are from Muscle Shoals - Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Shonna Tucker. The Decoys’ members include David Hood, Scott Boyer, Kelvin Holly, N.C. Thurman and Mike Dillon. Special guests Donnie Fritts and Spooner Oldham are musical legends with roots in the Muscle Shoals. Tickets are $25 (balcony), $30 (mezzanine), $35 (orchestra) with a limited number of VIP Tickets available for $100. Tickets may be purchased on-line at http://dbtconcert.eventbrite.com.  HANDY FESTIVAL HONORS The Handy Festival has garnered praise and accolades and has become a major music festival in the Southeast United States.  Top Twenty Event in the Southeast by Southeast Tourism Society (each year since 1986) Top Ten Event in Alabama by Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel Three-time Cultural Olympiad Event, Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Featured Site, National Geographic/Appalachian Regional Commission Map Local Secret! Big Find! by Travelocity.com (2004) Winner of numerous Addy awards for the Festival campaign by Shoals Advertising Federation One of the Top 50 "Must See Festivals" of 2011 by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel Top 100 Event in North America by the American Bus Association The W.C. Handy Music Festival designated by the Alabama Department of Tourism as one of the Top 10 events for 2011. Click here to read more...