Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 6/27/21

The City of Brookhaven and Explore Brookhaven announce The Revivalists as headliner for the Cherry Blossom Summer Block Party, taking place July 30 and 31 in the Brookhaven MARTA Station parking lot and along Dresden Drive and Apple Valley Road.

This event is FREE.

The Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Summer Block Party is a coming-out party to celebrate a return to normalcy following the global pandemic in 2020 and 2021, to promote awareness of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and to honor the heroic efforts of first responders and medical workers on the front lines of the public health crisis.  The event takes place Friday, July 30, from 3 to 11 p.m. and Saturday, July 31, from noon to 11 p.m. The City of Brookhaven partnered with Live Nation to secure the headlining acts. Popular attractions from the annual Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, such as the Kidz Zone and Food Trucks, will be on hand as well. More announcements are expected soon.

The Revivalists will appear Saturday night. Taking the stage Friday are Rick Springfield, the Amy Ray Band, Baylee Littrell, and Revel in Romance. The Saturday lineup also includes Better Than Ezra, Jagged Edge, Saleka, and Hunter Callahan.

In addition to the great human loss caused by the pandemic, there has also been a devastating loss to business, industry and community,” said Mayor John Ernst.  “This is an opportunity to recognize the resilience of Brookhaven’s residents and businesses and the unity shown throughout this devastating period.”

Chart-topping rock band The Revivalists had been grinding for 10 years when their now platinum-selling single “Wish I Knew You” took off, setting a record for most single-week spins ever at Alternative Radio and becoming a mainstream phenomenon spending nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.  Now, their new hit songs from fourth studio album Take Good Care, including #1 Triple A and Top 5 Alternative single “All My Friends,” and #1 Triple A and Top 15 Alternative hit single “Change” (their third Mediabase Triple A #1 in a row) – have become instant fan favorites and are adding to their more than 410 million total streams.

Over the past four decades, Rick Springfield has worn many hats as an entertainer, performer,  and the creator of some of the finest power-pop of the 80s, a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and musician who has sold 25 million albums and scored 17 U.S. Top 40 hits, including “Jessie’s Girl,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “An Affair of the Heart,” “I’ve Done Everything for You,” “Love Somebody,” and “Human Touch.” He’s an accomplished actor who has starred opposite Meryl Streep in the feature film “Ricki and the Flash,” gave a chameleonic performance as the creepy Dr. Pitlor in HBO’s prestige drama “True Detective,” earned great reviews for his portrayal of Lucifer on the CW hit “Supernatural” and most recently played Pastor Charles on “American Horror Story.” In 2014, Springfield was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located around the corner from the first apartment he lived in when he first arrived in the United States from Australia in 1971.

A fixture on radio and MTV in the mid-90s, Better Than Ezra’s “Good” from the band’s breakthrough album Deluxe captured No. 1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart and went multi-platinum. 1996’s Friction, Baby yielded definitive anthems such as “Desperately Wanting” and “King Of New Orleans.” That success earned spots on Billboard’s “100 Greatest Alternative Songs of All Time” and “100 Greatest Alternative Artists of All Time.”

Atlanta-based R&B group Jagged Edge released their 10^th album, A Jagged Love Story, in July 2020. Signed through Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Recordings in Atlanta, the group has been nominated in the last 20 years for a Grammy Award, three American Music Awards, and three BET Awards, and won two Soul Train Music Awards. The group includes twin lead singers Brian and Brandon Casey, Kyle Norman, and Richard Wingo. Among their biggest hit singles are “Let’s Get Married” and “Where the Party At.”

Amy Ray’s musical beginnings trace back to her high school days in Atlanta, GA, when she and Emily Saliers formed the duo that would become the Indigo Girls. Their story started in 1981 with a basement tape called “Tuesday’s Children” and went on to include a deal with Epic Records in 1988, a Grammy in 1990, and nearly 20 albums over more than 30 years. Ray has also released six solo albums and three live albums. When 2020 found the world immersed in a pandemic, Amy and her band turned to the digital world and started producing and recording singles from their own makeshift studios. “Tear it Down,” released along with a video in November 2020, wrestled with Amy’s upbringing in the cradle of the confederacy and pays tribute to activists working to dismantle racism. In February 2021, Amy Ray Band released another video and song, “Muscadine,” to sing of dogs and what they teach us of unconditional love. Another song, “Chuck Will’s Widow” is due for release this summer.

A Georgia native and the son of Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys and model/actress, Leighanne Littrell — Baylee was born to be an artist. Singer, actor and songwriter are words that best describe the person he has become. Baylee has starred on Broadway in the hit musical “Disaster” – earning his first Drama Desk Award nomination and is now embarking on an exciting country music career. Baylee’s debut album, 770-Country, was released in 2019, earning rave reviews from Billboard, CMTT, Daily Journal and Hits Daily Double and featured collaborations with Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, Corey Crowder, and Steven Lee Olsen. Recently, fans saw Baylee perform live across the country on tour with the Backstreet Boys and Chris Lane. Baylee’s latest single, “Some Guys,” is available wherever digital music is streamed.

Saleka is a classically trained singer/songwriter who began playing piano at the age of 4. Raised on an eclectic combination of music, Saleka’s influences include various genres from Bollywood music to Latin, jazz, hip-hop and R&B. Last September, Saleka released her debut single “Clarity” to immediate acclaim. Refinery29 said Saleka “calls upon the sounds of the R&B greats for her soulful debut, sounding every bit like the legends that she’s closely studied for years.” Her most recent track “,The Sky Cries,” which was released in the spring, was utilized in Apple TV’s show “Servant.”

After a few years of cutting his teeth in the Atlanta indie music scene, Hunter Callahan, an accomplished blues guitarist by the age of 17, was selling out the more popular rooms like Smith’s Olde Bar, and playing at famed venues such as Eddie’s Attic in Decatur. As word traveled, so did Hunter until he ended up in Nashville, TN, to record a full-length record with Dana C. Lamb and John Bass producing. “Broken Hearts & Melodies” combined Callahan’s folk songwriting sensibilities with his spicy blues guitar playing, and helped to usher in his 21st birthday by garnering the attention of Atlanta-based producer Dan Hannon (Aaron Shust, Manchester Orchestra). In an effort to step it up a notch and truly focus on his vocal prowess, Callahan sought out the tutelage of renowned vocal coach and producer “Mama” Jan Smith (Usher, Justin Bieber, The Band Perry, etc.), learning to pair his vocal chops with his stellar musicianship. Hunter and his wife, Hannah, now continue the story of digging deep while pairing hauntingly familiar harmonies as they weave together what is affectionately titled The Cobweb Sessions, a five-song ep that is a stripped-down acoustic look at life, love, and hope for tomorrow, produced by the Grammy nominated “Mama” Jan along with Jesse Owen Astin in Smith’s Atlanta studio.

“I am proud that Brookhaven is prioritizing festivals that bring our community together and taking the decisive first step in leading the metropolitan region out of this difficult and costly pandemic,” said Mayor Ernst. “I am grateful for our continuing Cherry Blossom Festival partnership with Live Nation, as our music gets bigger and better every year. After canceling the Cherry Blossom Festival two years in a row due to the pandemic, we are coming back even stronger with this amazing lineup.”

Attendees are encouraged to take MARTA or the City’s shuttle services as there will be no onsite parking for the event. Masks are required on MARTA and the shuttles per federal mandate, and all bags in the music festival lot must be clear, no exceptions. Pets will not be allowed in the concert lot. Visit the festival website at www.BrookCherryFest.org for MARTA and shuttle locations.

For more information about the 2021 Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Summer Block Party, visit www.BrookCherryFest.org.