Publication Date

2004

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Dr. Michael Ann Williams (Director), Dr, Erika Brady, Dr. Chris Antonsen

Degree Program

Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology

Degree Type

Master of Folk Studies

Abstract

Making the Scene: An Investigation of the Rock and Roll Scenes of Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia, takes a look at the ways in which both the identities of a music scene and the individuals taking part in that scene are created and maintained. Issues of identity are addressed by examining the roles performed by various members of the scene (musicians, soundmen, club owners, etc . . .), by focusing on the influence of landscape, and looking at the ways a scene’s members identify with the cultural region that surrounds their particular scene (in this case both scenes are located in the American South). Data for this thesis was gathered in two ways: through traditional, ethnographic interview with musicians from Athens, and Nashville, and from the author’s personal experience as a member of the Nashville rock Scene from 1990 to 2001. Secondary sources were also consulted. Having analyzed the data, the author concludes that the scene is a function of culture; it is created and sustained through personal interaction and cultural imagination—individuals create and sustain it. Once it is created, once it is constructed, and named, the scene has an affect on the individuals that come to take part in it. It helps to shape their identities. Individuals, however, continue to exert influence over the scene, constantly altering its character.

Disciplines

Music | Musicology | Social and Cultural Anthropology

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