About the Author

Darnell's been saying Atlanta is the most underrated music city in America for twenty years. He's still saying it, even though the secret's been out for a while now. He grew up in College Park, spent his twenties bouncing between venues in Midtown and East Atlanta Village, and somehow turned that into a career. Trap, R&B, gospel, punk—Atlanta doesn't pick a lane, and neither does Darnell. He's covered shows at the Tabernacle, basement parties in Little Five Points, comedy nights that turned into something bigger, and food festivals where the music was honestly better than the food. For AllEvents, he writes about everything happening in the city after sundown. And a lot of what happens before it too. He knows which promoters actually pay artists on time. He knows which open mics have real industry people in the audience. He's got opinions about parking at every major venue (mostly negative, but useful). Darnell takes MARTA when he can, drives when he has to, and lives in West End now. His guides are long because Atlanta weekends are long. He doesn't apologize for that.