Kirkwood Ballers Club gets a new home

In this week’s CL feature story on King Khan and the Shrines I mention that Khan’s first Atlanta appearance, with the King Khan & BBQ Show, took place at the “defunct” Kirkwood Ballers Club open mic night at the old Lenny’s. The day the story went to print I received an e-mail from Randy Castello saying that the Ballers Club was born again and as of Thurs., Aug. 7 will resume at the ever popular Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge underneath the Highland Inn.

Since 2004 KBC has served as a weekly, open mic staple for Atlanta’s more adventurous musicians, and has been housed at 3 locations, including a private residence in Kirkwood, the old Lenny’s Bar and 11:11 Teahouse. Past Baller’s Club events have featured performances from the likes of King Khan and BBQ show, Girl Talk, Deerhunter, Jana Hunter, the Black Lips and hundreds of other local and national acts; some that you have heard of and many others that you have not.

“When I started Kirkwood Ballers Club in March 2004, my intent was to provide an open forum for experimental musicians and performance artist who found it difficult to get shows here in town. I also wanted to create an idea incubator of sorts to allow others to perform and experiment with each other musically in an effort to create and nurture new creative ensembles.”

-Randy Castello founder of KBC

Kirkwood Ballers Club is free and the doors open at 8 p.m. Artists who are interested in performing sign up at the door and music starts promptly at 9 p.m. and end at midnight. Since it’s new home is a hotel, Costello stresses that performers must be mindful at all times of the hotel’s residents and keep the volume at an acceptable level.