Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1233243
RIGHT: A LIFELONG LOVE OF GUITARS AND ACOUSTIC MUSIC HAS INSPIRED JOE CULLISON TO BRING SOME OF THE WORLD'S FINEST PLAYERS TO MACON FOR CONCERTS LARGE AND SMALL. A LOT OF PEOPLE are thrilled when Joe Cullison's friends come to town, almost as thrilled as Cullison is. When his friends show up, people know music – really good acoustic music – is in store. For 17 years, Cullison has brought some of the world's finest acoustic musicians to Macon, particularly guitar players and those who play bluegrass, fingerstyle, folk, Celtic and various genre-bending adaptations. But Cullison never set out to be a concert promoter. He said he's just always been crazy about music and about guitars. His zeal to hear great players led to friendships and the courage to ask, "Hey, how about coming and playing in Macon?" "e gist of it is that I have a pretty loyal – a very loyal – group of friends, acquaintances and fellow music lovers who come to shows and keep things going," he said. "I don't advertise a lot but there's a lot of word-of-mouth. I've done shows from the Grand Opera House, where we had Blue Highway, to having friends play at my home. I get the bills paid, make sure artists do well and have a little to move on to the next one. "I've done as many as half a dozen and as few as two shows a year. But it's always with people I think are worth hearing – people I want to hear. I guess that's it: I'm really just a regular guy and I get to hear these great, great players and get to share them with people around here. at's like a bonus." Scarlett Farr is one of those "people around here." She's attended concerts regularly for four years after hearing about them from her brother, Al Lovelady. "Growing up we always listened to country and bluegrass and I never stopped loving it," she said. "Joe bringing who he does is amazing to me. I never imagined I'd hear this caliber of musicians live so often. ey're not all bluegrass, but I've come to trust that if Joe brings somebody, they're worth a listen." Jim Garvine lives near Fort Valley and has come up for a majority of Cullison's shows for eight years. He plays guitar, loves bluegrass and agrees with Farr that he never would have thought he'd get to hear the quality players he does. "I'm not sure who was the first but probably it was Monroe County Crossing, a great bluegrass group, or Claire Lynch, who's considered a top bluegrass singer and won the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year award three times," he said. "She's been nominated for two Grammys. e music is good and you get to meet others who are into it." Cullison said his musical interests started as a teenager listening to folks like Neal Young and James Taylor. While at the University of Georgia earning a degree in psychology, he joined a men's chorus that had a bluegrass component and needed a guitar player. "I said I could but really I couldn't do it," he said. "I could play bluegrass rhythm but joining made me listen to greats like Tony Rice and step up my game." A year or so after UGA, Cullison found himself in a sales job he didn't care for. A chance conversation with an Air Force WOOD AND STRINGS AND LOVE WOOD AND STRINGS AND LOVE ONE MAN'S PASSION FOR GUITARS AND ACOUSTIC MUSIC KEEPS TOP PLAYERS COMING TO MACON BY MICHAEL W. PANNELL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA WHITLEY AND MICHAEL W. PANNELL 7 4 M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 2 0