Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1502512
Friends and family gathered at Society Garden for music publisher Alan Walden's 80th birthday. The evening was celebrated with a reunion-like gathering of Walden's 60 years in the music business and as a lifelong Macon resident. In addition to blowing out all 80 candles on the cake, Walden got a special performance by Akasha Giselle. Chris Hicks, a reunion of the Loose Change band, Hughes Taylor, and members of Stillwater and Wet Willie Band performed. Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark presented a proclamation on behalf of Macon-Bibb County. Among the attendees were past Macon Mayors Jack Ellis and Robert Reichert, WMAZ's Frank Malloy, music luminaries like Chuck Leavell and William Bell and a host of friends from all walks of life. The party was organized by his wife Tosha Walden and included personal toasts from all three of his children: Roger Walden (Christian), Georgeanna Walden, and Jessica Walden. Attendee Jim Crisp later wrote about the party: "The party was a huge love in - a gathering of the tribes, come to honor and pay homage to one of our great elders, a man who helped shape music history in this country. But more than that, it was a coming together of so many of the lives touched by this man and his amazing extended family. There were people reunited with folks they hadn't seen in years - the hugs, the smiles, the explosive colored balloons of joy were everywhere. The energy was so pure and powerful, I'm sure that spot of Macon geography was levitating. I felt so deeply fortunate to be there among those amazing people. It was a legacy of Woodstock and the hopes and dreams of an entire generation focused in one evening of music, joy, and love." Faces 18 maconmagazine.com | JUNE/JULY 2023