Music industry entrepreneur to speak in Athens on book tour 'pilgrimage'

Independent record label owner, music store co-founder and professional drummer Nabil Ayers will be in Athens on Monday to give a lecture at the University of Georgia's Sanford and Barbara Orkin Hall at 4 p.m. The author is currently on tour in support of his memoir, "My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family."

Though the name Nabil Ayers might not be a familiar one to the average music fan, his last name should be. Ayers' father, Roy, is a world-renowned jazz composer and producer whose vast catalog dates back to the early 1960s and includes more than 30 studio recordings.

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Due to a mutual agreement between his father and his mother, a former ballerina, Nabil grew up without the involvement of his famous dad. Still, he became deeply involved with the music industry and worked closely with such well-known acts as The National, Grimes, St. Vincent, Pixies and Big Thief. He co-founded Seattle’s Sonic Boom Records stores in 1997 and launched indie label The Control Group in 2002.

Having toured the world as the only non-white member in alternative rock bands with artists like The Replacements' Tommy Stinson and The Long Winters, Nabil felt the shadow and legacy of his father's musical genius, and his race, everywhere he went. After offering a keynote address at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas last year, Nabil set out on a lecture tour and personal pilgrimage to Southern locations that hold historical and musical significance of his ancestral past.

Nebil's lecture at UGA will feature a conversation with David Barbe, who runs Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens and is the director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the university. The event is co-sponsored by the Wilson Center for Humanities and African American Studies, and discussion topics will include family, race, music and business.

Released in June 2022 via Viking Books, "My Life in the Sunshine" was featured on "CBS Saturday Morning" and "Good Morning America" and in such publications as The Washington Post, Rolling Stone and SPIN. Ayers also wrote a Father’s Day piece for the New York Times Opinion section, and his book was named the No. 1 Father’s Day recommendation on "Oprah."

Sanford and Barbara Orkin Hall, D007 is located at 475 S. Hull St. on the University of Georgia campus. For detailed information, visit calendar.uga.edu/event/nabil_ayers_in_conversation_with_david_barbe.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Author Nabil Ayers scheduled to lecture in Athens during book tour