Notable 9 in music in 2025: Finales, debuts and stories of survival

Atlanta’s vibrant music scene offers a broad and diverse array of artistic expression, and our local musicians and ensembles hit some admirable peaks and explored new realms in 2025.

Let’s take a look back at a few of the memorable musical moments of the year, Atlanta’s enduring musicians and the compelling stories behind them.

A tribute to Mary Lou Williams

Before saying farewell to Atlanta for his new home in the Pacific Northwest, Atlanta musician and mentor Jeff Crompton accomplished one more mission. On May 3, Mary Lou Williams was honored as a native-born Atlantan and outstanding American artist in a musical ceremony at the Wylde Center’s Edgewood Garden, where an official wayside marker describing her place in history was installed through Crompton’s efforts.

Murray Attaway returns

Best known as the co-founder of the ’80s Atlanta band Guadalcanal Diary, Attaway returned with a new solo album and accompanying shows in 2025. Tense Music Plays was his first solo release in more than 30 years.

Atlanta Opera’s Seigfried

A superb cast of Wagnerian singers made Atlanta Opera’s production of Siegfried in April. It was a stirring addition to the first two installments of Wagner’s four-opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. Atlanta Opera mounted productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, the first two operas in the cycle in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Next year, Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods) concludes Atlanta’s Ring, marking perhaps the most ambitious project in Atlanta Opera’s 46-year history.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven project finale

In November, the ASO delivered the final performance in its year-long Beethoven Project, the ambitious endeavor that has seen the orchestra tackle all nine of his symphonies along with other works. It was a rousing moment of joy.

OkCello releases Funny How Things Work Out

Okorie “OkCello” Johnson released his fourth album in late October, and ArtsATL marked the occasion with a look at the shared artistic vision that brought Johnson and his wife Chaunesti Webb-Johnson together. It’s part of our monthly Partners in the Arts series.

Chamber Cartel performs For Philip Guston

The big ensembles weren’t the only ones delivering noteworthy performances. The ever-ambitious Chamber Cartel performed Morton Feldman’s daunting four-hour-plus trio For Philip Guston at the Goat Farm in September.

Johns Creek Symphony’s new director debuts

The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra opened its 2025-26 season in September with a new director at the helm. In a program with a cinematic flair, the ensemble demonstrated crowd-pleasing accessibility and internal cohesion as Henry Cheng radiated infectious charm in his debut.

The many stages of Brandon Reeves

Atlanta is home to many hardworking musicians, but Brandon Reeves must be among the busiest. His upcoming calendar of shows is impressive, and it seems that you can find him onstage somewhere in the metro Atlanta area almost every week. In September, ArtsATL talked with Reeves about his road to sobriety, his take on country folk blues and what the future holds.

Rock ‘n’ roll survivors Mother’s Finest

For more than 50 years, Mother’s Finest has been delivering incendiary live shows that became a formative experience for many of us across the South. And they still do. In June, the band played shows at two very different venues in Atlanta on the same weekend. ArtsATL took that opportunity to catch up with the band’s co-founder, Glenn “Doc” Murdock, who recounted Mother’s Finest’s rock ‘n’ roll survival story.