Podcast: Chuck Stewart, Muelas and Mainline on ATL Arts Collective

Mainline magazine’s Aja Arnold joins us as we take a deep dive into Atlanta’s DIY music scene, explore legendary music photographer Chuck Stewart’s seven-decade career, discover the return of Tesla vs. Edison at the Center for Puppetry Arts and share ArtsATL’s Best Bets for the week ahead.

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Aja Arnold and Mainline magazine

Our featured contributor is Mainline magazine founder and Editor Aja Arnold. She and Kim talk about the evolution of Atlanta’s independent music scene, the launch of Mainline’s new record label and the debut compilation, Mainline Mix 1. The compilation features 12 Atlanta artists, with proceeds supporting Mainline’s mission. The limited-edition handmade release will officially launch September 10 at Criminal Records in Little Five Points, with performances by Major and Janie Danger.

Aja also previews the third annual Mainline Music Fest, running September 11 through September 13. This year’s Festival has grown to 22 bands across four Atlanta venues: Aisle 5, Star Bar, Halfway Crooks Beer and Wine in Summerhill, and Thinking Man Tavern in Decatur. The Festival features Atlanta artists predominantly and continues the DIY music ethos that has been at the heart of Mainline magazine since its launch in 2019.

Chuck Stewart: Framing the Sound

The Sun ATL presents Chuck Stewart: Framing the Sound, an exhibition celebrating one of the most consequential music photographers of the 20th century. ATL Arts Collective contributor Chad Radford explores Stewart’s seven-decade career through more than 60 photographs and 64 album covers featuring some of the most important musicians in American music, including Miles Davis, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, James Brown, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight and Gil Scott-Heron. The exhibition draws from the Chuck Stewart Archive, which contains roughly 800,000 photographs. Stewart’s work appeared on more than 2,000 album covers, and his photographs have been exhibited at institutions including Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Framing the Sound is the first time his color photographs have been publicly exhibited in the United States.

Tesla vs. Edison returns to the Center for Puppetry Arts 

ArtsATL Editor-At-Large Benji Carr visits the Center for Puppetry Arts for the return of Tesla vs. Edison, created, designed and directed by Jason Hines. The puppet production turns the rivalry between inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison into a wildly theatrical adventure featuring light saber fights, lightning bolts, larger-than-life puppets, a pigeon romance and even Mark Twain. Hines talks about researching the real history behind the two inventors and the experimental approach to puppetry that brings them to life onstage.

Muelas: Atlanta’s DIY Hardcore Breakthrough

Aja Arnold’s featured story takes us inside the rapid rise of Muelas, the Atlanta five-piece blending hardcore, punk, mariachi and classical music into an intense live experience. Formed in 2025, Muelas played its first show at The Masquerade in Atlanta and has since signed with Philadelphia-based Second Engine Records, released its debut EP Bellow, toured Europe and built a growing audience beyond Atlanta’s DIY scene. The band’s single “Melt” is known as an anti-ICE protest song, inspired by vocalist and violinist Susy Reyes’ experience as the child of Mexican immigrants. Muelas is one of the headliners for Mainline Music Fest in September.

ArtsATL Best Bets

ArtsATL Executive Editor Shane Harrison rounds out the episode with his weekly recommendations for Atlanta arts and culture, including Elf Power with Five Eight at Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End and Buddy Guy’s 90 Tour at Atlanta Symphony Hall. Shane also highlights The Velvet Hour: Sinatra, Swing, and Standards at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta; the expanded two-weekend BronzeLens Film Festival; and the Summer Shade Festival in Grant Park.

Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday.

Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective.

Thank you to the CP Group, Downtown Atlanta Inc. and CTR Culture Studios.

Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois’ “Hit the Deck” from her album Astral Heart, courtesy of Wicked Superb Records.

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