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The epic Atlanta art rock project BAUMS (pronounced like “bowms,” from the German word for “tree”) is releasing its debut full-length album, Bad Embrace, on Oct. 15. But as of today, people who buy a ticket to the Saturday, Sept. 12 Mainline Music Fest show at Aisle 5 have a chance to hear the whole thing more than a month early.

The band released the album’s lead single, “Take,” today, kicking off the rollout for Bad Embrace. The album arrives ahead of the band’s Oct. 17 release show (which we are also putting on) at The EARL with Safety Switch and Assembly.

But first, BAUMS is playing Mainline Music Fest. There, they’ll take the stage at Aisle 5 on Sat., Sept. 12, alongside CDSM, Scattrbrain, major, Split Silk, mallbangs, and Culprits of the Youth.

And the band is giving Aisle 5 ticket holders a liiiittle something extra: Buy a ticket to the Saturday, Sept. 12 Aisle 5 show, then DM BAUMS on Instagram with a screenshot of your ticket purchase, and they’ll send you a private link to stream the album in full before its October release. The private stream is available for 24 hours after receipt.

So, if you want to know what we’ve been hearing and what BAUMS has been building toward, here’s your chance to get there early.

Get your ticket to the Saturday, Sept. 12 Aisle 5 show today, then DM BAUMS on Instagram with your proof of purchase to unlock an early listen to Bad Embrace.

Protect press freedom, support artists, sustain humanity.
—the Mainline team

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Independent journalism like this exists because readers choose to support it. If you like having an independent Atlanta publication keeping a finger on the pulse and putting its foot in the struggle when necessary, become a Mainline member. Your membership directly supports our journalism, music , and the people doing the work.

Welcome to Stories We’re Watching, a new weekly roundup from Mainline.

Every Tuesday, we’ll send you a quick look at the stories, developments, and conversations on our radar, mostly in Atlanta and across Georgia, with occasional stops elsewhere when it feels especially important.

Think of it as one way we keep a finger on the pulse and a foot in the struggle. We’ll point you toward good reporting and people doing important work, call out bad journalism when we see it, and restore context that gets left behind in mainstream news—all through Mainline’s lens of abolition, decolonization, and class analysis.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Atlanta faith leaders are calling for action after Israel denied entry to a U.S. delegation

Last week, we reported on 13 U.S. citizens traveling with a Sabeel delegation who were denied entry to Israel while attempting to visit Palestinian communities and learn about Palestinian liberation theology. The interfaith group included retired Emory University theology professor the Rev. Edward Phillips and Atlanta-area faith leaders.

The delegation is calling for an investigation into its treatment and whether Israel is complying with requirements governing its participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.

Our full report is available to Mainline members. If you value reporting that interrogates power instead of simply repeating what powerful institutions say, become a member. Your membership directly funds independent Atlanta journalism and helps us keep doing reporting like this without corporate owners, billionaire backers, or advertisers determining what deserves your attention.

Resistance to Flock’s surveillance network is growing

Flock’s automated license plate readers have built a sprawling surveillance network capable of recording where people travel as they go about their everyday lives. And as that network has expanded with little public accountability, the consequences have become harder to dismiss. In Georgia alone, police employees in Conyers and Alpharetta have recently been accused of using Flock to track romantic partners or former partners, including an Alpharetta officer who conducted dozens of searches for his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle.

Now, resistance is growing with it. An NPR review found Flock cameras have been vandalized in at least 36 states, while at least 100 cities have deactivated cameras or canceled contracts with Flock or similar companies. People have blocked, painted, removed, and otherwise disabled cameras as scrutiny of the technology grows.

For longtime Mainline readers, none of this should feel particularly new. We reported in 2021 on Flock’s role in Operation Shield, Atlanta’s massive public-private surveillance network, and the Atlanta Police Foundation’s role in expanding it. Five years later, Flock’s reach has grown dramatically, but so has public understanding of what happens when surveillance infrastructure is allowed to expand faster than meaningful public oversight.

Last Friday, Warnock called for a statewide moratorium on new data centers

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock called Friday for a statewide moratorium on new data centers after meeting with Effingham County residents organizing against OpenAI’s proposed 3.2-gigawatt facility. Residents have been organizing around concerns over electricity costs, water use, pollution, noise, and a development process many say shut them out.

For us, the important part isn’t that a politician held a press conference. Warnock was notably reluctant to take a position on Cop City itself as organizers fought another enormous Atlanta-area project involving environmental destruction, policing, and decisions made over the objections of impacted communities. He later spoke out around the repression of organizers and the city’s handling of the referendum process.

So we’re watching what happens next. A statewide moratorium would matter. But political attention is not a substitute for community power, and Effingham residents organizing against the project are a major reason Georgia’s data-center boom has become impossible for elected officials to ignore.

The American Federation of Musicians is challenging major labels over AI money

The American Federation of Musicians amended its lawsuit against Universal Music Group, Warner Records, and Atlantic Recording Corp., alleging the labels violated their union contract by licensing recordings to AI companies Suno and Udio without compensating musicians covered by that agreement.

AFM argues AI training constitutes a “new use” under its contract. The dispute highlights a contradiction: major labels have warned that generative AI threatens human artists while simultaneously negotiating deals allowing AI companies to use their catalogs.

But AFM represents only part of the music workforce. The larger fight over who gets paid, who has power, and who gets a voice in the future of music is also happening through organizations like United Musicians and Allied Workers, a member-led organization building power among musicians and other music workers largely left out of traditional industry structures. (Full disclosure: Mainline founder Aja Arnold is an UMAW member.)

We think the growing movement of working musicians organizing themselves is where some of the most important work in the industry is happening right now.

MAINLINE MUSIC FEST BEGINS NEXT WEEK!

Mainline Music Fest is officially just nine days away. Our weekend passes are sold out, but individual tickets remain available for every ticketed show—and not a single event will cost you more than $35, fees included.

That $35 gets you seven bands at Aisle 5. Other shows cost even less. No dynamic pricing, no absurd fees suddenly appearing at checkout, no Ticketmaster nonsense. Just a bunch of really good bands playing across Atlanta for five days at prices we’ve deliberately kept accessible.

We’ll be introducing this year’s artists all week on our Instagram for those who wanna follow along, plus ongoing updates here with everything you need to know before we take over venues across Atlanta Sept. 9–13. See the full Mainline Music Fest schedule and get tickets at mainlineatl.com/tickets.

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Hey friends,

It’s Bandcamp Friday! That means every Friday, more of your purchase goes directly to independent artists and labels. If you’ve been thinking about supporting what we’re building, today’s a great day to do it.

Two ways to hop on board:

1. Join the Mainline Record Club on Patreon for $15/month, and we’ll mail your first CD next Friday!

2. Or, grab MAINLINE MIX 1 on Bandcamp today, and we’ll ship it next week.

We pack everything ourselves here in Atlanta every Friday.

Every purchase helps us put more resources back into artists, independent journalism, and the local music community. Together, we’re building an independent music ecosystem rooted in people, not platforms.

Thanks for supporting independent music and journalism.
—the mainline team

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Independent and local journalism are facing a crisis at a time when they are needed most.

Mainline has long faced the same funding challenges confronting independent media across the country. Grant pools have run dry, while philanthropic institutions have become less willing to fund a free press that challenges the state and refuses to stay silent about its violence. Through it all, financial support from our readers, listeners, and fellow movers and shakers has helped keep this work going.

But the continued collapse of independent media and shuttering of vital local news sources in Atlanta have made one thing increasingly clear: if we want Mainline to remain independent, we need to build a sustainable model around the communities we actually serve.

Our goal is to make Mainline completely community-funded.

Mainline provides comprehensive, people-centered coverage of local protest and resistance movements. We conduct investigations and analysis on issues too often overlooked by mainstream media. We organize music festivals and events rooted in the belief that cultural organizing is an essential part of community. We’ve also provided trainings that share the skills of movement journalism and make those tools more accessible.

As Mainline expands beyond Atlanta and further incorporates independent music and cultural organizing into our coverage, we need your help to keep our vision of community-driven, community-centered media alive.

Our updated Patreon offers several ways to support the work. The Mainline Member tier includes access to members-only podcasts and editorials, event ticket discounts, and more.

We’re also changing where you find our reporting online. Our website is becoming a static archive as we move publishing operations to Patreon and Substack, where we can bring our reporting and stories directly to readers. Paid subscribers on both platforms will receive the same members-only editorial content. However, Patreon members will also have access to additional benefits through the Media Lab and Mainline Records Club that are not available through Substack.

You can become a member of our Patreon here. No amount is too small or insignificant; every membership helps us protect press freedom, support artists, and sustain independent media built by and for our communities.

Thank y’all for sticking with us as we evolve and adapt to the times!

Jadelynn Zhang | Reporter, Mainline

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Thirteen U.S. citizens traveling to Israel and the West Bank to meet with Palestinians were denied entry by Israeli border authorities earlier this month, prompting Atlanta faith leaders to call on the U.S. State Department to intervene.

Four members of the delegation are from Georgia, including retired Emory University theology professor the Rev. Edward Phillips and his wife, the Rev. Sara Webb Phillips. The two spoke Monday at Eastside United Methodist Church in Atlanta, detailing hours of questioning and intimidation by Israeli border authorities.

The weeklong trip was coordinated with Sabeel, a Palestinian Christian liberation theology organization. Nine delegates were initially issued visas while four were held for additional questioning. Authorities later called the nine back to border control and denied entry to the entire group, according to Religion News Service.

Independent reporting takes support. Become a Mainline Member today to help us keep covering Atlanta and the South with independent, locally rooted journalism.

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Become a Mainline member today and receive 25% off Mainline Music Fest tickets. This offer expires at midnight tonight.

We’re less than a month away from our third annual Mainline Music Fest, happening Sept. 9–13 across Atlanta, and we are so excited about what we’ve built for you this year.

We’re kicking things off with a listening party at Stereo, celeb…

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Since 2019, we’ve been covering local music, politics, and news in Atlanta. For the past seven years, we have created solution-based journalism, investigative journalism, music journalism, voter guides, podcasts, media training workshops, among other things.

Now, we’re also putting out music via our newly launched label, producing movies, creating digita…

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This article was written by Mainline reporter Jadelynn Zhang. Zhang is a writer, teacher, and sociologist based in Orlando and Atlanta.

ICE has been terrorizing communities acr…

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Independent and local journalism are facing a crisis in a time when they are needed the most.

Our work has long faced funding challenges as grant pools have run dry and philanthropists have become less and less willing to fund a free press that challenges the state while refusing to stay silent about its violence. We have always been grateful to receive …

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Sad Fish, Tirra Lirra (Pensacola), Original Boyfriend, Handprint
Friday, July 24, 8pm
Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Ave NE. $15. Buy tickets here or at the door.

Tomorrow evening, we will be stationed at the Drunken Unicorn for a stacked night of straight-up, real good, indie rock music. It’s a bit of a full-circle mom…

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We will be selling CDs at the merch table at the MUELAS EP release show featuring Play…

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Tonight, Mainline is teaming up with Volta Lab to bring together some of the most exciting electronic and indie artists shaping Atlanta’s underground for one unforgettable night at our favorite local venue, Star Community Bar in Little Five Points. Grab tickets here or at the door! Pre-sales close at 8pm.

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Who: Black-led grassroots organization Strike Black
What: Community Conversations part 2 — a community gathering intended for neighbors to congregate and discuss solutions for Black Atlantans’ top issues, including ICE, policing, and surveillance
When: Tomorrow, Saturday, June 27 at 1pm
Where: Park Avenue Baptist Church, 486 Park Ave, Atlanta, GA, 30312
Pri…

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This piece was written by Mainline founding editor Aja Arnold and was originally published in Scalawag on May 20, 2026.

“You can’t help…

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It’s rare in the current climate and ongoing journalism crisis that we get to report any good news. It feels like every time I step up to the plate to do my job as a reporter,…

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Tickets for Mainline Music Fest are on sale now and available here.

The act of music-making is an act of world-building. If done right, it introduces listeners to entirely new realms in our emotional, social, and artistic lives. It is a proving ground for alternatives against racial capitalism, rampant gentrification, surveillance, the gender binary, and…

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On Thurs., May 28, the Behind the Slate Podcast and Mainline will present a special screening of The Marriage of Maria Braun as part of the ongoing year-long Films Against Fascism screening series.

Founded by Atlanta filmmake…

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Mainline Music Fest will return for its third year in Atlanta this September, featuring 22 bands across three days at four venues. Tickets, including a limited run of 25 al…

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Today, we are uplifting the CENSORED fundraiser by our friends and media partners at Scalawag magazine—a Black-led abolitionist outlet truly rooted in decolonization and Southern liberation. This fundraiser was launched earl…

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