Live At Five with Sonia Leigh and Marshall Ruffin September 4, 2008

The Georgia Music Hall of Fame is bringing its “Live at Five” performance series to Atlanta with a series of five Thursday evening performances by well-known and rising Georgia musicians beginning Aug. 28. Performances will take place at 5 p.m. at the Hard Rock Café at the intersection of Peachtree Street and International Boulevard in the heart of downtown. Admission is $5, with proceeds benefiting MIKE, the museum’s Music in Kids’ Education program.

The Sept. 4 event features Sonia Leigh and Marshall Ruffin.

Sonia Leigh — Songwriting is in Sonia Leigh’s blood. Her father, who taught her guitar, and her grandfather, who wrote a song recorded by Hank Williams, planted the seed that would blossom in the heart of a child from rural Florida, since transplanted to Atlanta. With gritty vocals and poetically compelling lyrics, Sonia's music grabs listeners by their heartstrings and leads them on an intoxicating ride into a glorious Georgia sunrise.

Marshall Ruffin — Columbus, Ga.’s Marshall Ruffin has a jazz guitar performance degree from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music but don’t let the pedigree fool you; the guitarist and singer/songwriter has an appealingly gritty delivery, as befits a resident of Ma Rainey’s hometown. Newly signed to Jammates Records, the youthful Ruffin now is playing roots and blues venues all over the southeast.

Official Website: http://www.georgiamusic.org/events.php