Tourists, music fans, and planners alike have long been drawn to The Shoals region in Alabama—Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia—for its undeniable role as the “Hit Recording Capital of the World.” FAME Recording Studios and, later, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio put the spotlight on this hidden gem, having produced some of the biggest hits across rock, R&B, country, gospel, and other music genres over the last six decades. While The Shoals’ enduring music legacy cannot be overstated, new offerings are giving planners more reasons to take a fresh look at The Shoals for their upcoming meetings and events. ConventionSouth brings you a “backstage pass” to it all.
Recording Studios
The Shoals would not be what it is today without the late Rick Hall, founder of FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals. Hall’s vision, perseverance, and perfectionism built a recording empire in an unassuming studio in a small southern town barely known north of the Mason-Dixon line.
Though FAME originated from a venture co-owned by Hall and partners Billy Sherrill and Tom Stafford in 1959, Hall assumed sole ownership in 1960 and moved the studio to its current location at 603 E. Avalon Ave. in Muscle Shoals, according to the FAME website. FAME’s first hit recording was Jimmy Hughes’ Steal Away, recorded in 1964. Other notable artists who recorded at FAME in its early years include Clarence Carter, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Wilson Pickett, and Percy Sledge.
Pickett recorded several hits at FAME, including Mustang Sally and an unlikely but popular cover of the Beatles’ Hey Jude, at the suggestion of a young Duane Allman, who was featured on guitar. Newly signed to Atlantic Records after less-than-stellar success on another label, Aretha Franklin found her sound in 1967 at FAME, where she recorded the dual-sided I Never Loved a Man and Do Right Woman. Franklin’s FAME recordings catapulted her to international stardom and earned her a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
FAME’s session musicians, known as the “Swampers,” and Hall’s reputation as a taskmaster, according to historical accounts, are credited with taking these and other talented artists to the next level. Muscle Shoals musician and songwriter Spooner Oldham provided the sound for Sledge’s When a Man Loves a Woman after playing the singer’s electronic organ for the first time. Later, Oldham achieved success as a songwriter with hits like I’m Your Puppet, continued recording with artists, toured with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and many others, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Despite all his success and connections with some of the biggest names in music, this living legend resides in the same small county where he got his start and still performs locally with some of his old studio bandmates, as well as newer artists from The Shoals.
FAME has continued to draw some of the biggest names and rising stars in music, including the Allman Brothers, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Alicia Keys, Alison Krauss, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, and Heart’s Ann Wilson. Gregg Allman recorded his last album at FAME, released posthumously four months after his death.
Not far from the FAME Recording Studios is Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, located at 3614 Jackson Hwy. in Sheffield. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section—FAME session musicians Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, David Hood, and Jimmy Johnson—struck out on their own to start a new studio. They borrowed money for equipment from Wexler, who sent a stream of Atlantic Records’ artists there to record, according to the studio’s website. The studio’s first release was recorded by Cher, who titled her solo debut album 3614 Jackson Hwy. Other artists included The Rolling Stones, who recorded Brown Sugar, You’ve Got to Move, and Wild Horses, which were included on the band’s 1971 album, Sticky Fingers, as well as Linda Ronstadt, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart, and Bob Dylan.
By 1978, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio had outgrown its original building and moved to another location nearby. The original studio building housed several different businesses over the years until it was abandoned in the late ‘90s. A local bought the building in the early 2000s and returned it to a fully operational studio; during this ownership period, The Black Keys recorded Brothers there in 2009. In 2013, the 501(c)3 nonprofit Muscle Shoals Music Foundation purchased the building, restored it to its original glory, and reopened it in 2017 as a museum and fully operational recording studio. Chris Stapleton and Lana Del Ray are among the contemporary artists to have recorded there since its return as a working studio.
Both FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound recording studios remain largely unchanged from their early designs and décor, still function as fully operational recording studios today, and are now open to the public for tours. In addition, both studios are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Though many have tried, nothing and no one can capture The Shoals’ music history like experiencing it in person. The recordings, the instruments, the studios, the photos, the artifacts—everything and everyone, from the beginning through today, synthesized together in this humble Alabama town to create a music legacy unlike any other.
The stories are enthralling. After recording only two songs, Aretha Franklin abruptly left FAME studios following an argument between her husband, Hall, and FAME musicians. Duane Allman camped in the FAME studios parking lot for a week, hoping to get session work. Keith Richards locked himself in the bathroom at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio to finish writing The Rolling Stones’ hit Wild Horses. Bob Seger scouted Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, posing as a journalist, before agreeing to record there. Robert Plant dropped by FAME unannounced in 2022, had a brief tour and visit, and picked up some FAME merchandise; and on and on.
SkyDog: The Shoals Experience
Rodney Hall, co-owner, president, and producer at FAME, now runs the company his father started. His childhood was a revolving door of music royalty.
“I grew up around the music business and saw firsthand the gap for live music in The Shoals area,” Hall says. “This was a dry county until 1985, so there were no nightclubs for live music. I’ve always wanted to help build up the live scene here.”
After organizing a songwriters’ festival, which launched in 2001 and ran for a few years, Hall still had big ideas for bringing a live-music festival to The Shoals. “I’ve always wanted to do a Southern music festival that showcases Southern rock and culture,” he says. “I love the South and love being from Alabama, and I am proud of what FAME Studios’ legacy has done for the state.”
Hall and his friend, Larry Bowser, general manager of Renaissance Shoals Resort & Spa in Florence, both shared a vision of bringing a music festival to the hotel. As Hall recalls, the resort was a game changer for the area. “As a small town with a robust music industry, The Shoals always struggled with accommodations. We would have huge celebrities coming here, staying at a Holiday Inn and at people’s houses. When it was announced that a Four-Star hotel was coming here, we were over the moon. It’s changed our world,” he says.
“I watched the hotel develop and have kind of been a part of it from the beginning,” Hall adds. “So many times I sat out on my guest room balcony there, looked at the grassy area below, and thought it would be a great hotel and a great space for a music festival.”
After many conversations over many years, the concept for SkyDog: The Shoals Experience finally came together. “It took approximately a year-and-a-half,” Hall says, noting that the initial idea of a music festival expanded to include a songwriters showcase, a vendors market, and a gospel brunch charity fundraiser.
Hall and his partner, Kissy Black with Lotos Nile, a sales and marketing company based in Nashville, Tenn., along with their staffs and a team of 50 to 60 volunteers, organized the entire festival from the ground up. “It was very organic and grassroots,” Hall says. “The most challenging part was building the infrastructure, from the staging to the napkins. There are a lot of moving parts.”
Taking its name from Duane Allman’s nickname, the inaugural SkyDog festival was held August 28-30 at Renaissance Shoals Resort & Spa. The lineup featured more than 20 artists and acts, including Oldham, The Fame Gang, Peter Levin, Wet Willie, and Mike Farris, along with newer talent like Jackson Dean, Lamont Landers, The Retrograde, Maggie Rose, and many others. “The artists were people who I love; I love their music, and I love them,” Hall says. “They’re all people we had worked with at some time. They’re friends, so we called in some favors.”
Scott Sharrard, longtime guitarist for Greg Allman, served as the festival’s musical director. In addition to working with Hall during the recording of Allman’s final Southern Blood album, Sharrard had previously worked with Hall and his father on a concert celebrating the premiere of the 2013 Muscle Shoals documentary film. Sharrard also recorded some tracks from his own album, Saving Grace, at FAME.
“That’s how everything started, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years,” Sharrard recalls. “Then, Hall generously offered to let me direct two sets for the SkyDog festival: one celebrating the Allman Brothers Band and one with The FAME Gang, which includes living legends from back in the day and new artists. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
He adds, “Having worked with Hall and The FAME Gang already, I knew that I would be working with incredible musicians. I was also very excited about collaborating with the other artists, like Farris, Landers, Rose, Gary Nichols, and Lamar Williams Jr. There wasn’t much to it except keeping everything and everybody on track. This group is exceptional, so it was just a joy. It was amazing.”
Farris, former lead singer for The Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies, recorded his most recent solo release, The Sound of Muscle Shoals, at FAME. “You can’t find this anywhere else,” Farris says. “Everybody here is dedicated to making the best music we can, however long it takes. It’s a laid-back atmosphere, where everybody is connected to the spirit of making music.”
Born and raised in the South and now living in Nashville, Farris describes himself as a “Southern cheerleader.” He says he was excited to be part of SkyDog to celebrate The Shoals and to celebrate Southern rock. “I believe in Southern rock’s heritage. I believe in this festival. It’s exciting for me.”
He adds, “I didn’t understand it when I first started in music, but the connection to people is what I want. My job is to break down the barrier between the stage and audience. Once I do that, we have a connection, and we’re all a part of this thing. That’s the magic of music.”
For Hall, SkyDog is a chance to showcase the Southern culture and hospitality that charmed the musicians and label executives who worked with his father. “The Shoals didn’t have much then, certainly not the Renaissance Shoals hotel,” he says. “We had to entertain them with picnics and hayrides and feed them chicken stew and chocolate gravy and biscuits, which is popular here in north Alabama. They loved it because they’d never experienced anything like it. That’s what I’m trying to bring back for the SkyDog artists and Shoals visitors, to give them a feeling of Southern hospitality and a little flavor of The Shoals.”
In addition, Hall hopes the SkyDog festival, along with ShoalsFest (founded by Jason Isbell in 2019) and the W.C. Handy Music Festival, will build on The Shoals’ music legacy and will continue to shape the region as a music destination. “The Shoals’ music legacy is well established, but we’re always looking for ways to attract people and share our story,” he says. “We’d like to have events like this throughout the year.”
Plans are already underway for SkyDog: The Shoals Experience in 2027. “We’ll look at what needs tweaking,” Hall says, “but it will be back—bigger and better.”
Renaissance Shoals Resort & Spa
With 198 guest rooms and suites—which all include a walk-out balcony overlooking the outdoor resort pool—a revolving rooftop restaurant, a full-service spa, a fitness center, an indoor pool, and an onsite conference center featuring 30,772 square feet of function space, Renaissance Shoals Resort & Spa can accommodate a variety of meetings and events, including the SkyDog festival.
Originally opened in 2005 as a Marriott hotel, Renaissance Shoals Resort & Spa underwent a complete renovation and rebranding in 2025. The entire redesign concept was developed around The Shoals’ music heritage, according to Bowser, who has been with the hotel since its earliest planning stages. “Under the classic Marriott brand, everything looks and feels the same from one hotel to the next,” he says. “Renaissance is a distinctive Marriott brand, where they really try to capture the local story. The Shoals music legacy is an incredible story that wants to be told.”
Once Bowser took the hotel’s design team out to tour the FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound recording studios—where they could see the instruments, recording booths, and sound boards, hear the stories, and experience the music history for themselves—they had all the inspiration they needed. There is no denying The Shoals’ music influence in the redesigned resort, from the eye-catching lobby fountain that looks like a vinyl record to the amplifier light switches and recording-sign overhead lights. “One of my jobs was to select the songs inscribed on the fountain,” Bowser says. “All of the songs, including some of the biggest hits and some of my personal favorites, were recorded at FAME and Muscle Shoals studios.”
Groups at Renaissance Shoals resort can incorporate The Shoals’ music story in a variety of ways, including studio tours, live performances, and private events at the hotel’s Swampers lounge, which includes The Vault, a “backstage” VIP area. Artists are always dropping in and performing at Swampers. “I remember looking at the Swampers stage one night and realizing there were three Grammy winners performing together,” Bowser says. “There’s a magic here that just seems to happen, and all guests could experience it as part of their stay here.”
Caution! Stones Ahead
Adding to The Shoals’ music story is the new Caution! Stones Ahead exhibit—the world’s largest public exhibition of Rolling Stones memorabilia. The 1,200-square-foot exhibit, located on the bottom floor of the tower at Renaissance Shoals Resort & Spa, features authentic clothing, artifacts, and other memorabilia spanning decades of the group’s legendary career. Among the highlights of the exhibit is a 2,000-pound design of the group’s iconic logo.
The massive logo structure and other selected pieces are approximately half of the private collection acquired by healthcare entrepreneur Gentry Allen, who began collecting Rolling Stones memorabilia as a teenager. Allen had the idea to bring his collection to Renaissance Shoals while a guest at the resort.
Bowser, who did not know Allen, was out of town when he received Allen’s call. “He said, ‘I’m staying at the hotel and am looking at a photo of Mick Jagger on the wall of my guest room. I just happen to have one of the largest private collections of Rolling Stones memorabilia in the world, and I was wondering if you would want to display it in your hotel.’” Bowser recalls. “Of course, I said, ‘I think we could arrange that.’”
The Caution! Stones Ahead exhibit brings the story full circle of one of the biggest acts to record in The Shoals. “Many people don’t realize the Rolling Stones signed their contract with Atlantic Records at the Holiday Inn in downtown Florence,” Bowser says.
The exhibit is open to the public, with paid admission. Private tours and events are also available.
Bowser hopes the Caution! Stones Ahead exhibit will draw many of the same people who tour the FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios. “Obviously, it will create traffic,” he says, noting that the hotel hosted a Rolling Stones fan club since adding the exhibit.
“I don’t know of anything like it in any other hotel in the world,” Bowser says. “It’s a unique attraction that really separates us.”
