A Musical Tradition in Suwanee Gets New Life

A Suwanee musical tradition is near a rebirth.

The Everett Brothers Music Barn, now shuttered but the site of many bluegrass performances dating to the 1960s, has new owners who plan to revive the tradition.

Chris Lybeer, a Suwanee resident, and two other Gwinnett residents make up the Suwanee Music Barn group that closed escrow on the property this week. A grand re-opening is planned for April 16. Local talent The Center Stage Bluegrass Band also will play after the Everett band starts things at 8 p.m. Regulars in the area ceased playing there shortly after Roger Everett's death last October.  

The new owners' motive is not financial. "We mostly didn't want to see that thing bulldozed," Lybeer said. "We wanted to maintain something that was unique and genuine."

The 1.13-acre property on Stonecypher Road sold for the listing price of $85,000. The site has three buildings, including the performing hall that has, among other things, a sign on the door prohibiting alcohol.

The closest cross street is Blue Grass Lane. It's the first time the property ever has changed hands.

The other owners are Gwinnett residents Kathleen Webb and John Garrett. Webb also was the agent representing the buyers, but took no commission on the transaction.

Everett's death in October at age 61 precipitated the sale. He was the last surviving family member who was a part of the musical heritage, according to Tim Hill, a family member who also was the listing agent for the property. Roger Everett's sister, Pauline, is Hill's grandmother. In 1992, the Everett brothers were inducted into the Georgia Country Music Hall of Fame.

Roger, Randall, Leroy and Pauline Everett, with Pauline's son Ray Deaton, made up the Everett Brothers band. Another brother, George, never was involved musically. Performances were on Saturdays.

The buildings needed some work before performances resume, Lybeer said. The house was built in the 1940s and the barn was built in 1961, by hand with wood from an apartment building in Norcross.

This fits with Lybeer's civic-mindedness. He did work on the Suwanee Greenspace. "We had watched how Atlanta evolved," he said in reference to the urban sprawl, "and we didn't want to see that happen in Suwanee."

The owners plan for performances at the property to be self-sustaining with donations. Perhaps there also could be an occasional visiting band. "It runs itself," Lybeer said.

Have you ever attended a musical performance at the Everett property?