Friend and native son Ben Tanner grew up in the Shoals. He graduated from Muscle Shoals High School, and after a few years living in Memphis, Tennessee, and Paris, France, returned to the area to work at FAME Studios with the hope of gaining some valuable experience. That stint was supposed to be a “brief stopover.” But, he says, “I found a really amazing and diverse community of musicians working here, so I’ve stayed.”

An accomplished musician and producer, Ben is also a founding partner in Single Lock Records, a new, local record label focused on helping musicians make better records without going broke. He spends much of his time playing keyboards as part of the Alabama Shakes, though he does play some guitar and bass. “Most things with strings I can pick on a little bit (excluding bowed instruments),” he says.

“Playing and recording music is hard work, and I’m often very hard on myself, but I have brief, occasional moments where I’m consciously aware that I’m a part of making something beautiful that wasn’t there before. Those moments are ecstatic and rare, but they keep me going.”

The playlist below, curated by Ben Tanner, has a “weird South” theme, meaning, it’s Southern music that doesn’t exactly fit the mold of stereotypical “Southern.” He also worked on two tracks on this list with local bands, The Bear and Doc Dailey and Magnolia Devil.