MONTGOMERY, Alabama – You know that feeling you have when your child or young family member is on stage for the first time?
That's how I felt about 24-year-old Brittany Howard Sunday night when she performed Levon Helm's "The Weight" with world-acclaimed legends like Elton John and Mavis Staples at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
Brittany Howard and the three other Alabama Shakes -- bassist Zac Cockrell, guitarist Heath Fogg, and drummer Steve Johnson -- are set to appear on Saturday Night with Christoph Waltz as host on Feb. 16. (Jay Janner/American-Statesman)
There she was, Alabama's pride and joy – curls pressed out and in her Sunday best for the big show – with the big boys.
As an Alabamian, I couldn't have been more proud.
You see, this young frontwoman for Athens' rockabilly soul band Alabama Shakes is modern-day Alabama, through and through. Every way you cut it, she embodies everything that is in our future.
Brittany is at once black, white and other; maybe gay, maybe straight; pretty thick, kinda country and not at all up on the latest fashions (or, unbeknownst to us, maybe, ahead of them).
The Timberlakes and Rihannas of the world may have the glam but our Brittany is the real deal.
And that is what is so enthralling about this sure to be music star. It's what she is not yet that makes you love her more every time she and her band literally explode and deliver "You Ain't Alone" to all five of your senses.
Brittany is not yet polished. She doesn't care a lick about being caught in some unflattering Superbowl halftime show photo. If she has to drip in sweat, let her glasses droop to the side or stretch her mouth way south to form the perfect "oh" when singing "Hold On," so be it.
Brittany is not yet jaded. In interviews, she stumbles on to explain garage band synergy to the rest of us. At award shows and on Twitter images she and her talented Shakes brothers – bassist Zac Cockrell, guitarist Heath Fogg, and drummer Steve Johnson – always seem to be cheesing and shouting "hey Moms" in the camera.
Finally—and fortunately for those who have already discovered her raw talent— Brittany is not yet famous.
But anyone who knows anything about music will tell you all that is about to change.
Since being named Paste magazine's 2011 "band of the year" and debuting with its first full-length album, "Boys and Girls," in January 2012, the Alabama Shakes– established in 2009 – has been on a whirlwind ride to fame. This week alone, in addition to the Grammys, the band is appearing on Saturday Night Live along with "Inglorious Bastards" star Christoph Waltz as host.
Since Sunday's appearance, intense acclaim from new fans on social media sites like Facebook and YouTube has been downright frightening. Many have christened Howard as the second coming of Janis Joplin or proclaimed her a female Otis Redding. Some talk of hearing "real music" for the first time in years or shedding a tear after watching the Shakes on a video clip.
YouTube commenter "MrAzatutiun" said this about the new talent under a Charlottesville, Va., post of the Shakes performing "Boys and Girls:" Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin must've had an affair!
The group has bookings everywhere and has already sold out the Portland, Oakland, Denver and Haldern, Germany, shows of its first headline Boys and Girls tour, which launches next month.
So we might as well go ahead and pop that bottle of champagne, Alabama. It is pretty clear that we have birthed another music star.
All that remains to be seen is just how it will shake out.
-- Janita Poe is Hub Director for The Alabama Media Group's al.com website in Montgomery. She periodically writes "Poe in the Gump," a column about her life as a journalist in Montgomery. Follow Janita and her team on Twitter @alcomMontgomery and like their Facebook fan page, al.com in Montgomery.