Updates from Mainline - July 2025
Hey subscribers,
Aja here—founder and publisher of Mainline—writing you all with a round-up of updates from our little studio nestled in Little Five Points. If you haven’t had a chance to come check out our space, swing by Liminal Space Collective sometime to see the community we have helped build since 2023.
Events
Our biggest announcement is our upcoming second annual Mainline Music Fest, taking place this year Sept. 5-7 in Little Five Points at Star Bar and Liminal Space! We are so excited for this year’s line-up, fully listed on the flyer below. Tickets are available now via this link. A weekend pass is just $35, while individual nights are $15. Sixteen bands, one cause: supporting independent, non-corporatized multimedia in ATL.
News
This upcoming Monday, July 7, marks the official beginning of the Cop City RICO trials at the Fulton County Courthouse. We will be returning on the ground to cover 19-year-old Ayla King’s trial, which hasn’t seen much traction since the case was delayed following the defense’s motion to dismiss in January 2024.
[ Related: ‘The Process is the Punishment’ — Mainline’s exclusive podcast series covering the Stop Cop City and the unprecedented RICO indictment against 61 protesters ]
It has been nearly two years since the Georgia Attorney General’s office indicted 61 individuals for their protest (and in some cases, their perceived protest) against the police militarization facility in the South River Forest, otherwise known as Weelaunee Forest. There’s been many twists and turns bringing us, finally, to the start of the trial, and now, with a new judge. Still, there are a slew of issues concerning discovery and pending motions, which we covered most recently from the May 14 status hearing.
As we’ve been doing since the start, we will continue to report on these trials until the end. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to support that coverage by clicking the button below. While bigger outlets might skim over this one, or not cover these trials at all, we are dedicated to seeing this story and supporting those facing political repression all the way through.
We are also excited to share that we have been awarded a micro-grant to produce the next episode of our The Process is the Punishment series. We look forward to getting back to work and unveiling episode two very soon.
Mainline Studios
I am excited to share that we will be opening our studio for booking sessions with Atlanta musicians and artists. We will be offering private studio sessions for those in need of tracking and recording music, as well as live studio performance sessions to be streamed live on our YouTube channel and social media. Those offerings will become available after our festival ends in September. If you have any questions about it, please email me at aja@mainlinezine.com!
We will also be unveiling a new regularly broadcasted show in August with other movement media partners.
And finally, we are still hosting our movement media training series via our Patreon. This is a weekly offering at a sliding scale price of $10-$20 a month, and together, we build and strengthen skills in all aspects of media work and journalism. This is a great course for community organizers, aspiring journalists, citizen journalists, and communications workers. Join our community anytime, jump out anytime.
We are so grateful for all our contributors and supporters who keep this operation going. This month marks six years for us, and each year gets better than the last as we explore more ways to support the movement, journalism, and music communities in Atlanta.
With gratitude,
Aja Arnold | Founder, Mainline