Held Here: Profiles in Presence…
Welcome to Held Here, where I share portraits of people shaping Macon and beyond—artists, activists, musicians, neighbors. Each profile is rooted in observation and conversation, capturing not only what someone does, but who they are, and how their presence ripples through place and time. This is storytelling that honors the quiet builders, the culture shapers, and the ones holding the door open for others.
Paul Hornsby: A Life in the Cracks
Macon musician and producer Paul Hornsby is one of Southern rock's architects. He was the man in the room when the Hour Glass was becoming something, when Marshall Tucker was finding its voice, when Charlie Daniels wrote the South's anthem. Born in Elba, Alabama, and rooted for decades in Macon, Paul built Muscadine Recording Studios and never stopped working. His fingerprints are on the genre's foundation.
Stillwater: Hittin’ Like a B-52
Stillwater shared stages with major Southern rock acts, got a record deal, toured hard, and survived the collapse of the Capricorn era. Mike Causey, Rob Walker, Sebie Lacey, Al Scarborough, David Heck, Bobby Golden, Jimmy Hall, and Bob spearman mostly grew up in Warner Robins, Georgia, just south of Macon, in a region that’s produced some of the finest musicians in the South. Decades later, Stillwater still means something significant around here.
Stillwater’s Mike Causey: The Shredder
Warner Robins guitarist Mike Causey learned guitar in a music store on Commercial Circle and went on to help shape one of Southern rock's most distinctive sounds. A founding member of Stillwater and a natural teacher of the trade, both music and the art of human connection, Mike’s influence runs deeper than the records. It’s woven into the fabric of Middle Georgia life across six decades.
Stillwater’s Al Scarborough: The Mystic
Al Scarborough’s bass carried the low-end foundation of Stillwater’s Southern Rock sound while he built a life shaped by family, survival, and the music itself. From teenage rehearsal houses and Capricorn-era stages to the quiet refuge he calls Paradise along Echeconnee Creek, Al is still one of the currents flowing beneath Middle Georgia’s musical culture.
Stillwater’s Sebie Lacey: The Showman
Sebie Lacey became the magnetic frontman at the center of Stillwater’s rise, taking the band from Warner Robins stages to the Capricorn-era Southern Rock circuit through sheer presence, humor, and heart. More than a singer standing at the microphone, Sebie is one of the connective personalities inside the band’s long brotherhood. Today, he fills a room before the music even starts.
Stillwater’s Rob Walker: The Technician
Guitarist Rob Walker helped shape Stillwater’s distinctive triple-guitar sound through precision, feel, and a deep understanding of music that earned admiration from players across the Southern rock world. A virtuoso inside the band’s wall of sound, Rob was also one of the steady creative forces behind Stillwater’s long journey from Warner Robins stages to the Capricorn era and beyond. One of the nicest men on the planet, he’s still rockin’ and shockin’.
Stillwater’s Bobby Golden: The Architect
Guitarist Bobby Golden grew up inside one of Middle Georgia’s deeply musical families, playing in bands with his brother and others before Stillwater emerged from Warner Robins in the 1970s. His father, Duke Golden, gave the young band encouragement and a place to live, rehearse, and build their sound. Bobby’s family was part of the foundation beneath Stillwater’s rise, helping transform a local group of determined young men into one of the South’s enduring rock bands.
Stillwater’s Bob Spearman: The Foundation
Bob Spearman helped push Stillwater beyond straightforward Southern Rock, layering organ, piano, clavinet, and synthesizers into the band’s evolving sound. Fellow musicians still speak of him with deep affection, remembering not only his versatility but the raw, soulful force of his playing. Bob brought atmosphere, danger, tenderness, and surprise to the music, helping shape a richer, more adventurous Middle Georgia sound during Southern rock’s formative years.
Stillwater’s Jimmy Hall: The Soul Singer
Warner Robins musician Jimmy Hall helped build the restless, guitar-driven sound that emerged from Middle Georgia garages, rehearsal rooms, and teen clubs during the rise of Southern Rock. Jimmy became part of the region’s wider musical brotherhood and later remained deeply rooted in the friendships and working-class culture that shaped it.
Stillwater’s David Heck: The Professional
David Heck brought something essential to Stillwater during the band’s later years: steadiness, precision, and the instincts of a true working drummer. As Southern rock was shifting from its wild early rise into a harder season of survival, Heck became the rhythmic backbone that helped carry Stillwater through lineup changes and industry turbulence. Raised in a musical family, Heck reflected the discipline and grounded character that shaped much of Middle Georgia’s music scene. Unlike the other members of Stillwater, Heck eventually traded Georgia’s red clay for the Colorado mountains, building a life there and taking the music, and the brotherhood, with him.
Robert Lee Coleman: A Life in the Key of Blues
Macon guitarist Robert Lee Coleman, a giant of soul, funk, and blues, has spent decades turning local clubs into classrooms, mentoring younger players even as his own riffs echo on classic records. More than a sideman to history, Robert is one of its anchors in Macon, a living bridge connecting Black church basements, soul revues, Southern Rock circles, and the new generation now finding its place in the city’s sound.
Newt Collier: A Life in Full Breath
Newton Collier’s enduring presence in Macon has helped anchor the city’s music across generations. Through decades of steady work and deep community ties, he has contributed to the longevity of a sound that continues to define the place.
John Stanley Killingsworth: Keeping Time, Coming Home
For fifty+ years, Stanley Killingsworth has been a quiet constant in Middle Georgia’s music scene — drummer, songwriter, mentor, survivor. From 1970s clubs and near-misses with Capricorn to jamming with Gregg Allman at Grant’s Lounge and today’s songwriter circles, his story is the story of musicians who have kept the Macon groove alive.
Kirsten West: Godmother of Southern Rock
Kirsten West is the Godmother of Southern Rock preservation in Macon, GA. From saving the Big House and building its archives to co-publishing Hittin’ the Note and running Gallery West, she has given fans a home — and history — to return to again and again. And she’s not done yet.
Kirk West: A Life in Focus, Behind the Lens and Behind the Scenes
Kirk West archived the Allman Brothers Band while living the music. As tour manager, photographer, and co-founder of The Big House Museum, Kirk captured history as it happened. This Held Here Profile honors the legacy he built—behind the lens, behind the band, and right here in Macon, Georgia.
Erin Hawkins: Connecting and Coloring Macon
She’s painted schools, sidewalks, and hearts all across Macon. From crosswalk murals that save lives to student art projects that change them, Erin Hawkins—aka Mama Hawk Draws—quietly transforms every space she touches. She doesn’t need the spotlight. Just a wall, a brush, and a community ready to rise.
Chris Hicks: The Soulful Shredder of Macon
Discover the roots and road stories of Chris Hicks, Macon-native guitarist and vocalist of The Marshall Tucker Band. A Southern Rock lifer with stories that span from Stevie Ray to Skynyrd.
She Keene: Art with Teeth, and a Grin
She Keene isn’t just creating art—she’s building a feminist roadmap. With hidden histories and a sharp tongue for the patriarchy, she’s turning overalls into armor and helping Macon Rise.
DSTO Moore: Giving People Flowers While They Can Still Smell Them
DSTO isn’t just a photographer. He’s a civic poet with a lens—someone who captures people not just in frame, but in full humanity. He’s a man using art as a form of stewardship, legacy, and emotional justice.