Artists Band Together to Save Georgia Theatre

A tragedy struck the community of Athens, Ga., and its thriving music scene. The Georgia Theatre, a landmark of music and culture that had played host to acts like REM and Dave Matthews, caught fire and burned to the ground Fri., June 20.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined but the blaze was large enough that onlookers could see flames and smoke miles away from the actual site.

"There were orange flames leaping out of the building while several ladder trucks poured water on it from above," Nikki Williams, a bystander, told WBIR.com.

The fire rendered the building to a state of rubble, unfortunately beyond repair.

Not wanting to give up a piece of their musical heritage, many artists are pursuing initiatives to have the theater rebuilt.  Athens bands Dead Confederate and the Whigs recently played a benefit for the theater at another local venue Melting Point. Dead Confederate expressed their grief on social networking site Twitter: "GA Theatre on fire in Athens, damn shame" and posting a photo of smoke pouring into the sky.

Old Guard Graphics, a screen-printing and T-shirt company, is also helping out by producing Georgia Theatre T-shirts that read "Built to last ... we shall overcome." Proceeds from the shirts will go towards rebuilding the venue and compensating employees of the establishment who no longer have a source of income. You can buy one here.

More benefit concerts and fundraisers are in the works. Whether or not the enough money will be raised to rebuild the theater, however, is still up in the air.

But one thing is for certain — this unfortunate event has brought an already tight knit community even closer through their efforts to save the things they love most — art, music and the history of their beloved town.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Brooks Brinson/Getty Images.