After struggling with "major setbacks" and "financial loss" with their 2025 edition, Birmingham, Alabama punk, emo/metal, hardcore, metalcore, post-hardcore, etc festival Furnace Fest was sold to an outside production company, with founding and managing partner Johnny Grimes departing.
Outside, the Alabama Booksmith is so unassuming it's as if Reiss had forgotten that he was running a retail business: a two-story, nearly windowless structure, surrounded by office parks and parking lots, on a dead-end street in a suburb of Birmingham. Inside, the vibe is half 1970, half 1870, with wood panelling, rattan chairs, and a drop-tile ceiling-but also patterned tablecloths, cozy curtains, a functioning fireplace, and an oversized hourglass.