ATHENS, Ga. -- If its stage could tell stories -- the fabled stage of the Georgia Theatre in Athens -- we would hear of countless young musicians with talent and ambition and dreams playing their hearts out year after year for college students willing to give them a chance.

It saw the rise of R.E.M., and the beginnings of the B-52s, providing up-and-coming bands in Athens and across the country a cherished showcase for their work.

Now, after Friday's devastating fire, nothing but soot, and charred, fallen timbers occupy that stage on Lumpkin Street downtown.

The feel of the place. The smell of the place. The history inside the Georgia Theatre in Athens. Gone.

"Backstage, they had framed pictures," said Brock Butler of Perpetual Groove, "where you could see at one point that it used to only cost $3.00 to see Dave Matthews Band, and Jane's Addiction, Fish, a ton of just old posters and the ticket prices when they used to play the Theatre. Which is kind of fun, you sit back there and you realize that people who went on to great success also sat in those backstage spaces."

Butler said all the musicians of Perpetual Groove loved the Georgia Theatre so much, they moved to Athens from Savannah to play there every chance they could.

They were supposed to play there again this weekend.

"It's a wonderful place," said Pylon's Vanessa Briscoe Hay.  She remembers well the night the Georgia Theatre reopened in 1990 -- and Pylon performed.

"It seems that everyone in town showed up. Even the mayor." She smiled. "It was fun... We really don't have that many places of that size to play in town. And now we've lost one. And sometimes I think it's a case of -- we don't realize what we have until it's gone."

Veteran Musicians Bryan Poole and Andrew Rieger, who played the Georgia Theatre countless times, including with the indie band Elf Power, are some of the biggest fans of the theater's biggest acts over the years.

"I've seen R.E.M., and the Ramones and the Pixies," Rieger said.

"I've seen David Byrne there, you know, bands like the Ramones, Widespread Panic," Poole said.

"At least I've got some good memories," said Rieger. "If it's gone forever, I'll never forget all the great music I saw there.... I hope that they can rebuild it and it just doesn't turn into another parking deck or something here in Athens.... It's just one of those bedrocks of downtown that you always expect to be there."

"It's such a heavy blow that everybody was kind of in shock immediately," said Poole. "Part of the Athens musical lore, if you want to say that."

John Mayer, Drive By Truckers, Wynton Marsalis, B.B. King -- the list is a long one.

"It's devastating. Everybody, from jazz to country to rock, just about everybody played there," said Musician Bruce Hampton. "A big loss. Man. A big loss."

Hampton first played there in the 1970s, recorded a live album there in 1990, and played there two to three times a year.

"I mean everybody played there. It's about a 900-seat room, I guess. I mean I just remember... all the young bands that were coming up in the early 1990s, they were all there. They would come to the Georgia Theatre almost first. That was the place to get in. They would go there and take less money just because of the prestige of the building. Another club might give them more money, and, you know, when you're 20 years old you need that extra five bucks. But I remember they all wanted to play right there."

Nashville has Ryman Auditorium.  In New York City it's Carnegie Hall.  Atlanta has the Fox.  For decades, that's what the Georgia Theatre meant to Athens.

"It's gone, now. It's gone," Hays said. "And, you know, it can't be exactly replaced."

And everyone speaks of the Theatre's owner, Wilmot Greene, as more of a friend to musicians and employees than a boss.

Butler remembers the night when Perpetual Groove invited Greene up to the stage to play guitar with them on ZZ Top's "Nationwide."

"He killed," Butler said with admiration. "He was awesome."

Perpetual Groove will play a benefit concert for the Theatre's employees. The concert is Saturday night, June 20, at The Classic Center in Athens. Doors open at 8. The performance will be from 9 to midnight.