Local music legend Milton Sledge and Muscle Shoals music studio owner Billy Lawson stopped in Athens Tuesday for a tour of the Scout Music House, which is being transformed into a recording and performance studio for local student musicians.

Built in 1938 for the Boy Scouts, the Scout Music House, also known as the “little red schoolhouse” sat dormant for many years until the city of Athens agreed to lease the 2,700-square-foot building to the Athens Arts League. In exchange for the use of the building, the League agreed to transform the house on Washington Street into something useful.

With an initial grant of $20,000 secured by Lynne Hart of Keep Athen-Limestone Beautiful two years ago, the League took the initial steps to transform the house, which at one time served as the Board of Education for Athens City Schools, into a music incubator where student musicians can create, record and perform their music.

Spearheading the project is Scout Music House Committee Chairwoman Holly Hollman, who is also the communications specialist for the city of Athens. Hollman said she invited Sledge and Lawson to the Scout Music House in hopes of tapping into their combined expertise as performance artists and sound engineers.

Growing up in the Clements community, Sledge said he wished there would have been something like the Scout Music House when he was young and trying to navigate the often complex world of music production.

From his time as a drummer in the Clements High School band in the late 1960s to playing for country megastar Garth Brooks, Sledge has performed on albums by Barbara Mandrell, Alabama, Emmylou Harris, Mark Chesnutt and Trisha Yearwood, having also written songs for Pat Alger, Bruce Bouton and Garth Brooks.

Looking over the semi-completed music studio, Sledge said the concept of having “something like this central to all schools is wonderful.”

“If it inspires five, 20, 30 or 50 student musicians to go on and pursue their dreams, it will be worth it,” he said.

Lawson, a singer and songwriter who now owns Wishbone Studios in Muscle Shoals, had all sorts of design suggestions for the new studio. Given the impressive list of artists who have recorded in his studios, Jim McDole, the Scout Music House committee member responsible for designing the studio, was all ears, taking in Lawson’s advice about cable quality and equipment placement.

“Someplace like this will give students hands-on experience, learning music the old way as opposed to pushing a button on their computer or phone,” he said. “A community can never have enough music.”

Having returned to the Clements area to settle down with his family, Sledge said he is ready to help out at the Scout Music House by encouraging and mentoring Limestone County’s next generation of musicians, sound engineers and producers.

“It’s time for me to put myself aside and share what I know in terms of the music business and recording,” Sledge said. “There has never been something like this here, and I think it will be invaluable to not just young musicians but the entire community.”

In addition to providing musicians a place to record and perform, Hollman envisions the Scout Music House as much more. Given the buildings proximity and historical charm, Hollman would like to rent out the main area of the house for events such as recitals, receptions and showers. Once finished, the Scout Music House will also have en exhibit space and gift shop that will featuring music-themed merchandise created by artists at High Cotton Arts and memorabilia from local musicians. Sledge has already agreed to allow the Scout House to display memorabilia from his own collection.

With the building nearing completion, Hollman is busy planning events that will put Scout Music House on the map. On Dec. 2, they will unveil a painting of Patti Malone, an Athens born slave who became a world-renowned opera star. The commissioned piece will hang above the house’s original fireplace.

Several concerts are also already on the books, including a kick-off performance by the Pine Hill Haints on Dec. 7.