If you’re reading this, you are a fan of live music. If you’re a fan of live music, you like to go to concerts and you want to share the good news with friends about a musician you’ve seen. Some of us get to see more shows than others and we want others to enjoy what we have heard and seen. This blog is my recollection of a record year of performances. All in all, I took in 63 shows at 16 locations in Charleston and two more shows in Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, Ga. Come along for the journey of a lifetime!

Now, I’m not a rich person nor am I retired. However, I do work as an usher at the Charleston Music Hall which is a 965-seat intimate theatre in historic downtown Charleston. Working there I took in 34 shows , occasionally as a patron. I also enjoyed multiple shows at the Pourhouse, the Performing Arts Center and Coastal Coffee Roasters, to highlight a few venues.

If there was a theme to this year’s collection of shows, it was that the overwhelming number of shows were first time experiences of their talents. This was made easier for me by the fact that I get to select the shows I work at the Hall and I often take a chance on a band whose reputation I have heard about or admired. I also will take a chance and buy a ticket to see a band that’s been on my radar. There are lots of shows in various venues around this town where you can spend $25 or less and see a great band or two perform.

Early in the year, I took in a double bill of the Traveling McCoury’s and the Jeff Austin Band at the Pourhouse and in June I saw Yonder Mountain String Band on the beach at the Isle of Palms(SC). What’s the big deal here? Jeff Austin was a founding member of YMSB but left the band a few years back. He was a giant in the new Grass revival that has introduced a new generation or two to the joys of string band music. When he returned to touring, he often hooked up with the Traveling McCourys’ for tours. Fortunately for me, I have seen Jeff with his own band before and as part of YMSB. In August, Jeff passed away quite unexpectedly. I’ve heard many people, when thinking of an upcoming show, back off and tell themselves that they will see the act the next time they come to town. But the future is not promised to anyone and many are left with regrets. I am one of the fortunate people who will have no regrets for having seen Jeff Austin live. Don’t let this happen to you!

 You likely live somewhere other than Charleston (SC) and your population may be larger than ours. You probably have more venues to choose from and your city may get the bigger tours making the circuit. However, the bigger acts are commanding even larger ticket prices. There’s a finite budget for live music in most of our lives and for every $100 ticket to see a premier artist, you could see four or five shows in smaller venues from excellent artists. 

My first-timers this year included Neko Case, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, the Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, Tyler Childers, Jim James (I saw him as a member of My Morning Jacket about eight years ago), Sugar Lime Blue, country artists Joe Pardi, Waterloo Revival and Runaway June on one country showcase, Mercy Me, Crowder and Micah Tyler at a Christian music show, India Aire, Kendall St. Company, the Marsh Grass Mamas, Jamie Johnson and Natalie Stovall, Blue Sphere, Perpetual Groove (acoustic), Slightly Stoopid, Matisyahu, Tribal Seeds and HIRIE in a reggae show outdoors, Terence Young Band, Josh Butler, Wynonna(Judd), Gavin De Graw, Toad the Wet Sprocket, KISS, Richard Marx, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, ZZ Top and Cheap Trick celebrating 50 years of ZZT, Chris Botti, the Indigo Girls, the Allman Betts Band, Spafford with the Movement, Robotrio, Voodoo Visionary and Heather Gillis at the Woodlands Festival, and Aaron Neville.

When you like a band, you want to see them again and bring friends along for the experience. This past year I was able to see Dead and Company twice on a weekend road trip. The first night in Charlotte, I brought my 24-year-old daughter with me for her first Grateful Dead family experience. I think she’ll be back for more. One of my local favorites, Forty Mile Detour plays all over Charleston and I saw them a half dozen times for $10 or less and most shows were free. There was ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro, Dawes, the Everyone Orchestra, Experience Hendrix, Hootie and the Blowfish, the Mavericks, Dark Star Orchestra, Shakey Graves, the Red Cedar Revue, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, the SC Blues Alliance, Tedeschi Trucks Band with Blackberry Smoke and Shovels and Rope in an outdoor show, Keller Williams, Melvin Seals and the JGB featuring John Kadlisack, Umphrey’s McGee, Alice Cooper and local favorites the Blue Dogs.

The musical landscape is alive and well here and I hope it is where you live too. We have a vibrant local music scene with something for everyone’s tastes. To that, you offer clubs and theatres that range from a few hundred patrons to the Coliseum that could hold upwards of 10,000 fans. I would be remiss if I didn’t factor in that Charleston is a vacation destination for tourists worldwide. It all adds up to growth in the quality of the artists that we might be able to get tickets to see live. It’s nicer when the bands come to your town before you contemplate a road trip.

Favorite show? Probably the next one. This year I don’t recall witnessing a “stinker,” at all this year. I saw so many great artists and musicians that I would be doing a disservice to those I leave off the list. If you’ve read my concert reviews this past year, you will see which acts stood out and why.  If you’re still reading this, I thank you for taking a few minutes to learn about music that you might want to see soon! I would love to hear from my readers about artists and shows that blew you away last year! Please reply and share with all your best concert experiences this past year. In the end, do you believe in magic?

#charlestonmusichall #jeffaustin #yondermountainstringband #pourhouse #fortymiledetour #coastalcoffeeroasters #deadandcompany