Just northwest of Charleston (SC) lies a true example of the graceful old South. The town has welcomed residents, neighbors and tourists to Summerville since 1847. For the last 50 years, the Flower town Festival brings more than 250,000 out to soak in the southern hospitality and enjoy the arts, crafts and cuisine each spring. Every fall for the least seven years, Summerville, the Flower Town in the Pines, was hosting the annual Sweet Tea Festival. The town has laid claim to having discovered and developed the ultimate southern beverage.  The town near Charleston declared that they are reason many people find it tolerable to drink tea! Sorry, you teetotalers that’s how we feel.

This past September, the Southern Songwriters Festival. was introduced as a festival within a festival. This festival highlighted the talents of dozens of singer songwriters in various locations around the town’s center over three days. I wanted to learn how this Showcase came to be so I sat down with Mark Yampolsky, a local musician and one of the driving forces behind this offering.

The idea of the Songwriters showcase was born and nurtured by Mark Yampolsky and Dan Riley. Dan is an artist and the founder of the Edisto Blackwater Boogie; a weekend music festival located a few miles out of town. Mark is the driving force behind local Americana band, Forty Mile Detour. They presented their vision of such a showcase of talent to Steve Doniger, the Executive Director of Summerville Dream. Dream was created to promote local businesses in the historic section of downtown Summerville and the Sweet Tea Festival which embraced the idea of running the festivals together.

Planning for the Festival

Discussions began about a year ago and the festival idea was born to many of the usual challenges of putting on a schedule of to debut this in the spring. As many great undertakings, this project took longer than expected to be born and spring turned to fall. Mark and Dan relied on their contacts in the music industry to gather the musicians and spread their vision to those who could help. Eventually, they were able to enlist seven bar and restaurant operations to host musicians at their establishments. There is a bandshell in Hutchison Square on the main drag that was put to good use on Saturday, the main day of the showcase. In addition, the Songwriters Alley served as a stage for three artists at a time to present their music to an appreciative audience.

I was curious how all this was unfolding in the streets, bars and restaurants. I missed the first night due to other commitments. However, Summerville Dream arranged the schedule so that the Songwriters festival premiered to a rousing crowd all over downtown for Third Thursday, a showcase every month of shops in historic downtown Summerville. Folks out to enjoy the food, drinks, arts and crafts of the local businesses received a bonus of live music by solo artists. We ventured to the downtown business area on the second night of festivities to see what this was all about. After finding a convenient parking spot, we came upon artists giving solo performances, in two separate restaurants and bars, to an appreciative audience.

Saturday, the third and last day of the SSF, saw them share live music from the festival with the Sweet Tea Festival crowd. Thousands of people came out for tea, food and fun and got a nice surprise of live, original music presented by talented, little-known artists with something to sing about. The streets were teeming with people enjoying the festival stage on Short Central Ave, a pedestrian street now and then. Out on Main Street, under the bandshell, a variety of musicians and bands offered five hours of music for all to hear. Saturday night saw the only ticketed event ($10) take place in the old Public Works building. In a small listening room environment three acts performed to the delight of those lucky enough to get a ticket. The Sweet Tea Festival brought out a crowd when a new festival would struggle to get a crowd to come out for the first of anything!

The festival showcased 41 artists in nine locations around downtown. I like the concept and the layout for the festival. With adequate promotion and a lot of local support, this festival can grow and gain a good reputation. This could aid the promotors bringing in more quality acts and gaining some cred. I could see this growing and increasing in popularity., culminating in a concert each night with a rising star.

The lure of Charleston, the #1 vacation destination according to Conde Nast publishing, would be an added draw to a musician getting a slot in the SSF. There’s Awendaw Green to the north of Mount Pleasant and the Charleston Pourhouse south of Charleston. There are plenty of bars and restaurants that could benefit by having a songwriter serenade their guests for the lunch or dinner crowd. The Music Farm might also be a showcase for some of the artists who come for the Southern Songwriting Festival. Let’s hope for more next year. Look to the Do You Believe in Magic FB page as we will share the news regarding next year’s festival when it’s announced.

#SouthernSongwriterFestival #SweetTeaFestival #SummervilleDream