A chronicle of the Upstate South Carolina music community and beyond
By DAN ARMONAITIS When Marshall Chapman returns to Spartanburg this weekend, she’ll be performing as part of what she said will be her “favorite show of the year, for sure.” While some of that feeling can be attributed to the fact that it’s been nearly two-and-a-half years since she last Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS During the heyday of big band jazz in the 1940s, one of the genre’s biggest stars was bandleader Woody Herman. A three-time Grammy Award winner and a recipient of the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the clarinet-playing Herman toured the country with various ensembles dubbed The Herd Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS Mike Savino laughs when he thinks about a moment of youthful indiscretion he experienced in the early 1990s. “I got arrested for shoplifting when I was 16 because I wanted an Alice in Chains CD,” said Savino, who grew up in Long Island, N.Y. “My mom was Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS The last two years have been unusual, to say the least. Between the global pandemic that turned the world upside down and political divisions that seemed to widen to unprecedented levels during the most recent U.S. election cycle, it’s as if society has been living through a Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS At the start of the year, Howl in the Valley decided to take a little break. The folk-rock band — composed of Spartanburg-based musicians Jonathan Stephens, Janeen Scott and Michael Krell — didn’t schedule any concerts for January and February. The idea was to use the time Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS If not for social distancing measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, MerleFest would have been held this past weekend in Wilkesboro, N.C. Since 1988, the festival has brought tens of thousands of music lovers — including many from the Upstate — to the Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS Brooks Dixon has played some livestream concerts in the last few weeks, and the Greenville-based singer-songwriter has also enjoyed watching such performances by others in the Upstate music community and beyond. “It’s been nice to see people play, but (it’s) definitely not the same,” Dixon said. “I Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS Long before forming The Consumers, a Spartanburg-based band that began churning out edgy pop-rock in the mid-2000s, Joe Power was a serious student of early 20th century blues. “I must have been 11 years old when I heard Skip James’ ‘Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues,’ and it Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS When social distancing measures related to the coronavirus pandemic put a temporary ban on nightspots presenting live music, Spartanburg resident Russell Bannan wanted to do something to support local musicians suffering from lost income. Teaming up with longtime friend Justin Tripam, Bannan came up with “The Lint Read More
By DAN ARMONAITIS Jordan Caparell had been anticipating the arrival of Friday, April 3 for quite some time. REdEFIND, the veteran Upstate band he joined about seven months ago as its new lead vocalist, was to have celebrated the release of its latest EP with a concert that night at Read More