Friday, Sept. 20
Sharon Jones Tribute Band
Gottrocks,
200 Eisenhower Dr., Greenville
9 p.m.
$10
Bassist and bandleader Shannon Hoover didn’t discover the music of the magnificent old-school soul band Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings until it was almost too late. Jones, who was originally from Augusta, GA, died after a long battle with cancer in November of 2016. But Hoover was moved enough by Jones’ music to create a tribute show in her honor, one that put some of the Upstate’s best musicians into a large Dap-Kings-style ensemble with a horn section. “I’d just started listening to her when she passed away,” Hoover says. “I wanted to start this tribute to her while her music was still fresh with me. I got some like-minded musicians together who were already into her music and had the ability to play the soul and funk stuff the way it needs to be played.”
Hoover has helmed several editions of the tribute show, and this version will feature vocalists Jamie Wright and Audrey Hamilton paying homage to Jones in front of a group that includes guitarists Matt Dingledine and Troy House, percussionist Jeff Holland and drummer Tez Sherard. Hoover says that, with the busy schedules of many of the musicians involved, the hardest part is rehearsing the show beforehand. “The main thing is that everybody’s working,” he says. “We’re all doing other projects, so it’s hard finding time to rehearse. Everything else is easy because we’ve got such great players and everybody’s doing their homework.”
Saturday, Sept. 21
TPP Events presents Rögg Collins, Wasted Wine, Wolfgang Wallace & Glory Day Loflin
The Eighth State Brewing Company,
400 Augusta St., Greenville
11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Free
This weekend’s day long event at Eighth State Brewing Company, which features singer/songwriter Glory Day Loflin, quirky folk-rockers Wolfgang Wallace, exotic and macabre world-music from Wasted Wine a DJ set from Rögg Collins, multiple craft beer releases and food truck vendors, marks the anniversary of a unique collaboration. It’s been one year since the fledgling local booking company TPP Events teamed up with the Eighth State Brewing Company for a weekly mixed-genre free concert series. “It’s been a lot of fun,” says Ash Foster-Lee, the co-founder of TPP Events. “It’s definitely been a lot of work, but I’ve realized the level of talent in the region. And Eighth State has always been supportive of whatever we wanted to bring in, because I’ve always been a big fan of the mixed-bill show.”
Foster-Lee says that one of the biggest rewards of running the series has been bringing bands back for multiple shows and watching them grow. “There’s a handful of bands where you see they just needed a low pressure opportunity to play,” he says. “I don’t want to book somebody one time, and say, ‘Ok, cool, you’ve played here, I can check you off of the list.’ If you play here, ideally, we want you to come back. Watching some of those bands that are just starting out an seeing them get more comfortable has been one of the most rewarding things to me.”
Saturday, Sept. 21
The “Fame” Radio Show, featuring Ashland Craft, Ansley Burns, Luke Smith & Parker Ford
Pickens County Performing Arts Center,
314 W. Main St., Liberty
7 p.m.
$10-$25
Ashland Craft and Ansley Burns are not in the South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall Of Fame yet, but the fast-rising country singers are certainly on the organization’s radar. Craft (who made a splash on Season 13 of NBC’s The Voice) and Burns (who just made it all the way to the semi-final round of America’s Got Talent), could eventually join the 60+ members of the Hall Of Fame, including James Brown, Hootie & The Blowfish, Peabo Bryson and Edwin McCain, but in the meantime, they’ll have to settle for headlining the “FAME Radio” concert at the Pickens County Performing Arts Center, presented by the Hall Of Fame with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“The South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall Of Fame started back in 1989,” says Executive Director Justin Ray Williams, “by Dr. David Gobold, the first Music & Entertainment Commissioner for the state of South Carolina, and the Secretary of State Jim Miles. Our mission is to work with artists and help them reach Hall Of Fame status, whether you’re a singer, actor or dancer.”
