Upstate Live Music: A Change in Programming

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Brett Barest

I will be the first to admit that I use this space to write about The Radio Room a lot. It is the one spot in town that I drive by nearly every day and gawk at the marquee, either seeing the names local bands I know, touring bands I do not, and – best of all – bands I never expected to see playing this close to my house. A dive bar elevated from its original roots in a building not quite nice enough to qualify as a dive – when it comes to live music The Radio Room is a Greenville institution.

All of this is to say that I will not be commenting on Radio Room performances for the foreseeable future as they have elected to take a second hiatus on live shows. Honestly, who can blame them? COVID cases are spiking through the roof, people get a few drinks in them and refuse to wear masks, and how much money can a venue or artist make on a half capacity show? It is a bummer for sure but also the wisest decision those in charge could make at this time.

This being said, there is still a ton of music worth seeing this weekend and given the variety of venues and genres at hand, the local music scene is pressing forward undeterred.

Friday evening sees a pair of ugly Christmas sweater parties/live shows at local craft breweries. My Girl, My Whiskey, & Me will take the stage at 13 Stripes in Taylors Mill while Red Bank Road will provide the soundtrack for Fireforge’s shenanigans in Downtown Greenville. As a side note, if dining options have any sway over your planning, besides the four million eateries Downtown has to offer, Taylors Mill features The Farehouse delivering some darn fine cuisine right next door to 13 Stripes, making either destination a convenient and responsible night out.

For its part, Saturday offers an array of daytime entertainment at a variety of unique venues. Gather GVL continues to do a great job supporting local music with an appearance by singer songwriter Mark Webb Jr. at 1:30pm. Pickens’ Hagood Mill is also offering a great adventure back in time with their Celtic Christmas & Holiday Market. The site’s mid-19^th century character will be paired with live Celtic music and clogging, early influencers of Appalachian roots music our region is known for. Finally, Vilai Harrington returns to Tetrad Brewing, which seems to becoming a regular thing that I will mention every time until he draws maximum reduced capacity, mostly because I love Vilai Harrington the human being as much as his music.

Finally, if late night (well, state mandated 11pm closing time) dives are still calling your name, The Black River Rebels and NiteGazer are wrapping up Saturday over at Gottrocks, which always offers a great time when live music hits the stage.

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All of this brings me back to The Radio Room which still deserves our love and support in the absence of live music. The kitchen is still open, libations at the bar continue to flow, and smaller seated events like trivia and open mic comedy will go on as long as it is all responsibly possible. We will all continue to adjust to the never ending waves of crap the current age keeps throwing at us so let us keep on celebrating our local stages in any way possible while we see this thing through. As always, enjoy the show.