Boiled peanut fest, baseball park show, blues fest, more bring the Midlands live music
A duo of concerts for a cause highlight a weekend of live music in Columbia.
Whiskey Tango Revue, whose guitarist Rhodes Bailey chatted with The State, plays the Palmetto Boiled Peanut Festival Saturday on Devine Street. The festival supports Animal Mission and the Columbia animal shelter. Country super star Joe Nichols, famous for the light-hearted hit “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” headlines a concert at the Fireflies’ stadium that supports veterans.
But if all that sounds far too normal, Daikaiju hits West Columbia this coming week with their wild surf punk sound and a live show that often ends with drums being lit on fire.
The 24th annual Carolina Downhome Blues Festival in Camden starts Friday and rocks the whole weekend with South Carolina, national and international blues musicians.
See the list below for all the Columbia, Lexington and Midlands live shows and check with venues for time and cost details.
A chat with Rhodes Bailey, guitarist in Whiskey Tango Revue and former State House candidate.
Do you think more people know you for running for the State House or for playing in Whiskey Tango Revue?
Since last year, I would say more people know me from our State House campaign. But knocking on 3000 doors and being on TV will do that. That said, I’ve played music in Columbia for about 15 years and I’ve met a lot of great folks from the music scene. Between COVID and raising two young kids, I haven’t played as many Whiskey Tango Revue shows again until recently, so I get excited when random people say “Hey, I saw your band!” My opponent in the campaign ran ads with me playing guitar to paint me as an unserious person, but picked a cool picture of me with a Telecaster and wearing a cowboy hat. My campaign crew thought it was amazing that the attack ad used such a great picture. So we put the same picture on a billboard for our own campaign ad. Apparently it only took running for public office to get my name in lights for playing guitar.
Tell folks about Whiskey Tango Revue.
Whiskey Tango Revue formed in 2009 when I was playing pedal steel guitar a lot. For a couple of years we played mainly old school outlaw country, with a little rock ‘n roll. After a while, it felt limiting and some harder rockin’ songs started to creep in. Somehow we ended up playing a bunch of weddings, so we added horns to our sound and added some more danceable music to our repertoire. At some point we just decided to play whatever we like, no matter the genre. “Holiday Road” (by Lindsey Buckingham) from the old “National Lampoon’s Vacation” movie always gets the crowd going. When we nailed those harmonies, we knew we had something. The crowd also seems to like it when we cover random 80s songs. Since the band doesn’t have any synthesizers, any 80s cover has an earthy, unrefined sound.
Do you have a favorite musician turned lawmaker or public policy official, like Chris Novoselic or Jimmie Davis?
My first impulse is to steal your suggestion of Louisiana Gov. Jimmie Davis. He was an established songwriter that was elected governor once in the 1940s and again in the 1960s. Talk about staying power and cultural relevance. Pursuing both music and politics in your life is not as natural as it may look, because they use entirely different parts of your brain. Being active in policy, campaigns, or legislation is not the same as writing a protest song. One fascinating figure is Sonny Bono. Not because of his body of work ... and certainly not because of his political views (he was a Republican Congressman). I was impressed with his ability to persevere and do things he wasn’t supposed to be able to do. People would always put this little 5’5” tall guy down whenever he tried to execute a vision. They told him he couldn’t work in music because he couldn’t sing, but he started Sonny and Cher. They told him he couldn’t make it in television, but he created a hit variety show in the 70s. Fast forward 20 years and people laughed at him for getting involved in politics. But Bono was elected to Congress, of all things. Conventional wisdom says successful people strive to be the very best at one thing and focus only on that, but isn’t that kind of boring? Maybe we are happier when we live a well-rounded existence and have a variety of adventures.
Thursday, Oct. 7
Vista After Five series w/ Dear Blanca, Marshall Brown - Heartfelt, ramshackle first, psychedelic second. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
2 Slices, Bad Vessel, Invisible Low End Power, Outerego - Dreamy, synth heavy, and danceable. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Rod Foster & Company - Jazz takes on classic R&B. At Chayz Lounge - 607 Meeting St., West Columbia
Kris Hitchock - Covers guy, sure to please. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Collective Soul, Better than Ezra, Tonic - 90s alt rock hit makers. At The Township Auditorium - 1703 Taylor St., Columbia
Tyler Booth - Baritone sung with Rucker once. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
The Catalinas - Beach music for shag dancing. At Icehouse Ampitheater - 107 W Main St., Lexington
Mitch Butler concert & jam session - Jazz jam led by trombonist. At The Aristocrat - 1001 Washington St., Columbia
David Rodriguez & La Caravana - Salsa, Latin jazz, merengue, more. At The Joint - 1710 Main St., Columbia
Tokyo Joe (acoustic) - Decades old local tune masters. At Social Grill - 1002 A J Amick Rd., Irmo
Congaree Bluff - Folk country duo with harmonies. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
The Carolina Downhome Blues Festival (Oct. 7-10) - 24th year of popular event. In downtown Camden, SC
First Thursday on Main w/ A La Mids, Fabulous Bird, Flower Shopping - Popular Columbia event, definite pleaser. At Boyd Plaza - 1515 Main St., Columbia
Radio Source - Covers modern, last five decades. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Slim Pickens, Richard Hurteau - Made John Prine tribute album. At Uncle Festers - 522 Devine St., Columbia
Friday, Oct. 8
Groove Centric - From Miles to James Brown. At Chayz Lounge - 607 Meeting St., West Columbia
THE Dubber & Rebel Alliance, Richard Hurteau, K. Ford, Tam The Vibe, Rob Savage, B.O.R.N. aka Bitta - Show to celebrate Dubber’s album. At The Koger Center - 1051 Greene St., Columbia
84 - A tribute to Van Halen. At The Senate - 1022 Senate Street, Columbia
Kris Hitchock - Second night of beloved covers. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Rickey Cole - “Drink, dance, repeat,” site says. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Cody Jinks, Randy Rogers Band, Ward Davis - Modern day outlaw country troubadour. At The Township Auditorium - 1703 Taylor St., Columbia
A Brother’s Revival - A tribute to Allman Brothers. At Newberry Opera House - 1201 McKibben St., Newberry
Randy Lucas Trio - Concert for raising cancer awareness. At Icehouse Ampitheater - 107 W Main St., Lexington
Alex Butler & his band - Covers for a night out. At Carolina Western Pub - 920 Lady St., Columbia
Live Blues After 5 series - Feeling blue? Here’s your jam. At The Joint - 1710 Main St., Columbia
Amos Hoffman & friends - Gypsy jazz guitar, other varieties At The Joint - 1710 Main St., Columbia
Jive Mother Mary - They definitely love Black Crowes. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Doug Jones - Leader of SC’s Cravin’ Melon. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Brooks Herring - Veteran, songwriting in Lexington scene. At RF’s Corner Grill - 712 W Main St, Lexington
Maddie Rean - Country making Gretchen Wilson proud. At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
Black Water Shine - Country songs about drinking, women. At Highway 378 Bar & Grill - 3007 Hwy 378 Gilbert
Brendan Roberts Band - A band in a bar. At The Tipsy Toad Tavern - 103 Beaufort St., Chapin
Wet Nose Dogs - Southern rock and country band. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Saturday, Oct. 9
Palmetto Boiled Peanut Festival w/ Whiskey Tango Revue, DJ VooDoo Child - Benefits Animal Mission, Columbia shelter. At the 2900 block of Devine St.
Big Red Barn Retreat Fall Jam w/ Joe Nichols & others - Country award winner supports veterans. At Segra Park - 1640 Freed St., Columbia
Charles Page & Company - “Classic soul and R&B tunes.” At Chayz Lounge - 607 Meeting St., West Columbia
Everclear - 90s rockers, “Father of Mine.” At The Senate - 1022 Senate Street, Columbia
J & The Bootleggers - Doing 70s, 80s, 90s covers. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Alex Butler & his band - “Keep you dancing all night.” At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Earth Wind & Fire - Remember “Ba-deeah Ba-deeah, Badeeah Ba-deeah.” At The Township Auditorium - 1703 Taylor St., Columbia
Dan Tyminski - Grammy winner with Krauss’ band. At Newberry Opera House - 1201 McKibben St., Newberry
Smokey Jones and The 3 Dollar Pistols - “Real country and honky-tonk.” At Carolina Western Pub - 920 Lady St., Columbia
City Lights - Music while you drink beer. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Badcash Band - Motto: “We’ve got ya covered.” At RF’s Corner Grill - 712 W Main St, Lexington
The Killer Beez - Killer covers from five decades. At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
The Revelries - Guitar driven rock, pop sensibilities. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Sunday, Oct. 10
Osara, The Almas, Once Around, The Transonics - Post-grunge heavy rock, metalish. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Cas Haley - Sunny reggae songwriter from Texas. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
Vicky Saye Henderson & Friends - “Vocal chameleon” does classic takes. At Newberry Opera House - 1201 McKibben St., Newberry
Britt and Gould - Columbia’s Dave Britt, Adam Gould. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Dave Watson & The Low Country Boys - Classic 80s, 90s country covers - At 378 Bar & Grill 3007 Hwy 378 Gilbert
Ryan Trotti - Country with rock and pop. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Tuesday, Oct. 12
Daikaiju, Abacus, Tongues of Fire, Flippants - Surf punk with drum arson. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Wednesday, Oct. 13
Microwave, Elder Brother, Taking Meds, Weakened Friends - Think Sunny Day Real Estate. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Marc Rebillet - Youtube jokester does electronic music. At The Senate - 1022 Senate Street, Columbia
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 2:00 PM.