Every week there’s live Americana, blues, jazz in the Midlands. Here’s where to see it
Every week Columbia and Lexington County venues host weekly live shows featuring Americana, blues and jazz music as well as other genres. If you miss your favorite kind of live music one week, you can probably catch it again next week.
The Joint on Columbia’s Main Street has live salsa and merengue music on Thursdays and jazz and blues every Friday. The Aristocrat in Columbia has a jazz jam on Thursdays. A steady stream of jazz, soul and R&B bands, instrumentalists and singers come through West Columbia’s Chayz Lounge.
Venues like Market on Main in Columbia frequently bring in Americana and country solo acts, duos and bands though the venue isn’t limited to those genres. The Tin Roof of the Vista in Columbia has cover bands, typically doing well-known country and rock, every Thursday to Saturday. Even some tucked away places like Uncle Fester’s at the edge of the Vista has regular shows such as the Oct. 21st show of upbeat country-folk songwriter Henry Luther who spoke with The State ahead of his show with melodic punk band Radio Banter.
Out in Lexington County places like the Tipsy Toad Tavern of Chapin and LJ’s Par and Grill regularly have musicians playing country, whether that’s original music or cover tunes. Punk, metal and other rock is live every week at places like West Columbia’s New Brookland Tavern and Columbia’s Art Bar.
See below for a list of live music shows and concerts in Columbia, Lexington and the Midlands. Check the venues’ sites for time and cost details.
A chat with Columbia’s Henry Luther
Who are your influences and who taught you that folk music can have a sense of humor?
Neutral Milk Hotel really opened my eyes to how powerful a single voice and a guitar can be, and The Avett Brothers demonstrated that an act with acoustic instruments can still be aggressive and high energy, which is something I tried to do live . . . I also love classic country and think Hank Williams is the absolute peak, but I noticed that doing songs like his by myself without instrumental breaks makes them feel kind of thin, so I borrowed the idea from Bob Dylan to bring in harmonica to fill in those types of spots and make my songs feel more expansive and varied. The way Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie use humor to get at certain topics really opened up a lot for me as a songwriter, and catching them laughing at themselves mid-song also transformed my idea of what a performance can be.
You have two songs, “Columbia Girl” and “Myrtle Beach Girl.” Is this a series you’re going to continue?
I dig when artists do these types of series, so I probably will keep it going. I was going to rip off The Avett Brothers and call the first one “Pretty Girl from Columbia,” actually, but I eventually decided to be a little less obvious about it. I’d like to do one called “Charleston Girl,” but Tyler Childers already has a lock on that one, so I’ll probably do “Norway Girl” or “Sweden Girl” or “Denmark Girl” because it’s hilarious to me that we have these three Scandinavian towns in a row on 321 in our red state, and I’m sure the ladies there are nice. Maybe I’ll do all three and release it as an EP.
Tell me about your guitar in the “Columbia Girl” video. It looks like an old, well-loved Gibson.
That guitar is my baby. It’s a 1948 LG-1. I have a bad habit of looking at vintage guitars online, and I came across that one after drinking a few too many and feeling good one night and decided I could stand to max out a credit card on it. It’s a little more trebly than bigger bodied guitars, and the sound is a little harsher than guitars with glossier finishes, but it plays like a dream and I think it’s a perfect fit for what I’m doing.
Thursday, Oct. 14
If Birds Could Fly - Upbeat, sincere Americana bleeds authenticity. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Room XII, Bull Street Garage - Newer local bands, maybe jam? 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
Vista After Five series w/ Whit’s End - Outlaw Country straight outta Kershaw. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Lakeview, Sixfort1 - Nashville bands play Columbia free. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Noel Lindler & The Bank Walkers - Music for rocking a bar. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
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
Vaughan Holmes Band - Fellows doing Southern roots rock. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Friday, Oct. 15
Groove Masters Band featuring Beth Inabinett - Jazz, soul and funky tunes. At Chayz Lounge - 607 Meeting St., West Columbia
Beatles vs. Stones - Live take to eternal debate. At The Senate - 1022 Senate Street, Columbia
Carter Lybrand Band - Hype party for Gamecock football. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Rickey Cole - “Drink, dance, repeat,” site says. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
MercyMe - Big time Christian arena rock. At Colonial Life Arena - 801 Lincoln St., Columbia
Muscadine Bloodline - Modern country duo, trodden themes. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
Resurrection - A tribute act to Journey. At Icehouse Ampitheater - 107 W Main St., Lexington
Live Blues After 5 series - Dig blues? Here’s your show. At The Joint - 1710 Main St., Columbia
Amos Hoffman & friends - Gypsy jazz guitar, other varieties At The Joint - 1710 Main St., Columbia
The New Creatures - The Strokes but more Southern. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Ben Wren Band - Country, blues and roots music. At The Hidden Tavern - 240 Wing Hill Dr., Lexington
Cash Money Experience - Covers that make dancing easy. At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
The Joe Mack Solo Act - Does well known guitar blues.
Brendan Roberts Band - A band in a bar. At The Tipsy Toad Tavern - 103 Beaufort St., Chapin
October Rose - Today’s country, originals and cover. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Saturday, Oct. 16
Craig Waters and The Flood - Soulful funk, brings the groove. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
NeverFall, MNRVA, HolyRoller, Doomsday Profit - Alloy show, meaning different metals. At Art Bar - 1211 Park St., Columbia
Rod Foster & Company - Jazz takes on classic R&B. At Chayz Lounge - 607 Meeting St., West Columbia
Mothers Finest, Vintage Vixens - Finest of funk rock pioneers. At The Senate - 1022 Senate Street, Columbia
Canaan Cox - Nashville modern pop called country. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Nick Hickman - “The Party” is here, site says. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Resurrection - A tribute act to Journey. At Icehouse Ampitheater - 107 W Main St., Lexington
Trent Jeffcoat trio - Local country troubadour with band. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Dave Watson & The Low Country Boys - Country fellow sings country music - At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
October Rose - Modern country, originals and cover. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Sunday, Oct. 17
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, She Returns from War - Redefining the Americana underground scene. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Finesse Band - Top 40 radio party band. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
Ernie Haase + Signature Sound. Southern Gospel quartet, praise be. At Newberry Opera House - 1201 McKibben St., Newberry
Vilai Harrington Duo - Could’ve written Cold Mountain soundtrack. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Trent Jeffcoat - Local country troubadour sangin’ songs. At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
MacKenzie Blake - Acoustic guitar and vocal duo. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
Monday, Oct. 18
Opus & the Frequencies - Groovy jam, funk via Sly. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
Code Orange, Bathe, Backslide, Your Spirit Dies - music to mosh, bang heads to. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Tuesday, Oct. 19
The Brazilian All Stars - Playing the music of Brazil. At Newberry Opera House - 1201 McKibben St., Newberry
The Mersey Beatles - . Beatles tribute actually from Liverpool. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
BoJack and Allison - Acoustic duo on the patio. At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
Wednesday, Oct. 20
Ryan Trotti - Country with rock and pop. At LJ’s Par & Grill - 381 Pilgrim Church Rd., Lexington
Thursday, Oct. 21
Henry Luther & The Blackouts, Radio Banter - Country folk then melodic punk. At Uncle Festers - 522 Devine St., Columbia
Turnover, Widowspeak, Temple of Angels - Atmospheric, danceable, between U2, Cure. At New Brookland Tavern - 122 State St., West Columbia
Vista After Five series w/ Sister Hazel - 90s “All for You” writers. At The Tin Roof - 1022 Senate St., Columbia
Filmore - It’s pop from Nashville, TN. At The Main Stage - 1624 Main St., Columbia
Slim Pickens - Made John Prine tribute album. At Steel Hands Brewery - 2350 Foreman St., Cayce
Clay Johnson and the Hard Promises - Country, Americana and roots rock. At Market on Main - 1320 Main St. #150, Columbia
This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 2:00 PM.