ROCK ON

Charleston is loaded with great music venues

Charleston knows how to rock.

With dozens of area music venues and enough local talent and national attractions to keep music lovers busy, good live music is plentiful.

No matter your style and what you like to listen to, there is a place for you.

"When you're in a room and you can hear a thousand people singing back somebody else's music -- that to me is very powerful," said Kristen Thompson, general manager of the Music Farm in downtown Charleston.

"It's just restoring your faith in music, seeing some of these bands," Thompson said. "We had a band here, an instrumental band from Texas. Six- to 10-minute instrumental songs, and they were unbelievable. And it was sold out, and to have 1,000 people pay to see that kind of band is just very cool. Just the power of music and the power of hearing people sing it ... just kind of changes you."

That experience is something only live music can make you feel. Whether you find it on a music compound, at a beach bar, a big concert space or the dive down the street, all that matters is the experience of live music that your CDs, radios and iTunes just can't deliver.

"If you're going to see a band, go see a band. Bands shouldn't be background noise. You're there to see it, you're there to appreciate it." Thompson said.

"You come here, you have some drinks and we have a show," she said. "Somebody puts on a show, there's tons of lights, it's really loud, people are dancing, having a good time. It's more interactive than just going to a bar. I think we're more of an experience."

And a memorable one at that.

"We're in the business of letting people have fun," said The Windjammer's co-owner and general manager, Bobby Ross.

"If you come to the Windjammer and you're not having fun, we're not doing our job," he said. "We get the best entertainment we can possibly get that is affordable."

Often the same price as a typical night out on the town, a live music venue also packs in more entertainment.

"You're going to save money, and you're going to enjoy whatever night you decide to come," said Dwayne Greenhill, assistant for club operation at Goose Creek's The Dive.

"I've been a musician, and basically my partner, Jesse Aguayo, and I decided we wanted to provide an establishment that we would've wanted to be a part of when I was performing. We try to go the extra mile as far as hospitality," Greenhill said.

"It's more casual," he added. "It's somewhere you want to go and experience the events we offer and the atmosphere. It's going to be a show you remember and talk about. It's a lot more intimate and a lot more personable."

Most venues in Charleston, such as The Tin Roof in West Ashley, run on the smaller side. But that intimate, personal experience with a great band and a bartender you know is what will keep you coming back. Well, that and the great local bands that rock just as hard as, if not harder than, anything you have in your earbuds.

The Music Farm features many styles of music, from pop punk to high school and younger bands amd cool indie bands, Thompson said.

"And then there's that whole country, alt country kind of scene," she said.

"There's some really good bands that all network together, collaborating. There seems to be a good, healthy variety," she said.

Eddie White, owner of Awendaw Green, agrees. He is dedicated to nurturing the local music scene, one he says is worth listening to.

"The diversity and talent within our local music community continues to amaze and inspire everyone who is lucky enough to get to see their original work," he said. "Awendaw Green is totally focused on the music and is very family friendly. It's not a traditional commercial venture but focuses on grass-roots support of live music and musicians that make it."

That energy between the band and audience certainly is enriching. It creates that one-of-a-kind experience that you don't get anywhere else.

"Local bands work harder on their own than other bands. They don't have the managers and street teams and the labels pushing them. So they get out and they promote their music and they really believe in what they're doing and they put the effort in," Thompson said. "We actually have some really talented local bands. ... Somebody will play a show and then somebody will go up and play a song with them. I just feel like it's a big community of musicians here."

That sense of community does not apply just to the local music scene.

Our local venues draw people in and create ties in that live experience that make these venues part of the community.

"I love the fact that it has so much personality and history to it," said Thompson. "The Farm's been here for a long time, and they broke (in) a lot of good bands here. And just the community in Charleston, I feel like there is a good energy and a good scene.

"I feel like there's a lot of good memories. I had a couple come in here to shoot some engagement photos because their first date was at the Music Farm," she said. "I had a wedding reception here; I've had somebody's 16th birthday party that rented out a balcony at one of the shows. I feel like we're really tight knit with the community. It's cool to be a part of so many people's memories."