Well, although 2013 left a lot to be desired for me, in the area of music it was pretty good. It wasn’t jam packed or anything, but it was good.
April was kind of an odd one. I actually went to Colombia for a British car show, but it was being held in conjunction with the local “Tartan Day South” festival. The show was good, but the festival was where the real fun was. From dog herding demonstrations (think Babe The Pig) to music, food and art, there was a plethora of things to see and do. The part we probably enjoyed the most was the music. I love Celtic music, especially when amped up a bit. An example of that amping up certainly be the band Rathkeltair. I have included a short video of part of one of their performances below. Hopefully, we will make this one again in 2014.
In September I went up to Simpsonville, which is just outside of Greenville, South Carolina, to see Mumford & Sons. It was a wonderful show with not one, not two, but three opening acts. What made it even better was that all three opening acts were quite good. But the real prize was the long performance by Mumford & Sons. For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of videos I shot at the concert.
Next, in October, we went were generously given tickets to Southern Ground Music & Food Festival put on by the Zac Brown Band. There we saw Fitz and Tantrums, Natalie Maines, and of course the Zac Brown Band.
We ended the year with at least three, or maybe it was four, Christmas concerts. Events ranged from the children at The Unitarian Church in Charleston to the Citadel Cadet’s Choir, and all were excellent.
My biggest disappointments music wise were that some friends of mine who were supposed to come along to the Mumford & Sons concert not being able to go, and the untimely cancellation of Frank Turner‘s concert at Charleston’s Music Farm. I was really looking forward to that.
And now 2014 has gotten off to a bad start with the cancellation of the Laurie Anderson show from the Spoleto line-up. I have a sneaking fear that this is related to the recent death of her husband, Lou Reed, so I can’t be too upset. Disappointed, but I understand.
In other words, last year was a great year for music, and I hope 2014 will be even better.
