I know bigger festivals have a smaller third stage and would keep those running until a little before the headliners so it doesn’t take away from any artist with time slots being the same etc. With the current setup, it seems like they have cut a lot of the extra stuff like “Pass The Peas” etc that added a little more than “just music and booze” type events. I know Garden & Gun does the recordings at the Eternal Father Church during the festival, but that would also be a neat venue to...
I know bigger festivals have a smaller third stage and would keep those running until a little before the headliners so it doesn’t take away from any artist with time slots being the same etc. With the current setup, it seems like they have cut a lot of the extra stuff like “Pass The Peas” etc that added a little more than “just music and booze” type events. I know Garden & Gun does the recordings at the Eternal Father Church during the festival, but that would also be a neat venue to actually do some pre show stuff at.
For the future, I am not sure how they will expand past what they have already set up. There just isn’t enough space in the footprint of Riverfront Park. They were able to push back the stages with the artist area moved to across the bridge. It would be nice if they could setup some stuff over in that area instead and maybe move the artist stuff to the old Navy housing area like before.
The master plan for the Navy Yard will be pushing a lot of these things in the coming years. The overpass that is currently blocking the main road going into the area should be done this year (or early next year) and the Navy Yard people are working on getting more of those big buildings up and running for events, with the Power House being a huge undertaking that could be a nice venue at some point in the future.
I agree about the smaller stage addition. That would be awesome and would only add to the experience, giving people more options for music throughout the day and giving local bands a built-in audience. Not to mention, a reason to be excited for the festival (and a bunch of free tickets).
I also think if it was more directly tied in to the community in Charleston, we would see more of a wave around town surrounding the event. We could have things popping up all week long leading up to the...
I agree about the smaller stage addition. That would be awesome and would only add to the experience, giving people more options for music throughout the day and giving local bands a built-in audience. Not to mention, a reason to be excited for the festival (and a bunch of free tickets).
I also think if it was more directly tied in to the community in Charleston, we would see more of a wave around town surrounding the event. We could have things popping up all week long leading up to the festival. Friday night pre-parties at multiple venues with local bands + lineup bands. Afterparties even. It would enrich the whole scene this way.
Obviously it’s going to take time to see any of these things implemented, but I can see a place where it fits.
Working on an interview with Persona La Ave and I came across this little nugget of conversation. It won’t be in the final piece, but I wanted to post it somewhere. What better place than right here?
Brett Nash is one of the most important musicians in the Charleston music scene. He’s been around long enough to have played in countless bands, and still hops on stage all over South Carolina and the East Coast with various acts whenever he can.
Throughout my years of knowing Brett, he has been deservedly discovered in our music scene and ended up with a slot on guitar with Band of Horses. Even after achieving this, he is still a tireless supporter of the South Carolina music scene whenever he can.
Brett has also been involved with a number of Extra Chill events through his band Secret Guest, and other projects. Many of us know, love, and listen to these projects.
So, this is where we can share our favorite Brett Nash stories.
Working on an interview with Persona La Ave and I came across this little nugget of conversation. It won’t be in the final piece, but I wanted to post it somewhere. What better place than right here?
Brett Nash is one of the most important musicians in the Charleston music scene. He’s been around long enough to have played in countless bands, and still hops on stage all over South Carolina and the East Coast with various acts whenever he can.
Throughout my years of knowing Brett, he has been deservedly discovered in our music scene and ended up with a slot on guitar with Band of Horses. Even after achieving this, he is still a tireless supporter of the South Carolina music scene whenever he can.
Brett has also been involved with a number of Extra Chill events through his band Secret Guest, and other projects. Many of us know, love, and listen to these projects.
So, this is where we can share our favorite Brett Nash stories.
Here’s the quote that inspired this post: PERSONA LA AVE: I remember writing a song once and thinking oh, Brett Nash is going to love this song. And he did.
CHUBES: Hell yeah.
PERSONA LA AVE: Brett was going to play with us, but he’s busy doing one of his 100 bands. I wish there were more people like him. Like he just, he’ll go play a stadium show with Band of Horses and then drive home to play an opening slot at Royal.
CHUBES: Yeah, he played at Royal with like Homemade Haircuts after Band of Horses played at Riverfront Park.
PERSONA LA AVE: Yeah, he’s sick, and he still keeps it humble. Keeps his van loaded with gear at all times so he can just show up and play. He was going to play percussion because he went to school for I think percussion, maybe drums. He’s one of the most prepared dudes. He’ll make charts for your songs for you if you ask him to, straight up musical annotated charts that I can’t even read. He’s a bit of a genius in his own right, I would say.
CHUBES: Yeah, I agree. And I also, I just love his ethos. You know, he’s so about the music and the grassroots and he knows that when he contributes his talents to the community, it grows and gets more tight knit and stronger. And he really believes in that and he does it. Just does it out of the, you know, love of his heart, which is just, like you said, we need more people like him.
It would be cool for a small stage addition which could mix up the back and forth stage setup. Including locals and arts would be a plus. All the photographers definitely pulled together on Sunday with all the extra rain gear and trash bags. I’m curious why they don’t do shrimp records band and have local vendors selling stuff like past years.
Yeah shout out to Roti Rolls & Cosmic Charlie’s for keeping some reasonably-priced options on the menu! Both locals who have been around for a while and know what’s good. Roti Rolls had the vibes going all weekend too with their centrally-located booth.
Honestly, all the hubbub about the parking and whatnot is shocking. Any large event will have gridlock and agonizing parking/exit situations. If you ever go to an event the size of Highwater, and you get to your car and out in a matter of minutes, let me know. That being said, some shuttle systems to nearby parking lots or drop off points to like Bonnaroo does would be wise.
My friend made me stay for Briston Maroney and they kinda sucked. Maybe it was just the fact that I had sensory overload...
Honestly, all the hubbub about the parking and whatnot is shocking. Any large event will have gridlock and agonizing parking/exit situations. If you ever go to an event the size of Highwater, and you get to your car and out in a matter of minutes, let me know. That being said, some shuttle systems to nearby parking lots or drop off points to like Bonnaroo does would be wise.
My friend made me stay for Briston Maroney and they kinda sucked. Maybe it was just the fact that I had sensory overload from my socks and underwear being wet, and I was cold as fuck. Babe Club was immaculate. Jenna really put on an awesome show and had great outfits. She must’ve had an awesome stylist for the show.
I think it would be way cooler if they shifted to a more art and music festival approach. That way vendors, food trucks and artists from Charleston and nearby states could come through and make things more local, and way more cool. Instead we got Cabot cheese and Josh wine.
Highlight for me were The Linda Linda’s. Got damn! What a show!! I was completely shocked their drummer was 12 years old which they revealed about halfway through their set. Awesome. I wish the vibe of Highwater leaned more towards interesting acts like The Linda Linda’s.
There are some really funky awesome musical artists in the Charleston area and it’s appalling that they don’t include more. Also, having a couple smaller stages with more lowkey bands would be a much more immersive and special experience. They could also throw in a silent disco and a couple face painters/henna artists and people selling festival-y accessories and it would really amp things up.
Still had a pretty good time and would go again. Killer venue and great to go chill by the water when people start weirding me out.
I have a few different playlists that I hit first thing when I get to work… but this is one that gets played a lot. I skip some of the songs sometimes, but it’s overall upbeat and sort of positive vibe helps me to get moving when faced with the Monday blues…
Courtney Barnett, Fleet Foxes, Houndmouth, The Heavy Heavy, Kevin Morby, Flaming Lips, Hozier, Danny McBride siting, Roti Rolls, and hats off to first responders- thought they were on top of it for all instances I saw
Lows
Caste system of how wealthy you are directly correlating to how boring your section is, two water stations (??), ZERO public transportation options or incentive to bike there, three beer options (lol), lack of focus on the city/culture,...
Highwater highs and lows for me:
Highs
Courtney Barnett, Fleet Foxes, Houndmouth, The Heavy Heavy, Kevin Morby, Flaming Lips, Hozier, Danny McBride siting, Roti Rolls, and hats off to first responders- thought they were on top of it for all instances I saw
Lows
Caste system of how wealthy you are directly correlating to how boring your section is, two water stations (??), ZERO public transportation options or incentive to bike there, three beer options (lol), lack of focus on the city/culture, being gouged on tickets when initially purchasing, people not shutting up during sets they weren’t there to see (usually all mainstream music fests tbf)
Overall had a good time and beat traffic both nights so I’ll chalk that up to a success. Hozier was a proper headliner. In a just world not controlled by bottom line thinking and algorithms, Fleet Foxes plays another 30 mins instead of Noah Kahan on Saturday
Wow! I can’t believe you didn’t like Noah Kahan. It was a dream come true for me to see him. It was sooo crazy! I thought the set was amazing and he seemed like a really genuine person, exactly the same as he is on TikTok omg. I’m even more of a Noah Kahan fan now. I can’t stop singing “False Confidence”!!
