If you’re anywhere within an easy day’s drive of Charleston, S.C., I highly recommend planning now to attend a show or two at Spoleto in late May and/or early June of 2014.
Here’s the digital brochure — click to go full screen:
If the embed isn’t working, click here.
I’ve been a Laurie Anderson fan for 30+ years (before I was born!), so I’ll go see her work again at Spoleto for sure. I already have tickets for Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn at the Savannah Music Festival in March, so no need to drive 100 miles for that show.
I’ve never seen Lucinda Williams live, so that show is almost certainly worth the trip. Beyond her stunning songs and understated phrasings, Williams is the daughter of poet Miller Williams and as a child actually met Flannery O’Connor.
There are some other excellent musicians in the lineup, including the festival finale with Charleston-based Shovels & Rope at Middleton Place:
Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent mash honky tonk twang, folksy lyricism, and punk grit together for an identity that recently won them the Americana Music Honors & Award’s Emerging Artist of the Year in 2013.