When Hilton Head singer-songwriter McKenzie Eddy moved to Charleston from New York, the Holy City held more than her attention—it caught the eye of her boss and producer, music mogul Damon Dash. He followed her lead and chose Charleston as the new outlet for his media collective, DD172. A smaller pond full of bigger fish, Charleston is an artistic environment that’s drifting into the mainstream.
     DD172 is a media umbrella, encompassing a video agency, magazine, web design firm and an art gallery. Dash has a gallery in Hong Kong, New York City, Harlem and now Charleston, with Eddy, the president of his record label, running its music division. The King Street space will serve as a gallery and venue, showcasing clothing, artwork, live music and events. Whether it’s media collectives like DD172 (there’s another one, The 827, proposed for West Ashley’s Avondale neighborhood) or pop-up venues inside shops and galleries, Charleston is furnishing novel ways for artists to come together.
     “I think the model got cracked for how to make money, and it’s forcing artists to collaborate to find new ways to present their art,” Eddy notes about the progressing media-collective movement. “You’re not going to just go to a venue and see live music anymore.”
     Charleston is no New York City or Nashville, but the growing influence of music, fashion and art here has birthed a unique esteem. “The scene is smaller and the venues are smaller, but they seem to care more about the bands they book,” Eddy says about the musical environment in Charleston. “There is more of a distinct vibe here, a cool camaraderie among all the musicians. New York City is tough. It’s a tough city to play music in, and it isn’t as rewarding unless you’ve made it big,” she adds. “People aren’t as appreciative and receptive there as they are here.”
     Charleston’s cultural renaissance can be seen at all levels, from college students getting their first taste of the industry to touring bands to veteran performers. Local musicians have a body of fans on campus eager for new sounds and venues, and the College of Charleston is catering to this enthusiasm with music production and management classes. “With the college, that opens up a whole different realm in our country, because that’s kind of the epicenter of where pop culture and music culture develops anyway,” Eddy notes.
     Hootie and the Blowfish set the scene for musical stardom in the Carolinas decades ago, but big names like Band of Horses, Elise Testone and Shovels and Rope, among others, have continued to shine light on the musical talent coming out of the area. What’s more, Spoleto Festival and Charleston Fashion Week have attracted artistic attention as well, and the Holy City has been nurturing a community of artists and venues. From musical transplants to native artists, small record labels to media collectives, Charleston has created a name for itself as an incubator of talent.
     The story of Eddy, Dash and DD172 is just one of many about artists and their endeavors. But the common thread for local musicians—aspiring or well known—is that the Lowcountry fosters vision and growth. “I haven’t been back here permanently for a very long time, and I’m excited about finding those new things—those new sounds and the people that are creating them,” says Eddy.

 

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Family is how Eddie White best describes Charleston’s music scene, and for White, owner of Awendaw Green, family is exactly where it all started. His son Clay became interested in music in middle school, and on a dare at an oyster roast where Mark Bryan (of Hootie and the Blowfish fame) was in attendance, Clay and his friends played for the crowd. After that night, they formed a band, The Whisperjets, and wanted to take their talents to the studio but had no space in mind. With help from Bryan and Hootie bassist Dean Felber, White purchased a space for The Whisperjets to record songs, and from that experience, Awendaw Green was born.
     Awendaw Green is a hybrid between a venue and a studio. During the day, artists use the studio space to record new music and alter existing tracks. At night, musicians take the show outdoors to perform jams in front of live audiences.
     “Awendaw Green is best described as a community of individuals that support the greater community through music,” White says.
     He doesn’t see his venue as a business and never has. His goal is to get to know the artists who perform there and bring them together with other members of the music community.
     “We support the musicians that support us in many ways, including our emphasis on presenting original music to folks who appreciate it,” he adds. “We have a true listening room audience, and artists love it. We love new artists and bands regardless of their age or experience.”
     White describes the weekly Barn Jams as the “heart and soul” of Awendaw Green. They have resonated in the community, drawing attention to a once-small and remote place of music. “The crowd is loyal, and you can expect a huge turnout every week no matter who is playing or what season it is. And anyone can and does play there, from the youngest singer-songwriter to national touring acts,” Jay Norton, drummer for Schema, says about the Barn Jams. “If you are a musician looking for exposure, Awendaw Green is a great place to play. When we played, it was one of the best shows we've ever had.”
     White believes that music is front and center in the Charleston scene, and that among everyone involved in the music-making process, from artists and promoters to venue owners and philanthropists, “the culture of original music is accepted and facilitated.” Humble in his contributions to Charleston’s budding music scene, White argues that the role of Awendaw Green is small but nevertheless important in its growth. At the forefront of the movement’s success are the musicians themselves.
     “This town is full of musicians who work together. [Awendaw and other venues] have been catalysts to bring them together,” he says.
     While the city hasn’t experienced one “big” musical moment, he believes bands like Shovels and Rope and Band of Horses are paving the way for smaller bands to get noticed. He points to up-and-coming groups such as Royal Tinfoil and Sol Driven Train as evidence of a bright future for the musical artists of Chucktown. That said, he isn’t too concerned about the speed at which it comes.
     “Everybody has been saying for years that something important is going to happen,” White says. “I’m still waiting for it.” He believes the process may actually be more important to watch than the outcome itself.

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Mark Bryan glances at the gray sky through the rain-spattered window. The Hootie and the Blowfish guitarist/songwriter’s kind blue eyes sparkle as he reminisces about the first time he heard Darius Rucker sing in their college dorm bathroom. Fidgeting with the plastic lid of his drink, an easy smile spreads across his face as he talks about his college years playing and writing songs with Hootie and his personal road to success.
     In 1985, Bryan, Rucker, Felber and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld were beginning their freshman year at the University of South Carolina, unknowingly starting their journey toward becoming one of Charleston’s most successful bands. “By the time I became a senior in college, the band was so good that that became all of our goals. Like, ‘Hey, before we all go get real jobs, let’s give this thing a shot,’” Bryan says, sipping his large Jimmy John’s sweet tea.
     When their first album, Cracked Rear View, hit in ‘94, they were still living in Columbia, but Rucker, from Sullivan’s Island, was homesick. So he, Bryan and Felber relocated to Charleston. “Darius grew up here, so he was just coming home. And then Dean and I moved down here just because we loved it,” Bryan explains. “As a songwriter, I chose to raise my family in Charleston, just to be near the water.”
     Being in South Carolina, Charleston specifically, helped Hootie grow into the success it is today. Bryan believes that it has and will do the same for other musicians in the area. “Staying in South Carolina … helped us from being a little fish in a big pond early on,” Bryan says, a mess of curly brown hair spilling from his black cotton beanie. Moving to a big musical city like Nashville, New York City or L.A., bands just get shoved in with the rest of the musicians that moved there to make it big, he explains. “I think we were uniquely from South Carolina and proud of it and sounded like it.” He attributes a lot of the band’s success to the fact that they were able to tour all over the Southeast and build up a fan base before they even had a record contract.
     Bryan uses examples such as Zac Brown Band, which plays in Charleston every October, and Corey Smith to demonstrate how other bands have used their Southeastern roots for touring grounds. “If you’re a young, up-and-coming artist, you can go hop in a van or car and go play all the way south to Florida, all the west to New Orleans and Nashville, all the way north to D.C., all over the Carolinas and just hit all these markets and really start to expand your fan base,” he says between bites of his chocolate chip cookie. “If you live somewhere like North Dakota, you’ve got a long way to go before you can find a big city to play in.”
     In addition to Bryan’s success with Hootie and the Blowfish, he has been involved in a couple other musical projects. That and the band’s current break from making music together have given Bryan the chance to expand his horizons.
     His art management class at the College of Charleston is teaching students what’s going on in the local music scene and what it’s like to work in the industry. “They get a lot of real-time stories, and they get the truth from someone that’s been doing this day to day for a while,” Bryan says, referencing the string of music industry guest speakers who come to his class.
     He hopes these experiences will inspire students. “The ideal would be to sort of funnel students into the industry part of what’s going on in this town through our teachings. Teach them how to be agents, how to be managers and explain the process,” Bryan says.
     His production company, Chucktown Music Group, also promotes student artists by featuring them in his biweekly song release. It also hosts an intern every semester to give students more of the real-world experience he strives to provide in his class.
     Aside from teaching, Bryan is also scoring the upcoming film Warrior Road, filmed in Charleston, and producing a TV show called Live at the Charleston Music Hall, which will showcase national music talent in addition to up-and-coming regional acts. He hopes it will draw attention to Charleston’s music scene as a whole and bring other artists to the area.
     As a young boy, Bryan didn’t dream of being a firefighter, policeman or astronaut. He dreamed about making it big one day. Decades down the road, he’s still pursuing that dream. “It’s funny, at the end of the day, after doing all this, after teaching, after producing, after putting together a TV show, all these different things, my real love is still performing, and I can’t wait to make another Hootie album and do another tour,” he says. “That’s still where my heart lies.”