I still remember that November day in South Carolina. Me and a few friends had been invited to this fine state as some people we knew wanted to make some kind of festival that included many young musicians, in the spirit of young college talent, and college students that are talented artists. This event took place four years ago and I can tell you that it has a very important place in my heart.
So what we did was travel by car from Atlanta, Georgia (where we’re from) to Columbia, SC in a very joyful and exciting mood. We weren’t invited because our small band was a big hit or something. In fact we didn’t even have a band, until we got there. It was just an invite for people that played instruments to get together, form small concert groups and have the time of our lives. Local students would be attending our event, they could hang out with us and all that fun stuff. Imagine of a party, with live musical acts performing. Only before the concert, a limousine drove us around in Columbia, South Carolina and dropped us off at the event.
The local people were extremely friendly towards us. South Carolinian people in general I’ve heard are very friendly and great people. Most importantly there was a lot of talent there. We exchanged our views on “all things music”and even jammed away a little bit between ourselves. Keep in mind that we didn’t know each other, nor had we practiced for anything like that. It was just a thing of the moment; something of great creativity. In my lifetime, I have attended many concerts (either as a performer or an audience member) and a lot of those occasions are great. But the concert I attended in South Carolina, was hands down one of the greatest! You didn’t have a “formal” line drawn between performers and audience: the audience really performed with their presence and their voice. They would sing along famous tunes (or famous new releases.) A couple even got up and sang a duet which I had the privilege to play along on the piano. I believe there is video footage of the event somewhere (maybe local college newspapers.) The place was packed and full of excitement.
Besides all those great times during the concert day, I also had a very good travelling time. I got the chance to visit places that I hadn’t seen before, and that long car ride from Atlanta to Columbia was really an experience. We could definitely afford airplane tickets, but driving by car is something I always prefer – you get to see the scenery and frankly, you remember that trip much better because of it. Coming back to Georgia, we all had (the four of us) the chance to recall that beautiful event, and smile all the way back home in satisfaction. The college students in Columbia also seemed to like the event. So much that they invited us back a couple of years later. To be honest, the first time of doing anything is more fun and exciting. But second time was okay too. We just had unleashed all our enthusiasm on that November day.
Let me know if you would like me to post a follow up post on this concert. It’s really something I love talking about. And as always, stay tuned for more posts to come!