REGGAE/GROOVE | Raga
w/ Dubconcious
Thurs. Aug. 31
Music Farm
$7
Local quartet Raga (pictured) first came together as a band in 2003 when the guitarist and keyboardist started jamming in different styles with a wide-open attitude just for fun. Much of the groove in the band’s foundation was deeply rooted in reggae styles. Eventually the lineup solidIfied with drummer Jake Oleksak and bassist Richard Horton. After playing regularly through the year, Raga plans to readjust this month as they welcome new drummer Stuart White as Oleksak’s replacement. Athens, Ga.-based electro-groove/reggae ensemble Dubconscious — guitarists James Keane and Adrian Zelski, bassist Solomon Wright, percussionist Scott Pridgen, and keyboardist Jerry Hendelberg — headline this week’s show with a groove-heavy, psychedelic mix of reggae, dub, rock, and funk styles. Their new disc is titled Realization. See www.ragaband.com and www.dubconscious.com for more. —T. Ballard Lesemann THURSDAY
ROCK/AMERICANA | Hillside Manor
w/ American Gun
Thurs. Aug. 31
Cumberland’s
$5
Led by the emotive vocal performance of guitarist Kyle Dickherber (a Berklee School of Music egghead with a heart of brass), Atlanta-based pop/rock quartet Hillside Manor (pictured) are determined to make their mark on the Southeast scene with their delicate melodies and mellow grooves. Dickenherber, keyboardist/guitarist Billy Justineau, drummer, and bassist Josh Dockins got it together in 2005 and started playing clubs and festivals on the circuit. Columbia-based twang-rock combo American Gun — Todd Mathis, Donald Merckle, Kevin Kimbrell, Andrew Hoose, and Jeff Crews — play a heavier, riffier, boozier mix of rock and country, as heard on their solid new disc, Dark Southern Hearts. Check out www.myspace.com/hillsidemanor and www.americangun.net for more. —TBL THURSDAY
SOUL/ROCK | Bell
Fri. Sept. 1
Johnson’s Pub
$3
Just over a year after making their way into the crowded downtown music scene, local trio Bell (a.k.a. bell.) have already established themselves as a popular favorite among college kids and bargoers with a danceable, piano-powered blend of “rock, soul, and traces of gospel and jazz.” Indiana natives Tyler Mechem (acoustic guitar, vocals) and Joe Giant (piano) relocated to Charleston last year after graduating from Ohio’s Miami University. Last winter, they officially added drummer William Pitonyak, a CofC student and Detroit native, to the lineup and gigged out regularly at the Blind Tiger and other city hotspots. This Friday, the trio celebrate the release of a five-song EP titled Rose Garden & a .45, recorded in Indiana at Sweetwater Studios with producer Chris Liepe. Look for them elsewhere this week at O’Malley’s on Thurs. Aug. 31, at Café Paradiso on Sat. Sept. 2, and at Meritäge on Sun. Sept. 3. Check www.bellharmony.com for more. —TBL FRIDAY
POWER-POP/ROCK | Part Time Heroes
w/ Uncle Mingo
Sun. Sept. 3
The Windjammer
$10
Known and applauded in Charleston and the Carolinas over the last few years as a tight power-pop act, Part Time Heroes have actually been spending most of their time in Hollywood. Working feverishly on their new album with producer Kent Hertz at the Spiral Recording on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Lead singer/songwriter Luke Cunningham (pictured at the studio), guitarist Mac Leaphart (formerly of Five Way Friday), and bassist Brent Pace have already tracked some tunes with both Hertz and top L.A. session drummer Ray Rich on the kit. They’ve even managed to gig out at the Viper Room, The Whiskey, and The Derby (check www.parttimeheroes.com). Groove-rock band Uncle Mingo — guitarist Scott “Mookie” Quattlebaum, singer/bassist Bryan “Mo” Moore, drummer Robert Thorn, and keyboardist/saxophonist Jason Moore — have been recording a new album in Mookie’s home studio. Mingo first started gigging around town in 1989 and swiftly became one of the most popular bar bands of the ’90s. —TBL SUNDAY
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