The four-day Awendaw Green music festival Rocktoberfest kicked off Friday afternoon in the freshly-cut fields behind the Seewee Outpost (4853 Hwy. 17). Small crowds gathered around the stages and vendors areas early in the evening. Things filled up a bit more as some of the final acts of the night performed (post-sundown).
Awendaw Green exec Eddie White and his family and colleagues obviously put a lot of effort into setting things up. By daylight, things look good. The volunteer and information booths, vendors, and stage production tents were arranged nicely. Shortly after sundown on Friday, however, navigating from stage to stage got tricky, however. With few lights between stage areas, attendees had to walk slowly and carefully in almost total darkness over bumpy ground.
Big mosquitoes buzzed around, but they weren’t quite as pesky as expected.
The bands sounded terrific on every stage on Friday evening. We caught Slanguage, Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent, Torture Town, Flood Empty Lakes, and The Fire Apes. The audio was clear — loud and full, but mixed carefully. The stage lighting looked great, too. And the Palmetto Porter flowed for three tickets (worth a buck each) a pint.
Rocktoberfest 2009 continues through Monday. Stay tuned for more notes and photos. For a full and up-to-date schedule of Rocktoberfest bands and songwriters, please see the listings here.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No newspaper subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations from downtown to North Charleston to Johns Island to Summerville to Mount Pleasant.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.