With a new look for 2019, PBR Dirty Southeast Fest returns for one evening to rock an outdoor stage with seven performances at a single location, Redux Contemporary Art Center on Sat. April 27 at 5 to 11 p.m.

You may be more familiar with the weeklong string of shows at multiple venues that has been the signature of DSF, but this year you can expect free admission to a holistic music festival experience complete with a genre-spanning lineup and a selection of food vendors. “I want to give these amazing artists their platform that they deserve,” says local PRR rep and promotor Jillian Cunningham. “When I was booking everyone, I wanted it to be diverse. We are a very diverse city, and lineups need to reflect that. PBR has always been that beer for artists because it’s inexpensive historically. Music and art are our pillars. Any way to champion artists that have something important to say is why I am doing this festival in the first place, plus making it an accessible, budget-friendly celebration.”

The four-year-old fest has become a hybrid — part musical performance, part collaborative art installation. A team of artists fashioned a replica model of the Recovery Room bar where festivalgoers can purchase PBR (duh), and live painting sessions will create art in tribute to the establishment. Unsurprisingly Rec Room, which turns 11 this month, is top in US sales of 12-ounce cans of the beloved beer, so PBR is paying homage the right way with a drinking age-only musical shindig that, let’s face it, may eventually migrate over to the original Rec Room for an after-party.

And so with Redux opening up its back parking lot and studio space, Awendaw Green supplying the stage and the sound, and PBR donating the beer, DSF takes on a fresh form as an accessible, inclusive space for the community. Not only because any wallet can swing a free fest with $3 beers, but also because the proceeds go right back to nonprofit efforts at Redux — and the lineup was curated to celebrate the panoramic diversity represented by local music artists, with rapper and activist Benny Star headlining.

Meet the Lineup

Benny Starr

The hip-hop powerhouse makes easy-listening raps that speak to both the social ills and redeeming unity fostered within Charleston. His recent recording of never-before-heard songs performed live at Charleston Music Hall, A Water Album, illustrates how he helps us be of one collective experience no matter the mix of strangers. He will headline DSF the weekend after the city’s first hip-hop and R&B fest, Cultura Festival.

Niecy Blues

Once based in Columbia, but now local, R&B singer-songwriter Niecy Blues packs a punch backed by rock ‘n’ rollers ET Anderson. Between sharing a stage with instrumental fusion band Terraphonics at the Royal American last month, and belting out a Radiohead cover at Purple Buffalo’s Extra Chill Fest last year, the vocalist is not afraid to bend the genre with her experimental confidence. Jetlag TV South Carolina just awarded her video of the year for her new music video “Ways.”

Royal Tinfoil

The Lowcountry rock ‘n’ roll outfit has been around since 2008 and recognized as everything from swampy blues to rockabilly. Their dark, grungy sound has been cultivated as vocalists/guitarists Lily Slay and Mackie Boles grew from a duo to a five-piece, garnering a reputation for witty lyrics and a fondness for playing the occasional kazoo. While they’ve been off the radar of late except for a few shows annually, they will reemerge with a full-band performance.

Drunk Couples

A punk ‘n’ roll duo who released 2018 EP Way Gone, Drunk Couples call themselves “snotty hardcore punk” with Trash Talk and Red Fang influences. Although they hail from Virginia originally, the band is evidence of a small but stable heavy music scene that pops up around Charleston venues and house shows. Guitarist Andrew Barnes and drummer CJ DeLuca are working on their next full-length release as a two-piece while maintaining their roles in noise punk band Florida Man.

B Kiddo

The local female rapper is back again to rhyme her universal truths after releasing her her LP 9 last year. The mom and culinary arts enthusiast holds back nothing as she lyricizes her personal struggles, expecting to be taken at her word. Matt Monday shouted out her performance at the Live in Color gathering last year as an illustration of the developing rapport among the sub-communities in Charleston’s rap culture.

Abstract That Rapper

The Georgetown-born lyricist will perform old school hip-hop with a live band, tying in elements of jazz and swing. Named Hip-Hop Artist of the Year at the 2018 City Paper Music Awards, he has several new releases up his sleeve, including a series of compilation albums of his collaborative recordings. Last year’s single “Mumble Rap” signals the rapper’s goal to get more content out for streaming, and we can expect to see more in the coming weeks.

Chew

The psych three-piece has a rhythmic mellowness to their instrumentals created by drummer Sarah Wilson, guitarist Brett Reagan, and bassist Yung Jamie Austin. They are no stranger to Recovery Room, and will be easily received at DSF before they play the legendary EARL in their hometown Atlanta. Fun side note: their 2017 album A Fine Accoutrement employs the obscure vibraphone, which is basically an aluminum version of a xylophone.

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