The sounds of Charleston-grown music will fill the air on June 24 at the inaugural One Way Forward Festival, unraveling uplifting funk, heady rock ‘n’ roll, intricate jams and conscious hip-hop.
Nine local music acts will take the stage at The Refinery’s outdoor amphitheater for a day of great tunes, good food and high vibes. The lineup features Runaway Gin, Babe Club, The Mobros, Slim S.O.U.L., Mike L!ve, Ben Whitney, Sounds of Blackfox and Leone & the Ascension with Chris Almighty on the turntables.
The festival’s artists-at-large are guitarist Campell Brown of Broken Speakers, saxophonist Bill Wilson and saxophonist Mike Quinn of Doom Flamingo, who will be performing with various acts throughout the day.
Festival goers can enjoy cuisine from Charleston chef Graham Calabria and a vendor market packed with local artisans.
Local alt-rock band Sounds of Blackfox will spill sprawling tunes that meld metallic funk, garage grunge and pop-laced new wave. Performing live continues to be a source of joy for the four-piece, which released its sophomore album Better Natures last fall.
“Feeding off the energy of the crowd, seeing everyone dance to the vibrations we’re making with our fingers and feet and mouths, even seeing people singing along to words we wrote, all of it serves to constantly remind us why we do it,” said frontman Tyler Thirkettle.
The band is looking forward to playing new songs live, as well as some old favorites and unreleased tracks. “We’re also always excited to play new venues, so it’ll be great to see what the energy at The Refinery is like,” Thirkettle said.
One Way Forward Festival is organized by Carolina Dream, a local CBD company started by Marine Corps veteran Cody Callarman.
A portion of proceeds from the $25 tickets will benefit South Carolina Compassionate Care Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for safe, legal access to medical cannabis for South Carolinians.
One Way Forward Festival music curator Bippy Pierce said Callarman has been diligent in his efforts with South Carolina Compassionate Care Alliance to progress legislative reform in the state.
“South Carolina is an incredibly challenging state to get legislation with this message passed,” Pierce said. “So for now, we need to continue to educate. What better way than to bring people together with music? If we can reach more people through the diverse lineup, then hopefully that means we will have a bigger audience to spread the message about why it is so important to legalize medical cannabis.”
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