The second annual Isle of Palms Songwriters Festival will offer performances of original music by mostly local acts — plus some special guests from around the US — to raise funds for Lowcountry Orphan Relief and the Lowcountry music scholarship. The Dinghy on Isle of Palms will host the festival from 1:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. April 14.
The festival is organized by Dave Landeo, a multi-instrumentalist performer and teacher who loves to bring together music and philanthropy.
The local musicians on the lineup are: Sean Keefer, Stefanie Potter, Jo Kokri-Bhatt and Chris Boone, K.B. Reidenbach, The Letter Show, Heather Rice, Doug Walters, Ronnie Johnson and Mel Washington, (both of whom are nominated for Best Male Vocalist in this year’s Best of Charleston contest), Kelly Sanchez, Irene Rose and Bryon Moore.
There’s also out-of-state guests like Kevin & Lauren, an acoustic duo from Louisville, Kentucky, Kevin Fox from Cincinnati, and Nathan Davis from Charlotte.
“I tell the artists to treat their 30 minutes or so like a mini concert,” Landeo said. “We have two tents so we can go continuously, from stage to stage, with beautiful set ups and great sound. There’ll be nonstop music, all day, right here on the Isle of Palms.”
Fundraising through music
Last year, the first ever festival was able to raise $3,000 for Lowcountry Orphan Relief, despite heavy rain on the day of the event.
“We got awesome feedback, and people were really backing and supporting it,” Landeo said.
”This year, I started earlier on getting the lineup together because I wanted to make it even better by making it longer of a day and getting people from all over.”
Landeo added that working with The Dinghy owner Brett Jones has helped make this labor of love into a success. His hope, Landeo said, is to make this festival into a yearly tradition for locals as the weather starts beckoning us towards the beach.
“I was initially inspired by what Key West does, and actually, a lot of beach towns have songwriter focused festivals. Eventually, I’d love to see this become a two day event.”
It’s free to attend on April 14 and catch two stages with all-day sets of original music. The fundraising part happens through the live auction, Landeo said, with items such as guitars, restaurant gift certificates and more.
For example, in the auction last year, a guitar signed by songwriter Wyatt Durrette, who wrote the Zac Brown band hit “Chicken Fried.”
“I thought, what better thing to offer in the auction than this item signed by somebody who’s a very accomplished songwriter who lives here in the Lowcountry. So that’s the kind of thing you can expect in the auction.”
The funds raised through the auction will go to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief. But there’s also a songwriting contest for high schoolers that’s connected to the festival, another component Landeo said he envisions expanding in future years. The winner of those competing students will receive $1,000 towards their college education through the Lowcountry music scholarship.
Landeo promises the April festival will go on rain or shine — they’re prepared either way. “It’s going to be a good time no matter what.” He hopes that this second festival is just the start of what will become an Isle of Palms tradition.
“The goal is just to keep making it bigger and better.”
Find sponsorship opportunities, the artist lineup and more at davidlandeo.com/isle-of-palms-songwriter-festival/.
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