The only complaint received by the Blue Dogs, the veteran Charleston rockers, about its annual “Homecoming” shows is that the band “doesn’t play enough Blue Dogs songs,” one member says.
The 2025 edition of the Blue Dogs Homecoming is Dec. 27. Fans will not have that problem this year.
Typically, the Blue Dogs, which became popular in the mid 1990s with an infectious and easy-going acoustic-electric rock sound, invite buddies to the “Homecoming” shows like Darius Rucker from Hootie and The Blowfish or Edwin McCain or Ranky Tanky’s Charlton Singleton, for example.
This year, the stage belongs to the Blue Dogs all night. In fact, according to frontman/guitarist Bobby Houck, this year’s event is less of a homecoming than it is a reunion.
“I’m calling it the ‘Blue Dogs Eras’ show,” Houck said in a recent interview with the Charleston City Paper. “All of the special guests this year are former main band members of the Blue Dogs. These are guys that were a big part of the band.”
Specifically, the “Homecoming” show will feature Houck and longtime bassist Hank Futch alongside co-founding guitarist Buck Bradberry, guitarist Philip Lammonds, singer/guitarist David Stewart, drummer Evans Nicholson and mandolin player Darren Shoemaker.
The coincidental series of events that led to all of these guys being in town at the same time is almost comical, but as Houck said, “Short story long — we’re all doing the show.”
“This is the perfect year for this to happen,” Houck said, adding that this show is also meant to commemorate the band’s 38th anniversary.
“We’ll be playing songs that Buck sang on back in the day,” he continued. “Same with Philip. We’ll do some classic songs he wrote with us and then some new songs he co-wrote from ‘Big Dreamers,’ the newest album. David Stewart wrote songs that we never do because there are guitar parts that are unique to him, so these will be songs that people haven’t heard in a long time.”
The evening won’t be all about nostalgia, though. The Blue Dogs will play a couple of new songs co-written by Houck and Bradberry that point the band in a new, unexpected direction.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before now, but Buck and I have been working on a kids-music-type project for a while. It’s an idea that we’ve had for years. We call them ‘kids’ songs,’ but they’re really fun for adults, too. One of the reasons Buck is coming is we’re going to play two or three of those songs at the show.”
The Blue Dogs launched the “Homecoming” show back in 2013, and Houck said he had a specific model in mind when planning the event.
“I’m old enough that I grew up with The Band’s The Last Waltz,” he said, referring to the classic 1978 concert film. “And I just loved seeing Van Morrison, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and all these great special guests. And I’d always wanted to do a show like that.”
In 2014, the Blue Dogs made the event a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research, primarily benefiting the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. Over the last decade, it has raised around $500,000.
While this year’s event isn’t a fundraiser, it’s significant for a couple of reasons. In addition to the expanded, all-star version of the Blue Dogs, the show is important because it’s a return to the Music Hall after a two-year break.
The band had been handling sponsorships and booking for the show each year, and as it became a bigger event, it became more demanding.
“It felt like $500,000 was a good goal,” Houck said. “That was a good place to stop, because by the time it got down to Christmas every year, we were really in the throes of preparing for that show, and it became stressful. It was very time consuming.”
But after doing some festival-type shows at The Refinery in Charleston, Houck said that he and Futch realized they missed the Music Hall and the “Homecoming.”
“We got to about the middle of this year,” Houck said, “and after we did The Refinery show, we realized, ‘Dagnabbit, we want to play the Charleston Music Hall again!’ ”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 7 p.m., Dec. 27, Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St., Charleston. Tickets range from $35-$134: charlestonmusichall.com
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.