Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto fill Charleston every season with an enormous range of live music, from jazz and folk to opera and chamber performances. But the city’s music calendar doesn’t stop there. While Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto are in full swing, local venues around Charleston keep their schedules packed with touring acts, hometown favorites and late-night sets that offer a different soundtrack to the season.
Here’s a look at some Spoleto counter-programming, if you will, going on during the festival.
ANTiSEEN – May 23, Tin Roof
ANTiSEEN has long operated in the louder, rougher corners of American punk, built on a reputation for high-voltage performances and a no-frills, confrontational energy that prioritizes impact over polish. Its sound draws from hardcore, garage rock and Southern grit delivered with an intensity that tends to turn small rooms into something far more volatile. The band’s stripped-down approach and relentless pace keep the focus squarely on volume, momentum and shared release.
- Doors open at 6:30 p.m., May 23, Tin Roof, 1117 Magnolia Road., Charleston. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of show. charlestontinroof.com
Willie Nelson and Family – May 24, Firefly Distillery
Willie Nelson carries one of the most recognizable and enduring sounds in American music. It’s built on his unmistakable phrasing, warm storytelling and a catalog that has shaped country, folk and outlaw traditions for decades. Joined by longtime collaborators and family members, the group blends classic material with an easy, lived-in chemistry that keeps each performance fluid and unhurried.
- Doors open at 7 p.m., May 24, Firefly Distillery, 4201 Spruill Ave., North Charleston. Tickets range from $92 to $127. fireflydistillery.com
Andrew Scotchie with Darby Wilcox – May 28, Pour House
Andrew Scotchie has built a reputation on energetic, roots-driven rock that blends Southern grit with a modern, genre-fluid edge. His songs often move between introspective storytelling and full-throttle bursts of guitar-forward intensity, carried by a vocal style that feels both raw and intentional. Whether leaning into folk-tinged melodies or heavier rock arrangements, his performances tend to emphasize momentum and emotional directness, with a strong emphasis on connection through live delivery. And don’t miss the Upstate singer/songwriter Darby Wilcox’s sassy, country-tinged folk opening set.
- Doors open at 5 p.m., May 28, Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy., Charleston. Tickets range from $10-$12. charlestonpourhouse.com
The Blue Dogs’ Summer Shindig – May 30, The Refinery
The Blue Dogs’ Summer Shindig brings a familiar Lowcountry staple back into focus, led by a band that has spent decades threading together country, rock and Southern storytelling with an easy, lived-in warmth. The set leans into harmony-rich tunes, road-worn songwriting and that loose-but-tight feel that comes from years of playing together. The band invited some old-school contemporaries as well, including Uncle Mingo, Indecision, Tobacco Road and Finnegan Bell.
- Doors open at 3 p.m., May 30, The Refinery, 1640 Meeting Street Road, Charleston. Tickets range from $30 to $50. Therefinerychs.com
The Glenn Miller Orchestra – June 2, Charleston Music Hall
If you’re in the mood for a big band, the Glenn Miller Orchestra brings its long-running swing tradition to the stage with a repertoire built on crisp arrangements, tight horn sections and familiar standards that helped define the big band era. The group’s polished, orchestral sound carries the weight of decades of touring while staying focused on clarity and ensemble precision. At Charleston Music Hall, that style should land with particular clarity, letting the brass, reeds and rhythm section unfold cleanly in a room built for detailed listening.
- Doors open at 6 p.m., June 2, Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St., Charleston. Tickets range from $70 to $165. charlestonmusichall.com
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ and Cracker – June 6, The Windjammer
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ and Cracker share a lineage of Southern-rooted, radio-worn rock that balances grit with melody. Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ leans into anthemic storytelling and a harder-edged, road-tested sound, while Cracker threads in a more sardonic, alt-rock looseness with hooks that still hit clean. Together, the pairing feels like a cross-section of late-’80s and ’90s rock radio—equal parts bar-band energy and songwriter craft, with sets that tend to move easily between swagger, nostalgia and sharp-edged groove.
- Doors open at 6 p.m., June 6, The Windjammer, 1008 Ocean Blvd., Isle of Palms. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. charlestonmusichall.com
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