Piccolo Spoleto will close its 2026 season June 6 with Women in Rock, a finale concert in Hampton Park celebrating female songwriters and musicians.
Festival organizers describe the event as a celebration of women and artistry. Rachel Workman of the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs said the concert will trace the evolution of modern music through the contributions of women.
“The 2026 Piccolo Spoleto Finale concert will celebrate the artistry of women in the creation and evolution of rock and roll,” Workman said.
“This year’s festival will culminate in a knock-out performance that will explore the profound influence of women, from Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Big Mama Thornton to Janis Joplin and Tina Turner,” she said.
Headlined by Charleston vocalist Elise Testone, the concert will have three acts. Songwriters Liz Kelley and Victoria Purdy will also perform, with Purdy earning her spot through a new audition initiative introduced this year.
Testone was instrumental in choosing Purdy as the opening act and worked with the event producers at Piccolo to ensure that the finale would be an impactful medley of powerful women.
Testone has been a pillar within the Charleston music community for decades. The nationally recognized artist gained early recognition after appearing on the 11th season of American Idol in 2012, where she finished sixth.
She released her debut album in 2014 and has since built a career as an independent recording artist, touring and releasing music nationally.
“I’m a huge believer in us working together, especially when it makes sense to lift each other up and not compete,” Testone said. “In this industry, and especially as a woman, it’s just so much better to work together. It’s better on so many levels — not only in your creativity, your comfort, your camaraderie, your community — but it’s just better for the music.”
After graduating from Coastal Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance in 2005, Testone relocated to Charleston to develop as both a performer and a teacher.
“I always felt like Charleston was the place that I found my wings,” Testone said. “Coastal helped me find my voice more and my confidence and gave me the tools to get to the next level. Then once I moved to Charleston, I just feel like I really expanded in a different way and met all the people I would later play music with to this day.”
Testone said some of her younger students will also perform in the finale.
“I convinced them to let me have a small pack of 10-year-olds,” said Testone, “One of them’s eight. She’s opening with ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ which is perfect and then all the other 10- and 11-year-olds are going to back her up on choruses, so it’s very full.”
Purdy, one of this year’s featured performers, describes her style as singer-songwriter pop and cites artists such as Maisie Peters and Gracie Abrams among her influences.
“I really fell in love with expression through music,” Purdy said. “It was a way for me to cope with everything.”
For Purdy, the opportunity to sing at a festival like Piccolo Spoleto is an honor and an exciting professional milestone. Having moved to Charleston almost four years ago from New York, she was able to build community through an organization called Sisters in Song, a Charleston-based group designed to support local female musicians.
It was through this group that Purdy was made aware of the Piccolo finale auditions.
In discussing what made the judges decide she was the right performer to participate in this year’s Piccolo finale, Purdy pointed to her onstage energy and enthusiasm for “rocking out.”
Purdy will open the finale and also perform as the opening act for singer-songwriter Liz Kelley. Kelley, who moved to Charleston after living in Nashville, describes her style as a blend of R&B, pop and jazz influences.
While Women in Rock evokes a specific genre, the performers said the concert embraces a broader celebration of women in music.
Kelley views the opportunity as a chance to honor both the legacy and future of female artists.
“It is an incredible honor,” Kelley said. “Especially to be able to present my music on a stage that is celebrating the women in music and the women in rock who have come before me and laid that groundwork.”
The chance to bring together a community of female musicians is especially significant for Kelley.
“For me personally, it feels incredibly empowering,” she said. “It’s really encouraging to see the community giving women’s voices a place of significance.”
An artist since childhood, Kelley said music has long served as a form of self-expression.
“Music has always been a way to give my thoughts a space and a home and give my feelings a voice,” Kelley said.
When asked to describe the finale, and the spirit of Women in Rock, Kelley said:
“Rebellion. Agency. Autonomy. And women being loud.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO:
The Piccolo Spoleto Finale: Women in Rock will take place at 6 p.m. June 6 in Hampton Park.
Jordyn Britton is an arts journalism and communications graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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