South Carolina Tour Diary
October 22 – 25, 2008

Steve and I just returned from an amazing tour to the upcountry of South Carolina (Spartanburg, Greenville and Liberty).  The tour was sponsored by the Pickens County Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife.  Our dear friend and mentor Tom Johnson from Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife accompanied us on the tour and introduced us at each venue.

Wednesday, October 22 7:30 PM: We kicked off the tour at HUB-BUB The Showroom in Spartanburg, SC.  Betsey Teter and Michael Long welcomed us.  We played a full set to some old friends and made lots of new friends.  The show room is a beautiful and inviting space.  We loved playing at The Showroom.  Our friend and supporter Rawson Gordon came up from Atlanta and video taped us.  We are now officially hooked up on You Tube because of Rawson.

Thursday, October 23:  We visited Wofford College and Converse College in Spartanburg, SC.

1:00 PM: We were at Wofford College for Professor Deno Trakas’ seminar “Cornbread and Sushi.”  Professor Trakas’ class focuses on traditional meeting the modern.  We played several songs and talked about their origins, the creative process and surviving in the music business.  The students were bright, funny and wonderful.  One of the students Rachel Johnson came out to hear us at the Bohemian Café.

4:00 PM: We were at Converse College for another Conversation on songwriting and performing. Our hosts were Professor Rick Mulkey (English Department Director of the MFA program) and Dr. Elizabeth York (Chair of Department of Music Education and Therapy).  We had a great conversation regarding songwriting, generating creative ideas and talked about writers block.  Our session took place in a log cabin and some kind soul had built a fire in the fireplace for us.  This was so much fun and the cabin was simply beautiful.

6:30 PM: Hope was interviewed by Joan Mack “Conversations With Joan” on NPR.  Joan and Hope talked about Hope’s writing influences, her background and played sections of songs.

Friday, October 24 4:00 PM: We went to Greenville, SC to tape a radio show for WNCW’s Tower of Song at Horizon Records and The Bohemian Café.  We were greeted by warm-hearted Murphy Pitts (The Bohemian Café) and Matt Hinton (Horizon Records).  And rock solid Steve McGowan was on hand to record us. The Bohemian Café is a lovely space and the food is out of this world!  If you are ever in Greenville do not miss the Bohemian Care and Horizon Records.  We did not get to meet the owner of Horizon Records, but you can sense his spirit and dedication to music just by entering the store.  He carries the best records and he has vinyl!!!

Saturday, October 25 8:00 PM: We drove from Greenville to Liberty (Population 3,500) and performed a benefit for the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife at the Rosewood Center.  The Rosewood Center is a gorgeous old school house that was turned into a community center and concert venue.  We played a set for a wonderful crowd and received two standing ovations.  We love Liberty, SC!