The City of Spartanburg, Hub-Bub.Com, and Hub City Writers Project have partnered together to create and install the Spartanburg Music Trail in Spartanburg, SC. The Spartanburg Music Trail will feature signage and an audio tour honoring 12 prominent musicians and groups that have a connection to the Spartanburg area. The signs will be unveiled during a special ceremony on February 11, 2011 from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., and additional events will take place through the month of January. SC Humanities supported the Spartanburg Music Trail through a Major Grant in September 2009.
The 12 musicians and groups that will be featured on the Spartanburg Music Trail are: William Walker, a musical educator and composer who helped develop shape-note signing; Clara Smith, one of the best-known female blues singers of the 1920s; Pink Anderson, a blues singer who influenced the British rock band Pink Floyd; Johnny Blowers, a drummer who played with such musical celebrities as Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong; Ira Tucker, the frontman of the noted gospel quartet The Dixie Hummingbirds; Don Reno, one of the founding figures in bluegrass music; Arthur Prysock, a prolific jazz and R&B singer; Hank Garland, a noted guitarist on dozens of country and rock hits from the 40s to the 60s; the Blue Ridge Quartet, a pioneering gospel group with a nationally syndicated television show; Walter Hyatt, a singer and song writer who was part of the acoustic trio Uncle Walt’s Band; Champ Hood, another founding member of Uncle Walt’s Band and a popular accompanist; and the Marshall Tucker Band, a Southern rock band that helped establish the Southern Rock genre in the 1970s.
The Spartanburg Music Trail has a content-rich, interactive website with information about the selected musicians as well as music and video clips: http://spartanburgmusictrail.com. These initial 12 honorees were selected by a broad-based committee organized by the Hub City Writers Project in 2006. Two additional artists (living or dead) will be selected every two years based on nominations from the website.
The Spartanburg Music Trail opening event at which the signs will be unveiled will take place on Saturday, January 29 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. and will begin at the corner of West Main Street and South Daniel Morgan Avenue in downtown Spartanburg. Additional events will take place in January leading up to the unveiling at the end of the month, including musical performances, movie screenings, and scholar discussion. A full schedule of events is provided below:
January 7, 2011 | 8:00 p.m.
The New Generation Music Show
Featuring Sing Sing 76 and other Spartanburg young bands as part of the lead-up to unveiling the Spartanburg Music Trail
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Tickets: $8
Info: 864-577-9349
January 8, 2011 | 7:30 p.m.
Screening of the Film Crazy
A feature film (2008) based on the life of Hank Garland, part of the lead-up to unveiling the Spartanburg Music Trail
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Free and open to the public
Info: 864-577-9349
January 14, 2011 | Time TBA
Concert featuring Shane Pruitt Band and guests as part of the lead-up to unveiling the Spartanburg Music Trail
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Tickets: $10 in advance; $12 at the door
Info: 864-577-9349
January 19, 2011 | 7:30 p.m.
The Music Trail Concert: Contemporary Artists Salute Spartanburg Music History
Songs from the 12 Music Trail inductees performed by a cavalcade of local musicians
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Tickets: $10
Info: 864-577-9349
January 22, 2011 | 8:00 p.m.
Uncle Walt’s Band Revisited
A special night of great UWB songs performed by members of the Waybacks and the Belleville Outfit as part of the lead-up to unveiling the Spartanburg Music Trail
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Tickets: $20
Info: 864-577-9349
January 28, 2011 | 8:30 p.m.
Concert: Peter Cooper & friends
A performance by the Nashville singer/songwriter who authored Hub City Music Makers, as part of the lead-up to unveiling the Spartanburg Music Trail
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Tickets: $10 in advance
Info: 864-577-9349
January 29, 2011 | 8:00 p.m.
“Hub City Music Seen”: A Retrospective in film and conversation
Rare or remarkable film clips of Marshall Tucker Band, Dixie Hummingbirds, The Sparkletones, Peg Leg Sam, and Uncle Walt’s Band. Panel: Paul Riddle, Joe Bennett, Freddie Vanderford, Peter Cooper and more.
The Showroom at Hub-Bub, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue, Spartanburg
Free and open to the public
Info: 864-577-9349
February 11, 2011 | 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Unveiling of the Spartanburg Music Trail signs downtown
On West Main Street in front of Carriage House Wines
Free and open to the public
Info: 864-577-9349
For more information about the Spartanburg Music Trail, visit the website at http://spartanburgmusictrail.com/ or call Hub City Writers Project at 864-577-9349.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. SC Humanities programs and initiatives are balanced, reflecting sensitivity to the diversity of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity, and are ethical in operations.
