My Love of Playing Music in the Carolinas

I grew up listening to music. My mom had extensive piano training and dad loved everything from the blues to rock and roll. We would ride around with mom jamming classic rock in the car. Dad had fancy stereos and speakers in all the work trucks. During the holidays mom would get out the sheet music and sit at the piano while dad would get out the old Christmas vinyl and we would groove to that every year. That's really what sparked my mythical guitar quest.

My parents bought me my first guitar for Christmas in 1993. It was a cherry red Fender Player Stratocaster with a Fender practice amp. That started my love of playing music in the Carolinas. What was even cooler was the guitar shop it came from. Reliable Music in downtown Charlotte, NC was my premier music shop in the 90s. It had two levels with amps and guitars everywhere. They had it wall to wall and I was hooked immediately. I had zero experience and had no clue where I was going. In the pre-internet days, the fastest way to learn guitar licks was to get a guitar tablature book. These books transcribed to me the unreadable sheet music into something that a beginner like me could understand. It was a one hour drive into the city, so I never got to go as often as I wanted. Probably for the best. I spent all the money I worked for over the summer in there. Sadly Reliable music was torn down many years ago, but the legacy still lives on.

Earlier that year (1993) I had gone to my very first big concert. The drive into the city was exciting. The crowd was buzzing with energy. The whole experience had me searching for all the places that offered live music within a few hours of drive time. I went to 3 more that year. I began to discover so many of the great places that artists would visit and play music all over this great state. I would get tickets, go to the show and stand as close as I could to check out everyone's gear that they were using. From the mountains in Asheville all the way out to Raleigh and lots of small venues in between, I have been to hundreds of live shows. There is no end to the great live music you can find and experience in this part of North Carolina.

View from the lawn at an amphitheater in North Carolina

First off, big ticket arena shows are quite a spectacle. For a decent price you get a one night only experience from some of the biggest performers in music today. That is very alluring to a lot of people, but an expensive endeavor. In the early 2000s many small venues would open their doors to some the biggest up and coming groups for a fraction of the cost of larger arenas and coliseums. This allowed a lot of acts to get exposure to packed houses, long lines, and sold out merch tables without ever booking a single stadium gig. Smaller venues always meant parking issues, but that is part of the price you pay to go see some great live music on a budget.

Many cities in North Carolina had dedicated venues would accommodate smaller attendance numbers while still giving the experience of big arena show. Many of the names have changed, arenas get rebuilt, and progress and development wait for no one. Lots of the big coliseums would close off half the stadium seating just to make it look like it was a packed house that night. Some of my favorites in the past were the Roxy on Independence, all the Charlotte Coliseums, Blockbuster Pavilion, Carowinds Pavilion, the Greensboro Coliseum, and the Raleigh Amphitheater. The smaller favorites were the Hornet's training facility, Memorial Stadium, The Grady Cole Center, Amos' Southend Charlotte, Tremont Music Hall, Green Street Club in Greensboro, The Orange Peel in Asheville, and many other smaller places that had made arrangements with the local talent to host music events of all shapes and sizes. I'm sure I'm forgetting much of an ever growing list of killer spots.

You could go see groups and performers of all genres right here in North Carolina. The music instrument stores of the late 1900s were legendary. The knowledge you would gain just walking around the store was enough to make the trip. We didn't have endless catalogs to look at, or an abundance of pictures with famous musicians and their gear. We had to rely on learning from those that came before us that were trying to find their way on their music journey as well. Dave's Music in Denver, NC (R.I.P. Dave) was my local secret spot for getting straps and strings and whatever else I could afford at the time. I even got my first acoustic guitar there. Remember, back then you physically had to go to a store to see what was in stock that day. If you had a question, or even worse a problem, you walked in head held high ready for a dose of some serious learning. That's how it was done.

I have been playing music in the Carolinas now for 30 years. My wife and I love going to concerts all over the state. Last year we took our 11 year old daughter to her first big concert. There is no shortage of musical talent in our state. If you go online and search for live music near me you're going to find a lot more than you thought was out there. Some places will take a longer drive to get there, but I guarantee you it is worth it. Summer time is the best time of course to find places that have converted for a seasonal concert series type of setup. There are tons of places that have been established over the last 20 years to continue North Carolina's legacy of hosting great music of all types. Just start searching and you'll find the music!

Do you remember where your favorite concert was?!