SOUND CHECKS – DON’T MISS CHARLESTON’S HOTTEST LIVE MUSIC SERIES!
Nobody brings you closer to today’s rising stars than Sound Checks. We invite you to join the party, step on to the Clay Center stage, and enjoy the best music from local and national emerging artists. Be a part of the scene at Sound Checks!
Sound Checks is presented thanks to support from SOHO’s, Roger L. Nicholson, Chris Blanchard, Encova Insurance, and Saluja Law. The Clay Center’s performing arts and visual arts offerings are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts
Fletcher’s Grove with BERTH
August 7, 2021
7:30 PM
Fletcher’s Grove is known for their high-energy shows, the band mixes a fierce rhythmic foundation, dual guitar solos, and an Appalachian tinged mix of genres that makes standing still nearly impossible. By focusing on musical intricacy and creating seamless improvisation, Fletcher’s Grove has captured the imaginations of thousands in the Mountain State and beyond.
West Virginia natives Joshua Runyon, Derrick Lowe, Bobby Davis, and Ethan Cook are the sonic architects who comprise the band BERTH. The quartet display superb musicianship and songwriting that will lead you on an auditory journey through multiple genres with roots firmly planted in the golden age of rock and roll music.
Tickets for all shows are on sale now! In addition to individual show tickets priced at $20 each, there is a special package available to purchase all five shows for only $75. In addition to the live music, DJ EJ will serve as host of and entertainment for each show! Local food trucks and a cash bar will be available on site. All shows begin at 7:30PM and include general seating in the Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Garden.
Hawktail (Support TBA)
August 26, 2021
7:30 PM
Band of acoustic instrumentalists featuring members of Punch Brothers, David Rawlings, Crooked Still, and A Prairie Home Companion. Known collectively as Hawktail, fiddler Brittany Haas, bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Jordan Tice, and mandolinist Dominick Leslie have combined their monstrous compositional and instrumental forces once again for a much-anticipated sophomore album, Formations. With Formations, it has become clear that Hawktail are quite capable of blazing away at their own trail, successfully challenging the traditional roles of their respective instruments and genres.
Tickets for all shows are on sale now! In addition to individual show tickets priced at $20 each, there is a special package available to purchase all five shows for only $75. In addition to the live music, DJ EJ will serve as host of and entertainment for each show! Local food trucks and a cash bar will be available on site. All shows begin at 7:30PM and include general seating in the Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Garden.
Underhill Rose (Support TBA)
September 17, 2021
7:30 PM
Harmonies. Soul-touching lyrics. Eye-catching stage presence. Underhill Rose has become synonymous with beautiful music, charming personalities, and rippling success. Get to know the joyful soaring voice of Molly Rose and her acoustic guitar and the distinctive styling of Eleanor Underhill’s open-back banjo and salty-blues vocals. Their close harmonies and charisma make most think they are sisters, and with their song-centered original compositions, Underhill Rose creates music that is real and inspired. See them on PBS Television, hear them on nationally syndicated radio and at live performances, and you will know how Underhill Rose has carved out a distinctive place in the Americana-folk scene.
Tickets for all shows are on sale now! In addition to individual show tickets priced at $20 each, there is a special package available to purchase all five shows for only $75. In addition to the live music, DJ EJ will serve as host of and entertainment for each show! Local food trucks and a cash bar will be available on site. All shows begin at 7:30PM and include general seating in the Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Garden.
Southern Avenue (Support TBA)
October 8, 2021
7:30 PM
Southern Avenue is an American five-piece blues and soul blues band from Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Formed in 2015, they took their name from a street in Memphis running from the easternmost part of the city limits to “Soulsville”, which was the original home of Stax Records. Rock 103 described them as “the most talked about band in Memphis.” Southern Avenue reached the finals of the International Blues Challenge in 2016.
Tickets for all shows are on sale now! In addition to individual show tickets priced at $20 each, there is a special package available to purchase all five shows for only $75. In addition to the live music, DJ EJ will serve as host of and entertainment for each show! Local food trucks and a cash bar will be available on site. All shows begin at 7:30PM and include general seating in the Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Garden.