“Blankets & Bands” Free Concert Series on Town Green

The Downtown Camden program is offering a free concert series to all residents, beginning this Thursday on Town Green at 5:30 pm. Bring your blanket and friends to enjoy live music outdoors. Bring a picnic dinner, grab takeout from your favorite local restaurant or enjoy food and beverages available for purchase. 

Groove Brothers is the recently formed group of Mike Frost on bass, drummer Rick Latham, guitarist Gregory Hodges, and Austin Brashier on guitar and vocals. This group of musicians are each famous in their own right, and have come together to present an evening of smooth sounds and fun rhythms. A native of New York, bassist Mike Frost studied under jazz legends Pat Martino and Jaco Pastorius. More than a band leader and bass player, he is a composer, studio musician, educator, recording engineer and designer. Rick Latham has performed with a diverse collective of artist covering all genres, from “Blues Legend” B.B. King to Grammy Award winning Pop Artist Juice Newton. Gregory Hodges, a native of the Upstate, has traveled with Col. Bruce Hampton and the Code Talkers. Now, he's back and has started his own band under the name "The Gregory Hodges Band". Austin Brashier has had the privilege of opening for or playing with many blues greats such as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Tinsley Ellis, Derek Trucks, and Nappy Brown.

Music will last from 5:30 to 8:00 pm, weather permitting. Please refrain from bringing glass containers on Town Green. Consumption of beer and wine will be permitted, per resolution from Camden City Council, for the hours of the concert.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

On Thursday, October 14th, the free concert will feature local music super-group, Gabriel Lopez & Friends, a quartet of talented South Carolina-based musicians. Gabriel (Gabe) Lopez sang lead vocals/acoustic guitar for regional touring band S-Tribe, before relocating to Austin, Texas, for a year to explore the Austin City music scene. Upon returning later in 2008, Lopez banded with drummer Larry Gornto (S-Tribe, Patrick Davis, and Tokyo Joe), bassist Mike Mills (The Casual Kings, Treadmill Trackstar), and guitarist Charles Funk (S-Tribe, The South). The four friends wrote, recorded, and produced original music at Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville, NC, under the name Moving Mercury. Expect a wide range of cover songs cleverly sprinkled with familiar-sounding original works.

And on Thursday, October 28th, local favorite Sole Purpose will be the featured entertainment, getting you into the Halloween spirit, as Downtown Camden kicks off its annual Boo Fest celebration with a Trunk-or-Treat in the Town Green parking area during the hours of the concert. This evening’s concert is sponsored by local retailer The Edge of Broad Street. 

For details about each concert, call 803-549-5648 or visit www.facebook.com/downtowncamdensc.