From Robert Behre:
What most would have shocked Spoleto’s first audiences in 1977? That there would be a regional African American country music trio (mostly guitar, banjo and fiddle but also kazoo, snare drum and jug) featured prominently and welcomed warmly during the 2008 festival?
Or that this trio’s first festival performance would occur exactly one night after the first African American managed to clinch the nomination for president of a major political party?
Would the last generation of Charlestonians have raised their collective eyebrows more about a group of black Spoleto performers talking about how their grandparents religiously watched “Hee-Haw” and how they eagerly anticipated their debut at the Grand Old Opry? Or that a black politician with less than four years experience on the national stage defeated a white candidate from the Democratic party’s establishment thanks in part to his overwhelming win in South Carolina?
Maybe the strangest thing is simply this: Sen. Barack Obama most recently appeared in Charleston in January at the College of Charleston’s Cistern, the very same place where the Carolina Chocolate Drops rocked a Spoleto crowd Wednesday night.
One additional coincidence: The temperature was in the 80s both times.
OK, that’s maybe the least shocking thing.
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I’m looking forward to seeing the Drops tonight.
Watching Hee Haw was nothing shocking in my African-American family. My mother listened to country and bluegrass as a child, and passed that love on to me.
Still, it’s a bit sad when people (not just whites) raise an eyebrow at my taste in music. I never felt that I had to like–or dislike–a type of music based on race.
Talk about a “Win-Win” situation!
Whoever thought to move 2 of the 4 performances of the Carolina Chocolate Drops to the outdoors Cistern area was a genius.
Twice the seating, a balmy setting with a gentle breeze and ample room to roam around and soak up the historic campus atmosphere.
Great performers in a great setting. Kudos.