By Jason Evans

Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

COUNTY — The Greater Clemson Music Festival is about to kick off, bringing weeks of concerts and other events to the area.
The festival, now in its fifth year, will begin on Friday, April 15, and conclude on Sunday, April 24.
“It’s really turned into something that’s really good for the community,” festival chairman Vince Jackson said. “People really look forward to it in April.”
The event showcases the talented local artists of today while celebrating the musical history of the area.
In fact, the festival grew out of Jackson’s book “The Littlejohn’s Grill Story: Blues, Jazz and Rock n’ Roll in Clemson, SC.”
“That was just right down the street here,” Jackson said during a recent interview at Hardee’s in Central. “It’s a great story.”
Littlejohn’s Grill was in business from about 1945-68 and was a major stop for African-American performers.
“James Brown performed there,” he said. “Anyone you can name of musical importance at that time came through here. Otis Redding, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, the Supremes, the Temptations — they were here. People were amazed by that. I was amazed by that when I first started investigating.”
That book sparked a conversation among the core group that eventually became the festival’s founders.
“We said, ‘You know, wouldn’t it be great if we start our own juke joint or nightclub and do this again?’” Jackson said. “What we decided instead was to do this music festival. We wanted to raise money for charities and put it back into the community that way.”
The late Larry Abernathy, then-mayor of Clemson, was instrumental in getting the festival started, Jackson said.
“He was a big music fan,” he said. “It was sort of his dream to bring all that back.”
Originally called the Nothing But the Blues Fest, the event focused strictly on blues music in its first years but has now expanded in scope, Jackson said.
“We always intended to expand, and we’ve finally done that,” he said. “We offer all kinds of music — reggae, gospel, rock, blues, jazz, roots. We try to have something for everybody.”
Originally held in Patrick Square in Clemson, the festival is now offering concerts and other events at venues throughout Pickens County and the surrounding area.
“We’re all over the place,” Jackson said. “We’re in Westminster, Seneca, Six Mile, Clemson, Pendleton. We’re got a big event on Main Street in Central. We try to do events everywhere. That’s what we’re about — bringing the music and bringing the history.”
The festival partners with the CAT transit system to offer historical bus tours.
“We do tours of the slave cemetery at Clemson University, the textile and railroad history of Central,” Jackson said. “We try to have a variety of things to engage as many people as we can.”

Wanda Johnson

The festival seeks to promote female African-American performers like Wanda Johnson, “South Carolina’s Lady of Rhythm, Blues and Soul,” and Loretta Holloway, “South Carolina’s Official First Lady of Song.”
“(We include) people like that who are getting their career going or trying to keep it going,” Jackson said. “We’ve got some really good performers.”

There will be a lot of familiar faces performing at this year’s festival, Jackson said.

Fayssoux Starling McClean

“Fayssoux McLean is a really great performer,” he said. “She’s sung with Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris and Tom T. Hall. She’ll be in Westminster and also in Six Mile.”
Brandon Turner is a really great guitar player, Jackson said.

Brandon Turner

“He’s played with Freddie Vanderford quite a bit,” he said.
This year’s big events include Six Mile Swing — featuring the Tony Tidwell Band, Fayssoux McLean, Brandon Turner and Wanda Johnson, as well as the Music on Main event in Central that will feature Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’Blues and the Beach Bash at the Madren Center in Clemson, featuring Men of Distinction.

Mac Arnold

Men of Distinction are a “really fantastic beach music band,” Jackson said. “They’re a nine-piece orchestra. They play all kinds of stuff. I say from Sinatra to Stevie Wonder — they do it all.”
Mac Arnold has performed at the festival year after year.
“He’s such a great guy,” Jackson said of Arnold. “He always comes down and supports us.”
A lot of the festival events are free. Organizers try to keep the other events reasonably priced, Jackson said.
The fest joins with the Hagood Mill and the Pickens County Museum of Art and History for some events, including an art show currently at the museum.
Organizers hold an art contest for designs for T-shirts and other advertising. The winners and other entrants’ work are currently being displayed at the museum.
“It’s another way to get people involved in the festival, through art,” Jackson said.
A 501(c)3 organization, the festival seeks to assist many local charities in the area, including Pickens County Meals on Wheels, Clemson Community Care and the Sertoma Club. The Beach Bash event during the festival helps the Sertoma Club pay for disadvantaged children to attend Camp Sertoma.
The festival has assisted Mac Arnold’s foundation, the I Can Do Anything Foundation.
“They provide musical instruments for kids who can’t afford them,” Jackson said. “If they want be in the band or something and they can’t afford a saxophone, they’ll help them out with that. Mac does really good charity work that way.”
Last year’s event raised more than $5,000 for area charities. Jackson said the festival wouldn’t be possible without the support of its sponsors.
“It’s a great event, and we have a lot of fun with it,” Jackson said. “I think we help a lot of people.”
For more information, visit clemsonmusicfest.org