Truckers hitting St. Pat's festival

Face it Athens. We were spoiled by the three-night stand and the recent solo gigs, and now there isn't a Drive-By Trucker show scheduled for our neck of the woods on the near horizon. Fact is, they probably won't be back in these parts until this summer (if then). Not to worry. The band will be within a full tank, just across state lines in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, March 19, celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Five Points.

The festival boasts an impressive line-up that includes Blue Dogs, Jump (sans Little Children -- who swing through the Georgia Theatre on April 16), and Collective Soul (who make their Georgia Theatre appearance on March 25). In addition to live music from these regional heavies, expect traditional Irish music as performed by the Palmetto Bag Pipers, a Waiter's Race (which sounds like an obstacle course for members of the service industry), and of course a parade!

I stole a few minutes of talent buyer Charles Wilkie's time the other day, curious about the Columbia music scene, and how DBT got invited to the event that expects to draw 50,000 folks. ...

His recently formed partnership "All In Entertainment" was responsible for lining up this year's performers and also promotes shows at Headliners, a local 800-capacity venue, as well as venues in Raleigh, Charleston, Charlotte, Hilton Head, and other Carolina hot spots. "Doing a show is just like playing poker," he confessed. "Every one is a gamble, hence the name All In." As for The Truckers, "We've known about DBT for several years, and did a show with them back in 2003 in Columbia. They've really created a buzz in other regional markets, and this'll be their first time back to Columbia." When pressed to know if the band had any unusual contract rider requests, Wilkie admitted, "They definitely like the brown liquor." Certainly not among the stranger requests he's seen: "Saliva wanted knee braces for whatever reason, and 2 Skinnee J's requested black tube socks..."

Athens acts interested in introducing themselves to the folks at "All In Entertainment" should shoot an e-mail to info@headlinerscolumbia.com to get the ball rolling. Columbia sounds as if it's a relatively untapped market with just a few clubs servicing the 26,000 students at USC, and Wilkie and his partners seem to be on the ground floor with a sound business philosophy.

The Truckers take the stage at 4:45 p.m. (not a typo) and the fest wraps up at 7 p.m. As for after-hours entertainment (can 7:01 be considered after hours?) Wilkie assures that 5 Points will continue to be the place to be when the festival dies down. In fact, Headliners is hosting a little party for former USC football players returning from the NFL combine. No word on whether or not the Ol' Ball Coach will be in attendance, but if I see his visor I won't pass on the photo-op.

Posted by David Eduardo at March 8, 2005 07:59 AM