Variety to Light up Uptown Stage
March 15, 2009
By JOSEPH SITARZ
Index-Journal Features/Accent editor
Greenwood, SC - As a singer, Hack Bartley knows how to listen to the musicians.
As artistic director of Uptown Greenwood's Live After Five, Bartley listened to audience feedback.
Among those who have spoken is Lander University president Dan Ball, whose suggested performer is on the 2009 schedule. Bartley listened to his sponsors and the kids.
He's taken the responses, along with a little intuition, and put together this year's Live After Five in Uptown with hopes of building on 2008's success.
- Live After Five opens with The Embers 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The North Carolina based band is known as a beach and rhythm and blues band with ties to Greenwood. Thursday's show kicks off Live After Five's 11th season at Countybank Plaza (419 Main Street) in Uptown Greenwood. It's the second with Bartley as artistic director.
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- One of the members of The Embers is Wayne Free. Free, like Bartley, is a former member of Greenwood's own Swingin' Medallions. Free is also known for his work in other Greenwood-based bands.
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- "It's great to have him back in town," Barley said. "He's a terrific guy. I love him tremendously. He's a great musician and singer. I'm tickled he's doing well."
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- Bartley is hoping The Embers can set the tone for 2009.
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- "People were happy with what we brought in," Barley said. "It seems to have worked really well. I'd walk through the crowd and thank them for coming. They'd stop me and tell me thanks for what we were doing and for the quality of entertainment we had brought in. They'd say, 'We love the entertainment. Keep up the good work.'"
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- Following The Embers it's the 1980s cover band, The Breakfast Club, April 16. The band derives its name from the popular 1985 movie starring Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Emelio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Anthony Michael Hall.
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- When booking acts, Bartley's philosophy is simple.
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- "My goal is not to bring the same groups back twice. I want new and better entertainment every year. We'll have the Medallions every year that they're willing to do it. I'm really happy with the mix," Bartley said.
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- "The goal for myself is to have four different genres of music. I like to have two beach type bands, two R and B, two country, two variety. That covers most of what everybody wants to hear."
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- Among 2008 performers were Mustang Sally, Billy Scott and the Prophets, T. Graham Brown, The Fabulous Expressions, Band of Oz, The Swingin' Medallions and The Tams.
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- Attendance was up last year, with an average estimate of about 1,000 people per event. That's directly attributed to the quality of the performers and the promotion of community.
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- "I wanted to give people what they wanted the most," Bartley said, noting in years past, some of the acts just didn't draw crowds.
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2009 Series Lineup
March 19 - The Embers - The North Carolina-based band is known as a beach and rhythm and blues band with ties to Greenwood. One to the members of The Embers is Wayne Free. Free is a former member of Greenwood's own Swingin' Medallions. Free is also known for his work in other Greenwood-based bands.
April 16 - The Breakfast Club - "They're an '80's cover band," Bartley said of the Atlanta based band. "They're a really good group. It's a show everybody would enjoy. They've been around a good while. They're popular with a lot of folks. I think they're really going to be well received."
May 21 - Peace and Love - The Charlotte band is no stranger to Greenwood. "They've been to Greenwood two or three times," Bartley said. "I saw them at Sports Break and fell in love with them. They're really, really talented. They're versatile. They can do a lot of things. They're really a good R and B band."
June 19 - Natalie Stovall - The country performer from Nashville has been to Greenwood before. She's played at Lander University and was impressive. "She's a good country music singer and a smokin' fiddle player. She's adored by all," Bartley said, adding Lander President Dan Ball put in a good word for her. "He said she was so wonderful, we had to get her back again. He really loved her. She's really talented. Ball wasn't the only president impressed with Stovall. She performed for President Bush before he left office. "You've got to be pretty darn talented to set yourself up at the White House," Bartley said.
July 10 - The Fantastic Shakers - The popular beach band from North Carolina is another Live After Five act with connections to Greenwood. The Fantastic Shaker' Bo Schrone is married to a former Greenwood girl, Jane Fisher. Bartley said Schrone told him he was glad to be coming to Greenwood and glad "to bring Jane home."
August 20 - Michael Stacy - This entertainer hails from Nashville but lives in Atlanta. His Tennessee roots give him a definite country edge, Bartley said, but he's not limited. "He's basically country with a lot of variety," Bartley said. "He's got a new song coming out and he's got a lot of good things happening. I've seen him perform twice. He's very versatile."
September 17 - Swingin' Medallions - While Bartley might be a little bias, he believes a Live After Five wouldn't be complete without Greenwood's own Swingin' Medallions. "It would be ungentlemanly of me not to use them," Bartley said.
October 15 - The Original Drifters | "There were some good events," Bartley said. "There were some that weren't."
He wanted to curtail the peaks and valleys and be constantly good.
Based on the response from 2008, Bartley has a good outlook for 2009.
"I expect about the same or a little better this year," Bartley said.
But, best of all, Bartley said, it's free.
"It's a free concert. I expect big crowds. I'm bringing them what I consider a better lineup this year. All they have to do is show up. That's what I'm really, really hoping people will do," he said, noting the economic situation should be a plus for Live After Five. "That may play right into our hands. These difficult times could be in our favor."
"On the heels of last year's successful experiment using school groups to open the performances, Bartley plans to employ the same philosophy this year, but turned up one notch. School performers will be used during school months which church groups will fill in when school is out.
"It was a huge success. The kids loved it," Bartley said. "The people loved it. We attracted people who probably would not have come to Live After Five. Then we would see the same faces show up again."
The grade range for the school performances is six or seventh through high school.
"We'll use them in the spring and fall," Barley said.
Allowing church groups access to Live After Five actually started last year. Westminster Presbyterian Church set up a tent and did face painting and gave lemonade to kids for free. Main Street Methodist Church's praise band was also used.
"I'm tickled the churches want to be a part of it," Bartley said.
Among the churches to participate include First Presbyterian, North side Baptist, St. Mark United Methodist and Harris Baptist.
"They'll either be the opening act or be used during breaks in the bands' sets," Bartley said.
Sponsors are important to Live After Five and having repeat sponsorship was something Bartley set his sights on.
"My goal last year was to have every one of my sponsors come up to me at the end of the show and say, 'Count me in,' for next year," Bartley said. "My sponsors are back. They've all signed up again. I know they felt like they got their money's worth. Everyone was complimentary."
"They said we did a good job promoting their company and their effort to give back to the community," Bartley continued.
Bartley scheduled all the Thursday events. Besides the third Thursday of the month shows, there are some Live After Five shows on the weekend. Bartley did not schedule the South Carolina Festival of Discovery/Greenwood Blues Cruise show in July.
Uptown Greenwood partnered with Rock 'N Roll Cruisers for Saturday's Live After Fives. Saturday Live After Five shows start at 6 p.m. and are in the Uptown fountain parking lot.
For more information about Live After Five, call (864) 942-8448 or visit www.uptowngreenwood.com.
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