Columbia musician Chris Smith's latest musical venture, Sunshone Still, portrays a mix of impossibly delicate intimacy, stellar songwriting and creative production on the new album "Two Crossed Stars." 

The DIY indie music label has put music from Columbia's Dear Blanca, Stagbriar and Twin Toasters on cassettes as a way to bring the analog medium back in SC. 

Columbia-based artist Toni Esther sees her music as therapy. Literally. On her upcoming project, she plans to keep tapping into her work as a counselor, her roots in South Carolina and her love of storytelling. 

The rhythm section is key to a band's success. We took a look at one such bassist keeping the groove in Columbia: Cam Powell. 

From playing WRUK's battle of the bands and seeing Andrew W.K. to watching Paramore weeks before they made it big, SC band Sequoyah Prep School reflects on the moments they remember from two decades playing and attending shows at New Brookland Tavern. 

Though he played with some of the biggest bands of the 1980s, bassist Tommy Stinson doesn't spend much time reflecting on the past. His latest projects will be featured at his upcoming shows in Columbia and Charleston. 

Beloved SC band Sequoyah Prep School closed out decades of sold-out shows at New Brookland Tavern on State Street in West Columbia and welcomed crowds to the bar's new location on Harden Street in Five Points.

Women musicians and women-fronted bands are on the rise in Columbia, but artists said they still face barriers in the male-dominated industry. 

Columbia band Prosperity Gospel plays "a particularly brutal genre" called black metal, known for its screeching vocals and overstimulating sound, but the band took an unconventional approach for their sophomore album. 

Travel Therapy's "Sum Notes" is a nine-track roadmap to getting listeners to move their feet to artist Michael Gutshall's "electronic, melancholy pop." 

The Marshgrass Mamas are a supergroup of South Carolinian women musicians who play music with traditional bluegrass instruments that's "a little bit muddy and swampy." 

"Fever Dream" is Kimberly Walsh's sophomore album and a deeper exploration of the music that moves her and the lyrics that sing her story.

White Knoll High School's choir will perform "I Want to Know What Love is" with the late-1970s rock band at the Township Auditorium during their upcoming concert.

Launched six years ago, the nonprofit SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble aims to bring high-caliber jazz talent to Midlands audiences in the style of big band.

On Oct. 5, 2023, Homemade Haircuts played their last-ever show at New Brookland Tavern. The homegrown band has been playing shows across the state and region, bringing their energetic sound to crowds across the south. 

That life cycle is traced in the newest single from Sumter-based folksy bluegrass band, The Green Swamp Collective. "Carolina Sun" is a rootsy, acoustic song with easy harmonies and a sunny disposition.

Are you still searching for answers behind the actual identity or purpose of Wheeler Walker Jr.? Music writer Nicole Kitchens set out to find what the man behind the cowboy hat and extremely explicit discography really thinks. 

The 35-track playlist features musicians from across the Palmetto State and is free to stream on Bandcamp. 

Though he's been involved in his alma mater since graduating in the mid-1980s, the Gospel singer has long-wanted to come back and teach the next generation of vocalists full-time at Benedict College. 

The USC Symphony Orchestra is opening their season with an eclectic slate of pieces, including one of Beethoven's most famous works and a contemporary number from Adolphus Hailstork.

If you’re a fan of guitar-fueled indie rock, the kind that has just the right mix of edgy-but-melodic tunes with plenty of good riffs, then you’ll probably enjoy what the band Speedy Ortiz does.

The Greenville-based Sweet Spine has reached new heights with their summer single, "Darkness," but the fun is just beginning for these Gen-Z rockers. 

From the tumult of the 80s to the underground-rock revolution of the 90s, Dinosaur Jr. has managed to stay relevant for three decades. And when they hit the Senate's stage on Sept. 6, the notorious rockers promise to be 'better than ever.'

"Only a few sing the old songs." And with the new album "Lowcountry," a consortium of Gullah-Geechee griots and musicians are coming together to sing those songs once again. 

As hip hop celebrated its 50th birthday, a founding father of the genre will take the stage at the Koger Center to celebrate as part of this year's Hip Hop Family Day. 

Welcome to Essentials, a weekly interview series delving into the works of art that inspire creatives in the Midlands. 

Writer Fiona Schreier spent the night of July 20 at The Nickelodeon, where audiences packed out the indie theater for back-to-back showings of "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie." 

The Florida rock band will play at New Brookland Tavern on July 24 — but don't expect the band's hardcore alter-ego, Pools, to make an appearance. "We'd blow our voices out." 

The one-day, four-hour Meeting Street Music Fest will feature three acts: The Reggie Sullivan Band, Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles and Meli’sa Morgan.

The annual ColaJazz Festival has announced the dates for its two-day celebration this fall. 

Shows is a band made up of other bands — members from Secret Guest, Dear Blanca and King Vulture make up the experimental group. Their third EP, "Contractual Obligations," is out July 8. 

The Front Bottoms, The Jonas Brothers and Soulja Boy are all among the names of bands that'll visit various music venues in Columbia. Here are more shows to check out in the final half of 2023. 

“This Expose is for independent artists locally… to come out and network with people that they would have never met before and also to showcase themselves artistically," Taylor told Free Times.

With over four decades of performing and composing under his belt, piano virtuoso Anthony de Mare headlines this year's Southeastern Piano Festival, an annual classical piano showcase that takes place this year from June 11 until June 17. 

“It's just another way of honoring Aaron's spirit and honoring the things that we love to do," Patrick Wall told Free Times. The band, Those Lavender Whales, will perform at New Brookland Tavern on June 2.

The group, which began in the mid-90s and peaked commercially at the height of the nu-metal heyday around the turn of the millennium, is a surprising survivor of that musical period.

In need of a space to host an artist after the concert venue was already booked for the same day, the team at New Brookland Tavern formulated an idea that became much bigger — an event space next door. 

For this tour, which brings experimental music group Elka Bong to 711 Saluda Ave. in Columbia on May 26, the trio will have a performance artist, CillaVee, with them, who will be improvising movements as well as vocals.

In early May, a mysterious new Columbia-based record label appeared on social media and the web, dubbed “Garbage Partner” and festooned with a humorous trashcan-and-cowboy-hat logo.

On May 27, TiffanyJ and a next-level group of musicians will set up at SC ETV studios in Columbia, and they’ll be recording her third album live in front of an audience.

Regardless of how you feel about crustaceans pulled from the Gulf, it’s hard to deny the appeal of the Rosewood Crawfish Festival, which hosts its 15th annual rendition of the event this Saturday, May 6.