North Charleston, South Carolina, festival returns with a bang
Story and photos by Bill Foster
Ever since the initial High Water Festival in 2017, the boutique festival curated by Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst of Shovels & Rope has been a model for others. Taking place in North Charleston’s beautiful Riverfront Park alongside the Copper River, the festival generally has featured excellent weather, appropriately sized crowds and an exciting but not too adventurous lineup. After experiencing some slight hiccups last year restarting the festival after the pandemic, the festival is back to being just about perfect. They’ve added a platinum area to the main stage, which means the entire front section now is reserved for either VIP or platinum, and the merch lines were too long (as they are at seemingly every festival lately). Those are the only two negatives, though, as the weather was clear, the crowds weren’t overwhelming and drink lines were reasonable.
The nice thing about High Water is that there are two alternating stages so that there are no conflicts and you can see every moment of every set, minus transit times. My day began with S.G. Goodman. I’d seen the Kentuckian – who is making big waves with her second record – before, but something didn’t quite click. This time was different, however. She isn’t a very active performer, but her witty, occasionally profane lyrics and the squalls of guitar noise coming from the stage really won me over.
Following Goodman, Sierra Ferrell took to the main Sonos Stage. Fashionable as always in a blue, puffy skirt and a geisha headpiece, Ferrell led her three-piece band through a 45-minute set consisting of songs from her newest record, as well as covers of John Anderson and Willie Nelson. She possesses an amazing, powerful voice, and the crowd responded passionately whenever she cut loose.
Wilder Woods was up next on the Edisto Stage. The Needtobreathe frontman and Furman University record-holding wide receiver launched his solo career in 2019 under his stage name, which comprises the names of two of his three kids. The set was a mix of songs from his debut album and from the recently released “FEVER / SKY.” It was enjoyable MOR, but it never caught fire for me.
Big Boi followed on the main stage. He brought only a singer and a DJ with him just as he did at Second Bell. The crowd was huge and enthusiastic as the rapper ran through a mix of solo hits and Outkast songs. As one might imagine, “Ms. Jackson” and “The Way You Move” were particularly well-received.
It’s amazing when at a certain age one realizes that a band they had heard of for a long time but isn’t familiar with has been around for 30 years. Such is the case for me with Guster. I’d heard some hits and knew the name but didn’t think much of them. That was my loss because they provided the first phenomenal show of the day. Dressed in a velvet smoking jacket and playing guitar, banjo, trumpet and glockenspiel, Adam Gardener led the five-piece through an exciting, fun set.
“I didn’t know I’d be playing after one of the dudes with the best catalog of the past 25 years when I agreed to this,” he said in the lead-in to “Satellite.” He also spoke of his love for the festival and how the group modeled its own festival in Maine after High Water. Set highlights included “This Is How It Feels to Have a Broken Heart,” “One Man Wrecking Machine” and “Jesus on the Radio.” It was a self-assured, wonderful set by a band that’s been doing it for a long time.
Next up was Bleachers, which produced a set that is probably going to stand as the best thing I see this weekend. With so many artists gathered together, festivals bring the promise of spectacular collaborations, but they rarely occur in real life. Bleachers, though, delivered, with both Lana Del Rey (performing “Margaret,” a song from her just-released album) and Beck joining frontman Jack Antonoff (and his father, on one track) onstage.
Bleachers has slowly become one of the great live acts in the nation, with Antonoff constantly exhorting the crowd to climb on each other’s shoulders, yell, clap and generally “f*** up this joint.” Antonoff’s stage persona is simultaneously engaging and goofy, like Adam Sandler doing his best Bruce Springsteen impression. He performed some choreographed bits with his unique two-saxophone band, jumped off everything in sight and spent as much time waving his arms and engaging with the crowd as he did playing guitar. It was a spectacular, life-affirming show, and it exemplified everything good about rock ‘n’ roll.
Antonoff is a hard act to follow, but Father John Misty provided an equally spectacular show in a completely different vein. The set lighting was dramatic and difficult to shoot, but the show was wonderful. Tillman has a six-piece band, and all the players are multi-instrumentalists, which allows him to switch from a powerhouse four-guitar setup to a moody three-keyboard arrangement. He began with “The Next 20th Century,” which ran at purring simmer before erupting into squalls of noise reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails. Other highlights included “Mr. Tillman,” “When You’re Smiling and Astride Me” and “Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)” before the set-closing one-two punch of “Pure Comedy” and “I Love You, Honeybear.”
Finally, it was fully dark and time to go back to the main stage for Rainbow Kitten Surprise. It’s been a while since I first discovered the Boone, North Carolina, natives at a small tent at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, and it is always so gratifying to watch a band make it to headlining status. The last time I saw them, at Shaky Knees last year, I thought they were subdued and missing something, but this was RKS at their dancing, harmonizing, twirling best. Starting with “Goodnight, Chicago,” lead singer Ela Melo high-kicked, jumped and spun as she sang. The harmonies delivered by the band were breathtaking as they blasted through songs like “Cocaine Jesus,” “Devil Like Me” and “It’s Called Freefall.” It was a glorious set and a great ending to one of the best days I’ve ever had at a festival.
