All words and photos by Bill Foster
Charleston’s two-day High Water Festival has been going for a bit now, and, like all festivals, it has grown and changed over the years. This was the first year without founders Shovels & Rope curating the lineup, but the roster is still solid. Parking was easy (although I did arrive early) and only about a third of a mile from the site at North Charleston’s Riverfront Park. Exiting was also easy, with just about five minutes of stop-and-go traffic to navigate. The site seemed less crowded than in previous years, and the food lines were manageable. I never waited more than a minute for beer or soda. High Water consists of two stages, Stono and Edisto, and they alternate acts. Because of this, you can see all 10 acts per day.
Easy Money
Opening Saturday were local heroes Easy Money. Consisting of two brothers and a couple classmates they met in Sewanee, Tennessee, the four-piece plays an appealing mix of surf and indie rock with catchy hooks, some interesting soloing and the ability to get rambunctious onstage. I quite enjoyed it; young kids with loud guitars and all the pretty girls in the front row calling your name? It doesn’t get much better.
Darren Kiely
Irishman Darren Kiely opened the main stage next. Hailing from County Cork, he is quite popular in Ireland and has racked up millions of streams. Live, he has an appealing voice and interesting lyrics. He was backed by keyboard and drums and mostly played acoustic guitar. It was appealing but failed to grab me. I look forward to listening a bit more.
Evan Honer
Evan Honer entered the stage with a backflip. He was a former gymnast and diver who appeared on “American Idol” where Luke Bryant famously told him to “stick to diving.” Well, the laugh, as it so often is, is on Luke, as the growing crowd was into the young performer. He only began writing songs during the pandemic and has two albums under his belt. The noisy six-piece band kept things loose, and Honer was demonstrative and exciting. I quite enjoyed this new act.
Medium Build
Back on Stono, Medium Build took the stage. The stage name for songwriter Nicolas Carpenter, he made the original move of leaving Nashville for Anchorage, Alaska, to further his career and now has five albums out on Island Records. I was excited to see this show because the folks in line with me for the Chubby Fish on Friday had spoken so highly of him. It was a great show. Carpenter is professional, with a fantastic, unusual voice. Check it out.
Joy Oladakun
Joy Oladakun has been on the scene a while (five albums) and playing festivals the entire time (including a couple in Knoxville and Bristol). The child of Nigerian immigrants in Arizona, she is a disciple of Tracey Chapman and sounded more like her today than other times I have seen her. She is in a stripped-down four-piece where she serves as the lead guitarist. I enjoyed her playing a great bit, and she is a superlative songwriter.
Amos Lee
Back on Stono, it was time for Amos Lee. The Philadelphian has been around since 2004, and it shows; he’s assured, confident and stunning, His voice has just the right amount of raspiness, and his songwriting is incredible. He added a lot of snippets as codas to his own songs including “Zombie,” “Landslide,” and “Blue Sky.” He also tossed in a great cover of Ween’s “Piss Up a Rope” and brought a member of Mt. Joy up for a song. This was the first truly great show of the festival.
Julien Baker and TORRES
Back on Edisto, there was a group of young ladies who had been on the front row all day. I had been wondering who they were waiting for, and the answer was Julien Baker and TORRES. Playing just their second festival after being scheduled to debut at Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival but having to pull out due to injury, the crowd was raucous and singing every word, unusual for an album that was released only days ago. Backed by an all-female band and wearing colorful rhinestones and overalls, the duo wove a spell over the crowd. I don’t know what I expected from putting a queer-indie/country icon together with a Grammy-winning member of boygenius, but it wasn’t something this traditional, down to the cover of “Mama Tried.”
Mt. Joy
On the main stage again, it was time for Mt. Joy. The last time I saw the band, they were an opener at the Bijou, but the Los Angeles five-piece has grown since then. This was a performance worthy of a headliner, a spot they will no doubt occupy in a year or two. Intricate guitar solos, noise, melody, lights, guests – this show had everything one could want. Truly special. Amos Lee joined them for a bit, and Joy Olokadun came out for a cover of their hit “Astrovan.”
The Backseat Lovers
To close out the smaller stage, Rhe Backseat Lovers played. I had thought that Julien Baker and TORRES had a loud crowd, but when the second song started here, I literally could not hear the band over the crowd singing. It was the first time in the entire day when I needed earplugs. No surprises or guests here, just no-frills rock ‘n’ roll including “Heavy,” “Growing/Dying,” and, of course, “Kilby Girl.”
Lord Huron
Finally, Lord Huron closed out the show. Being the main headliner, they had over 90 minutes, enough time to deliver a career-spanning, 20-song set, including a tour debut and an unreleased song. The Los Angeles four-piece expands to six for touring, and the band lays down a rich tapestry as frontman Ben Schneider spins and jumps. I expected this to be the best show of the day, and it absolutely was.
Bring on day two.
