Honey & Hotrods Light Up Mill Town Players Stage after Dark Year

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Honey and the Hot Rods strutted onto the Mill Town Players stage Friday night, the first performance at the venue after more than a year of being shut down for the pandemic, with full-tilt energy and an engaging stage presence that reminded theater goers what we have missed.

The road house four-piece retro-rock band did not disappoint the sold-out house.Honey and the Hotrods light up the stage at the Mill Town Player theater Friday night. Photo: Anderson Observer

Katie Rockwell, who wowed audiences on this same stage in 2016 with her “Always…Patsy Cline” tribute show, blazed through a series of classics from the 1950s on Friday, covering a set that stretched beyond the advertised rockabilly show.

From the kickoff “Backstreet Boogie,” Katie, along with husband Ken whose guitar work sizzled with licks that at times evoked a Chuck Berry/Carl Perkins after a six-pack of Red Bulls, offered a show that connected with the full auditorium, who hooted and applauded when asked if they had missed live music. Ken’s hot guitar hooks were the perfect match to Katie’s voice, which effortlessly slide from ballads to rock as she kicks in a quick growl into her vocal licks. 

Joined by a solid rhythm sections with Pete Cash on bass and Fred Wooten on drums, Honey and the Hot Rods blew through covers of seminal songs of the era, including echoes of the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and, of course Patsy Cline. 

From “All I Have to Do is Dream” and “Crying,” to “Folsom Prison Blues” and the playful “Shake Your Money Maker,” to mention a few, Friday night’s concert was just plain fun.

But the stellar moment of the concert was Katie’s cover of “When Will I Be Loved,” which soared into an orbit of its own. Originally another Everly Brothers hit in the 1950s, Katie followed the Linda Ronstadt arrangement, which energy and emotion unmatched in Friday night’s all-around strong set. 

Her voice on the song were perfect, and if Mill Town Players CEO Will Ragland is half the promoter I know he is, the creation of a show of Katie covering the entire Ronstadt “Heart Like a Wheel” album should already be in the works.

Ragland, who also serves as mayor of Pelzer, was almost floating as he introduced the return to live shows at the auditorium, thanking the loyal patrons and the South Carolina Cares Act for saving the theater from oblivion during the pandemic. 

Honey and the Hotrods was a one-off performance, the perfect kick off for the theater's reopening. The Mill Town Players season continues July 23 with “Steel Magnolias.” For more information on the new season visit here.

Local Book Lovers Found More Time to Read in 2020 (with lists)

Updated to include additional lists and additions

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson 

“Reading takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.” —Hazel Rochman

One of the slim, silver linings streaking the dark clouds that crept across the skies of 2020, is the news of increased book sales.

Sales of printed copies are up almost 10 percent and e-book sales, which are a smaller part of the market and which have been declining in recent years, are up 17 percent.

Meanwhile, local libraries found new ways to serve their customers, and renewed education efforts of innovated programs already in place.

The Anderson County Library System already offered digital downloads of books, movies, music and magazines/comics. Shortly after the pandemic began shutting down their physical locations, they extended service by offering digital library card signups for those who for some reason didn’t already have a card (809 were issued). 

The library also began to offer curbside pickup of physical books and other materials when restrictions loosened. They also provided an additional 139 virtual programs and other activities such as book clubs and at-home craft activity tutorials.

“Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.” —Carl Sagan

All of this provided those of us who cannot imagine life without books, easier access than ever.

My father taught me to read before I started Kindergarten. His promise was the purchase of any book I wanted to read, and in the years that followed, he bought me countless volumes, some of which I still own.

Helen George, the librarian in my small town library, added to the magic of books for, allowing me to help open boxes of new volumes and talking about favorite stories and books on long summer afternoons.  

The smell of those books and of the ink stamp reminder when they were to be returned, are burned in my senses. And the stacks of free books I carried home filled hours of my childhood with wonder. 

I wrote of my appreciate in 2019 during library card week here. 

Reading books remains a part of my daily ritual, and this year brought increased opportunities to read more. For that I am grateful.

Others have expressed similar gratitude for this blessing of 2020. Some of those are represented below, others are not. 

The following is a series of lists of books read by some of our community’s venerable readers. They include many of our librarians, and other community leaders from various walks of life whom I know to love books. These are not exhaustive lists, and these folks were kind enough to offer some of their reading lists on short notice. 

A special thanks to Librarian Brianna McDonell for her assistance in gathering some of these lists.

The variety in these lists is wondrous. These books are presented without comment, but represent titles that many will find worthy of adding to their own reading list for 2021. I conclude this list with a few of my own recommendations.

“People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.” —Saul Bellow

Faith Line - Anderson County Library Director

“Wrath of Poseidon,” Clive Cussler

“All the Devils are Here,” Louise Penny

“The Informationist,” Taylor Stevens

“The Order,” Daniel Silva

“The Black Swan of Paris,” Karen Robards

“A Minute to Midnight,” David Baldacci

“Dragonfly,” Leila Meacham

“The Warsaw Protocol,” Steve Berry

“Near Dark,” Brad Thor

“Lethal Agent,” Vince Flynn

Annie Sutton - Assistant Director Anderson County Library

“Cold Mountain,” Charles Frazier

“The Brutal Telling,” Louise Penny

“Coming Home,” Rosamunde Pilcher

“One Day in December,” Josie Silver

“The Testaments,” Margaret Atwood

“Telling Tales,” Ann Cleeves

“Something Wicked This Way Comes,” Ray Bradbury

“The Flatshare,” Beth O’Leary

“Normal People,” Sally Rooney

“The Alice Network,” Kate Quinn  

Sara Leady - Reader’s Advisory/Reference Librarian Anderson County Library

“Mexican Gothic,” Silvia Moreno-garcia

“Stamped: the Remix,” Ibram X. Kendi & Jason Reynolds

“Gideon the Ninth,” Tamsyn Muir

“The Only Good Indians,” Stephen Graham-Jones

“Black Sun,” Rebecca Roanhorse

“Caste: the Origins of Our Discontent,”  Isabel Wilkerson

“Mr Penumbra's 24hr Bookstore,” Robin Sloan

“The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires,” Grady Hendrix

“Anxious People,” Fredrik Backman

“Tristian Strong Punches a Whole in the Sky,” Kwame Mbalia

Ivoree's Malcolm - Circulation Manager, Anderson County Library

“Free Cyntoia,” Cyntoia Brown-Long

“Children of Virtue and Vengeance,” Toni Adeyemi

“Damsel,” Elana K. Arnold

“The First Part Last,” Angela Johnson

“The Book of Longings.” Sue Monk Kidd

“White Fragility,” Robin DiAngelo

“No Disrespect,” Sister Souljah

“Pizza Girl,” Jean Kyoung Frazier

“Conjure Women,” Afia Atakora

“You Should See Me In A Crown,” Leah Johnson

Dan Bonsall - Pendleton Branch Manager

“The Good Lord Bird,” James McBride

“How Long ‘Til Black Future Month,” NK Jemisin

“The Resisters,” Gish Jen

“Mexican Gothic,” Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

“Before the Coffee Gets Cold,” Toshikazu Kawaguchi

“Piranesi,” Susanna Clarke

“The Devil and the Dark Water,” Stuart Turton

“With the Fire on High,” Elizabeth Acevedo

“The Argonauts,” Maggie Nelson

“Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi 

Brianna McDonell - Marketing Communications Manager 

“The Priory of the Orange Tree,” Samantha Shannon

“Hollow Kingdom,” Kira Jane Buxton

“The Mountains Sing,” Nguyen Phan Que Mai

“The Night Watchman,” Louise Erdrich

“Invisible Kingdom (vol. 1),” G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward

“Ring Shout,” P. Djeli Clark

“Territory of Lights,” Yuko Tsushima

“Mexican Gothic,” Siliva Moreno-Garcia

“The Duke Who Didn’t,” Courtney Milan

“The Empire of Gold,” S. A. Chakraborty

Sh’Kur Francis - Pastor of New Hope Methodist Church

“The Duke and I,” Julia Quinn

“Promised Land,” Barak Obama

"Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America," by John Lewis 

"Reading the Bible From the Margins," by Miguel A. De La Torre

"The Truths We Hold: An American Journey," by Kamala Harris

Steve Newton - Governmental Affairs and Special Projects Director-- Anderson County Government

“Night Soldiers,” Alan Furst

“All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries#1),” Martha Wells

“The Last Policeman,” Ben H. Winters

“October,” China Mieville

Austin Carty - Pastor Boulevard Baptist Church

“To the Lighthouse,”  Virginia Woolf

“Love in the Time of Cholera,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“Angle if Repose,” Wallace Stegner

“Moby Dick,” Herman Melville

“Home,” Marilynne Robinson

Josh Hunt, Pastor First Baptist Church of Anderson

“The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels,” Jon Meacham

“1000 Mornings,” Mary Oliver

“God and the Pandemic,” NT Wright

“The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson

“Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies!” by Megan and Jorge Lacera

Kathryn Smith, Author

"Apollow's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live" by Nicholas A. Christakis

"In the Valley" by Ron Rash

"The Soul of America" by Jon Meacham

"Promise Me, Dad" by Joe Biden

"All of the Devils Are Here" by Louise Penny

"Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked the Jazz Age World" by Karen Abbott

"Rage" by Bob Woodward

"The Queen and I" by Sue Townsend

"Murder, Forgotten" by Deb Richardson-Moore

"The Mirror and the Light" by Hillary Mantel

Blake Sanders, Mayor West Pelzer

"Hillbilly Elegy," J.D. Vance

"American Character," Colin Woodward

"Suburban Nation," Andrés Duany

"One Mile Radius," Mark Deutschmann

"The Death and Life of Great American Cities," Jane Jacobs

"Triumph of the City," Edward Glaeser

"The Company Town," Hardy Green

"Evicted," Matthew Desmond

And finally, here is a list of some of my favorite books from 2020:

Greg Wilson, Editor/Publisher The Anderson Observer

“The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope,” Jonathan Alter

“The Year of Magical Thinking,” Joan Didion

“The Complete Western Stories,” Elmore Leonard

“Everything is Spiritual,” Rob Bell

“If It Bleeds,” Stephen King

“The Chill,” Scott Carson

“The Splendid and the Vile,” Erik Larson

“Nothing to See Hear,” Kevin Wilson

“Ninth House,” Leigh Bardugo

“The Dutch House,: Ann Patchett

“The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson,” Robert Caro

“Experiments in Truth,” Ram Dass

“City of Girls,” Elizabeth Gilbert

“Almost Everything,” Anne Lamott

“The Plot Against America,” Philip Roth

“The Midnight Library,” Matt Haig

“The Ghosts of Eden Park,” Karen Abbott

“The Neil Gaiman Reader,” Neil Gaiman

“The Secret Life of Groceries,” Benjamin Lorr

Mill Town Players, Market Theatre Receive SC Cares Funds

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

At least two Anderson County theater groups are breathing a little easier after receiving confirmation that South Carolina Cares Act funding is on the way.

The Mill Town Players and The Market Theatre are among those who will each receive $49,788.09 from the fund to help offset some of the losses due to their seasons being wiped out by the pandemic. 

“It could not have come at a better time,” said Will Ragland, founder and executive artistic director of the Mill Town Players. “Thank goodness they picked us, we literally ran out of money today.”

After being closed more than nine months, theater companies are struggling to survive, and the funds will allow some to hold on until the COVID-19 situation is alleviated. 

“As it has gone on longer than anyone could image, we have done our best to be stewards of the resources we had, but it has been difficult,” said Noah Taylor, one of the founders and the executive artist director for The Market Theatre Company. Taylor joked theater companies put the “non” in non-profit. 

Both companies lost entire seasons of performances as a result of the virus, and both share the pain of theater communities in the Upstate and nation/world. 

“I applaud the legislature for extending this vital lifeline to our local arts groups,” said Paul Hyde, who has been a long-time performer and arts journalist in the Upstate. “These arts organizations contribute so much to the Upstate’s quality of life, entertaining and challenging us - enriching our lives.” 

Hyde called 2020 the most challenging in history for many arts groups.  

“As art supporters we have keenly felt the absence of arts in our lives this year,” Hyde said. “When we return to the future sometime in the future, I believe we will do so with more gratitude than ever before.”  

The Mill Town Players, whose stage has been dark since March, currently plan to turn on the floodlights in May for the annual “Pelzer Gospel Homecoming,” with precautions in place to make it safe for patrons, Ragland said. If all goes well, the group will offer “Steel Magnolias” beginning in June. 

“For those of us who love live events, there’s been such an absence, a hole, and you don’t realize how you miss it,” Ragland said. “We take it for granted how lucky, blessed we are to create and experience local culture and arts."

The Market Theatre has sought alternative productions during the year which do not include a conventional audience. In October, a podcast/performance “Ghost Walk” a self-distanced and self-paced tour of downtown Anderson was followed in December by the downtown “Storefront Storybook” read-walk-listen event. 

Taylor said he hopes to continue such alternative productions in the months ahead, as well as contemplating a potential drive-in show this year. 

“I have been reading and taking in so much content - plays, online performances - and my inspiration tank is full,” said Taylor. “I looking to get back to it.”

Both Ragland and Taylor said they have missed the community and camaraderie of the cast and crew.

"I miss the people, the social interaction with the cast, standing the back of the auditorium and watching a room full of people respond to something.”

A full list of those receive SC Cares Act funds will be released Thursday.

Video interviews from earlier in 2020 about the impact of the virus on local arts are here and here.

Blue Ridge Arts Center Show Set Sept. 18-Oct. 22

Observer Reports

The Blue Ridge Arts Center art show is scheduled Sept. 18 - Oct. 22.

Each year the Blue Ridge Arts Center hosts an annual juried show for its members. This year there will also be an an additional exhibit, “Earth Elements” featuring 25 to 35 works by abstract artist Debbie Bzdyl and clay artist Wendy Converse. It will run concurrently with the Annual Show.”

Gallery hours are: Thursday and Friday 1-4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Private viewings available by appointment. 

For more information visit here, call 864-710-6593 or email bracshows@gmail.com

Blue Ridge Arts Center is committed to "Bringing Art to the People and People to the Arts." The center offers opportunities for artists to show their work throughout the year, including an Annual Members’ Show, Juried Exhibition and various themed/invitational shows. The classroom studio offers space for members and the community to participate in art classes, painting groups, artist demonstrations, events and meetings. The art center also houses an art library which is available to members, providing art reference books, videos and instructional materials in various mediums.

S.C. School of Arts, AU Get Creative During Pandemic

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson University's David Larson, who serves as Dean of the S.C. School of the Arts and professor of theater, talks about the challenges of performing arts and education during the time of pandemic in this interview with the Anderson Observer.