One of the best decisions I’ve ever made was to join the Junior Service League of Summerville, or JSL for short. JSL (or just Junior League in some areas) is a group of ladies who come together for the common good of their community, volunteering and fundraising wherever needed to help local non-profits. Our JSL group contains about 60 ladies that support 15 non-profit organizations through 4 annual fundraisers and volunteering. That’s where I come in! I serve on the board as the Community Service Chair, acting as the liaison between the league and our non-profits for volunteer needs.
A few weeks back, Travis and I went to brunch at a restaurant we’d never been to before. I quickly ordered a carafe of mimosas before we discovered the daily drink menu and their Brunch Punch, with the main ingredient of Rum which we are so obsessed. Since I was still powering through mimosas, Travis ordered the BP and it came out in a mini bucket. Well lookie there, perfect for sharing! Then we were stuck with a dilemma. If we ordered even just one more, we’d be stuck there for awhile because it was a long ride home. Or we could attempt to track down all the ingredients and make it at home. So that’s what we did. We knew we had Rum at home, commandeered Peach Schnapps from a neighbor, and picked up all the mixers & champagne at Publix. We poured and poured into a giant mason jar beverage server and when it was just right, we walked it down the street to enjoy with our neighbors. Our concoction may not look as pretty as the original, but it tastes just as good.
Tip: If you can find Pomegranate Syrup, swap that for the “Simple Syrup” and then you’ll just need solo Cranberry Juice. That may help with the coloring! We just couldn’t find Pomegranate Syrup at Publix that day.
Please drink in moderation, unless of course you make it to share with your neighbors and everyone just has to walk home!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve attended the annual Flowertown Festival, an arts and craft show that spans Main Street for at least a mile and takes over Azalea Park. There are rides for the little ones, restaurant booths and trucks for the foodies, artisans, local businesses and more. It’s a time when I know I can run into old friends I haven’t seen in years, but more excitedly, I have friends who have booths at the festival now!
My most favorite thing about the beginning of May, besides all the Justin Timberlake memes, is that May 1st means the announcement of WEZL’s Party in the Park lineup. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, every Tuesday in June WEZL hosts a free concert at the Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. What I love about this concert series is that it showcases all the up & coming artists. Sure, I love top entertainers like Eric Church, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean and will see them every time they come to town. But… I really enjoy finding new artists and watching them pursue their dream.
Y’all know the feeling. One of your favorite artists announces a new tour. You stab at your phone screen or frantically click your computer mouse to pull up the tour link. You scroll up and down and up and down looking for your city. There! There it is. Your city! Perhaps the city that is usually missed on a tour. You sign up for notifications or track the show on bandsintown. You sign up with the local radio stations or the artist’s fan club to make sure you can get a chance at a presale code. It’s 10am on a Tuesday or Wednesday. You’re sitting in a lobby waiting for your turn to search and buy tickets. Your stomach is doing flips. You might get kicked out. The site may crash. Anything could happen. But wait! You got the tickets. You freaking got the tickets! You’re jumping up and down, dancing at your desk. And then… you realize how long the wait is between buying the tickets and the show (I once had to wait seven months). You’re back on your phone, downloading a countdown app to stare at every day. Wait… everyone does do this right?
Back in early August I ran into Bill West from 96.9 NASH FM when he was DJing a friend’s wedding (Side note: Check out Bride’s First Dance). We caught up on what he was doing at NASH as well as what we had going on at GotCountryOnline.com. Bill mentioned having something up his sleeve and hoping GCO could help out. I said “Whatever you need! I work for concert tickets and M&G passes.” About a month later we stopped at the NASH booth before the Jake Owen concert and Bill let us know they were putting together a Nash Bash with hopes of it becoming an annual event. Then we had to keep more of the secret until it was announced a month later: The inaugural NASH BASH featuring Chris Young, Frankie Ballard, and Raelynn, co-hosted by Blair Garner and Chuck Wicks!
When it was announced a few months ago that Jake Owenwould be coming back to Charleston, bringing ParmaleeandThe Cadillac Three, AEG Live held out a pair of tickets for GotCountryOnline.com. I have concert ticket buying anxiety so it was extremely relaxing that our tickets were taken care of. However, it felt like we had to wait twice as long as normal fans since we knew we were definitely going to the Days Of Gold Tour.I saw Jake for the first time when he headlined at the Freedom Aloft Festival in Simpsonville two years ago. Then I saw him at both the UGA and Charleston stops of the Night Train Tour last year.Yes Charleston, the stop where he ripped open his jeans during Jump. Thank goodness I won tickets through NASHFM96.9 to see that! I was overly excited to see Jake Owen for the fourth time, and headlining again.
The finale hosts Craig Campbell with Chasin’ Crazy and locals The Brady Smith Band. This event was a lot more hectic than the rest with double meet & greets so we actually missed most of the opening band. I did take a step out of the VIP room for a quick listen. I liked what I heard and I definitely hope I’ll get another chance to see The Brady Smith Band. I am still trying to decide which country singer it is Brady reminds of me. Who do y’all think it is?
103.5 WEZL’s Party in the Park was halfway over after Week One with Love and Theft, Natalie Stovall and the Drive, and Katie Armiger and Week Two with Eric Paslay, The Swon Brothers, and Danielle Howle.
Week Three has the musical stylings of Jana Kramer, Charlie Worsham, and local McKenna Andrews. I saw Jana at Party in the Park two years ago. She really does love coming to Charleston. Thanks to a dear friend I got to see Charlie last year during a guitar pull at Kenny Gate V before the Kenny Chesney concert in Columbia. That cutie’s got some pure talent! Week Three started off with a bang. As Stephanie (owner of GotCountryOnline.com) and I were walking into the venue we ran smack into Charlie & Jana before they started interviews. That started the night off great as we got to chat with them for a few moments.
Two years and four months ago I walked into the Music Farm with two close friends to see Corey Smith (blog post). We rounded the merchandise table for koozies to hold our beers when we noticed a “FGL” logo. I remember saying “What the hell is FGL?” I didn’t get a response. So we grabbed our koozies, beers, and headed towards the stage for a good spot. Intro music came on for the opening band, who I hadn’t bothered to look up, and two guys busted out from backstage to the lyrics *you can party with the Florida Georgia Line!“ Then I saw the FGL logo on the guitar of who I’d later find out to be Tyler Hubbard. It finally clicked! I didn’t know any of the words to any of the songs but I learned them quickly. I didn’t want their set to end. I downloaded their first EP from iTunes before I left the parking lot and listened to it nonstop. Every time I talked to someone in the local radio business I begged them to help bring Florida Georgia Line back to Charleston. I actually had to travel to Atlanta last year because they still had not returned to Charleston yet. But finally, FGL announced a Summer Series this year at minor league baseball fields and Charleston was on the list. A few close friends and I grabbed up our tickets as soon as they came on sale and then had to wait the 2 months or so until the concert date finally got here.
Danielle D. Mercer 