If you are a fan of live music, chances are good that you've seen guitarist and singer Skyler Whitfield in action – either solo or with his band, the Sky Whitfield Band – bringing his brand of Americana, rock, folk, outlaw country, Celtic and original music to venues across the Grand Strand and beyond.
Whitfield, now a Socastee resident, moved to the area from Greensboro, N.C., to study music at Coastal Carolina University – attending for two years.
"I had the choice of either taking out a loan and try to get this degree that really only helps when you’re teaching – or go to work and actually play the gigs," he said. "I decided to do that."
Whitfield said he took piano lessons as a kid, but the instrument he chose in elementary school for school band could seem unusual.
"I was a fourth grader lugging around a full-size concert tuba," he said. "It was probably bigger than me at the time."
Originally, Whitfield told the band teacher, Mike Love (same as the Beach Boys singer), that he wanted to play drums or percussion. Love told him that the band could use someone on the low brass section.
"I played tuba until the ninth grade. It wasn't exactly helping me out in the ladies' department, so I switched to guitar," Whitfield said.
It could be said that Whitfield’s first instrument was his voice. He sang in church and his mother is a theater director.
In high school, Whitfield was in a band called Sweet Relief – concentrating on high-voltage Southern rock.
"I was always influenced by bands like The Allman Brothers, Skynyrd, The Doobie Brothers. I’ve always loved Southern rock. That was an elemental part of my music choices growing up, he said, adding that 60s folk-era music was also influential – and he was also exposed to a good deal of country music, in large part because his father was born in southern Georgia and raised in southern Virginia.
When he became an adult, Whitfield said he got heavily into the blues.
"I wanted to discover who invented that sound first,” he said, citing musicians like R.L. Burnside, Lightnin' Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell and more.
From there, Whitfield became enamored with slide guitar.
"My fingers were a little too stupid to rip a solo just with my left hand – but I discovered the slide and always liked how that sounded, Whitfield said. "The guitar I play primarily is called a resonator. It’s sort of a mix between an acoustic and electric and a dobro (he plays dobro, too). It’s got the metal head, so it's resonant on its own – and then I set it up to where you can plug it in, and it’s just been my main thing ever since."
During his solo shows, you’ll hear the Southern rock influences – and his shows always start with a Steve Earle song, of whom Whitfield is a huge fan. He said he doesn’t play a ton of modern covers, but you will likely hear fare from Tyler Childers, Marcus King or Colter Wall. Whitfield employs a kick drum and alternates between his resonator, a traditional acoustic and lately his traditional dobro.
"I try to throw in at least one original every 20 minutes or so – and sort of introduce the song. I don’t like to weigh people down with stuff they’re not familiar with, but it’s fun to throw them in there,” Whitfield said.
In addition to his solo and band gigs – Whitfield frequently sits in with an outfit out of Cherry Grove called Root 65 Band.
"They’re all older guys from Guilford County (N.C.). I met them by happenstance. They do more traditional bluegrass and country – and I enjoy playing with them too. We have an ongoing joke about how I met them. I was delivering acid to the guitar/mandolin player – the sulfuric kind for his pool business."
Catch Whitfield solo at Wahoo’s Fish House in Murrells Inlet on Oct. 8 from 5:30-9 p.m.
For complete info, hit up www.skylerwhitfield.live.
Gullah culture, history and spirituality
On Oct. 2 (and again on Oct. 21), join Emmy-nominated performing artist, author and cultural interpreter Ron Daise at Brookgreen Gardens for a discussion about Gullah Geechee culture, history and spirituality – as depicted through characters and scenes in his book, "Raptors in the Ricelands" – his first historical novel.
Daise, also vice president for creative education at Brookgreen and creator of Nick Jr. TV’s "Gullah Gullah Island" (with wife Natalie Daise), will cover the family secrets and conflicts set in his novel, challenging cultural beliefs.
"Spiderwort, Root Medicine, and Spiritual Healing" takes place in the Jennewein Gallery from 1-2 p.m. Admission is free with registration for members. Non-members get in free with Gardens admission and registration. For more, visit www.brookgreen.org.
Literary luncheon in Pawleys
Thanks to your friends at Litchfield Books, you can rub elbows with award-winning author Scott Gould at Caffe Piccolo in Pawleys Island on Oct. 9 as he presents his latest offering, "Beneath a Fallen Sky."
Gould is the author of seven books and his honors include an Eric Hofer Award for fiction, a Memoir Prize for books, the Larry Brown Short Story Award, the S.C. Arts Commission Artist Fellowship in prose and more.
The event runs from 10:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. For $38, your ticket includes an intimate talk and Q&A with Gould, a top-notch lunch, author meet-and-greet and the opportunity to purchase the event book. For more, visit www.litchfieldbooks.com.
Fine feathered friends
On Oct. 9, explore the diverse habitats of Hobcaw Barony and the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center – both of which are homes to a jaw-dropping variety of coastal birds. "Birding Both Sides of the Bay" is a guided birding tour that will take you to a variety of locations – salt marshes, mature longleaf pine forests, brackish and freshwater managed wetlands and the grounds of Bellefield Plantation.
Expect to see shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, woodland species, woodpeckers (including the red-cockaded woodpecker), forest birds and more. The tour begins at Hobcaw Barony and runs from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Admission is $38. For complete details, visit www.hobcawbarony.org.