Peace Concert Hall - Peace Center

I attended the Fri Nov 3rd show of Funny Girl with my husband at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC. I’ve been a big fan of Melissa Manchester since 1976, and was looking forward to seeing her perform as Mrs Brice, Fanny’s Mother. We had great seats near the front. Unfortunately, Melissa Manchester did not perform that night. We had a separate insert inside our program saying Barbara Tirrell, a standby, had joined the show’s company. Ms Tirrell performed well, but she was not Melissa Manchester. I know there were many people in the house that night who were looking forward to seeing Melissa perform/sing. The Peace Center had advertised this show as having “Grammy Award Winning Melissa Manchester playing Mrs Brice, Fanny’s mother” at the very top of their blurb. Now, we come to find out that Melissa Manchester has left the Company of Funny Girl through Jan, 2024. Just want her to know her fans are VERY disappointed. The rest of the cast did a wonderful job, and Katerina McCrimmon was truly a star that shined brightly throughout the performance!

WOW. What a show. Sammy Hagar and the circle still bring. Sammy was signing anything anyone gave him the whole show singing at the same time. No one does that. The man's worth almost $200 million and still takes the time for his fans. This may be the coolest thing of all. Someone gave him a 5150 album to sign he did and then got Michael Anthony to sign it also without promoting. Too cool. The music was great. Vic Johnson lays it down great on lead guitar, Michael Anthony is Michael Anthony he's as good as when he was in Van Halen, Jason Bonham keeps the family name strong on drums (and sings good also), and Sammy Hagar is unbelievable in every way. The show was like a great house party. We will be there the next time. (Greenville, SC Peace Center)

Excellent Concert. Played songs throughout his music career! Mr. Anthony singing "Aint' talkin' bout love" was one of many highlights!. Sammy was excellent as always.

The Indigo Girls are as amazing as when I saw them 20 years ago. The Peace Center is wonderful. I only wish that the overall sound is better. I saw Wicked from the founders circle and many parts were too quiet. I was in the orchestra part for Indigo Girls and the sound was a bit better.

Lady Antebellum: 6/22/23 “‘The Request Line Tour’ launched Apr 14 in Nashville and ending Oct 28 in DC found it’s way to Greenville SC on Thursday and it was to be my first time seeing Lady A lLIVE in concert. It had been a bit of a wait as I had originally purchased tickets back in April of 2022 and the show ha been postponed nearly 10 months. In August 2022 Lady A announced they were putting their tour on hold in order to support Charles Kelley on his sobriety journey. Happy to report Kelly is nearing the one year mark of sobriety and in his own words, ‘feeling super-blessed’ and ‘really grateful’! With 9 studio albums and 25 charted singles including 11 #1’s there would be no lack of material for the Grammy and ACM/CMA award winning Grand Ole Opry members. The Peace Center Hall was the ideal venue and my seats 4th row upper balcony delivered great sound and a comprehensive overview of the stage. The stage L to R would have the three members in the forefront (Kelley, Haywood, Scott) with guitars and bass behind them to the wings, drums and keyboard on separate risers in the rear, the risers had illuminated lateral snowflake/asterisk symbols on the front. A diagonally facing piano was directly center stage and eight freestanding retro styled amber spotlights completed the background positioned in order of a candelabra (shortest at the ends, longest in the center). There were no video screens. The band took the stage at 8:30 for a 1.45 hour / 22 song set beginning hot with a pair of #1’s 2009’s ‘I Run To You’ and 2010’s ‘American Honey’! Charles addressed the audience, ‘We wanted to do something different this tour and we know that a lot of the songs too for you guys your favorites sometimes aren’t always the radio singles and so hence The Request Line Tour. So we took requests, we had people texting, and calling, as the kids call it “Slide in their DM’s”’. With that they played the first of two voice mails over the system and called out the name of the individual ‘Gloria’ to see if she was in attendance. Spotting her in one of the opera boxes Hillary dedicated the song 2010’s #22 ‘Wanted You More’ to her. Next Dave Hayward addressed us as the house lights shown, ‘Oh, there’s a second balcony’. Charles replied, ‘I didn’t even notice during our forty-five minute sound check’. A second voice mail came in this time from Zach as he was spotted in (you guessed it) the second balcony. ‘Somebody give Zachary better seats’, Charles advised. ‘What I’m Leaving For’ a #39 from 2020 was dedicated to Zach. They three were clearly having a good time Dave commenting on what a great town we have. Charles added, ‘This feels like a hometown show for us being from Augusta down the road’. There were family in the audience including Charles 4 1/2 year old nephew, Hillary’s daughter, and Dave’s wife and they had taken their kids to the Children’s Museum earlier in the day. They broke from set the entire show, trying to follow along from previous shows set lists proved a futile task. There was a notebook of all their songs placed a top the piano which they’ve had to use from time to time during the request tour as well as a bright yellow dial telephone. Later during the encore the phone was signed and given away to an audience member of Hillary’s daughter Eisele’s choice as she carried it into the audience in search of a lucky fan. The #1 ‘Just A Kiss’ was inserted perfectly mid-set to keep momentum going. During ‘Army’ (unreleased as a single) were the band intros, every member an accomplished musician with a resume’ beginning with Dennis on bass, then Jon on keys, Butch on guitar, and Ian on drums. The band’s lead guitarist Slim Gambill who states he loves ‘sideman land’ was next. His time with NBC's Last Call With Carson afforded him work on stage with John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5, Peter Frampton, Stevie Nicks and many more. He’s more than a great addition to Lady A, he showed himself as a 4th member of the group many times throughout the evening. Hillary spoke next, ‘We wanna take one of the songs y’all might now and “Operafi it”’. With banjo and accordion they turned their 2013’s #6 ‘Compass’ into a sing-along medley adding in Country standards ‘Meet In The Middle-Dust On The Bottle-Forever And Ever Amen-Jolene’. Next the lights dimmed and stools were brought out as Charles spoke, ‘I’ve been on a little journey myself these days, next week I will be celebrating one year of sobriety.’ ‘I wrote this “Goodbye Letter” to my drink of choice which is whiskey.’ Turned into a song titled ‘As Far As You Could’, the letter’s lyrics “Whiskey you took me as far as you could take me, now it’s time to let you go”’ were especially moving. The powerful moment came when he sang the line ‘Who’s standing now’ and rose to his feet, and so did the crowd. This was indeed a legit “Goodbye Letter to Alcohol” as I can arrest from experience having written one myself nine years ago in rehab. After a standing ovation for Charles the band had a little fun with a melody. ’There’s one song that any song can be sung over’ turned out it was Don Henley’s ‘The Boy’s Of Summer’ and they put it into a medley incorporating in ‘Shake It Off-Mmmbop-l Wanna Dance With Somebody-My Heart Will Go On. Hearing songs from Swift, Hanson, Whitney, and Celine was something I never expected at a Country show, but it worked! Concluding the regular set were #1 ‘We Owned The Night’, #2 ‘Downtown’, and #3 ‘Love Don’t Live Here’. The first of a two song encore was ‘A Love Song’, a yet to be released new single sung in a stripped down version with just the three of them. ’Need You Now’ brought the concert a grand conclusion, everyone on their feet. Noticeably missing from the set was 2011’s ‘Lookin For A Good Time’. In my quest these days to see artists that I’ve not yet seen LIVE before, it has been few and far between that I’ve seen ‘younger’ artists perform lately. Hillary Scott 37, Charles Kelley 41, and Dave Haywood 40 showed their youth in both their voices and their energy levels. There was an opener from Nashville, singer/songwriter Dave Barnes who took the stage in typical Peace Center regime precisely at 7:30. Capturing the crowds attention immediately he stated, ‘I do wanna thank Lady A for closing out the show for me tonight, it means a lot!’ The South Carolina native who is with Lady A for the duration of the tour is no newcomer to the music industry, his first of eight studio albums was released back in 2000. Playing a 6 song / 40 minute acoustic set from his Greatest Hits CD he seemed at times more of a stand up comedian spending equal time story telling as he did playing music. With tales of drunk angels, church gossip groups (‘wandering eyes lead to wandering thighs’) and an incident in Charleston where someone rushed the stage at him, the audience ate it up fueling hid comic relief. Ending his set to the surprise of everyone was a version of Blake Shelton’s #1 ‘God Gave Me You’ which David originally wrote back in 2010. Lady A brought him back on stage during their performance of ‘Walking In Memphis’ coining the addition to their line up as ‘The Double Daves’. To anyone who hasn’t seen Lady A, they’re a class act and they have the performance nailed down, nothing super-fancy, but it’ll make for a memorable evening with confidence that your ticket money was well spent. A quick word about the name change, the Nashville trio will always remain Lady Antebellum to me. It seems as if the name change brought on more controversy than the name itself. It was innocently chosen (search it out for yourself) and the change ensued a lawsuit with black gospel singer Anita White who had been using ‘Lady A’ for years along, with more allegations of racism. I can see both sides, and unfortunately it is what it is! Entering the venue the first thing I noted to my wife was, ‘This is the most “normal” looking crowd I’ve ever seen’. Then stepping back for a moment I added, ‘Except there is one thing missing, folk of a darker hue then that of ourselves’. t does makes one think!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #788)

We saw NMAS in Asheville at Orange Peel where they played for a solid 2:45 hours and killed it!! They only got 30 minutes at Peace Center—not nearly enough time—but these guys absolutely killed it again!!! Thank you for two great shows—can’t wait to do it again!!

It was such a pleasant event. They have been a favorite of mine since I was a child, they played all of my favorites as well as songs that are now going on my list of favorites.

Kenny Loggins concert at the Peace Center was fabulous. Kenny has a fantastic energy, loved hearing stories behind each song, his band was amazing and he has an incredible catalog of songs. It was a great concert from start to finish. The Peace Center venue could be one of my all time favorites, acoustics are amazing, it's a very comfy venue and very convenient to get in and out of before and after the show. It was a fabulous night of music, Thank you Kenny Loggins !!!

John Mellencamp: 5/19/23 “When friends ask me what my all time favorite concert was my answer typically brings a look of bewilderment to their faces. It was not The Stones or The Who, Clapton or Beck, Springsteen, Dylan, or McCartney. It wasn’t even one of my my top 15 bands, but Mellencamp back in 1987. It was the timeframe where he dropped the Johnny Cougar and adopted the Americana persona with wide open stage, high energy level, long hair and reflective lyrics. The experience of that show had much to do with where I was at in life at the time: a young, long haired, white t-shirt and jeans, guitar playing rock ’n’ roll wanna be. Friday would be my second time seeing the Rock And Roll Hall Of Faming Grammy winning Hoosier LIVE. Knowing I could never recreate the first experience I stepped into the evening completely openminded. The now 71 year old singer-songwriter has amassed 25 studio albums with 29 charted singles in addition to surviving a heart attack in 1994 in addition to his second marriage’s divorce in 2011. The 78 date ‘Live And In Person Tour’ had arrived at the Peace Center in Greenville and was bound to engender a number of hits and Heartland Rock standards as well as some brand new material. My seats were balcony first row direct center obtained on the presale. The stage was concealed via a blank screen and black curtain combination exposing only the seven front monitors and two guitar pedal boards until showtime. At 8 p.m. a combination of classic black and white film clips interwoven with Mellencamp interviews rolled on the screen. Turns out the chosen clips had been inspirations for lyrics of some of his best known songs. As each reel progressed into the other beginning with ’The Fugitive Kind’, then ‘The Misfits’, ‘Giant’, ‘Grapes Of Wrath’, ‘Hud’, and ‘On The Waterfront’ the natives began getting restless. By now a full half hour had passed and shouts erupted from various pockets in the audience, ‘Let’s Go’, ’Stop’ and ‘Boo’. At last during ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ the lights went down to the wail of sirens and a drum roll with flashing red lights coming from the stage wings. The screen lifted revealing the set, it was a backdrop of Street Car Named Desire’s Kowalski’s New Orleans apartment. There were life-sized mannequins of the motion picture’s four major characters with large amber-hued spot lamps, some standing some suspended with Edison bulbs providing ambiance stag-wide. Vintage mic’d Fender amps on the floor ran across the stage tilted upward. Fiddle and accordion with keyboards were on the left, guitar and bass to the right. The drum kit was set center stage with the words ‘JOHN MELLENCAMP Bloomington Indiana’ on the drumhead. There were no video screens. John gets an ‘’A+’ for creativity on the set! At precisely 8:30 John took the stage and the concert kicked off into what would be an hour and fifty-five minute eighteen song set divided into three parts beginning with his 2008 unreleased as a single ‘John Cockers’. The symbolism of the movie’s backdrop set-up a metaphor for the human condition and the power of desire as the driving force behind the characters' action. The order of the setlist would reveal it’s meaning to a contemplative and constructive thinker such as myself. Railroading through the next three hits #’9 ‘Paper And Fire’, #14 ‘Minutes To Memories’, and #6 ‘Small Town’ his all familiar voice displayed somewhat more rasp than in years gone by but by no means lacked any of it’s original steaming drive. Moving about in his familiar hustle he chewed gum, cussed, slapped hands with audience members, and when he got out onto the stage right wing everyone in the orchestra section stood for the rest of the evening. It was at that point I was especially grateful for my handpicked balcony front seat! John’s electric guitar of choice was a butterscotch Telecaster while Mike played a gorgeous mint green mando-guitar reproducing the Americana era sound album-perfect with a little help from the Appalachian fiddle. In fact, eight of his twenty songs were from the Americana trio of albums (’85-’90). He finally addressed the audience. ‘Now we came all the way from Bloomington Indiana to play for you tonight. So just to let you know what you got in store for you we’re going some songs you know, some songs you don’t know, some songs you can sing along with, some songs you can dance to, and some songs maybe that will will help you—might make you think a little bit. By the end of the evening the goal is for all of us to come together and create a nice beautiful community of music and have fun.’ A pair of #48’s followed ‘Human Wheels’ and ‘Jackie Brown’ in which guitarist Andy executed a striking performance on a stunningly brilliant dobro resonator. ‘Check It Out’ with fiddle and accordion presenting themselves musically as a single instrument plus everyone working together on harmonies rounded off the first act or mini-set. As the band set up for an acoustic set Mellencamp paused in a distinct effort to slow things down. ‘Let’s tell some stories, okay?’, and that’s exactly what he did. Introducing a song featuring himself solo on harmonica and acoustic guitar from his forthcoming release ‘The Eyes Of Portland’ a song about the plight of America’s homeless he described an experience visiting the west coast town. He had encountered a female in her early to mid-twenties who he couldn’t help but notice outside the window while dining at a high end restaurant. He walked outside to greet her inquiring of her plight and offering her money for food to which she replied, ‘Do I have to have sex with you?’ ‘I can still see her dirty bare feet, you know as she’s running down the streets of Portland and I periodically over the last five or six years have thought about her.’ It was obvious that the way he told the story resonated well with a majorly conservative South Carolina audience. The idea for the story and song which followed ‘Longest Days’ came from his grandmother’s words as she lay near death at the age of a hundred. ‘She looked at me very seriously and she said Buddy (she always called him Buddy) you’re gonna find out real soon that our lives are short even in their longest days’. A story in itself ‘Jack And Diane’ his only Billboard #1 smash was performed solo acoustic John’s guitar playing elemental and undecorated. The crowd sang along with every word but jumped the gun on the chorus, John stopped abruptly, ’No!, I, I hate to interrupt the song, songwriting is pretty simple it has verses, chorus’ and sometimes a bridge, you guys hit the first verse and jumped straight to the chorus and ‘f-off’ to the second verse. Well I’m going to play the second verse and you’ll remember it, “Suckin on chili dog.…”’ John exiting the stage a stirring spoken word recording of ‘The Real Life’ lyrics by actress Joanne Woodward accompanied by accordion and fiddle brought the acoustic set to a conclusion. With the full band back on stage John reentered stage right cigarette in hand. Taking his final drag he crushed out the stick en route to the microphone and the hits continued to pour, #21 ‘Rain On The Scarecrow’, #6 ‘Lonely Ol Night’, and #9 ‘Crumblin Down’ which transitioned into a Van Morrison classic. Mellencamp began ‘Gloria’ by introducing the instruments one by one, ‘Bring in the drums, bring in the bass, add some piano, let’s bring in some guitar, add Lisa (fiddle).’ Pink Houses’ and ‘Cherry Bomb’ followed with band introductions in between. It was obvious all evening that his six person band’s primary purpose was to showcase the singer and not necessarily their own musical ability, albeit the could have. There was Troye Kinnett on keyboards and accordion since 2006, the return of Lisa Germano 64 on fiddle (1985–1993 and 2022-present), Andrew York on guitar since 1994, Dane Clark on drums since 1996, ‘Mr Funkadelic himself a rocker a funk player a viagra takin player’ Jon Gee on bass, and Mike Wanchic on guitars since the very beginning in 1976! The finale (as the three part did not give way to a true encore) was ‘Check It Out’ and #2 ‘Hurt’s So Good’. The song which hadn’t been on his set list for some twenty years ended with John winding up his arm into a jump and throwing a giant punch into the air with a handclap to the audience. The set was a couple songs shy to that of other shows on the tour. Those that notably did not make the cut were 79’s #28 ‘I Need A Lover’, 81’s #17 ‘Ain’t Even Done With The Night’, 84’s #15 ‘Authority Song’, and ’85’s #2 R.O.C.K. in The U.S.A.! Retroceding to my pondering of the significance of the set and arrangement of songs, its theme became clear to me, ‘the fading of the American dream’. John, a critical thinker has been quoted saying, ‘I see the truth in everything. I also see the lie in everything’. In the best and in the worst of times there is a truth about rock ’n’ roll. it can take a small town telephone installer and transform him into an American music legend with lyrics to define a generation!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #781)

Kenny Loggins: 5/15/23 “Until last year I had not seen either member of the 70’s folk-rock duo Loggins & Messina LIVE, that all changed in October when Jim brought his solo tour to town, same venue! It seems that last years L&M appearance at the Hollywood Bowl stirred them both awake, Kenny being the late riser of the twain. The Peace Center in Greenville was the location and I was in the balcony second row from the top —well out of the danger zone unless a nose bleed was to be the threat at hand. Thankfully every seat in the house has been time tested and approved to be a great experience both visually and sound-wise. Billed ‘This Is It — His Final Tour 2023’ with 27 dates, Loggins had promised his fans it would consist of 90% hits at conception. That may’ve been easier said than done considering his 6 albums with Jim and 14 of his own, including 21 charted singles in his solo career alone. Where would it begin, where would it end, assuredly I would hear his rendition of some of the same songs I had recently heard Jim perform. The concert hall was sold out and the stage was set: Lead and rhythm guitars in the left forefront, drums with KENNY LOGGINS on the drum head, keyboards, horns/percussion all on a large raised platform in the rear, bass on the right down below. Kenny positioned in the direct center with dual monitors and a full pedal board would play both acoustic and electric guitars. A background screen shown various images such as album covers and photographs, as well as display Kenny’s ‘KL’ logo during the performance. At 7:30 p.m. Kenneth Clark 75 took the stage for a 1.35 hour / 15 song set beginning with 1980’s #36 ‘Keep The Fire’. Next a four song mini-set all collaborations with Michael McDonald ensued, but not without Loggins first addressing the audience, ‘Wooo, You ready? Me too, beautiful theater I love it, you guys feel great, I’m happy!’ On many of the recent dates Yacht Rock Review had been Kenny’s opener. Prior to playing his #15 ‘Heart To Heart” Kenny noted, ‘Usually about this time I borrow one of those captain’s hats from them. I forgot to bring mine tonight so you’ll just have to take my word for it, I AM The Captain Of The Ship and here’s one of the reasons why.’ ‘This Is It’ written during a time when Kenny’s dad went into the hospital for major surgery was up next. His dad was preparing him in the event he would die. Kenny told us, ‘I figured since it was hemorrhoid surgery he had a fighting chance’ and the song would have been titled, ‘Keep The Fire!’ Kenny proved himself both to be humorous as well as to have a striking personality. The tour might have been more appropriately been titled, ‘Songs & Stories With Kenny’. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve come to appreciate background stories from artists nowadays, especially from the older ones. When the artists are gone, the stories unless tucked away somewhere in an old rock ’n’ roll magazine interview will be too. Kenny with class kept the stories no longer than two and a half minutes (about the length of your standard radio single back in the day). ‘What A Fool Believes’ unreleased as a single off his second album was next. Pulling up to McDonald’s house one day Kenny had heard Michael noodling around with the melody on the keys. Kenny grabbed his guitar out of the trunk and the two added lyrics. Just nine months after Loggins’ release Michael and The Doobies brought their version of the song all the way up to number one! The band along with Kenny (three acoustic six-strings and an acoustic Spanish bass) took seats for another four song mini-set. Kenny jested, ‘This next one (‘House At Poo Corner’) goes back to when I was a senior in high school about twenty-two years ago’ (audience laughs). In the backstory of recording the 1971 song, Disney had issued him a cease and desist. It turned out Kenny was dating the daughter of the CEO of the Disney corporation at the time and she helped pushed the song through to release. On ‘Danny’s Song’ (a B-side from Loggins & Messina’s first record that later became a #7 for Anne Murray) he added a brand new verse dedicated to his granddaughter. ‘Celebrate Me Home’ was the vocal highlight, at one point Kenny traded off vocals for guitar, then vocals for saxophone in an on-stage dual. Loggins sounded as good as he ever has in his five-decade long career hitting the highs on point thanks in part to a vocal coach he’s been working with on the tour. The six-piece band, some of which have worked alongside him for years were introduced: Scott Bernard (lead guitar), Rick Cowling (rhythm guitar), Dave Salinas (drums), Scott Sheriff (keyboards), and Justin on saxophone. During a quiet moment after the introductions someone from the audience yelled out ‘DON’T RETIRE’. Kenny questioned what was said and several folks repeated the sentiment. Kenny replied, ‘Oh I thought you said, “You don’t look tired”, he could’t be saying THAT!’ The regular set ended with a pair of songs off 1991’s ‘Leap Of Faith’ album. The first encore a trifecta of songs got everyone on their feet. ‘Im Alright’ kicked it off, ‘Danger Zone’ followed, but when Kenny hit the intro riff from ‘Footloose’ on guitar the place erupted! ‘It’s been a hell of a ride and I’ve appreciated every minute of it’ he reminisced prior to the second encore. It was 1985’s ‘Forever’, the songs lyrics themselves leaving us with a parting message, ‘Forever in my heart, forever here you'll be. Know that when I'm gone, you'll be near to me.’ Loggins was the second yacht rocker I’ve seen LIVE in less than a month with Michael McDonald coming up this Summer. I can say in truth that although musicians of the genre may sail into the sunset, their music will go on forever!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #780)

The Bush, Meyer, Meyer and Marshall concert was amazing !!! I’ve been to a lot of concerts and this was one of the best. All 4 of the artists are absolutely phenomenal musicians !!! I’m certainly thankful that I had this fantastic opportunity to enjoy these talented musicians !!!

What a treat! I've wanted to see him for a long time and this show was spectacular. My only regret is that I didn't buy my tickets sooner and sit closer!

Great performance by Dan and the band. They played for an hour and a half straight without a break. Amazing talent in that band. Wonderful acoustics, not a bad seat in the house.

Steep Canyon Rangers always put on a great show, icing on the cake to be accompanied by those 2 other guys. :) Steve and Marty gave me a good ab workout, laughter really is the best medicine.

Wonderful performance. Wife’s all time great bluegrass player . Made her night ! It was an inspirational show to listen to. Awesome talent from the whole band . God is proud !!

I went to this show for my boyfriend, not really interested in the Holcombs THAT much. They put on the sweetest show! I loved it. They sound amazing in person, and the neighbors Nate and Mitch(?) sound amazing on their instruments. Wonderful.

My 3rd time seeing America LIVE through the years and they sounded the best this evening. Maybe it was the venue or my seat (row 5). The order of the set list was super creative. I would have liked to see Dewey & Gerry move out a little from the center area of the stage. The venue had left and right stage wings that projected into the audience and I was sitting by one of them. Backing band was right on the money!

I love this group. The 5th time I’ve seen them. Libby on the fiddle is so much fun to watch. So glad they opened for I’m with Her.

Very talented group of young men. They kept the audience engaged throughout the entire concert. Best night of my life. Can’t wait to see them again!