Photos and Review by Stephen Bloch

Festival season has begun with a bang.  Charleston, SC‘s festival, High Water, took place April 20-21 at Riverfront Park.  This festival began in 2017 and is hosted by hometown artists Shovels and Rope. In a city known for the most amazing dining experiences, Saturday’s lineup cooked, physically and metaphorically. As the gates opened, temps soared to seventh ring of hell temps and humidity.  90 degrees and 101% humidity.  No match for the cooking that happened on stage.

My day began with the rootsy vibes of Houndmouth followed by the soul dripping sounds of The Dip.  Then came the meat and potatoes of the day’s lineup with Aussie rocker Courtney Barnett followed by Seattle’s indie darlings Fleet Foxes, Charleston’s own Shovels and Rope, and headlining was folk/pop sensation Noah Kahan.  In my 40+ years of attending concerts, I’ve yet to see an audience who knew every word to every song as they did for Noah Kahan. He’s a bonafide superstar rivaling any of the top touring acts today. 

While Saturday could have led to spontaneous combustion, Sunday’s deluge would have been appropriate for an ark.  Called an audible and took in some of Charleston’s architecture and neighborhoods from the comforts of our rental car.  All in all, a solid first fest of the year.