great playing
…at the Southern Steel Guitar Convention, Saluda, SC.
May 19th and 20th, 2012.
One of those small steel guitar shows you'll be glad you
attended or sorry you missed. I was there, and had a great time
listening to all the great players on stage, and just walking around in the very
friendly atmosphere.
A pretty decent crowd present at the Saluda Shrine Club to enjoy the
performance on Sunday, but not all that many showed up for the jam on
Saturday.
featured…
Mike Sweeney – the featured guest player at the show – performed
a fine selection of tunes on Sunday afternoon, some of which was from his latest CD –
“The Lighthouse”.
The tunes sounded just as good live as they do on the CD, just different of
course.
Mike held a short seminar mid-day Saturday, and although I did not bring my steel guitar I attended along with a few other players – can never learn too much about playing the pedal steel guitar. I have already attended two Steel Guitar “Boot Camp” courses at Mike's place, and know what an excellent teacher he is.
a few of the many on stage on Sunday.
Kenny Martin, commenting that he hadn't had enough coffee so
early in the morning to play fast.
OK, so he played before noon, but I didn't observe much
“speeding-problems” during his performance.
Bob Strum playing his 12 string steel. Powerful…
Later in the afternoon I chatted with Bob and his wife Carol, about their
Scandinavian roots. Finding connections everywhere, and that is of course
a lot of fun.
Steve Alonzo Walker playing an Emmons D10, and doing a very
good job at it too.
Steve also played bass behind a couple of steelers, as many musicians took
turns in the backup band.
Joe Turner playing his 12 string Marlen — should not be necessary
to say more really.
Great solo and backing performance, with just the right amount of flair to
make even more simple tunes sound superb.
being small may be better…
The sound, performance, and indeed the entire experience of visiting the Southern Steel Guitar Convention at the Saluda Shrine Club in South Carolina, made it a great place to spend the weekend.
Maybe it is that I am not particularly fond of “loud”, which there's usually more than enough of on shows held at larger venues. I like to keep my hearing intact so I can listen to the music, and they seem to be better at keeping audio-levels, and distortion, at reasonable levels in smaller venues like the one in Saluda.
If I should complain about anything, it would be that the chairs at the Saluda Shrine Club was not good to sit on for long – some in the audience actually brought their own chairs. But, walking around inside and outside, talking to people and enjoying a small meal and a few cups of coffee, compensated for that minor inconvenience.
All in all an excellent little show, that the hardworking people behind it can be proud of. I sure will try to visit the Southern Steel Guitar Convention again, and again, when I am this side of the pond.
sincerely 
Weeki Wachee 21.may.2012
25.sep.2023 - updated styling + removed dead links
last rev: 25.sep.2023
side notes.
saturday night jam…
They did a great job on stage for the few who were there on Saturday.
I enjoyed every minute of it.
staying at Edgefield Inn…
Arrived pretty late on Friday at the recommended hotel — Edgefield Inn, around 19 miles south of
where the steel guitar show were held. The Place looked alright in the dark, and
even better bathed in sunlight.
Spent two nights at Edgefield Inn, driving back and forth to the show.
the road home…
Took a few pictures as I drove down the less trafficked roads in South
Carolina towards Florida. More interesting form of sightseeing…
Entered the Interstate Highway late in the evening –
minutes before passing into Georgia, and from there the roads down to Weeki
Wachee was more familiar.
Arrived home around 1.45 AM, after more than 6 hours on the road. Attending steel guitar shows far from home can be somewhat exhausting…
