Yonder Field in Bowman, SC is a venue catering to all of the different music genres in South Carolina. Image courtesy of SCPRT.
South Carolina is home to a wide variety of musical styles and traditions.
Types of Music
South Carolina is home to many different music styles, from jazz to gospel to our distinctive beach music sounds.
- Appalachian Music
- Beach Music
- Charleston Jazz Musicians
- East Coast Piedmont Blues
- SC Blues
- SC Soundtrack
What would –you- put on a soundtrack about South Carolina? Find out what one collection looks like! - Southern African American Music
Jenkins Orphanage Band
The Jenkins Orphanage, an African-American orphanage in Charleston, started a brass band in the last 1890s to tour northern states for gaining funds. By the 1920s, there were 5 different bands touring the United States.
Darius Rucker. Image by flickr user BOBXNC
Work Songs
- Ain't No Heaven on the County Road
Listen to convicts form Anderson County sing while working on the chain gang.
Famous South Carolina Musicians & Singers
Meet performers that have lived in South Carolina and are now known across the country.
- James Brown (1933-2006)
Singer, songwriter, and dancer that has been called "The Godfather of Soul" (born in Barnwell, SC) - Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993)
Jazz trumpeter and major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz (born in Cheraw, SC) - Eartha Kitt (1927-2008)
Actress, singer, and cabaret star (born in North, SC) - Bill Pinkney (1925-2007)
Member of the R&B group, The Drifters and influential in the beach music scene (born in Dalzell, SC) - Darius Rucker (1966- )
Lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. The band was formed at USC in Columbia (born in Charleston, SC).
