We find ourselves in the curious limbo between Christmas and New Year’s, and rather than let the year slip by without one more rundown of local events, how about I regale you with tales of tons of cool shenanigans to get into around the Mountain State as everybody celebrates running away screaming from 2023, and sheepishly entering a new year that has the potential to be even more messed up.

As I have been doing of late, this a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments. Seriously, with New Year’s Eve happening this weekend, there’s no way I’m going to be able to cover everything.

Before we get into that, I have a really cool Kickstarter plug to get in:

Ginger Wixx is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Southwestern West Virginia who’s been making a name for herself playing all over the tri-state region and in Charleston. She’s preparing to record her debut EP, and she needs your help.

Ginger has only been performing for a couple of years, but she’s already played over a hundred shows and is in demand all over the region. However, she doesn’t have any officially-recorded music, and is itching to get in the studio and lay down some tracks for the many fans who ask her when they can buy her records (or CDs, or streams…remember, I’m old).

I do have selfish motives here. I’ve never met Ginger, but I’ve been following her career, and would love to have some of her music to play on Radio Free Charleston. You can help make this happen. Twenty bucks gets you a signed CD. Thirty gets you a CD and a very cool poster. Fifty will get you the CD, poster and a limited edition T Shirt. If you’re curious about Ginger’s music, she’s part of a night of singer/songwriters at The Loud in Huntington Friday night. Details can be found in the graphics collected at the end of this post.

Just a reminder here that, while I don’t often toot my own horn about this, I have featured a few artists on RFC before they found big-time success. Sierra Ferrell and Tyler Childers both appeared on the video version of RFC before they made it big on the international scene, and I make it a point to try to promote all of West Virginia’s native talents as soon as I hear about them. We have a remarkable pool of talent here.

You can get in on the ground floor of Ginger’s career by helping fund her debut recording HERE.

We also have a big, big show to tell you about that happens Friday night.  On the 34th anniversary of The Last Ride at The recently-departed Charleston Playhouse & Tavern, Brian Diller will return to Charleston for an acoustic show, his first performance in town in well over a decade.  Brian recenty released his first full-album, covering music he’s created over the last 45 years, and you can read my interview with him HERE.

You may glean the details of Brian’s show at The ROC, below the old Quarrier Diner right here…

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.  Friday the guitar master, Neil Curry takes the stage. Saturday Brandon Costello performs at the beloved bookstore/cafe/art gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this week  to tell you about.   Thursday at 10 PM Mike Selbe takes the stage. Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour.  Friday at 10 PM it’s New Year’s Eve Eve Eve! with Building Rockets and the J. Hatfield-Brittany McGuire Duo.  Satruday at 9:30 PM country singer songwriter Danny Bo Smith takes the stage.

Sunday join Hair Supply at The Empty Glass to ring in the New Year. The kind folks at the Glass promise, “Costume Contests! Prizes! Champagne Toast at Midnight! Dont Miss this Party!! $25 per person or $40 per couple includes Champagne Toast and party Favors! HAIR SUPPLY, Southern West Virginia based 1980s rock tribute act, formed in 2018 as a vehicle for paying homage to the rock hits and anthems of the most decadent decade in popular music history. Sponsored by the HD Media Family of Newspapers, the boys have garnered a reputation for their stage shows including era-specific attire, tongue-in-cheek stage banter and spot-on accurate covers of the bands and artists that ruled the decade that represented the apex of FM Radio hysteria. HS enjoys recreating the mega-hits of artists like Poison, Warrant, Bryan Adams, Foreigner, Billy Squire, Journey and Loverboy, among others.”

HAIR SUPPLY

It’s going to be a wild NYE at The Glass, and all over the area, as you’ll see below.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, elderly celebrities trying to be the last one to die before the year ends, disgusting fluid-encrusted football coaches, the last remaining hanging chads and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order…

FRIDAY & SATURDAY

NEW YEAR’S EVE