Gallery Row on Historic Broad Street is gearing up again this year to present “Blues on Broad” on February 3rd from 5 -8PM, with music starting between 5 and 6 pm. During this First Friday on Broad artwalk, join us on Gallery Row for a gumbo of live music & fine art. Galleries will be filled with a mélange of roots music (Blues, Soul, Jazz and Rock n Roll) and artwork inspired from all of these genres.
Hamlet Fine Art Gallery will feature South Carolina blues artist Shrimp City Slim (aka Gary Erwin) (piano/vocals). Erwin was originally from Chicago but has lived in Charleston since the 1980s. He is known as the originator of “Lowcountry blues & original songs”, has released seven CDs to date, and is the producer of the celebrated Lowcountry Blues Bash (festival), which will have its 22nd edition this February 8-21. His various locally-themed tunes such as “Gone With the Wind”, “Phosphate Woman”, “Lowcountry Mama”, “Charleston Strut”, and others have entered into Charleston music history. Expect lowdown blues, crisp coastal shuffles, and plenty of exuberance from this well-known South Carolina blues artist.

Edward Dare Gallery will feature Blues inspired works in oil by Jim Darlington and photography by Ron Rocz while visitors are entertained by the guitar duo, Ace and the Sultan. Figures have long been one of the favorite subjects of Darlington, and his blues series continues to be a source of enjoyment for collectors of his work. Stop in to see the musical side of Darlington as he and Minimum Wage band member Brandt Saunders entertain us as the duo, Ace and the Sultan, with their interpretation of blues favorites and other soul shaking, foot tapping musical renditions. This music is the perfect ambiance for Rocz’s Mississippi Delta Blues Collection. These sepia-toned photographs convey a sense of what life was like in the early days of the blues, surrounded by cotton plantation life and work. As he often tells his viewers, “if weren’t for the cotton, there would have been no blues.” His photographs include old share cropper cabins, cotton gins, rural churches, juke joints, get-a-way railways, and local blues players. Rocz’s blues photography collection has been well received at art shows in major cities across the nation.
COCO VIVO Fine Art & Interior Design will present musical guest Tim Church III as a pre-event to Charleston’s 22nd Annual Low Country Blues Bash. COCO VIVO will also host Charleston fashion clothes designer Alena Fede and her new spring collection, Spring Flowers by Alena Fede; the artwork of one of America’s finest designers of natural pearl and hammered silver jewelry, artist Christine Peters Hamilton of Maine; and sculptor Kevin McLean introduces new bronze sculpture, blending classical processes and techniques with a raw and expressive style.

The Ellis-Nicholson Gallery entertainment will be provided by the homegrown Charleston talent of young singer/songwriter Irene Rose. Her music is a soundtrack of the south as she wistfully sings about family, small towns, sweet tea, grits and God. “I like to sing the songs that make people smile and nod because they know exactly what I’m talking about.” Irene Rose and her sister Lydia went on a music tour to Nashville where she was invited to sing in multiple honky tonks on Broadway. She has celebrated two album releases, “Irene Rose” and “How it Ought to Be”. In January Irene Rose was chosen to be played over 30 radio stations in South Carolina in the Discover and Uncover New Artists Series sponsored by IheartRadio.

The Ella Walton Richardson Gallery will feature their newest Dutch paintings. Contemporary artists highlighted include Simon Balyon, Johannes Eerdmans, Frits Goosen, Rene Jansen, Niek van der Plas, and Frans van der Wal. The variety of subjects include still life works, architectural scenes of Charleston, and Dutch landscapes.

Mary Martin Gallery will feature musical guest Don Olson who will perform Appalachian songs on Viola for the evening at their new beautiful location at 103 Broad Street. Spencer Fine ArtI, II and now III (!) will also have entertainment and a wonderful variety of soulful art for art lovers and collectors.
For more information on the artists featured during Gallery Row’s Blues on Broad event, visit www.charlestongalleryrow.com and click on your favorite gallery or phone 843-722-1944.