Follywood Productions launches into music scene
Charleston is a flourishing garden of music. The gardeners are, of course, the local musicians and their fruit is a vibrant and eclectic scene grounded with an intelligent fan base that’s way ahead of the curve. However, as the local culture has evolved and grown, those involved may find themselves lost. Musicians struggle to find gigs and agents are springing up out of garages. Organizations don’t know where to turn to hire a band for their fundraiser. Everyone involved seems to be wandering aimlessly, trying to find each other. Enter Ben Bounds and Follywood Productions, whose goal it is to make sure that all roads lead to great music.
Follywood Productions is a new event coordinating service in Charleston which focuses on providing original live entertainment for events of any size in the Greater Charleston Area. The agency will be focusing on connecting local bands with local venues, as well as bringing touring bands to Charleston and putting Charleston bands on tour. Follywood will also be focusing on are festival booking, both locally and out of town/out of state, corporate and university events, private functions and fundraisers.
Ben has seven years experience as an event coordinator. He founded Dirt Road Records in Oxford, Mississippi, in 2003, where he handled management, booking and publicity for Southern rock band Daybreakdown, which featured Charleston’s Reid Stone of Guilt Ridden Troubadour on vocals and rhythm guitar. He’s also worked with more than 100 bands and more than 100 venues across the Southeast and Midwest. At Dirt Road, Ben began to get a sense of the rich music scene in Charleston.
“I had already booked three or four tours through Charleston over the years, and had worked with Alex Harris at the Pour House and Tony McKie at Home Team BBQ, as well as Reid Stone of Guilt Ridden Troubadour,” said Ben. “Those guys have been a huge asset to me from a networking standpoint here in Charleston. And they have continued to help me lay the groundwork for Follywood Productions through my entire first year here. It’s taken a little time, but I think we’re just about ready to get this thing going and start helping the local artists get their music out there, as well as bring some high quality touring artists to the Charleston music community.”
With the advent of online music sources, Ben realized years ago that a new emphasis on live performance would be necessary for local musicians to survive. Bounds left DRR in 2006 and for the next year served as the music and entertainment editor for three different publications. He then took over the Starkville Area Arts Council, a non-profit organization supporting the arts in Starkville, Mississippi, for one year, and followed that up by serving as director of marketing and media relations for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, focusing on tourism and Chamber of Commerce needs for the city and county. During that time, he founded First Team Productions, an event coordination consulting agency. Among his Mississippi clients were the Historic State Theatre in Starkville, Two Stick Rock & Sushi Bar in Oxford, The Market Street Festival in Columbus, Howlin’ at the Moon Festival in West Point and RiverFest in Vicksburg. He was also the founder and event coordinator for the 2004 and 2005 Great Southern Rock Revival at The Grove at Ole Miss. Last January, Bounds moved to Charleston and began working on establishing Follywood Productions.
Bounds has already brought several acts to Charleston, including the Burnside Exploration, Cary Hudson of Blue Mountain, a five-date acoustic run with three of the five members of Daybreakdown, Rocket 88, Eclipse: Ultimate Pink Floyd Experience and Memphis bluesman Davis Coen.
“One thing that’s really taken me by surprise is the need for artist and venue representation in Charleston,” said Ben. “Over the past nine months, I’ve had so many bands, venues and festival coordinators contact me, it’s been startling. It’s more than I can handle on my own, so I’m in the process of trying to set up a network of agents and interns who are interested in learning this business from the ground up. Hopefully, we’ll be moving full-speed ahead by February. It will be a challenge, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, too.”
Follywood Productions Launch Party
To introduce Charleston’s newest musical “instrument”, Follywood Productions is hosting a public launch party on Sunday, January 24, at the Pour House with an oyster roast at 4pm and live music from 4:30pm to 1am. The Hawkes and Po’ Ridge will be featured on the Deck from 4:30-8:30pm. Guilt Ridden Troubadour and Lindsay Holler’s Western Polaroids will be on the main stage from 9pm-1:30am. Tickets are $5 for the Deck Show or $10 for All Day/Night.
