Charleston’s arts and culture scene has continued to inspire in 2024, and we’re here to reflect on some of our favorite stories we’ve written this year that highlight our diverse, talented and creative community.
In chronological order by online publish date, here are some stories that touched us, and might have touched you too, this past year. Along with some that were just pure fun to cover. And others that raised important issues or revealed a greater impact.
Hopefully these reads were a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of amplifying the many voices that help make Charleston so vibrant.
Janise Robinson, aka Niecy Blues, topped our list of best South Carolina records of 2023.
1. Best of SC Music 2023: Top 20 SC albums of the year
Jan. 4
To kick off 2024, we started strong with our annual Best of SC Music rendition, which takes a look at the records released by local artists during the past year. Stay turned for our upcoming issue, which comes out Jan. 5.
The Charleston Symphony performs under the direction of conductor Yuriy Bekker during their 2022 Sunset Serenade concert in Charleston. The symphony will be headed to Carnegie Hall for a performance in 2025.
2. ‘This is historic.’ Charleston Symphony, youth and college orchestras to play Carnegie Hall
Feb. 13
We were pleased to announce an impressive upcoming milestone for The Charleston Symphony, who will be taking a slice of Lowcountry sound and bringing it to New York City on Feb. 26, 2025, when they perform at Carnegie Hall. Now, almost a year later, we’re looking forward to that quickly approaching epic showcase.
Janet Donavan, 91, touches one of her nearly 50 quilts showcased at an art exhibition at the Franke at Seaside community in Mount Pleasant on Feb. 6, 2024. Donavan has quilted since she was in her mid-30s. She moved to the Lowcountry from Colorado last year after a lifetime of adventures, including scuba diving and white-water rafting the Colorado River.
3. 91-year-old former scuba, ski, rafting adventurer now known for her hundreds of quilts
Feb. 15
This is easily one of my favorites of the year. I spent a wonderful afternoon getting to know the spunky and witty Janet Donavan, a 91-year-old with quite the adventurous past who became a seasoned quilter. A sample of the hundreds of quilts she made over the years were on display for a major art exhibit at The Franke Home in Mount Pleasant, and it was the talk of the town.
Historical Irish figure Florence O’Sullivan likely manned a cannon on Sullivan’s Island where Fort Moultrie is now. O’Sullivan was one of the first nonindigenous settlers of the Carolinas.
4. For St. Patrick’s Day, explore the story of early Lowcountry settler Florence O’Sullivan
March 14
While Irish culture is often celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day in the form of green beer, Celtic music and a raucous good time, there are certainly many other ways the Emerald Isle has made its mark on Charleston. I took a deep historical and cultural dive into one of them by learning all about one of the first settlers of South Carolina, for whom a nearby beloved island and popular beach town is named.
Contestants sing at the national anthem tryouts for the RiverDogs at Joseph P. Riley Park in Charleston in March.
5. Oh say can you sing? Look who’s auditioning for national anthem at RiverDogs
March 18
This fun bright from former features reporter, now breaking news reporter, Alan Hovorka was the inside scoop you didn’t know you wanted to know on how local singers are selected to sing the national anthem at RiverDogs baseball games. He attended the auditions to fill us in on the who and how of this sporting tradition.
Brittani Barratt watches a new music video released by Taylor Swift play on screen at an album listening party put on by the Charleston Taylor Swift Club on April 19, 2024, in Charleston.
6. Did you know Charleston has a Taylor Swift fan club?
April 25
Who knew a chance encounter with a bride-to-be on her bachelorette party at a karaoke bar would lead to an article? But that’s what happens when you’re out and about in Charleston. Someone always has an interesting story! This particular woman just so happened to be the founder of Charleston’s Taylor Swift fan club, and I found out all about it.
Charleston band Babe Club played at High Water Festival on April 21, 2024.
7. What went wrong at High Water Festival 2024
April 25
Arts, entertainment and culture reporter Chelsea Grinstead joined our team in the spring, and one of the most impactful stories of the year came from her. This piece examined the issues of the year’s High Water Festival, from traffic snafus to liquor licensing problems to locker break-ins. While we both love this annual festival, we want it to be the best it can be for its guests and for Charleston — and we hope this story helped organizers better prepare for 2025’s High Water.
The Lowcountry Highrollers cheer before a bout against Hard Knox in the Charleston Area Convention Center on March 16, 2024, in North Charleston.
8. Charleston’s roller derby team has a mother-daughter duo that goes back generations
May 11
For Mother’s Day weekend, I wrote this story about a mother-daughter duo on Charleston’s roller derby team who have kept the sport in their family for generations. I loved getting to know this group of women and discover the community they’ve built on skates.
“Dark Noon,” co-directed by Tue Biering and Nhlanhla Mahlangu,” featured a South African troupe of actors interpreting the history of the American Wild West.
9. Black faces painted white portray American West stereotypes in ‘Dark Noon’ at Spoleto
May 16
Among a bevy of Spoleto Festival USA coverage this past season, this story by Chelsea Grinstead stands out. She explored and helped interpret this powerful work on capitalism, apartheid, slavery and dispossession.
Paulette Biskerson hugs Tommy Clearly while employees bowl one last time during the last day of The Alley on June 1 in Charleston.
10. A farewell to The Alley, an entertainment pillar, and what its closing means to Charleston
June 12
The closing of a cultural institution is never something we’re rooting for. But when it does happen, it’s key to examine just what the institution provided for the community. That’s what Chelsea Grinstead and I did when we attended The Alley’s closing night and talked to oh so many people about just how much his bowling alley, gathering space and water hole would be missed.
Within seconds, a crowd karaoke performance broke out for Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” moments before last call at King Street’s The Bangkok Lounge, April 13, 2024, in Charleston.
11. King Street Nights: See what happens when 50,000 people pile into Charleston’s entertainment district
June 20
This group effort included reporters and photographers across the newsroom heading out into the chaos of King Street nightlife for a full weekend of revelry, discovering just what happens when 50,000 people descend into the entertainment district. I stayed up until 3 a.m. one night for this one.
JD Aller (from left), Ry Ryan-Huynh and Jammie Ryan-Huynh dance at Queer Adult Prom on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in North Charleston.
12. Queer Adult Prom lets Charleston LGBTQ community re-do their high school experience
June 21
This was a piece I had been wanting to write since I heard about the Queer Adult Prom last year. I shadowed the local gay rugby team as they got ready for the occasion and talked with the members, including a couple among its ranks, about what a safe space celebration like this means to them and the LGBTQ+ community in Charleston. Then I attended prom, and subsequently wrote this story.
Wills Maxwell Jr. performs during the Black Power Rangers Comedy Tour at Wit’s End Comedy Club on Sept. 21.
13. Wit’s End Comedy Lounge perfects the art of making people laugh
June 27
While we wrote about spaces closing this year, we also wrote about spaces opening. Among them is this new comedy club in North Charleston led by the former comedy show booker at The Sparrow. Wit’s End is here to provide a platform to local comedians and national touring comedians alike. Sometimes when the world is heavy, you need a little laughter.
Family and friends fill the Royal Baptist Family Life Center to celebrate the life of Quentin Ravenel during his funeral held Saturday, July 13, 2024, in North Charleston.
14. Charleston-area drummer remembered for his upbeat personality after Park Circle police shooting
July 3
Along with uplifting stories in the arts community come the tragic ones. In this case, Alan Hovorka and I wrote the latter about a Charleston drummer who was killed in a Park Circle police shooting. Quentin Ravenel, 34, was remembered in this piece by those who knew him, his upbeat personality and his artistic talents.
Dancers perform during a dress rehearsal for Collective SC for their Holy City Dance Festival on Friday, June 21, 2024, at South of Broadway Theater in North Charleston.
15. New Charleston dance collective pushing past ballet to explore more
July 5
Chelsea Grinstead highlighted an important art form in the Lowcountry by featuring Charleston’s new dance company Collective SC. “If you go to a dance show, you see the hard work,” Artistic Director Lacey Bates said. “So you’re seeing an artist, but you’re also seeing an athlete.”
Tim McManus, the creator of Hed Hi Media, in his Charleston office space and studio on July 18.
16. ‘Brightest walls in the city’: Charleston studio connects street and surf art on Upper King
July 26
Charleston wouldn’t be the vibrant art community it is without the galleries putting in the time and effort to plan inspirational exhibits and showcases. One such space is Hed Hi Studio, whose owner Tim McManus particularly fancies surf, skate and skull art. He’s planned a bunch of cool shows this past year, including one that featured a punk band and a moshing octopus.
The Coburg Cow proudly wears a rain poncho as weather from Tropical Storm Debby begins to arrive in the Lowcountry, Aug. 5, 2024, in Charleston.
17. Why is the Coburg Cow Charleston’s storm meter? A little history on Bessie.
Aug. 6
When it comes to Lowcountry culture, you’d be remiss to not mention a little piece of history: the Coburg Cow. In the midst of hurricane season, while Bessie the cow statue donned a yellow raincoat, I wrote about her impact as Charleston’s most unexpected storm meter.
Marjory Wentworth is pictured reading her poem “In the Shadows of Nuremberg” on Sept. 29, 2016, in the courtroom where the Nuremberg Trials were held in honor of the 70th anniversary of the closing of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1946.
18. SC still has no poet laureate 4 years since Marjory Wentworth resigned, but she has a new book
Aug. 8
Chelsea Grinstead took a look at the state of the state’s empty poet laureate position, one that’s been appointed consecutively by South Carolina governors since 1934 (except for a three-year gap preceding most recent state poet laureate Marjory Wentworth in 2003). A successor hasn’t been named by Gov. Henry McMaster since she resigned in 2020.
City of Charleston Mayor William Cogswell welcomes the crowd during the opening event of the 48th Spoleto Festival USA outside Charleston City Hall Friday May 24, 2024, in Charleston.
19. Strife at Spoleto Festival USA leads to exodus of concerned board members
Aug. 16
Adam Parker took a lens to Spoleto Festival USA’s turmoil this year, including a mass exodus of concerned board members and what that meant for the future of the organization.
Archie Burkel of Mount Pleasant is all smiles during the first meeting of the Hat Ladies of Charleston on May 5, 2001.
20. Who are the Hat Ladies of Charleston? In 25th year, they’re not ready to hang their hats.
Sept. 19
I love a Charleston tradition, and one means wearing a big hat and attending high tea with the ladies. I spent a few days getting to know the Hat Ladies of Charleston, including the magnificently quirky founder of the organization, Archie Burkel.
Alma De Musica & Danza perform in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
21. ‘A mark of our heritage.’ A glimpse into Charleston’s Hispanic arts scene and culture
Sept. 24
Art is a universal language, and Charleston’s Hispanic arts community is a prism of ideas and expressions seeking to be seen, heard and valued. Chelsea Grinstead wrote about this community for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Chase Stokes takes selfies with fans at the red carpet Season 4 premiere showing of “Outer Banks,” Oct. 8, 2024, in Charleston.
22. The Pogues and the Kooks stormed Charleston for the ‘Outer Banks’ Season 4 premiere
Oct. 10
I had the rare opportunity to attend and host interviews at a red carpet event in Charleston. For the “Outer Banks” Season 4 world premiere, I got to ask questions to the stars of the Netflix hit show filmed in the Lowcountry and then attend the screening for the first episode of the latest season. It’s an experience I won’t soon forget!
Shoppers stroll outside Blue Bicycle Books on King Street in downtown Charleston.
23. More to the story: Charleston’s indie bookstores host community events, including upcoming lit fests
Oct. 24
Independent bookstores in Charleston don’t just sell books, they promote community connectivity. Ahead of the Charleston Literary Festival and YALLFest, Chelsea Grinstead took a look at these spaces and just what they do for the Lowcountry’s booklovers.
Kulture Klash featured a plethora of visual artists and musical acts from the Charleston area.
24. Charleston Navy Yard warehouse morphed into other-worldly art installation, with more ahead
Dec. 3
It was good to end the year with something to look forward to in the art scene. This huge warehouse space at the Charleston Navy Yard was utilized this year for one of the most epic art parties, Kulture Klash, with live bands, live painting and hundreds of works on display. More is planned for 2025.
Charleston’s poet laureate AsiahMae speaks at the Charleston Literary Festival.
25. Here are the Charleston women in the arts scene who have inspired us in 2024
Dec. 19
Another reflective piece we published just last week, this story featuring some of the women in the arts scene who personally inspired us this past year is a testament to the importance of taking the time to look back before moving forward.