ASHEVILLE - Sam Wharton’s days have gone from prepping for his own shows to prepping for others’ concerts.
The Asheville-based touring musician, who plays guitar for Songs From The Road Band, has been without a steady gig since the pandemic began.
Now, though, he has something to do each week. Wharton began Bands2Fans recently and has already put on three concerts that have streamed online.
“I’m pretty new to this side of things, as I’ve always been a performer,” he said. “I’ve never been a promoter or producer, but that’s the role I’ve thrown myself into. All things considered, with no real background to speak of on this side of it, the concerts have gone smoothly.”
The shows, which are webcast through the Bands2Fans Facebook page and on YouTube from Ambrose West in West Asheville, have garnered thousands of page views and attention from music lovers.
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The first show, the Darrin Nicholson Band, has more than 6,000 views, while the second show, which prominently featured Josh Daniels from Charlotte, had more than 14,000 views. Last week’s show was an all-star group of Asheville musicians.
This week’s show, which is set for 8 p.m. May 22, will be Bobby Miller and the Virginia Dare Devils, a bluegrass and old-time group from Weaverville.
COVID-19 safety measures
For these shows to happen, Wharton takes every possible precaution.
Only the musicians and the show’s filming crew are allowed in the space to ensure less than 10 people are gathered. Wharton says he stays up on CDC recommendations and state and federal regulations about gatherings and sanitizing the space.
“I go to the venue several days in advance and clean and sanitize the entire venue. I set the stage for the band and clean all of the gear on the stage, all the way down to the microphone cables and the power cords. Everything gets sanitized and then the building sits empty for several days,” Wharton said. “When the band shows up, they are asked to bring limited gear and their gear gets loaded into a staging area at the front of the venue, and I sanitize it, also.”
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More on the way
Wharton said he has had interest from acts and can fill weekly slots throughout this month, but doesn’t want to announce the participants yet. The hope is to do different genres and focus on local talent.
The motivation for this type of show came from Wharton listening to similar ventures.
“When the pandemic happened, I was at home all the time, just like everyone else. I was really happy to see all of my friends and all kinds of music happening on the internet as people were home and sharing what they had,” he said. “I got inspired to do something a little higher quality.
“I knew it would be great to give (local musicians) a place to share their voice and also share good, high-quality music with people because so many people are starving for live entertainment and they can’t go out and see it.”
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May 21, 2020 at 04:12PM
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