The Green Levels bring nearly two decades of music to Magnolia’s Bluegrass, BBQ & Brews
by Lorne Chambers | Editor
For nearly two decades, The Green Levels have been picking their way through Charleston’s changing musical landscape, playing everything from bars and weddings to private parties and some of the Lowcountry’s most scenic venues.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, the longtime Charleston bluegrass band will provide the soundtrack for an afternoon of barbecue and beer beneath the oaks at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens during Bluegrass, BBQ & Brews.
The event, held from 1-4 p.m., pairs smoked meats and local craft beer tastings with live music from a band that has spent the better part of 20 years putting its own spin on bluegrass and Americana.
“We started as a bar band around 2008, playing both covers and original songs,” said Elliott Genther, mandolin player and founding member of The Green Levels. “This quickly evolved into playing a lot of weddings, corporate events, and private parties.”
But calling The Green Levels simply a bluegrass band doesn’t quite tell the story.
“We have never been a straight-ahead bluegrass band,” Genther said. “We lean into that genre but found our niche by pulling inspiration from a wide variety of genres and decades and making them our own.”
That can mean playing traditional songs in decidedly nontraditional ways, or taking something audiences would never expect to hear from an acoustic string band and giving it The Green Levels treatment.
“There is no right or wrong way to approach folk music,” Genther said. “We try to play tunes in a way that feels natural to us rather than mimic how we heard it somewhere else.”
The band itself has evolved, too. Over the years, The Green Levels have built an extended roster of musicians who join them for different performances, allowing the group to expand its repertoire and adapt to different crowds and settings.
That versatility has helped the band endure in a Charleston music scene that looks considerably different than it did when The Green Levels started playing around town in 2008.
“Charleston has always been a music-friendly town. Live music is part of this city’s DNA,” Genther said. “While the city has grown measurably, we’re lucky that our rootsy sound has remained marketable for so long, and are grateful that it seems to fit for so many different types of audiences and occasions.”
And despite Charleston’s growth, Genther said the community of musicians behind that scene has maintained much of its old familiarity.
“The community of musicians here is a close-knit one, and always has been,” he said. “No matter how much the city has grown, it’s still small enough to where we often cross paths with other musicians we cut our teeth with along the way. We root each other on.”
After 18 years of gigs, rehearsals, changing audiences, and changing lives, Genther said the reason to keep playing remains fairly simple.
“It might sound cliché, but I think music is medicine for us,” he said. “We have busy lives, just like everyone else. Something about picking up an instrument and performing for an audience helps the day-to-day stressors disappear into the background for a bit.”
Experience has also brought a certain confidence.
“We’ve tightened up our sound a lot over the last 18 years, and have become really consistent,” Genther said. “There are always those special gigs where everything is clicking and we feel unstoppable. There’s nothing more satisfying than that.”
Bluegrass, BBQ & Brews should offer a fitting setting for one of those gigs.
The Sept. 26 event includes samples of three smoked meats and three sides, a dessert sampling, six beer tastings, admission to Magnolia, and live music from The Green Levels. Tickets are $75 through Sept. 4, then increase to $85 on Sept. 5. Ticket sales close on Sept. 12.
For those who come for the barbecue and beer but haven’t encountered The Green Levels during the band’s long run around Charleston, Genther said they shouldn’t expect the musicians to simply work their way through a predetermined set list.
“While you might be listening to us, we’re listening to you as well,” he said. “We are always tuning in to what’s working, what’s not, and what might just turn an event into a memorable one for our audience.”
There is, however, one guarantee.
“You should expect to hear some acoustic music, three-part harmonies, and some rippin’ solos,” says Genther.
Bluegrass, BBQ & Brews will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 1-4 p.m. at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, located at 3550 Ashley River Road. $75 through Sept. 4; $85 beginning Sept. 5. Ticket sales close Sept. 12. For more info or to purchase tickets, visit www.magnoliaplantation.com/events/bluegrass-bbq-and-brews.
