Happy 6th Anniversary to The Roasting Room! This little music venue, located in the heart of Bluffton, SC, celebrated it's 6th anniversary this past Friday night. And this was no ordinary anniversary party.
Most of Collective Soul playing The Roasting Room for their 6th anniversary!
The celebration featured a double header - an early and late show - with Ed Roland, who you might recognize as being the lead singer of Collective Soul. Ed also brought a couple of friends with him to help celebrate the occasion.
I was lucky enough to be at the late show, and what a show it was! Keep reading to find out more about this very special anniversary show celebrating the heart of Bluffton's music scene!
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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ROASTING ROOM!
The Roasting Room opened its doors above the Corner Perk on the corner of Calhoun and May River Road six years ago. Since then, the venue has brought hundreds of national acts to Bluffton, SC, which is a quaint little town located just outside Hilton Head.
If you want to read more about the venue itself and see my tips for seeing a show there, click here.
Not only did Friday night's shows mark the anniversary of the Roasting Room, it also marked the last shows that Jordan Ross (part owner/founder) would be spending as a resident of Bluffton. Ross announced a few months ago that he has decided to move back to his family's farm in Ohio. While Ross will no longer be an owner, he's signed a contract to continue to work on booking acts and promoting the venue for at least the next 6 months.
THE SHOW
Ed Roland of Collective Soul was one of the first acts to play the Roasting Room six years ago, so it was only appropriate for him to be back and play for the anniversary. Roland also happens to spend a lot of time in Bluffton (I loved the he wore a Bluffton Trading Post t-shirt during the show), and is looking to move here, as he said "when I can find a builder".
I love that Ed Roland was wearing a Bluffton t-shirt for the show!
If you aren't familiar with Collective Soul, the band was formed in 1992 and is currently based out of Atlanta. They released their debut album - "Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid" in 1993. Collective Soul became a household name when their song "Shine" started getting play on the radio and became an underground hit.
Collective Soul has released 10 albums and had a number of hit singles including "Gel", "December", "The World I Know" and "Heavy".
Roland brought along with him two of his bandmates - drummer Johnny Rabb and guitarist Jesse Triplett. This was not your "typical" Collective Soul show. With no set list determined in advance, Roland led the guys through almost a stream of consciousness type of show, playing snippets of different songs and trying out some new things. As Roland put it at one point in the show "Welcome to our rehearsal session!" And that's really what it felt like!
Ed and Jesse Triplett, who is the lead guitarist for Collective Soul.
There were also some special moments in the show. Roland called Roasting Room's Jordan Ross up to the stage, and Ross and Triplett played a U2 song that Ross said was the first song he ever sound checked at the Roasting Room. Ross told the crowd that back at that first show, he did everything - took tickets, set up the stage, and was the sound engineer.
Jordan Ross got a chance to be onstage instead of behind the scenes.
Roland also brought up onto stage a local musician that he said he played with often, and they covered "Drive" by The Cars. If you weren't sure if the show was un-rehearsed before, it was confirmed when Roland had to pull up the lyrics of the song on his phone and read them as he sang.
It was great to hear all of those Collective Soul hits in a totally different way. The guys closed out the show with their big hit "Shine", and had the crowd on their feet. This was truly an amazing opportunity to see a band that plays in front of huge audiences, play in an intimate setting totally stripped down.
I also loved that Roland and the band were totally approachable and hung out with the audience before and after the show. Our friend and his son are huge fans of the band, and we were able to get Roland to sign a picture of his son on the rail at a show a few years ago. Roland was completely gracious and told us that "he's around all the time", so he hoped to run into us again soon.
Ed checking out our friend's photo before he signs it.
Happy Anniversary Roasting Room! I'm so glad this is my new "home venue" and look forward to seeing lots of shows in 2022!
Are you a fan of Collective Soul? Tell us what you love about them! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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