South Carolina
Country Music

South Carolina has a modest but genuine country music story centered on a few key artists and a distinct geographic concentration. Darius Rucker from Charleston broke through as the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish before successfully relaunching as a country solo artist in 2008. His "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" went to number one on the country charts, making him the first Black solo artist to top the country charts since Charley Pride in 1983. Josh Turner from Hannah, South Carolina, has had a long career anchored by his distinctive bass-baritone voice and traditional country approach.

Myrtle Beach has built an entertainment economy around country music. The Carolina Opry has operated there since 1986 and puts on multiple shows per week. The Alabama Theatre in North Myrtle Beach is a dedicated country entertainment venue. The Myrtle Beach Speedway has hosted major country concert events. The beach-and-country combination is distinctively coastal South Carolina.

If you move to coastal South Carolina, particularly the Grand Strand area around Myrtle Beach, country music is part of the entertainment infrastructure in an unusually direct way. Columbia and Greenville have standard mid-size market country touring. The upstate region near the North Carolina border has the Appalachian country music tradition. The state has a genuine relationship with the genre across most of its geography, even if it hasn't produced an extensive roster of Nashville-bound artists.

Darius Rucker from Charleston crossed from Hootie & the Blowfish into country and found major success. Josh Turner from Hannah has one of the most distinctive bass voices in country. Myrtle Beach has a substantial country entertainment industry tied to its family tourism economy.

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