Stoplight Observations, Rare Creatures, SondorBlue Sold-Out Concert at Charleston Music Hall

This past Saturday, Charleston Indie-rock band Stoplight Observations performed a headlining, sold-out concert at Charleston Music Hall. The lineup for the night also included two other local bands: Rare Creatures and SondorBlue. The venue quickly filled up and there was a large crowd front and center standing against the stage shortly after doors opened. Having three local bands headline a show at this beautiful venue, everyone knew it would be fantastic, but we were all blown away by the performances of these talented musicians. There is no better way to describe the concert than with the word magical. It was simply magical.

RARE CREATURES

As fans were still making their way in, Rare Creatures opened up the show with a high-energy and great performance level set. This somewhat newer alternative rock band in Charleston is fronted by Coleman Sawyer, who actually is a former member of Stoplight Observations. The group is very talented and even though they were “just the openers” I witnessed a room full of people paying attention to and truly enjoying their performance. William Blackburn, lead singer of Stoplight, joined them onstage to close out their set and they gave a fantastic performance.

SONDORBLUE

SondorBlue took the stage next to give a mesmerizing and memorable performance. The indie-rock/pop group creates music that is so poetic and very well composed, which is then enhanced by their beautiful harmonies-which they make seem effortless. Some crowd favorites from the performance were there songs “Opinions” and “The Moon and You.” From the lyrics, to stage presence, to those flawless high notes and everything else in between, this band was a true pleasure to see live.

STOPLIGHT OBSERVATIONS

The anticipation was finally over and Stoplight Observations drew the crowd in immediately, opening with their song “Coyote.” After that powerful performance, I realized I had two more hours of moments like I had just experienced during that first song; emotional connection as well as really thinking about life, but also enjoying the moment and fantastic live music. They played many crowd favorites of their original songs, as well as some cover songs such as ending their set with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” after stating that women deserve equality. They also had a few different people join them on stage for various songs, one being some choir members to sing backups on their song “The 50 Ways.” This piece was written about the Charleston Nine shooting victims and the tragedy of those events and the lives around them. It was definitely one of the most powerful songs of the night.  Stoplight Observations is on the rise and their success as a group is continuously growing. Playing various music festivals, headlining and selling out shows at local venues as well as around the country, and also working hard at creating and releasing new music. Their most recent music release is titled Volume II and is a part of a series of digital 45s they have created. The songs on these are meant to be as open with what they have gone through and also to inspire their audience to think critically about the world and times we live in. This band has something so special and unique about them and this uniqueness will drive their success even further.

From the beginning to the very end, the concert was absolutely wonderful. These three Charleston bands gave incredible performances and specifically Stoplight Observations; they were one of the best live bands I have ever seen. This show will be one of the best Charleston sees this year for sure and it’s only February!  

I sat down with Stoplight Observations prior to the show to learn a bit more about them and their music. You can listen below!

Coverage by Mia Naome

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