Charlestown Sounds

This weekend, at the Charlestown Sounds Music Festival, you will see the Music Farm like you’ve never seen it before. Engulfed in a sea of purple, blue, and gold, buzzing with an electric current - it may sound dangerous, but according to the festival’s creator, “you’re gonna want this electricity.”

The man behind the curtain of this musical jamboree is the founder of the Charlestown Sounds video series, Coleman Ott. Unlike the fraudulent, green-vested “wizard” infamous for hiding behind curtains, Coleman possesses abounding heart, brain, and courage - so much so, that he’s unable to keep it all to himself. This weekend, Coleman’s heart and soul will manifest in the form of Charlestown Sounds Music Festival, a union and celebration representative of Charleston’s diverse pool of local talent.

Coleman initially became involved in the Charleston music scene in the fall of 2016 when he kickstarted the video interview series, Charlestown Sounds. The series provides insight into featured artists’ personalities and includes intimate live sets. “There are some mess ups, some wrong notes, some awkward questions by me,” Coleman admits, but it creates an undeniable natural element to the final product.

Thinking about his vision for Charlestown Sounds on one of those long, head-clearing car rides, the idea struck him to organize a local music festival. “The amount of excitement that washed over me was so real, I couldn’t ignore it. It was like, okay I need to hold onto this idea and actually do it. So I decided in that moment that I was going to.”

With the help of friends and experienced mentors, Coleman secured a venue, solidified a lineup, and organized a pre-festival parade. The parade will be led by an African drum and dance group and will have a “festive, celebratory feel, just like the performance part of the event.”(Check out the event page on the day of the festival for deets.)

The lineup will include Anfernee, Diaspoura, the CofC Gospel Choir, Man-Child ft. Abstract & Speakerbox, Contour, and The Night Caps. Coleman chose musicians who he feels represent the Charleston music scene today. “I’m really pleased with how the line-up turned out and I’m so excited to celebrate with all those guys on the 8th.”

Producing the Charlestown Sounds Music Festival feels natural to Coleman, like he was meant to bring people together through music. The whole process of planning the event has felt like a “God-thing” because of how smoothly everything has worked out thus far. “There’s definitely something greater to this festival and there’s purpose to it.”

$10 student tickets

$15 general admission tickets

$10 festival t-shirts (w/ Sophie Kreutz’s design)