Fall means MUSIC at your SCBG! We are excited to announce two musical options this fall! Tuesdays Tunes & Tastings will take place on the Lower Lawn behind the Visitor's Center and is proudly sponsored by Carolina Bauernhaus. The Fall Concert Series will take place in the Amphitheater and concessions will again be provided by Palmetto's Smokehouse and Oyster Bar, which will begin to be sold approximately half an hour before the concert. We are thrilled that so many wonderful musicians are willing to donate their time and immense talent to provide entertainment for the community and we cannot thank them enough. See you soon!

ca·rouse (kəˈrouz/)

v. drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way.

"They danced and caroused until the drink ran out."

In 2014, vocalist and musician Donna Kay decided to shelve her catalog of jazz standards in exchange for starting something old. Very old.

“After years of ‘Top 40 from the ‘40s,’ I wanted to get down to the earlier roots of jazz,” Kay said. “I wanted to channel the energies of the speakeasy, the sordid affairs, the tumultuous years of Prohibition, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression,” she said.

The Carousers blend Western Swing, Gypsy Jazz and Boogie Blues into timeless classics and original songs written in the 1920s and ‘30s style.

“I think we play the best music America’s melting pot ever offered, music that’s stood the test of time for nearly 100 years, and it continues to be a crowd pleaser,” Kay said.

The band plays as a four- to six-piece ensemble. The pace is quick, and Carousers’ shows are always high-spirited. Donna Kay leads the caravan on vocals and composition. Monty Craig, a jazz educator and bandleader in his own right, plays lead guitar and is the primary song arranger. Hans Wolf, classically trained in his native Germany, plays violin. Veteran bassist Robert Nance is a fan favorite, “who lives in the pocket,” Kay said. Kevin Korschgen, a former Chicago-area educator and composer, brings the beats. Guests such as Reed Miller, Charles Hedgepath and Grant Cuthbertson have played rhythm guitar with the ensemble.

The Carousers’ first release, entitled “Possessed,” was released in February, 2017. The songs encompass all three of the band’s genres. “Temper My Love” is a driving blues number that delves into unrequited love. “I Don’t Think I Love You” is a jazz swing tune that playfully moves between emotional doubt and certainty. The title track, “Possessed,” is a gypsy-style romp about that Demon named Love.

The Carousers love that they can cross genres, turn back the clock, and present an authentic, fun vintage sound that today’s modern audiences are embracing.