Derek Hoke – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the Americana artist, Derek Hoke, talks about his first concert ever. You can check out the feature, after the break.

I grew up in a small town in South Carolina. The closest thing to a show when I was growing up was seeing punk bands at a run-down schoolhouse or the local VFW.

My first REAL concert came when my Dad took me to see The Rolling Stones in Clemson, SC. I brought my high school buddy, Scooter (yes, Scooter), along for the experience.

Scooter and I spent the day in the small college town smoking bad weed and wandering through the local shops. I’m sure my Dad was walking around doing the same. We all met up later at the gates for the big show.

Our seats were on the field at the massive football stadium. The very LAST seats on the field. Once the concert started, we would take turns standing on the back of each other’s chairs. “I can see Mick!”, “Look, there’s Keith!”. I was something else. An extraordinary Rock N Roll show.

I’ll never forget Mick Jagger engaging the audience by calling out surrounding towns. “Any of you people out there tonight from Greenville?!?”, he said. The place goes nuts.

“How about Spartanburg?!?”. But it’s in Mick’s swaggering English accent. “Spaww-tahn-bahhg”.

I’d never seen that many people in one place before in my life. The biggest band in the world playing this small college town up in the foothills of South Carolina. A truly amazing experience.

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(Photo credit: Scott Simontacchi)