What is happening to bars, restaurants, and venues in South Carolina?
With staple locations like Smiley’s Acoustic Cafe (DT Greenville) and The Spinning Jenny (of Greer) closing down due to either all or some attribution of rising liability insurance laws, establishments across the state are itching and biting their nails in terms of how much more their rates will go up. Another prime example is Charleston’s Forte Jazz Cafe, who are quoted as saying that “their premium was $10,962 in 2022 but then jumped to $32,847 in 2023…”
Now, many media outlets both big-time and small-scale have helped the SC Venue Crisis (hereafter stylized as SCVC) garner attention toward raising awareness. Even Randy Blythe from Lamb of God devoted some time to tell people about everything. This is also being done through Town Hall meetings, hosted across the state by the fore-runners of SCVC.
What I’m going to say about the SCVC will follow suit and remain in-line with what has already been reported on. While my platform here on Moved by Music is not particularly engorged with followers, I am currently a South Carolina resident…and if you haven’t noticed by now, music is my life. This write up stands as a lasting testament of my personal devotion to preserve the legendary presence of arts, music, culture, and the venues in South Carolina.
Here is a neat infographic with the facts about what’s going on:
This crisis is harrowing. It doesn’t simply dig into the bars and restaurants, but trickles down into many other industries as well. Including, but not limited to:
Local/Regional Artists/Musicians/Entertainers, Equipment and Hardware companies, Wedding Venue companies, Beer/Wine/Liquor Vendors/Reps, Brew Masters and their Management/Staff, City Event Planners, Advertising companies, Liquor Store Owners, Food Service Reps, POS Company Reps, Arcade Game Vendors, Travel/Tourism companies, Audio/Visual engineers, Graphic Artists, Photographers, Videographers…
Have your eyes run dry yet?
Anything and everything I can say about what’s going on can be typed up, sure, but I also believe in providing resources. If I can act as one of the springboards leading folks to further educate themselves (on anything, really), then I am aiming for it 100 fold. I would not have any of these links or resources if it was not for the efforts of three absolutely powerhouse individuals (Sheila Merck, Asheton Reid, and Kynn Tribble), but the advocacy does not stop there…we need folks, especially South Carolina residents, to help pump their fists in the air and take a stand against wrongful legislation (click HERE to see what catalyzed this).
Not to turn this into a solely personal note, but the aforementioned powerhouses have urged those who do want to take a stand to tell their story.
Why does this affect me?
Well…I’m an independent music journalist who lives in South Carolina, and the way I find out about many of the folks I want to write about is due to attending shows. Getting show alerts and newsletters from venues. Meeting and networking relationships with musicians, managers, and other artists who all have a similar heart and passion for what music can do for people...
Move them.
I beckon you, please follow this link and lay witness to the trove of information. Remember, this is not an alcohol problem. This is not an insurance problem. THIS IS A LEGISLATIVE PROBLEM. Standing up against twisted and wrongful senses of justice is part of the American way, and these legislative issues won’t just stay in South Carolina. Let’s show AND tell our legislatures why liquor liability laws cannot reach such extortionary heights.
To the Moved, I thank you, and to any folks charging full steam ahead with raising awareness (to any degree they can), do not forget…
We are on the just side of history.
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