Pleasant Surprises: Dylan Sneed
Posted by pdrobbins on 07/27 at 04:52 PM
One such pleasant surprise can be found in Dylan Sneed. A fairly recent transplant from Texas, Dylan is a singer/songwriter who left his home in Austin, TX, an infamous mecca of the arts and music, to continue his career based in little ol’ Hartsville. Having grown up in Texas, Sneed had been toying with the idea of relocating to a new place. When asked why he chose Hartsville, Sneed replied, “My ties to Hartsville developed through my performances at The Midnight Rooster, where I met several of the townsfolk. There was an open door for lodging in Hartsville, so I decided to step through it.”
There is an important message in his response. Dylan is not just a traveling performer. He is an artist dedicated to an idea of community and its involvement in music. His shows are entertaining musically, but Dylan also likes for the entertained to become a part of his own experience on stage. Describing what he tries to accomplish with one of his shows, Sneed said, “I try to make myself available to the audience every time I play. Not just by showing up and playing songs, but by being vulnerable on stage and off. If the audience is also open, then really cool things can happen. Hopefully it’s much more than going and getting a beer with your friends while some music plays in the background. But there has to be a willingness there.” The people he met in Hartsville, and the support they were willing to give him and his music were a large part of his reason for coming to Hartsville.
One of the ways Dylan tries to involve his audience is through special theme shows. One such idea he has brought with him to Hartsville is his “Alphabet Soup” performances. A letter is chosen at random from the alphabet, and the audience then chooses a theme beginning with the chosen letter. At the next Alphabet Soup show, Dylan plays a setlist of songs that somehow tie in with the chosen theme. At his last Alphabet Soup show back in March, the chosen theme was “Y is for Young.” Dylan arranged and played songs ranging from Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” One of the added benefits of these performances is that Dylan likes to involve other independent artists, so that the audience gets a full musical experience of both independent music and cover songs fitting with his Alphabet Soup theme.
Dylan Sneed brings a unique vision with him to Hartsville. As a career musician, he obviously wants to be able to support himself, but of greater importance is to get the people he plays for involved with the music he plays. In his words, “Local artists enrich the communities they live in. There’s more music out there than what’s on MTV, Clear Channel radio stations, and on Wal-Mart shelves. Independent artists have total creative control over their material, so there is no record company filter dictating what you and I get to listen to. Supporting local, independent artists and businesses bolsters your community. How much better to actually know the person growing the tomatoes, or making your latte, or writing your new favorite song?”
Sneed’s next show is an Alphabet Soup performance featuring independent artist Ben Walker from Columbia, SC. They will be playing at the Midnight Rooster on Friday, July 30th at 8:00pm. At the last Alphabet Soup, the audience chose “O” is for Onomatopoeia” as the theme. There is a suggested donation of $5.00. If you find yourself with nothing to do, the show is guaranteed to be entertaining. Then again, if you have something to do, you may also opt for the pleasant surprise that Dylan brings to this community.
Dylan Sneed’s newly released album Texodus can be previewed and purchased at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/DylanSneed. Or stop by one of his shows, and meet Dylan and pick up a copy from him personally.
“Even the Chamber of Commerce website dedicated to “The Art of Good Living” has a lackluster list of things to do in Hartsville.”
Ouch! I only can do what I hear about…and Dylan’s information was just sent to me via Facebook just recently.