ELLERBE — Thursday evening was a night of firsts.
It was the first outdoor concert at the Berry Patch this year; and it was the first gig for the Beach Fever Band.
Beach Fever features members from both Richmond and Scotland County: Zachary Kendall of Wagram on keys, vocals, and acoustic guitar; Garry Raines of Rockingham on bass and vocals; NiQuan Sims of Maxton on drums; Carl Giddens of Rockingham on lead guitar and vocals; and Lynn Hardin of Laurel Hill on vocals.
Raines said the band started practicing in November and didn’t play at all in December.
“I think we all had the jitters before the show,” Kendall said. “I know I was scared that nobody would show up. We did a prayer before we played and when we turned around the place was full.”
The band played mostly beach music classics, with a few country and rock songs thrown into the set list.
While it was their first show together, several members have performed before.
Raines has been playing for 50 years.
Kendall, who has been performing for two years and played in the high school band, grew up following beach music legend and fellow Scotland County native Jim Quick and Coastline.
“I’ve only performed with him twice but (have) been at his shirt tail for many years, just watching and taking notes,” Kendall said.
He has also sat in with The Band of Oz.
Giddens has played with two bands previously and Hardin has performed as a solo act and with the Barry Brown Band.
However, this was Sims’ first time playing in front of an audience.
The crowd of around 225 featured several local musicians: Daryle Lemonds of the Sand Band and wife Terri Gore, “The Original Carolina Girl;” Frankie Moree of Dark Horse; Eric Whitfield and Patrick McLean of Ambush; and Chuck Smith and Eddie Brown (Raines’ former bandmate in Loaded Dice) of the Safety Committee.
“We had a blast. It was a fun night for us,” Kendall said. “It felt really good to get out and play and have a sense of normalcy as well. We do want to thank The Berry Patch for taking a chance on us and allowing us to play our very first show there. It was amazing!”
Berry Patch co-owner Lee Berry said they plan to have free live music twice a month through the spring and summer and into the fall.
The “World’s Largest Strawberry” started holding concerts last summer, with Dark Horse, Jim Quick and Coastline, Carolina Drive Band, and Adrian & Co. performing.
