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Turkey Jam: Local artists give back to the Lowcountry Food Bank

Editor’s note: Post and Courier contributor Stratton Lawrence will perform a donated show along with other local artists at this year’s Turkey Jam on Saturday.

Four years ago, the Turkey Jam was an excuse to eat “dangerous muffins” and get together with friends staying in Charleston for Thanksgiving.

Dreamed up by local roots/rock band Dangermuffin, the event began in 2008 at the Charleston Pour House the Wednesday night before Turkey Day. The band cooked up muffins and served turkey and fixins’ to attendees.

That tradition has grown into an all-day festival, bringing together more than 30 local musicians to play for more than 12 hours on both The Pour House’s inside and outdoor stages. This time, the event will feed more than just the audience of music lovers in attendance Saturday. Profits from this year’s event will go to the Lowcountry Food Bank’s programs to feed the hungry in South Carolina.

“We’ve played Turkey Jam twice, but it’s never been a benefit before,” says Dangermuffin drummer Steven Sandifer (local groups Weigh Station and Gaslight Street played the 2010 event). “This is the fourth one. It’s a community of local musicians getting together, so we figured it would be a good idea to help a local agency that does good work like the food bank.”

It’s a fitting benefit for Thanksgiving week, when most Americans will feast to levels of discomfort before sitting back and enjoying time with family. In our privileged society, says Sandifer, it’s easy to forget how good some of us have it.

“When do any of us ever miss a meal because we can’t get food?” asks Sandifer. “We might skip lunch because we’re too busy.

But there are people all over the world, millions of them, who are going hungry.”

The guys in Dangermuffin don’t shy away from taking a stand on social warfare and political issues, so the chance to return to their hometown and rally around a cause at Thanksgiving seemed like an obvious opportunity.

“We have a lot of conversations about how across the world, not just in Charleston, there’s a lack of middle ground; how big the gap is between the extremely wealthy and the extremely poor,” explains Sandifer. “We considered doing something for world food aid, but then we thought, ‘This is our community getting together, and there are people right next door that can’t feed themselves.’ ”

10 meals

Dangermuffin’s popularity has grown across the country in recent years, earning the band airplay on Sirius Radio and notable gigs from New York to the West Coast.

Apart from a five-song set at the recent Southern Ground Music Festival on Daniel Island, they haven’t played a full-band, plugged-in set in Charleston since June, when they sold out The Pour House. With tickets at $10 each, if turnout is strong, the donation to the food bank could be significant.

“With every dollar that is donated to the Lowcountry Food Bank through the sale of tickets at the Turkey Jam, the food bank will be able to create 10 meals for families who may otherwise go without food this Thanksgiving,” says Mark Smith, board chairman of the food bank.

The organization collects, inspects, maintains and distributes food products that might otherwise be wasted by distributors and supermarkets, channeling them to a network of more than 320 member agencies that provide hunger-relief services to the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina.

“We’re extremely grateful to be a part of an event that not only raises awareness and funds for the hungry this holiday season, but that also brings attention to the wonderful things local artists and businesses are doing to give back to the community,” says Smith. “Without partners like the Charleston Pour House, Dangermuffin, and the local community, we would not be able to continue making a difference in the lives of over 200,000 food-insecure individuals each year.”

Smith adds that the food bank also will hold a nonperishable food drive at the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring cans and boxes of food to the concert, where they’ll receive Pour House and Dangermuffin stickers as a thank you for their donations.

The lineup

To expand Turkey Jam into an all-day event and benefit, Dangermuffin called on local musical friends to create a generous helping of a lineup. The Pour House will open the deck at 1 p.m., inviting families and kids of all ages for a one-hour children’s show with the goofy vaudeville-esque act The V-Tones. They’ll be followed throughout the afternoon by Portside Still (Sandifer’s bluegrass side project), Americana singer/songwriter Mac Leaphart, acoustic/folk act The Hungry Monks and Po’Ridge.

At 5:40 p.m., the guys from Dangermuffin will take the stage as their acoustic alter ego, AcousticMuffin, joined by Gaines Hill and Ben Edwards of Triple Lindy. A songwriter-in-the-round hour follows, where a host of notable band leaders will strip down their songs in a down-the-line, take-turns format. That lineup includes Campbell Brown (Gaslight Street), Elise Testone (The Freeloaders), Ryan Bonner (The Dearly Beloved), Reid Stone (Guilt Ridden Troubadour), Howard Dlugasch and Laura Thurston.

The deck music continues with indie/pop duo Yellowknife at 8 p.m., followed by funk ensemble Wadata.

At 9:45, music kicks off on the main stage with Long Miles, a funk/reggae quintet of College of Charleston students and graduates that splits its time between South Carolina and Philadelphia. Headliner Dangermuffin takes the stage at 11:05 p.m., before the highlight of every Turkey Jam, the “super jam” at 12:30 a.m., when musicians who performed throughout the day will join together and collaborate on their favorite originals and classic cover songs.

“It’s going to be off the cuff,” says Sandifer. “We’ll be getting all kinds of people up, with the focus just on getting everybody together on stage. There’s a lot of jamming in the Turkey Jam.”

Shift to benefit

Pour House owner Alex Harris says that he’s excited about growing the Turkey Jam into a benefit and the shift to a Saturday night from Wednesday.

Because of the added appeal and subsequent expected turnout, there won’t be any free “dangerous muffins” this year, but the onsite Cuban restaurant El Bohio will serve its full menu 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Harris says he’s glad to be supporting the food bank and plans to donate the cost of hiring his sound engineer, security and door staff to the cause.

In an era of diminished CD sales, bands rely on touring and concerts to make their living. For a group like Dangermuffin, hometown shows can pay a big chunk of the bills and keep them on the road. Donating 100 percent of a concert’s profits is no small contribution.

“We saw how good the Lowcountry Food Bank’s history and vision is and decided it just makes sense,” says Dangermuffin drummer Sandifer. “It’s part of a greater conversation about the income gap across the world, and how greed affects the distribution of resources.”

What: Turkey Jam, benefiting the Lowcountry Food Bank. Presented by the Charleston Pour House and Dangermuffin. Attendees may bring nonperishable food items for an onsite food drive.

When: 1 p.m. Saturday (until 2 a.m.)

Where: The Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway, James Island.

Cost: $10 admission ($5 admission for deck shows until 9 p.m.).

More info: www.charlestonpourhouse.com.

Schedule

On the deck

1:30-2:30 P.M.: Kids’ show with the V-Tones.

2:45-3:25 P.M.: Portside Still.

3:35-4:00 P.M.: Mac Leaphart.

4:10-4:40 P.M.: The Hungry Monks.

4:50-5:10 P.M.: Stratton Lawrence.

5:25-6:10 P.M.: AcousticMuffin ,Gaines Hill, Ben Edwards.

6:25-7:25 P.M.: Songwriters in the Round.

7:35-7:55 P.M.: Elise Testone and Friends.

8:05-8:35 P.M.: Yellowknife.

8:45-9:30 P.M.: Wadata.

On the main stage

9:45-10:45 P.M.: Long Miles.

11:05-12:15 P.M.: Dangermuffin.

12:25 A.M.-1:45 A.M.: Turkey Jam.