Spiegeltent: Homegrown & Nationally Known

Featuring Charlton Singleton, Kanika Moore, and Patrick Davis

A native of Awendaw, SC, Charlton Singleton began his musical studies at the age of three on the piano. He would then go on to study the organ, violin, cello, and the trumpet throughout elementary, middle, and high school. In 1994, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance degree from South Carolina State University. Since that time, he has taught music at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as being an adjunct faculty member at the College of Charleston. In 2008 he co-founded and became the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Charleston Jazz Orchestra; an 18-piece jazz ensemble of some of the finest professional musicians in the Southeast and the resident big band in Charleston, SC. Mr. Singleton is also the organist and choir director at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Charleston, SC. In November of 2016 he was named the inaugural Artist in Residence at the recently renovated Gaillard Center in downtown Charleston. He remained in this position until July 2019; at that point he was named Artist in Residence Emeritus. In this position he continues to lead the Summer Youth Jazz Orchestra Camp as well as lead the “Jazz Through the Ages” assembly, which attracts a capacity crowd of students at the Gaillard Center.

As a performer, Charlton leads his own ensembles that vary in size and style. He has performed in France, Great Britain, Scotland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, The Netherlands, as well as many great cities throughout the United States. He is a founding member of an ensemble called Ranky Tanky. The group is a quintet that interprets the sounds of Gullah from the Southeast Coast of the United States. In 2017 Ranky Tanky reached the top of the Billboard, iTunes, and Amazon Contemporary Jazz charts with their self-titled debut recording. In 2019 they accomplished the same feat with the release of their sophomore effort, “Good Time”, which won the 2019 Grammy Award for “Best Regional Roots Album”. In 2022 the band’s live recorded set at the prestigious New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was nominated for and won the Grammy Award in the same category. In 2021 he was the recipient of the SC Governor’s Award, which honors arts organizations, patrons, artists, members of the business community, and government entities who maximize their roles as innovators, supporters, and advocates for the arts. It is the highest honor for the arts in the state of South Carolina.

In addition to performing, he is in demand as a speaker, clinician, composer, and arranger. He has also shared the stage with and/or worked with some of the most talented entertainers in the world, including Lisa Fischer, Bobby McFerrin, Ruby Dee, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Houston Person, Darius Rucker, Fred Wesley, and Cyrus Chestnut to name a few. Outside of music and entertainment, he, and his wife, MaryJo, are the proud parents of Shalamar and D’Marcus and new grandparents to Sophia Rose. They are also parents to their FIVE pets…Jango, MoJo, Dakota, Pumpkin, and Ginger.

When not on the road with Doom Flamingo or up and coming collab group Tauk Moore, Kanika calls Charleston, SC home. She was born in Charleston and got her start singing with family in church. Over the years, she became a full-time vocalist working on diverse projects and performances with Doom Flamingo, Motown Throwdown, Widespread Panic, Umphreys Mcgee, Andy Frasco, String Cheese Incident, Terraphonics, Everyone Orchestra, Black Noize, Charleston Jazz Orchestra, Gina Castillo, and many more.

A mainstay of contemporary American roots music, Patrick Davis has spent two decades leaving his mark onstage, on record, and in the writing room. He’s been a critically-acclaimed solo artist. A road warrior. Founder of music festivals like Songwriters in Paradise. Most importantly, Davis has established himself as a prolific songwriter, penning tunes not only for his own albums, but also for icons like Guy Clark and Jimmy Buffett.

With Carolina When I Die, he reintroduces himself as a Southern storyteller and classic craftsman. It’s a modern-day album steeped in the timeless sounds of his influences: the smooth soul of Ray Charles, the heartland folk-rock of Jackson Browne, the nuanced country of Lyle Lovett, and the big-band bombast of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Tying those sounds together is a versatile musician who, having already established himself as a hit songwriter for others, is rededicating himself to his own records. Carolina When I Die may be the fifth full-length release of Davis’ catalog, but it marks a new beginning, too.

“I’ve always said I’m a very late bloomer,” he explains. “I didn’t move to Nashville until I was 25, and then I spent years writing songs for projects that weren’t my own. It’s taken me some time to figure out who I am, and that’s ok. The journey never ends. If it does, maybe you’re not doing it right. To me, Carolina When I Die is one of the most important parts of that journey, because it’s an album that says, ‘This is who Patrick Davis truly is.’”

Carolina When I Die nods to Davis’ small-town roots in Camden, South Carolina, where he spent most of his adolescence. His father was a working musician who taught his son to appreciate the good stuff, from the Beatles to Van Morrison. When he was still young, Davis would attend his dad’s shows and climb onstage for a song or two, laying the foundation for the career he’d launch as an adult. With “Carolina When I Die,” the album’s title track, he reflects on countless miles traveled since leaving that childhood home. “I’ve rambled all around this world, seen the Northern Lights / I have drank with kings and queens and señoritas of the night,” he sings over a finger-plucked acoustic guitar. The song isn’t just a travelogue; it’s a love song for one’s home, with Davis longing to go back to the place where it all began.

If “Carolina When I Die” unfolds like Davis’ own story, then “Six String Dreams” is the story of musicians everywhere. Written alongside Sadler Vaden — longtime guitarist for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit — and rooted in a 1970s-worthy soul groove, the song pays tribute to blue-collar troubadours who make their living beneath the stage lights. During the rest of Carolina When I Die, Davis gets funky on “L-O-V-E” (written with Randolph Randolph, who recorded his own version of the song on the Grammy-nominated album Got Soul), teams up with the late Guy Clark for “Wrong Side of the Tracks,” and examines the colorblind friendship between two characters on the stunning “Black Jesus.” Some songs make room for stacked layers of electric guitar, brass, organ, and vocal harmonies — a dense sound that Davis regularly recreates in a live setting with his 11-piece touring band, Patrick Davis & His Midnight Choir — while others are simple, stark, acoustic recordings that shine a light on Davis’ own delivery. It’s an eclectic mix, delivered by a lyrically-driven songwriter who’s never been afraid to embrace the full range of his influences.

“When I was a kid in South Carolina, I made my living by playing songs in the corner of a bar,” Davis remembers. “Once I moved to Nashville and landed a publishing deal, it took me away from that experience a little bit. I’ve been lucky — a lot of people have recorded my songs, and some of them have become hits on the radio — but I’ve always wanted to be that person onstage, playing his own songs. Carolina When I Die isn’t about someone else; it’s about who I am. This is the sound of me reclaiming a dream.”

The Spiegeltent is equipped with both heating and air conditioning to keep the tent a comfortable temperature for all shows.

Prohibited items include gum, weapons of any kind (including pocket knives and firearms), projectiles, and illegal substances.

There are no restrooms inside the Spiegeltent. You may use the restroom inside the Gaillard Center.