Amp the Alley

06/11/2026

Tonight on the Bud Light Stage - Scarlet Begonias plays the best of The Dead! We are excited to have Shep back at Amp as well as Brian Brittingham - owner of Southbound Smokehouse!

Show up early and peruse the Farmers Market, running all of June.

Show starts at 6:30 - get ready to JAM! This is a HOLO kinda show!

06/10/2026

Where you at the giant Dance Party last week? Check out the galleries from the amazing show by Anybody's Guess. Few bands know how to get the crowd moving like them... even during a Farmers Market.

Which continues through the month of June and will enjoy the soundtrack of The Dead this week as Scarlet Begonias make their return to the Bud Light Stage. Be sure to give Shep ALL OF YOUR BOOKING REQUEST.... tee hee... he'll love that.

As always,give my musings a read, check out my photos, but most importanty share....share....share....

This entire event is about sharing FREE LIVE MUSIC week after week, so give a little love to the bands and the businesses that make it happen.

About halfway through the evening, someone asked me what was going on. Looking around, it was a fair question. The municipal courtyard was full. Bee Lane was full. The dance floor was overflowing. People were standing shoulder-to-shoulder under storefronts and spilling out of restaurant patios. More...

06/07/2026

A few days later, and one thing stands out about Thursday night: nobody stayed seated for very long.

Anybody's Guess packed the the entire Alley and turned the municipal courtyard into a dance floor from the first song.

Kids. Couples. Friends. Complete strangers who suddenly found themselves sharing a dance floor.

Some Thursdays are listening nights.

This one was a dancing night.

Thanks to Anybody's Guess and everybody who came out and filled downtown Aiken with a little extra life.

Back to editing photos for me and writing this week's Amplified Blog! See you later this week for Scarlet Begonias!

06/04/2026

Tonight Aiken's favorite party band is back on the Bud Light Stage!

Anybody's Guess has been rocking everywhere from Downtown Aiken to the Skyline for decades and they haven't slowed down yet.

June is also the start of 1 month of the Farmer's Market in The Alley. Shop Local. Party Local.

The Alley is sure to be extra crowded so be mindful of your neighbors, and leave room for wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, and leashed babies of either 4 or 2 legged variety. We want everyone to have a good time and freely float between dinner, the stage, bars, and for this month - local farmer and craft vendors.

See you all tonight at 6:30.

06/03/2026

New Edition of Amplified out now.

Share in the memories and share with your friends. Give it a read and check out the galleries chock full of the Satellite Jimmy performance, kids, babies, puppies, friends, family, and everything that makes Aiken and Amp rock. If you feel so inclined, read my recap and thoughts on the show plus news and the goings-on of our partnered businesses.

Most importantly, share so everyone else can read about the bands and businesses that are giving FREE LIVE MUSIC week after week in Downtown Aiken.

Also, if you are brand new to town, get reminded of why Anybody's Guess has consistently been one of the most fun bands in the area and have been gifting us good times for decades from Aiken to Skyline!

For reasons I didn't fully understand Thursday night, I kept thinking about The Village. Which is a strange thing to think about while listening to Puddle of Mudd in downtown Aiken. When The Village came out in 2004, I hated it. Not because it was a bad movie. I was mad because I thought I was getti...

05/27/2026

New edition of Amplified out now. Check out the galleries and recap plus news from our partnering businesses that bring you FREE LIVE MUSIC every Thursday!

One of the best things you can do is share the post - it helps the musicians, the businesses, and your downtown. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for caring.

See you tomorrow for Satellite Jimmy's debut on the Bud Light Stage.

Last year, the Kenny George Band got squeezed into a corner downstairs at Electric Eats after weather forced Amp indoors. Looking back at the photos now, it’s honestly impressive they fit everybody in there at all, let alone Randy Borawski, who looked like the winner of the Powerball splurged on a...

05/21/2026

Tonight The Kenny George Band is back on the Bud Light Stage!

See you tonight in the center of The Alley and the heart of Aiken for original singer sonwriter hits that originated here in Aiken along with some great alt country favorites.

Music starts at 6:30pm.

05/20/2026

Thursday had All the Things - The Band, Reunions, Goodbyes (we'll see), Dancing, Laughing, Puppies, Dogs, Pizza, Bud Light, and Good Vibes. That describes the scene and the Set List!

Give it a read, check out the galleries, share the stories, and support local live music and locally owned businesses who are working together to bring this to you for FREE EVERY THURSDAY. It's pretty rad... seriously.

Karen Bunney missed Amp this week, leaving the historical documentation of Thursday night entirely in the hands of a guy sprinting back and forth between The Alley and a short-staffed Backyard. In hindsight, that may have been the most appropriate possible setup for a band called All The Things. Eve...

05/14/2026

Tonight, All The Things returns to the Bud Light Stage with a special guest appearance from Jaycie Ward for her last local performance before she moves to North Carolina. You aren't going to want to miss this one!

Show starts at 6:30 in the middle of The Alley.

05/13/2026

New Edition of Amplified out now... and I took SOOOO many pics. Whiskey Run was an awesome show and they never disappoint.

This week on the Bud Light stage, All The Things is back and Jaycie Ward will be joining in for her last performance before she moves. You won't want to miss it.

As always, give it a read, give it share, and support all the folks supporting FREE Live music in Downtown Aiken!

Whiskey Run usually plays later in the Amp the Alley season, but this year they volunteered for the portion of the calendar where every Thursday forecast threatens some sort of Old Testament storm. Hard to believe we just escaped the “will it ever rain again?” season only to step directly into t...