The recently opened Riverside Village Amphitheater in North Augusta, South Carolina will soon be renamed the Sharon Jones Amphitheater. North Augusta’s city council voted unanimously on Monday night to make the change as per Rolling Stone’s report.
Famed vocalist Sharon Jones was born in Augusta, Georgia and spent some of her formative years in North Augusta according to Rolling Stone. Jones was signed to Gabe Roth’s fledgling Daptone Records label in the 1990s and was teamed with The Dap-Kings for a series of criticially-acclaimed albums that introduced her voice and charismatic presence to a wide audience. Sharon passed away in 2016 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
“This is so cool,” Roth told Rolling Stone. “No one was able to lift the room like she could. It’s great to have a place where people will hit the stage and think of her. She would have been thrilled.” Some of Sharon’s family was on hand at the city council meeting on Monday. “She would be flabbergasted right now,” Jones’ sister, Willia Stringer, explained to Rolling Stone. “We didn’t live far from there. My father used to walk down with us down to the river. Back then, there was nothing there but trees and the river.”
The venue opened for business in September. While the amphitheater currently has a capacity of 250 due to the pandemic, organizers for larger events can seek approval from the South Carolina Department Of Commerce.
Daptone Records released a new Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings album of covers, Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In), on October 23. Stream the LP below:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/just-dropped-in-to-see-what-condition-my-rendition-was-in/1531719654
[via Rolling Stone]
.house-unit-wide { display: none; }
.house-unit-narrow{ display: block; }
@media (min-width: 768px) {
.house-unit-wide { display: block; }
.house-unit-narrow{ display: none; }
}
