As we’ve discussed before, smaller music venues in Greenville have gotten harder to come by. The Spinning Jenny in Greer and Gottrocks in Greenville both closed last year, and the Radio Room is preparing to move to a bigger building, leaving an empty space that affect local musicians the most.
Luckily, it seems like a subtle renaissance of live music space is happening right under our noses. The Velo Fellow, a downtown bar and restaurant, has a robust and varied concert schedule. The Wandering Bard Meadery on Hampton Avenue hosts a wide array of local and regional artists.
And now, the musical instrument store Pecknel Music, a mainstay in Greenville for 65 years, has opened an intimate concert space in the store called The Cool Room. This small space has a warm, comforting feel and brings the audience up close to the artists.
The Cool Room, which hosts solo acoustic acts as well as volume-conscious bands, is the brainchild of Pecknel Music owner Jeremiah Manriquez.
“I’ve always had a vision for the use of this space,” Manriquez says. “I just wanted it to be a cool room that we have performances in and that we can use to highlight local talent.”
Manriquez, a musician himself, says he hopes the space can strengthen Greenville’s music scene and make it like the ones he’s seen in the past.
“I own a music store, but if you meet me on the street and ask me what I do, I’ll tell you I’m a musician, because that’s what I’ve been my whole life,” he says. “And I don’t know that I realized it as much when I was younger, but the places I lived in had vibrant music scenes. I’m friends with a lot of people in our musical community, and it’s tough to watch really good friends of mine struggle to the point that they do to try to make a living playing music. So I asked myself, ‘Can I create a safe, small intimate space for artists to come in and express themselves?’”
The answer seems to be a resounding yes. Popular local singer-songwriter Darby Wilcox has already performed in The Cool Room, and Manriquez says that inquiries about playing the room are pouring in.
“People are extremely excited,” he says, “and we’re finding it interesting because it’s not just artists in Greenville, it’s artists from neighboring cities. We even have people contacting us from Ohio wanting to come through and play in this room. Everyone’s excited to play in this space.”
