The Groovin’ On the Green concert Friday, August 10 will be a “full circle” experience for country musician Andrew Beam when he performs on The Village Green Commons stage that was once the site of his former school.
“I learned to play guitar during ‘club day’ at Summit Charter School,” Beam said.
He said his father, Rev. David Beam, who served at Cashiers United Methodist Church at the time, was the instructor. He soon found himself playing in church services, but also as the lead guitarist for a band organized by a 7th-grade science teacher at the school. He describes this as the “School of Rock” that ran the gamut of artists from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Green Day that would build the foundation for playing live music on down the road. Beam went on to graduate from Clemson University and then became a game warden with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Ultimately, his musical aspirations superseded his career in wildlife management, and, as he says he “left one dream to chase another.”
“I realized catching outlaws was not as fun as writing outlaw country music,” he said.
Beam currently has a single titled “The Beam In Me” on Spotify and ITunes. He is also working on other original music while performing live concerts in various venues in the Southeast. When the original group scheduled to perform August 10 decided to disband, Tom Crawford of Cashiers Farmers Market brought Andrew Beam to the attention of The Village Green Executive Director Ann Self.
“Andrew performed at the farmer’s market Memorial Day Weekend to rave reviews,” said Self. “I heard comparisons to Eric Church.”
She added that The Village Green is excited to bring Beam back to his Cashiers’ roots.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to showcase his talent to longtime friends while introducing him to a new audience as well,” said Self.
Groovin’ On the Green is the free, Friday night summer concert series in Cashiers. The concerts are 6:30 p.m. every Friday June through August at The Village Green Commons on Frank Allen Road. The concerts move to Saturday the weekends of Memorial Day and Labor Day Weekends. For more information and a full schedule of performers for the remainder of the season visit VillageGreenCashiersNC.com/. Concerts, follow on social media @cashiersgreen or email.com.