Yeah . . . 20 years ago. If I'm not wrong, I saw Phish in Winston in '92ish in a small downtown venue, with something like maybe 500 or 600 people - tops - in

Yeah . . . 20 years ago. If I'm not wrong, I saw Phish in Winston in '92ish in a small downtown venue, with something like maybe 500 or 600 people - tops - in the audience. My brother was very wired into the up and coming jam band scene then as well as being a student at App State (thus my attendance at the Boone show). Winston had an interesting music scene back in those days (80s/90s, can't speak to since then). Phish, Widespread Panic (in the chapel at Wake Forest!), Dave Matthews, Leo Kottke, Alex DeGrassi (there was a guitar society that was active in promoting acoustic artists). Many of the MTV up and coming metal/hair bands seemed to pop into Baity's (a long closed Winston spot) for shows on their way to becoming bigger venue acts (all pre-grunge). Sometime in the late 80s and early 90s a number of blues guitarists would roll through the Triad area as well. In hindsight, it's kind of interesting to consider just how many quality musicians came around central NC. I worked in a guitar shop for a summer and there were actually a surprising number of highly skilled amateurs playing. But for some reason, this translated into few active bands.