Bentz Kirby & Todd Mathis

Bentz Kirby lives in the Rosewood area of Columbia, South Carolina. Educated first as a social worker and later a lawyer, he has been writing poetry since around 1969, and recently released his first poetry collection entitled Dream Work in 2018. As a songwriter, he has published two albums of music, Name Checkin’ with Alien Carnival (2008) and Secret World with Jellyroll & Delicious Dish (2017). A survivor of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest, he is a big fan of Automated External Defibrillators. Other than enjoying life with his wife May, their children and a brood of pets, he writes and performs music with his friends.

For the past 20 years, Todd Mathis has been a solid fixture of the South Carolina music scene, and well beyond, playing in a number of groups from the indie soul of Betty Sneetch to the Brit-tinged rock of Boxing Day (Universal/Republic), fronting the alt-country turned rock of American Gun, and crafting the soundscapes of Interruptions of the Mind…and releasing a few solo albums along the way.

After Bentz’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Todd wrote a song entitled “12 Staples” inspired by a Facebook post of Kirby’s which said “I’ve got 12 staples in my chest and a phone in my heart that talks to doctors.” The song was later recorded with Whiskey Tango Revue, Bentz, his wife May, and Mathis, and released to raise money to purchase a Defibrillator for the Art Bar. This was the planting of the seed for this project.

Over the past year, Kirby and Mathis have collaborated on a series of songs focusing on the Foothill area of Greenville County. It explores some of the darker times in the area where much of Kirby’s family lives. Truth and fiction blend to give the listener details of poor southerners struggling to survive very hard times.

toddmathismusic.com
https://www.reverbnation.com/jellyrolldeliciousdish
https://www.reverbnation.com/aliencarnival

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Songversation at Tapp’s Arts Center – Skyline Room

Single Admission: $7
Songversation Table: $35
(includes tickets for 4 people, plus 4 beverages)