Woody Jones, of Papa Jazz notoriety, recalls the early 2000s in Columbia as a seemingly endless parade of musical diversity, rolling through the somewhat unassuming crossroads at the city’s heart — Five Points.
Venues like the Elbow Room and Rockafellas’ boasted now-celebrated acts such as Rilo Kiley, Superdrang, Chris Stapleton and even The Strokes. Jones even remembers a night where Stapleton was the opener for a local act, Josh Roberts. That night, he met Stapleton for the first time — one of the many artists who since then has circled back to Columbia on tours, partly due to the fond memories cultivated at Five Points watering holes.
“Tons of up and coming people used to play here,” said Jones. “You’d get to see people who ended up making it really big.”
After key venues closed, Five Points was left without a genre-diverse, all-ages venue for about a decade; across the river, New Brookland Tavern’s State Street location held down its reputation as a welcoming mid-sized venue for touring acts and local groups to gather.
Woody Jones behind the counter at Papa Jazz, an eclectic vinyl shop in Five Points.
According to Jones, spots like the Elbow Room and Rockafellas’ gave way to spaces with a narrower target audience and less draw for Columbia’s more established music lovers.
2023 saw a burst of new life in the area. Harden Street became home to All Good Books and Pannerpete Vintage, a handful of new eateries popped up around the block, and even Drip Coffee’s change in ownership contributed to a feeling of new life and positive turnover in the neighborhood.
With New Brookland Tavern’s move to Five Points at the turn of the new year, a community-wide “little renaissance” has taken place, or so said another local staple and Harden Street business owner, David Toole.
“There was something that captivated me so hard about Five Points when I was young,” said Toole. “When I wanted to start a business there were zero spaces open, so I drove through every day until I saw there was an empty location. And I was like, ‘This is it!’”
Toole owns Bluetile Skateboards, a skate, shoe and apparel store directly across the street from the Cotton Gin-turned new-New Brookland Tavern venue. The crossover of punk and alternative youth with skate culture was a big part of Toole’s formative years, and Five Points was historically a meeting place for all sorts of folks.
The Free Times Identity Issue: Five Points' musical renaissance
“Music was so important growing up because, as a skateboarder you’re like a rebel,” Toole said. “In the early to mid 80s, skating wasn't accepted, so punk rock and skateboarding were very wrapped together. All the punk rock kids and the skaters hung out down in Five Points … it just felt like a really cool community, or culture.”
The location of Bluetile feels neighborly and familial to Toole, and central to the palpable resurgent energy in Five Points. He recalled pulling tour posters for Green Day and Black Flag off the walls at Rockafellas’ as a teen and in his early 20s, and those memories give him a hopeful vision for the future of the neighborhood.
Now, as a local business owner, Toole is excited to see young folks come into the store to talk skating and music before heading in to see a show across the street.
“The more that they get situated in their new space at New Brookland, I feel like the more it’s gonna just feel like home again down here,” said Toole.
That feeling of home is exactly what the Five Points Association hopes it will feel like, too. The good-faith relationship between retail, food and beverage, and entertainment industry establishments is really what makes Five Points tick.
Heather McDonald, executive director of the Five Points Association, remembers coming to shows at Pavlov’s and the Elbow Room in college, working at the Salty Nut and, later, mingling at community events as a young professional. McDonald is excited to see how the space shifts with the many new and revitalized businesses popping up in 2023-2024.
“I think that one of the most special things about Five Points is that it’s all welcoming,” said McDonald. “It's eclectic. It's funky. Anybody can come down here and have a good afternoon or good evening.”
A panorama of Five Points, taken in 1996.
Trae Judy, talent manager for the annual St. Pat’s festival, sees his position and work with McDonald as a way to carry the torch and light a path for the next generation of Five Points-enjoyers. Judy’s goal in curating these events is to attract diverse audiences and cultivate relationships with the businesses in the area, strengthening neighborly ties.
“We’ve had some moments where that torch has dimmed to a point,” said Judy. “You do need that one place that's going to kind of carry the torch and that now, obviously, will be New Brookland, which is exciting for everybody.”
Part of carrying that torch is having an eye for up-and-coming acts that are teetering on the edge of being hard to book.
St. Pat’s festival goers press against the rail in Five Points
New Brookland Tavern’s booking manager, Carlin Thompson, has proven himself adept at this balancing act. In the past few years, Indigo de Souza (NC indie rock), Free Throw (TN emo-punk), Pool Kids (FL math rock/emo) and Militarie Gun (LA alt-punk) have played at the State Street location, and Thompson shows no sign of holding back from these kinds of bills at Harden Street.
From his position at Papa Jazz on Greene Street, Jones has witnessed the past 14 years of turnover in the city’s music scene. With New Brookland Tavern moving in just a few blocks away, the growing sense of community has opened a door for the people who frequent both places to mingle more frequently.
“I’m hoping with NBT that the bookings will reflect the range of people who already frequent the neighborhood,” said Jones. “We get college kids, but we get townies and visitors and local artists of all kinds. I hope the venue will reflect the community.”
Aaron J. Burke performs at the new-New Brookland Tavern in the old Cotton Gin space on Harden Street for his album release of “Young Pier Jumpers.”
In many ways, the Harden Street location is poised to keep the neighborly and eclectic vibrations going for the foreseeable future. One of the things Toole is excited for is the sense that young people in Columbia have the opportunity to see music and culture playing out in the Five Points neighborhood year-round again.
“You get to meet your heroes or hang out with them,” said Toole. “That's like a cultural movement ...i t’s something that you’re a part of, you can touch the bands that you’re (seeing), you’re this close to them. It’s so exciting.”
The growth from 2023 into 2024 bodes well for businesses and neighborhood folks alike; Five Points is re-becoming a cultural hub, outside of its annual traditions, and moving towards becoming a daily space for fostering community around music — this is indeed its “little renaissance.”
