'The new New Brookland Tavern': Bar, venue shutters in West Columbia, moves to Five Points

WEST COLUMBIA — By the time Sequoyah Prep School took the stage for the last time at New Brookland Tavern, the cramped dive bar was packed shoulder to shoulder, and a thick cloud of humidity had settled over the crowd. 

"I'm afraid if I say too much I'm gonna start crying," greeted lead singer Justin Osborne, lead singer of Sequoyah Prep School and the artist behind Susto. "So let's get right into it." 

The band closed out more than three decades of live, original shows at New Brookland Tavern's century-old State Street location on Dec. 29, when singer-songwriter Jody Jackson and Asheville Americana trio Holler Choir opened. 

"That's what we're calling it, 'the new New,'" Osborne joked of the venue's new moniker during the band's set. 

They played the next night, too, on Harden Street in Five Points, where the iconic venue took over the former Cotton Gin space on Dec. 30. The two-story building is the same white, squat structure found in Five Points, but is dominated my the near-century-old neon marquee. The building was built as a movie theater in the 1930s and was converted into a bar in the 1980s. 

The first to break in the new stage was S.C. band Som'bout, led by Charlotte Rice. Holler Choir opened again with a set of Appalachian string raucousness.

The duo of shows marked a potential sea-change, not just for New Brookland Tavern and its commitment to highlighting local and regional talent, but for the Columbia music scene. As bars across the state shutter from rising insurance costs and law enforcement crackdowns, it's a spark of optimism for local music lovers.

It was a big moment. And the weight of it was felt by many who came to both shows Dec. 29 and 30. 

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Ahead of the show in Five Points on Dec. 30, Osborne — who has been playing shows in New Brookland Tavern since he was in high school — reminisced on what the bar means for musicians in South Carolina. The tears he'd been holding in for more than a day threatened to fall as the band spoke to Free Times about their time at NBT.  

"What New Brookland represents, the all-ages shows across multiple genres, and what they've cultivated ... Moving here feels like a really great way to pivot and move forward," he said. "Obviously, Five Points is famous for college nightlife and stuff, and I think having that type of venue in this part of town is just going to make the South Carolina music scene even stronger."

The new venue is more than double the size of the State Street location, which was sold this year, prompting management to look for a new space. Featuring a downstairs, 21-plus bar and an upstairs concert venue, the space is big, with nooks and crannies for people to catch their breath, meet a friend or watch a show.

As concert attendee Curt Painter remarked, "This place is like an ogre — so many layers." 

Signs of the building's past lives as a bar, club and movie theater pockmark the space. On the outside patio, a set of stairs leads to nowhere, the tattered awning above it boasting a faded sign for "The Knock Knock Club." On the door leading inside, the faded vestige of "The Cock Club" haunts the glass. In the green room — a bare-bones storage closet tucked behind the upstairs kitchen — the band remarked how even that space "felt like New Brookland."

"I didn't really wrap my head around how amazing this building was until I walked in today," Osborne said on Dec. 30. 

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While the all-ages concert area upstairs was jam-packed by the time Sequoyah Prep went on at 9:45 p.m., the downstairs bar areas offered a quiet reprieve for overwhelmed concertgoers and folks wandering in off the street. But it was the second-story concert hall that held hundreds in rapt attention. Complete with an elevated stage, new lighting and sound equipment, the new New Brookland is made for bigger crowds — and hopefully bigger acts. 

"It feels really elevated. And I think they can get bigger acts here, which is going to be sweet," said Painter, who has played several shows at New Brookland over the years as a drummer with Yellow Boots and Bones Hamilton. "And I think all around, it's just going to be a net positive for the whole Columbia music scene."

Five Points: a perfect fit? 

For both shows, Sequoyah Prep School drew crowds of devoted fans — more than half of whom sang along to the majority of the band's hits from the 2000s and 2010s. The band's mix of emo, Americana and indie rock transported the sold-out crowd to the days of their youth. 

The band itself was transported, too, falling into a rabbit hole of memories anchored to the venue. The five-man outfit, who grew up together in Florence, began playing shows at New Brookland Tavern as high schoolers. 

The slate of shows in Columbia was part of a larger schedule of performances that hit Asheville, Greenville and Charleston before the new year. It's an annual reunion the band and friend group does to keep their music alive. 

"When our band was actively playing in New Brookland, that was our home venue," Osborne recalled. "And even before that, we all grew up going to shows. It's just a legendary place."

And in an age when bars are shuttering to local pressures and hiked up insurance rates, New Brookland is bucking the trend.

Five Points, a longtime business and entertainment district a short walk from USC’s core campus in Columbia, is always in the midst of a change, it seems.

Many bars frequented by college students have shuttered in recent years due to a crackdown on underage drinking and political pressure. Many storefronts are being filled with new businesses; many sit empty.

Cotton Gin was a working bar when it was announced New Brookland was taking over. One neighbor is vacant; the other is Bar None, a late-night haunt.

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A bustling district day and night, Five Points has coaxed locals with mainstays like Drip and Jake’s, and newer offerings like Panner Pete Vintage, Bang Back Pinball Lounge and All Good Books.

Five Points seems like the perfect fit for New Brookland. Bigger crowds, bigger artists and a bigger stage for local acts. The foot traffic from nightlife crowds will inevitably spill into the 21-plus, lower-level bar.

And through it all, musicians like Osborne see New Brookland continuing its mission of platforming original talent, thanks to leadership from owner and booker Carlin Thompson. 

"New Brookland gives people a platform for original music," Osborne said. "And I think having that here is going to just really fuel that young culture of people starting bands and having a place to go play." 

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