Kanawha County residents can go back to when clubs were full, concerts were plentiful and nationally recognized music acts swarmed the region during "Rocking the Kanawha: The Golden Age of Music in Kanawha Valley."
Historian and musician Terry Lowry will present the lecture as part of the state Archives and History lecture series at the Culture Center at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Lowry, who experienced the scene first-hand as a musician, journalist and rabid music fan, said that this particular period of music, ranging from 1964 to 1974, was special due to the cultural landscape and diversity of genres that were prevalent at the time.
"Every week you had all kinds of things going on throughout town, musically," said Lowry. "It was everything from bluegrass to what eventually became hippie rock."
He said that, while there was great music before and there has been great music since, this golden era produced an extraordinarily large number of talented musicians in the area.
Live music spearheaded this movement, with clubs, YMCA dances and outdoor festivals existing as outlets for the plethora of talented local bands. Lowry said that "it was always packed, no matter where you played" and it was never a challenge to find a live show of your favorite type of music during any given week.
"It was the only time ever that you could go anywhere in Charleston, particularly, or the surrounding area and there were a ton of clubs, a ton of outdoor festivals and youth-oriented things," he said.
Lowry said that the success of these local acts can be attributed to the abundance of fans and the social dance hall scenes of the period.
"What made it more possible than anything was the fan support," Lowry said. "Coming out and supporting. You just don't get that anymore."
Lowry will be focusing on this period during the lecture and showing off artifacts such as photographs, records and ticket stubs from the time. Lowry will also be introducing those attending to golden era music, with notable local artists such as The Mind Garage, Turley Richards and Heavy Rain among them.
Though Lowry will be discussing it from a historical perspective, he actually had a pivotal role in this golden era of music. Lowry played with local golden era artists, attended more than 1,000 concerts, served as a music critic for The Charleston Gazette from the late 1960s to 1979 and founded a music publication called The Kanawha Rocker, Charleston's first "fanzine."
Of the local artists he played with, Lowry said that Tom Benson and Randall Wray were his favorites. Lowry said that he was able to connect with Wray because both of them were guitarists.
"The guy was just a master of the guitar and I feel like a lot of people who heard him back then would agree that he was one of the best guitarists of his time," Lowry said.
In addition to covering the local acts, Lowry also had the opportunity to cover music legends like Jimi Hendrix
"I not only got to meet him, but I got to play a little guitar for him," said Lowry.
Lowry also met Led Zeppelin, as well as talents like Canned Heat, Lou Gramm and Foreigner.
Nationally famous bands don't show up in Charleston as much as they used to, though, Lowry said.
"Nowadays, you're lucky to get a rock concert in Charleston," he said. "Back then, you'd get someone almost every weekend. Two or three names on the same bill."
Lowry said the old musicians helped pave the way for today's music, both locally and nationally.
"They opened a lot of doors," he said. "There were a lot of doors closed for musicians back then. The current musicians won't have to go through all that headache."
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.