Collage of live music Folly Beach SC including a photo of musicians playing at Chico Feo at night with neon lights, and a band playing during the day with a kid up front dancing at the Washout

What’s better than live music at the beach? Nothing. 🤣 Folly Beach is known to be one of the best places to go in terms of Charleston SC nightlife, especially during the warm weather months and early evening hours. This is your guide to live music Folly Beach SC – how to find the best music on any given night, where the best spots are and what to expect at each.

  1. Complete Live Music Folly Beach SC Events Calendar
  2. Map
  3. Top 7 Spots
    1. Washout
    2. Chico Feo
    3. The Bounty Bar
    4. Ritas
    5. Loggerheads
    6. Planet Follywood
    7. Lowlife Bar
  4. More Great Places

Live Music Folly Beach : How to know which bands are playing when?

The Folly Current has an excellent list of live music events which you can use as your guide to all of the weekly shows and bands playing. Keep the list above / this blog handy during your trip so you can refer back! I used it a bunch during our multiple trips to Folly and Charleston.

Map : Live Music Folly Beach SC

Live Music Folly Beach & Charleston SC Map Link

How far is Folly Beach from Charleston South Carolina?

Folly Beach is about a 20 to 30 minute drive / a little over 11 miles from the center of Downtown Charleston, making it super accessible for anyone visiting the city. Keep in mind that on weekends in the warm weather months starting about mid morning through afternoon, especially on Holiday weekends, the bridge into Folly can get very backed up and you can expect some traffic.

If you’re wondering about parking, I wrote an entire guide on Folly Beach parking to clear up any confusion!

Top 7 Best Places For Live Music Folly Beach SC

These are the top seven spots for live music Folly Beach SC, and best of all, all of these shows are FREE! I’ve never been asked to pay a cover charge at Folly Beach, which I love and is especially great for backpackers and long-term travelers. Just remember to bring a few bucks to tip the musicians and support local.

The Washout : #1 Place for Live Music Folly Beach SC

The Washout is the #1 spot for live music Folly Beach SC, with regular live music all year long on the weekends and sometimes during the week also.

Combined with fresh seafood, this is one my most recommended spots for a beachy Folly Beach dinner accompanied by live music.

Band playing at The Washiut bar, showing that it’s the best spot for live music Folly Beach SC with regular bands all year

With plenty of spots to sit in this open-air bar, it has a super casual atmosphere that you would expect at the beach. Make sure to try some seafood here. The flounder sandwich and she crab soup are favorites.

Chico Feo

  • Calendar: Chico Feo events are listed on the Folly Current Calendar (their website doesn’t seem to always be up to date!)

Chico Feo is my #1 favorite bar in all of Folly Beach, which you can think of as a rustic hippie garden bar where you can get a cold local beer underneath the trees of Folly Beach with string lights overhead.

It’s a relatively small and very casual outdoor bar, so make sure to show up a little early if you want to grab seats, and the stage hosts lots of local musicians and inspiring acts. Check the Chico Feo IG page for updates during bad weather days.

A band performing on stage under string lights and Folly Beach foliage at night at Chico Feo with people eating and enjoying during the show

Somehow I’ve never gotten a full meal here, and this is a must. Last time I was here for live music we sat with a family who had just ordered a big dinner to eat, including their famous ramen, while they watched the live music and wow did it look good! It’s also a testament to how cool this bar is that we were able to sit down and chat with a new group so easily. Love love love this place.

The Bounty Bar

Bounty Bar is an indoor bar and the most popular nightlife spot in Folly Beach, so bad weather doesn’t deter the bands and the sound is great (and loud – good loud!). Even better – there’s no cover!! Do consider bringing some cash to tip the bands and support local of course though.

Shot behind the band looking out into the bar at Bounty Bar, with neon glowing lights and lots of people, showing that Bounty Bar is the best spot for lively Folly Beach nightlife

If you’re heading to Folly Beach for a night out, you can plan on ending your night at Bounty Bar for fun live music in a classic bar setting under neon lights.

Ritas

Ritas is a Folly Beach staple, serving yummy seafood and cold frozen drinks with live acoustic-style music most evenings during dinner time.

A man singing in the band and a sunny patio at Rita’s

Come here to try the seafood dishes like the grouper or shrimp and fish tacos, with live local musicians playing in the background and beachy cocktail or mocktail in hand.

Loggerhead’s Beach Grill

I feel like Loggerhead’s is somewhere Jimmy Buffett would have posted up regularly back in his day. Here you’ll find regular live music in the early evenings, usually acoustic-style, and delicious seafood like the flounder or crab dip.

A man playing acoustic-style music on the stage at the deck at Loggerheads under a sunny sky with people happily watching, to show one of the best places to catch live music Folly Beach SC on a nice day

Grab a spot on the large deck and bar with shaded tables, for some of the best live music Folly Beach SC, great service and to catch a game afterwards during football season.

Planet Follywood

Planet Follywood is Folly Beach’s dive bar and a classic. They have regular live music at least a few days a week including a variety of local acts and even karaoke on Thursdays, in case you want to try out the mic yourself.

P.S. If you’re a karaoke fan, make sure to check out my full guide to karaoke in Charleston SC so you can find the best spots any night of the week.

A musician playing music on a piano in a crowded dive bar with people crowded around singing and dancing under neon lights

Lowlife Bar

Lowlife Bar is a relatively new addition to Folly Beach and the beach’s best cocktail bar. Recently they’ve started having live music shows, sporadically throughout the month and live Reggae music (+ jerk chicken specials) every Saturday.

Image of the bar and two musicians who play at Lowlife Bar sometimes, showing that there's a casual atmosphere in the open-air space for live music

Try one of their many cocktails, like the well loved Toni Basil or their blood marys, along with their crab cake sandwiches for a full meal Folly Beach style.

More Great Places For Live Music Folly Beach SC

Along with the above bars, you can also find live music at Crab Shack, the Drop-In Bar & Deli, Sand Dollar Social Club and sometimes Taco Boy – although they tend to skew DJ versus band music.

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Lauren Kessel
hello@inspiredbackpacker.com |  + posts

Lauren Kessel is the author of this blog post and the creator of the Inspired Backpacker travel blog. She is a passionate digital nomad, with the mission to make slow travel a more accessible way of life for everyone. Lauren believes travel is an important means of education and more importantly, a way for people of different cultures to come together and understand each other better. She has a BS in Tourism and has planned countless domestic and international trips for herself, her family and friends, having visited over 12 countries and 30 states so far.