Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette Blogs

Want to find that infamous “Bluffton state of mind?” Head to Calhoun Street on Saturday. The street in the town’s historic district will be lined with booths and packed with people at the 31st annual Bluffton Village Festival.

Called Mayfest once upon a time, the annual street festival and art market is one of the town’s largest events and longest traditions. Organizers expect 10,000 to 12,000 people to stroll down Calhoun this year, listening to music and browsing one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

By JEFF VRABEL • 843-706-8140

About 15 years ago, G. Love (Garrett Dutton, to his family) found the right mixture for his Special Sauce, and it hasn’t needed a whole lot of tweaking since.

Sure, these days it’s a little bluesier than it used to be, a little more indebted to Lightnin’ Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt than the easy-rolling hip-hop that he first began weaving with loose groove and boogie harmonica on the streets of Philly in the mid 1990s. But it’s also sunnier — his most recent albums, last year’s “Superhero Brother” and 2007’s “Lemonade” — were laid-back, barefoot-style records, due likely to his affiliation with hammock-rock all-star Jack Johnson’s Brushfire label in 2004.

By SHANDA COOK • 843-706-8126

As thrilled as I was to learn that my beloved Kris Allen had secured a spot in the top three (along with Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey), I still struggled to contain my anger over the ludicrous departure of rocker chick Allison Iraheta. Seriously, who actually voted for Gokey after his disastrous performance this week? The guy admitted that members of HIS OWN FAMILY muted their TVs to save themselves from his hideous last note. Shame on you for getting it completely wrong, America.

While it's sad to see Iraheta exit the "Idol" stage once and for all, I have no doubt she'll be back on America's radar sometime in the next year with a hit record of Daughtry proportions. Take that, Gokey.

By SHANDA COOK • 843-706-8126

As I was watching “Idol” tonight, I couldn’t seem to get this nagging thought out of my head: Is it fair that when it’s down to the top four contestants, the musical theme for the week CLEARLY caters to two of the singers and leaves the other two grasping at straws? It doesn’t take a psychic to predict that Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta would excel on “rock night,” for which legendary guitarist Slash served as the guest mentor. While I like both contestants and enjoyed seeing them perform in their element, I felt bad for Kris Allen and Danny Gokey, who seemed a little lost amid all those amplifiers and leather pants. It seems only fair that next week’s theme should be something like “acoustic guitar night” or “soul night,” which would give Allen or Gokey a clear advantage over Lambert and Iraheta.