Last month my husband and I met friends in North Charleston, South Carolina, for the two-day High Water Festival. We first went to the music festival in 2019. The event was canceled in 2020, not held in 2021, and my husband and I had a conflict in 2022. We were excited to get back for the 2023 installment.

The festival takes place at Riverfront Park on Saturday and Sunday, with performances starting around noon and running until about 10:30 p.m. Some of the acts included Beck, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Wilco, Bleachers, Big Boi, Guster, Orville Peck and Father John Misty. Both days we took our time getting to the park, as the performers we were interested in started later in the day. There were two stages that alternated performances. While many people brought blankets to reserve spots, we decided to stroll around between the stages, merchandise tents, and food and beverage sections.

It was a hot weekend but sunny, and the breeze off the waterfront helped keep us cool. Between acts we grabbed drinks to further cool down and spent time in the shaded areas while we ate. My favorite bites of the weekend were a chicken bowl from Roti Rolls and a not fried chicken ice cream bar from Life Raft Treats. The delicious dessert was shaped to look exactly like a fried chicken leg, but it was made with a chocolate-covered pretzel stick (for the chicken bone), vanilla ice cream (for the meat) and cornflake crust (for the deep-fried chicken skin).

Beck closed out the festival Sunday night with a 1.5-hour set. It was my first time seeing him perform live, and he put on a great show! My other favorites of the weekend were Big Boi, Guster and Orville Peck.

We had a fun weekend celebrating good music with great friends. I’m looking forward to future festivals together.

— Katie Skrzek, vice president/digital director