Is Hilton Head Island ready to rock?

Within the next month, nationally known acts 10 Years, moe., Martin Sexton and Edwin McCain will have played Hilton Head Island. Not bad for a small resort town with more golfers than rockers.

Since the beginning of the year, the concert scene has changed substantially on Hilton Head.The island's music scene is known for Jimmy Buffet covers, not original acts such as Corey Smith. But last month, the country-folk Georgia native played a packed room at Stages, the bar/live music venue formerly known as Monkey Business in Park Plaza.

And last week, the new Shoreline Ballroom off Folly Field Road hosted its first shows with the jam-band moe. and folk star Sexton.

During the summer months, most Hilton Head establishments have live music of some kind, whether acoustic music to soothe any Parrothead's soul or local bands making the circuit. The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina has brought in performers such as Dionne Warwick. Hightide Entertainment's summer concert series has brought in the likes of Hootie and the Blowfish.

But Stages has been one club that has been consistently dedicated to bringing in name acts. And now the Shoreline Ballroom has come along, with the intention of ramping up Hilton Head's live music scene.

However, is Hilton Head's live music scene ready to be ramped up?

STAGES

Rodney Cannon is the mayor of Hardeeville and an engineer for Hargray. He's also a devoted live music fan. Once he heard Monkey Business was up for sale, he couldn't pass on the opportunity to buy it.

Monkey Business closed the first of the year and reopened about a month later as Stages. The name change was strategic in the evolution of the club, Cannon said. Monkey Business had a reputation as a club for the under-30 crowd, with DJs spinning rap and dance music late into the weekend nights. (Adding to that reputation was the occasional fistfight or police siren out in front of the club.)

Cannon wanted to make Stages more inviting. He renovated the inside and reopened the club Feb. 1, with an emphasis on having live music for an audience of people in their 30s and up. Stages has contracted with local musicians such as the Permanent Tourists and the B-Town Playaz to play Friday and Saturday nights.

But the rest of the week, the club remains what it has been known for off the island: a stop for nationally known acts touring through the area. Blues Traveler, Buckcherry, George Clinton all played Monkey Business in recent years.

The 660-person capacity club still plans on keeping its reputation as a hard rock venue on certain nights, said general manager Freddie Ward. Monkey Business had found a niche for hosting bands such as Drowning Pool and Powerman 5000, whose fans travel from great distances to see them, Ward said.

Cannon plans new experiments as well. The first Wednesday in May will be the first of a weekly comedy night, relying on a circuit of touring comics. Sundays are reserved for the low-key acoustic nights. Kevn Kinney of Drivin'

•Cryin' and singer/songwriter Angie Aparo already have played there. For the Sunday show, the curtain is drawn on stage. Candles are lit. Recent performer Wesley Bragg of Beaufort compared the atmosphere to "Nirvana Unplugged."

"I want something for everyone," Cannon said.

SHORELINE BALLROOM

Two months after Stages reopened, the Shoreline Ballroom hosted its first shows. The 1,600-capacity ballroom is part of a renovated entertainment complex called the Ocean Center near Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Resort. The Ocean Center includes The Zone, a sports bar where The King's Wharf used to be, a pool hall and beach bar.

Run by former music venue owners in Columbia, the Ocean Center intends to serve as a hot spot for the otherwise calm north-end of the island. While south-end spots such as the dance club-like atmosphere of The Triangle and the bars and restaurants of Park Plaza have long been the center of nightlife on Hilton Head, the Ocean Center is striving to give north-enders something to do in their own neighborhood.

The Shoreline Ballroom is in the process of determining its niche, as far as the shows it will hold, said booking manager Jonathan Dunagin. So far, they've booked acts ranging from country star and former Allman Brother Dickey Betts to rock band Switchfoot. About five concerts are planned a month. In the next several months, they will find what shows work (and what don't) and then go from there, he said.

A possibility exists to hold showcases for local bands at Shoreline, but having individual acts play on a consistent basis isn't economically viable for a large venue with high overhead costs, he said.

"It's wide open what we can do," Dunagin said.

THE MUSIC SCENE

Owners of both venues don't necessarily see each other as competition. Ocean Center organizers see their venue as an addition to what they hope becomes a thriving music scene on the island. Cannon echoed the sentiment, saying having more venues will help give Hilton Head a reputation for good live music. Whether a small resort town can support two such venues is yet to be known, but owners of Stages and Shoreline each plan to carve out a niche of their own, rather than fight each other to book acts.

Shoreline can hold more than double the number of patrons than Stages. Different size venues means attracting different bands, Dunagin said, for instance, a larger venue could attract a more diverse music scene.

Upcoming Shoreline performers David Allen Coe and Edwin McCain have played Stages on multiple occasions before, but Dunagin said he didn't have any intention of stealing acts from Stages.

"If there's competition," Dunagin said, "it'll be healthy competition."