Chairman of The South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame
Roy Costner III, Chairman of The South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame, looks forward to the future of the state’s best
- The South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame has aspirations to build a new complex in the Upstate.
- This new facility would be an entertainment and educational venue, not just a museum.
- The project is estimated to cost $30 million and could generate $35 million in annual economic activity.
- Plans include a performance hall, recording studio, restaurant, and microbrewery.
- The organization is spearheading a launching a “Legacy in Motion” grant program to support local arts.
For more than a decade, recent inductees into the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame (SCEMHOF) only received limited digital recognition.
In September 2013, a fire destroyed the former Georgetown enshrinement site, which displayed memorabilia honoring the likes of Marcus King, Chris Rock, Vanna White, and 70-plus artists who contributed to the Palmetto State’s entertainment and music fabric.
Now, instead of rebuilding another museum, the statewide non-profit entertainment entity has its sights set on building a facility in the Upstate that integrates those inducted, while offering a full-encompassing entertainment and educational experience.
“How do we create a standalone entertainment complex?” said Roy Costner III, chairman of the SCEMHOF. “Not a museum, but a place you can go and watch the Hall of Famers in the recording, podcast, or film production studios.
“My dream is to have it as a restaurant, a microbrewery, and we get Hall of Famers to come in all the time and mix and mingle with the people that are there,” Costner added.
According to Costner and preliminary project documents, a new entertainment complex for the Hall of Fame would cost around $30 million, attract 350,000 visitors, and generate approximately $35 million in economic activity for the Greenville area each year.
Through Hall of Fame inductee-based events and a “Legacy in Motion” grant program, the Hall of Fame organizers view the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area as well-positioned host for a new entertainment complex to ideally open by 2031.
“Greenville has a great arts and cultural fabric that is growing, so I think this would be a great destination,” said Justin Ray Williams, executive director of SCEMHOF.
“This is the destination for the arts in South Carolina, and keeping that legacy and its rich entertainment history is what we’re building this for,” Williams added.
Here is more on the idea behind a new facility that would honor South Carolina’s most coveted entertainers and musicians:
What would a new Entertainment Hall of Fame complex look like in the Upstate?
A new Hall of Fame complex would not only honor the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Bill Anderson, but also include a film and podcast studio and a restaurant-microbrewery, preliminarily called The Palmetto Kitchen & Grain.
The site would host educational workshops, day-to-day events, and concerts, all themed and promoting South Carolina and its entertainers who have made a national and international cultural impact.
“It gives the Carolinas some new ground to showcase expertise,” said Chris Guerrera, a SCEMHOF board member, who helped organize Columbia-native Craig Melvin‘s induction into the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame during a Jan. 12 segment of NBC’s Today Show. Melvin is a Wofford College graduate.
“What better place to do that than in a venue that’s a destination to eat, podcast, and with live music being produced,” Guerrera added.
Additional details for a projected entertainment site include:
- A performance hall that could host educational workshops, gala fundraisers, and annual induction shows
- A state-of-the-art recording studio for new artists and Hall of Famers to collaborate, while also showcasing memorabilia from South Carolina musicians and entertainers
- Creative content development services for film, television, and digital content production
More than an entertainment space through Legacy in Motion grant program
For nearly four decades, the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame has honored the best of the best who contribute to the state’s arts culture.
Beyond a brand-new entertainment complex, the group plans to establish a public-benefit initiative titled “Legacy in Motion,” which would provide investment opportunities into education, workforce development, creative entrepreneurship, and small venue sustainability.
The group has several fundraising events, including a Newlywed Murder Mystery Experience, The Casey Kasem Top 40 Countdown Experience in Hilton Head, an upcoming Johnny Cash Tribute Concert, and the Legacy & Leadership VIP Experience on March 26, to help fund a new site and secure grant funding.
SCEMHOF envisions assisting smaller entities across the state with financial resources to help keep the arts and entertainment cultural center funded and thriving.
“There are a lot of entities out there that have to do with arts and film or music, and they struggle with funding,” said Costner, chairman of the non-profit arts group. “We want to become that clearinghouse.”
He identified elementary and middle schools in the Clemson area, and small production companies like Fisher Films of Columbia, Clark Nesbitt’s No Dreams Deferred, and the Foothills Playhouse of Easley, for which Costner said a $10,000 contribution from the Hall of Fame would help pay royalties and production fees for the year.
The Hall of Fame’s 2026 class is expected to induct artist and talent manager Doug Baker, actress Lauren Hutton, and Billy Bob Thornton, who has helped produce and direct a documentary about Eagles of Death Metal in South Carolina.
Due to costs between $50,000 to $70,000, an induction ceremony for the three are not likely to happen. With their own complex in the Upstate, those same shows could resume in honoring those deserving of South Carolina nobility.
“Leadership here has taken (Greenville) to a tourist destination and international city,” said Costner. “I really think there’s an opportunity for us to partner using accommodations tax or other revenue streams that will help us start something in Greenville, Anderson, or Spartanburg.”
– A.J. Jackson covers business, the food & dining scene, and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajack [email protected], and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
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