11 bands and comics who played to small crowds in Wilmington before their careers took off

Most of us have a story about the time we saw that now-famous performer before anyone knew who they were.

Telling that story a little too often can be annoying for sure. Then again, who can blame you for being proud of a magical moment that no one can ever take away from you? It's also a reminder to, you know, go see shows by comics and bands and even solo artists you don't know. Because, truly, you never do know.

Over the decades, many performers have played to modest Wilmington crowds before going on to much wider recognition, if not fame and fortune. Here's a look at 11 performers you should've seen in an intimate setting here back when you had the chance.

The Avett Brothers

In 2010, this Grammy-winning North Carolina roots-punk band that includes siblings Seth and Scott Avett told the StarNews about how Wilmington holds a special place in The Avett Brothers' hearts. In 2000, Seth and Scott played the final show with their rock band Nemo at the since-closed downtown club Bessie's. (After Bessie's closed it would re-open as Orton's, but the Front Street space is currently unoccupied.) After Nemo broke up, Seth and Scott formed The Avett Brothers and would return to play Wilmington many times, including a trio of Azalea Festivals.

Nate Bargatze

Bargatze might be the only performer on this list who got famous in part because he performed in Wilmington. (The comic said as much when he played Live Oak Bank Pavilion in 2022.)

In 2015, Bargatze — known for the animatedly deadpan style showcased in his popular Netflix specials — was in Wilmington for a performance when he visited the since-closed Cape Fear Serpentarium attraction downtown, which featured poisonous snakes and other exotic animals. Luckily for Bargatze, a crocodile escaped its cage at feeding time and caused a mini-stampede, and in 2017 he got to tell the world about the bizarre world of the Serpentarium on Netflix stand-up showcase "The Stand-Ups."

Drive-By Truckers

Before they rose to become one of the most acclaimed country-rock bands of the past 20 years, DBT, as they're known, were playing in Wilmington to small crowds at the old Cowboy's barbecue restaurant (late '90s) and Firebelly Lounge (early 2000s) downtown.

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Future Islands

This world-touring synth pop band (2.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify), whose founders hail from Morehead City, got their start in Greenville as the gimmicky Art Lord and The Self-Portraits, an act that drummed up excitment (without a drummer, even) in Wilmington. Once they rebranded as Future Islands, some of the band's very first mid-2000s shows were at Wilmington's old Soapbox venue. Then, Future Islands moved to Baltimore, played an epic gig on David Letterman that some have called the best-ever on a late night talk show, and the rest is history.

Rhiannon Giddens

This Grammy-winning, MacArthur Foundation "genius grant"-receiving folk singer will always be my "I saw her when" story. With her old-time string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops, which single-handedly reminded America of Black artists' contributions to folk and country music, Giddens gave a mind-expanding performance in the mid-2000s at the old auditorium at Snipes elementary school, before it was torn down and rebuilt. Giddens, a Greensboro native, is now a world-renowned solo artist.

Hootie & the Blowfish

Before this South Carolina band (fronted by current day country star Darius Rucker) took pop radio by storm with their multi-platinum 1994 album "Cracked Rear View," they were regulars at Wilmington's old Mad Monk venue.

The first time the band played the Monk, "It was for $150 and a case of beer" for 25 people, former Mad Monk employee Phil Thompson told the StarNews in 2021. "The next time it was 50 people. Then 100." Before long, the band was selling out the venue every time they came to town.

Once Hootie hit it big, they even came back to play a secret "surprise" show at the Monk as a thank-you to their longtime fans.

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The Dave Matthews Band

Like Hootie & The Blowfish, the Dave Matthews Band were early '90s regulars at the old Mad Monk in Wilmington, building their fan base before hitting the big time with 1994's major-label debut "Under the Table and Dreaming." In 1995, the band made its triumphant return to Wilmington, playing an outdoor gig at the airport to some 9,000 people one day after playing "Saturday Night Live."

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Tift Merritt

Grammy-nominated folk and country singer Merritt has played Wilmington many times over the years, and will return in September and January to do shows at the Cameron Art Museum connected to the exhibition "Thomas Sayre: Four Walls." Back when she was living in Wilmington in the early '90s however, Merritt would play solo gigs to diners at such spots as the old Water Street Restaurant. "I don't want to get too sentimental," Merritt joked during at 2008 show at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater. "But this is a long way from Water Street on Saturday afternoons."

Trevor Noah

The South African comic best-known for hosting "The Daily Show" performed at the old Nutt Street Comedy Room — the predecessor to today's Dead Crow Comedy Room — circa 2010. In 2021, Noah returned to Wilmington to headline Live Oak Bank Pavilion.

Cat Power

When this low-key but super-intense singer-songwriter (whose real name is Chan Marshall) played the old Paleo Sun downtown (where Bourbon Street is now) in the early 2000s, people in the crowd couldn't even bother to stop talking during her performance. That included one Cat Power fan down front who kept screaming at everyone to shut up. Marshall never broke focus, but she hasn't played Wilmington since.

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Dusty Slay

This affable comic wasn't even a headliner when he played the Soapbox downtown for the Cape Fear Comedy Festival back in 2013. Slay has returned here to play bigger venues since, including Brunswick County's Odell Williamson Auditorium in 2022, and his current (and very funny) Netflix special is called "Workin' Man."