It's a wing-dingin' good time! Sumter’s Pizza Lane brings back Wings & Strings

Some of the greatest ideas come from crazy conversations with your friends. Take Billy Lane and Hank Martin, for example.

Lane, the namesake and founder of Sumter's beloved Pizza Lane, was hanging out in one of the restaurant's booths one fateful day, watching renowned artist Martin cut a rug to his song "Doin' The James Brown." Enamored with the vibe of the pizza parlor when filled with music, Martin suggested, "Bill, you should start having music up here."

"I said, 'Man, this is a pizza place. I can't do that'," Lane recalled, reenacting his disbelief at the wild idea. It seemed so far-fetched for the quaint restaurant but not impossible.

The more Lane pondered the idea, the better it started to sound.

After working with the late, great Francis Hanna to tuck sound system wires underneath the cushion of a booth a few tables down from the stage to act as Hanna's mixing console, Wings and Strings was born in the early 2000s. Local musicians would rock the small stage every week, joined in harmony by the bright-faced patrons who were in the mood for good food and a good time. Anyone interested in performing could show up, sign up and sing and play the night away.

"We stayed in here until the [news]paper came the next morning," Lane said.

Martin would be one of many to take the stage over the years. Others would include seasoned musicians like the late Brooks Wilkinson of Prime Tyme and As If and the late Bill Pinkney of the Original Drifters. Many musicians also got their start on the same historic stage, including Kevin Jarvis.

"I've played here with several different groups, and some duos I used to play with and then by myself. Over time, when things like this happen, musicians gravitate towards it," Jarvis said.

Jarvis is a member of the hometown band Green Swamp Collective. The group, formed within the walls of his at-home recording studio, has traveled across South Carolina, playing its folk American bluegrass songs. Its origin story began when Jarvis, who plays in several bands, decided to create a John Denver tribute album, recording in each band's unique style. Kurt Ackerman and Rick Walker both stopped by for their sessions to record on the tribute album. The duo entertained Jarvis' idea of starting a band of their own, and thus, on the shores of Green Swamp that runs through his property, the Green Swamp Collective was born.

But in light of his success with the band and his devotion to being praise team director at First Church of God, Jarvis couldn't resist his roots at Pizza Lane when word spread that Wings and Strings made its return on Aug. 21.

"Very nostalgic," Jarvis described returning to the stage on Sept. 4. "Goodness, when I first played at Wings and Strings, I'm guessing it was 2004-05. We're all different people than we were 20 years ago. But to see so many of the same people here coming back and Billy - his love of music is so deep and passionate. He's got a big smile on his face; it's just wonderful to see that."

Surrounded by the same vibrant game machines, enjoying the same beloved pizza and catching up with the same friends from decades ago, Wings and Strings also offered new musicians the chance to be part of history. Chandler Evans, a young musician from Manning, got the chance to play alongside Jarvis, Martin, Johnny Hilton and more. And the cherry on top of a core performance, he signed his name on the stage's ceiling, sealing his place in Wings and Strings history.

"When the place is packed like this, the music up there, it does something to your heart," Lane said about seeing the generations of music lovers come together. "Music does a lot of things for you."

And for you - yes, you - it could do wonders. Stop by and check it out for yourself.

Whether you're looking to bring the music or just enjoy it, Wings and Strings will happen every Wednesday at Pizza Lane, 460 Broad St., beginning at 7 p.m. Musicians of all expertise are welcome to come and play, free of charge.