Personal Injury Attorney in Murrels Inlet, SC.

Born and raised in Georgetown County, Carl Tompkins started playing guitar when he was 5 but later switched to drums when he heard his neighbor banging away next door.

After his neighbor heard Tompkins on the drum kit, he delivered some prophetic news.

"He told me, 'I've got bad news, man – you’re not a guitar player. You're a drummer,'" Tompkins said, adding that he started playing drums at 11 or 12.

When he was 15, he and some friends played their first gig at the grand opening of the Walmart at Georgetown Plaza.

"We were not good," he said. "I mean, we were friends that started jamming and decided we were going to get together and learn the songs a couple of hours before the show. Let’s just say it was a rude awakening, but probably the best thing that ever could have happened."

Practice was key, and Tomkins continued to play in bands through high school. When he moved to Garden City Beach, he met up with a whole new crew and started a band called GRUEL.

"We were heavy and angry," he said, adding that the band played a number of shows at House of Blues Myrtle Beach and once opened for hip-hop outfit Cypress Hill.

He later joined a band called the Strike-O-Matics, played a number of shows here and recorded an album in California. Tompkins said the band toured from California to South Carolina and back.

"It was seven dudes in a van for a month or more. When we got back, I was like, 'OK, I don’t want to see anybody for a while,'" Tompkins said. "We eventually ended up breaking up, and I went another way."

That other way was the formation of his current band, Downtribe, in 2003, which Tompkins said is reggae-influenced "darksteady" or "rastabilly."

"We’ve invented our own genre, basically," he said. "It was a couple of the same guys from the Strike-O-Matics and a couple of new guys. We’ve had three of four lineup changes since then."

The current Downtribe lineup is Tompkins (percussion, vocals and sarcasm), Jamie Dlux (keyboards/guitar), Kevin "Bud" Reeves (guitar and sound), Eddy Tanner (lead vocals/guitar) and Rob Gilley (bass).

Tompkins said Gilley is a distant relative of country music icon Mickey Gilley.

You can listen to original music from Downtribe on all streaming platforms, along with videos on YouTube. Get the new album, "Downtribe," in 12-inch vinyl or CD at www.elasticstage.com/downtribe.

Catch Downtribe at the Hot Fish Club in Murrells Inlet on March 6 from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m.

"That’s one of our favorite places to play down on this end," Tompkins said.

Expect mostly originals with a lot of covers thrown in — with their own spin.

"We down-tribalize the covers – know what I mean?" he said.

Culinary goodness on the MarshWalk

The Murrells Inlet MarshWalk has long been a go-to destination for visitors and locals alike. It’s an idyllic setting featuring a half-mile wooden boardwalk along a natural saltwater estuary – but it’s also a hotspot for the best in live music and top-notch cuisine.

Through March 6 from 4-9 p.m., all eight MarshWalk restaurants are offering three-course menus for $40 as part of the sixth annual MarshWalk Restaurant Week event, which will also feature Jamie Sanderson, aka The Culinary Encourager.

Menus will run the gamut from sushi to steaks to fresh local seafood and much more. For complete details, visit www.marshwalk.com.

Nuns in a pickle

It’s always a hoot to take in this musical comedy.

"Nunsense" is the story of The Order of the Little Sisters of Hoboken and what happens when they take over the church to put on a variety show to raise funds to bury several sisters. They met their unfortunate ends after being accidentally poisoned by the cook. Time is of the essence because they need to inter these buns before the health inspector shows up and finds them in the freezer.

The original Off-Broadway production opened Dec. 12, 1985, running for 3,672 performances and becoming the second-longest-running Off-Broadway show in history.

Catch the Swamp Fox Players production, directed by Karen Morello, at the Strand Theater in Georgetown from March 5-15. Reserved seats are $25. For tickets, showtimes and more, visit www.swappfoxplayers.com.

Rub elbows with local authors

On March 7 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the Waccamaw Library in Pawleys Island hosts a Local Author Fair. Meet and mingle with local and area authors while discovering a wealth of talent, exploring different genres and engaging with the literary community. You can also purchase books onsite.

Local publishers, including CLASS Publishing, will also be represented. Sponsored by the Friends of the Waccamaw Library (FOWL), the event is free and open to the public. If you are a published author, there might still be time to register for a $15 fee payable to FOWL. To register, contact Daniel Cross Turner at dturner@gtcounty.org. For more information about the event, visit www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheWaccamawLibrary.

As redevelopment continues at a Murrells Inlet mall, additional businesses have announced plans to open on the property.

Phase two of the renovations of the Inlet Square Mall are currently in progress after demolition of parts of the property and building were completed last year, according to Real Estate Manager for Paramount Development Corporation Neal Bowers.

Construction of the new Hobby Lobby is close to being finished and is expected to open some time this spring, Bowers said.

Floor and Decor, 545 Mall Drive, has already opened and there are plans for a Chipotle to open in one of the outparcel lots near the Bypass, Bowers said.

A coffee company also is planned to be built next to Chipotle, but Bowers declined to identify the business.

Paramount Development Corporation is also working with other potential businesses, Bowers said, “but nothing I’m ready to announce.”

Construction also continues on a new Home2Suites by Hilton which will open near the Belk store at the mall. Paramount is not in charge of that construction, having sold the property for the building of the hotel, Bowers said.

Bowers said he can’t answer when the redevelopment will be complete as “it’s an ongoing thing.”

He said once the new facade on the north side of the Belk store is complete, additional spaces will be opened up. In addition, there are still several outparcels that will be open for future development.

But he does expect that by summer “a lot of these things will be open.”

“We’re ready for some new stuff,” Bowers said.

The mall opened in the late 1980s. However, business began to decline and as of 2018, many of the mall’s largest store spaces were vacant and other storefronts were without tenants.

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WBTW) — The “Survivor 50” Challenge is set to bring the thrill of finding a hidden immunity idol for “Survivor” fans across the country, including one being hidden right here along the Grand Strand.

To celebrate the milestone 50th season of the hit TV show, the nationwide challenge features a single hidden immunity idol hidden in every state, giving fans of all ages across the country a chance to discover the prize for themselves.

The South Carolina hidden immunity idol, specifically, has been tucked away somewhere within the expansive Brookgreen Gardens.

To win the challenge, fans must solve riddles and find the physical idol in their state to get the chance at an invitation to attend the live finale of “Survivor 50” on May 20 in Los Angeles.

Prior to the beginning of the challenge, competitors in South Carolina were given the following clue to point them to the location of the hidden immunity idol:

“Where art and nature share the land, by ocean’s breath and sculptor’s hand. A garden grand, where live oaks grow, step inside and let wonder flow.”

There was also an intentionally blurred picture included in the clue, which seems to show Live Oak Allée, one of the featured locations within Brookgreen Gardens.

The search began at 10 a.m. on Thursday and will end at 4 p.m. The new season of “Survivor” is set to premiere Feb. 25 on WBTW/CBS.

Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.