End of the season festival welcomes back Folly Beach’s own Dangermuffin
by Miranda Steadman | Contributing Writer
Officially marking the end of summer and tourist season, Mermaids and Mateys will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4. This year’s festival promises loads of family fun, like a costume contest for all ages, mermaids in dunk tanks raising money for The Alzheimer’s Association Charleston Chapter, an interactive kids areas with a pirate jump castle, an obstacle course, face painting, and spin art. The event will include over seventy local art, craft, fashion, and food vendors such as Country Salt apparel, Foxy Fossils, Play Salty, Donut Daddy, and Well Designed Wood to name a few. For the adults, there will also be specialty cocktails and themed bites from Folly Beach’s bars and restaurants. Festival goers may participate in a cocktail scavenger hunt across the island with themed cocktails and prizes sponsored by Tito’s. There will be a silent auction to help sponsor Surfer’s Healing’s 2026 camp.
But the highlight of this year’s festival is the triumphant return of Folly Beach’s own Dangermuffin, who is set to headline this year’s street festival. Slated to take the Ashley Stage at 1:30 p.m. and play for more than two hours, the occasion marks a sort of homecoming for a band that got its start playing around the sandy bars on the island before unleashing their inspiring and infectious jams on the masses.
For nearly two decades, the band has traveled all over North America, telling stories through its unique blend of Americana, island vibes, and groovy rock ‘n’ roll. In the process, they’ve racked up thousands of loyal fans and literally millions of plays on Spotify.
“Some of my best memories were from Surf Bar Sundays,” says Dangermuffin frontman Dan Lotti, reminiscing about when the band had a regular gig playing live on Sunday nights at the beloved and now shuttered bar. Since recently moving back to the Lowcountry, Lotti has often shared his music live on Folly Beach again at Bounty Bar Sunday Sessions and Sunset Cay Marina.
For years, Lotti and the other founding members of Dangermuffin lived on the 2nd Block of East Arctic Avenue, where they were inspired to write the 2010 album Moonscapes, which helped propel the band onto the national stage. Since then, Dangermuffin has acquired mandolin player Andrew Hendryx of the Americana band Yarn. The three other original and remaining members of Dangermuffin include Lotti on guitar and vocals, Mike Sivilli on lead guitar, and Steven Sandifer on percussion.
Their 2017 album Heritage features the track “One Last Swim,” which was influenced by a fan who was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given two months to live. He decided to spend his last days on Folly Beach and now lives on through the song, in which he can be heard playing percussion.
“There’s no higher calling for art than to heal,” Lotti says. “Music is not about anything but helping through song. It’s not about fame. To be able to connect on that level is the highest calling.”
He explained how, another time, a military veteran once thanked the band and told him that he had been experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he discovered Dangermuffin’s music, and it saved his life. Lotti talks about the healing power of music, not just for the listener but for the musicians, too.
Last fall, Dangermuffin released their self-titled album, which features the song “I Will Never Forget,” a tribute to Lotti’s late mother, who passed away three years earlier. While recording the song, Lotti recalls, “I felt a vibe like she was there in the room,” he says. “It’s art that gets us through all the tough times.”
Dangermuffin’s music shares a theme of spiritual connectedness to nature and radiates renewing, positive energy. In addition to their refreshing original music, the band has also been known to play songs by The Police, Tom Petty, and The Grateful Dead, among other artists.
Local rock musician Hans Wenzel will also perform at this year’s Mermaids and Mateys festival. Wenzel’s soulful voice can is right at home covering songs by Soundgarden and Led Zeppelin, as well as his raw, original tunes.
Pop artist Lola Grace will entertain the Mermaids & Mateys crowd with her hypnotic renditions of songs by Bill Withers, Michael Jackson, and Miley Cyrus.
Tickets to Mermaids and Mateys festival are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate and free for Folly Beach residents (must provide a valid ID). There will be free admission for children ages twelve and under and for any Folly Beach residents with valid identification. Buy Mermaids and Mateys tickets online at www.VisitFolly.com.
