Steel Magnolias does it right.

Recognized with Georgia Trend’s Silver Spoon Award, our town’s signature restaurant is among the state’s very finest eateries from Atlanta to Athens to Savannah. 

Keira Moritz has simply found the right combination of great food, perfect atmosphere, wonderful staff, an amazing space and a unique venue for live music. 

And, of course, there is the name — Steel Magnolias could not be more quintessentially Southern. 

Fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, kale salad, deviled eggs, lump crab cakes, or fried chicken breast — what’s not to love? 

Valdosta is fortunate to have Keira.

She has created something that captures the spirit of our town. 

Back in October, Steel Magnolias had Payne Bridges on the rooftop. 

Payne is a young singer-songwriter and you would be hard pressed to say which is better — the singing or the songwriting. 

Her original, “Corner Man Waltz,” tells the story of a street musician in Athens that captured Payne’s heart and now captures her audiences.

She is an honest-to-goodness vocal stylist, but she is first and foremost a storyteller. 

Probably the best advice any female artist could ever be given is to never cover Janis Joplin. 

But Payne pulls it off. 

Her rendition of “Bobby McGee” is memorable. 

Hearing her sing it on the rooftop at Steel Magnolia’s is epic. 

“Me and Bobby McGee” was written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster.

Dean Poling, who is all things music and pop culture — and nearly a walking encyclopedia of worthwhile and worthless information — remembered it was originally performed by Roger Miller and originally about a woman. 

Joplin changed the gender of the title character and made the song her own. 

Maybe Payne Bridges knows that no one can duplicate Joplin’s performance.

Or maybe she just sings the way she sings and interprets the way she interprets. 

She says — at least — her phrasing, timing and unique take on a song are just what comes naturally. 

If that is true, her natural instincts are spot on, as evidenced when she covers Jason Mraz — and it works. 

For Steel Magnolias to have the instincts to bring such a unique and soulful young artist to Valdosta is also spot on. 

Any evening on the rooftop at Valdosta’s premier downtown eatery is a great evening.

An evening at Steel Magnolias with real musical artists, such as Payne Bridges, is magical. 

Valdosta needs more venues and more artists doing more original music. 

In particular, our downtown district is ripe for a live music renaissance and showcasing singer-songwriters doing original music, might just be the thing that could be the catalyst to take downtown from a charming place to a destination spot. 

Payne Bridges is coming back to Valdosta and Steel Magnolias Dec. 4.