Sioux Falls, South Dakota – If you enjoy going to the Levitt during the summer, you may have seen Dyer Davis and his band perform a southern rock set on Friday. The day before, they played at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
It’s not every day that artists perform inside the South Dakota State Penitentiary, but Dyer Davis and his band did just that on Thursday.
“We went in there, and they had us set up in the chapel and just had a really powerful experience with those guys,” Davis told me.
“Performing at that state penitentiary in South Dakota was just kind of a life changing experience,” bassist Will Weiner said.
Davis stated that the performance was for inmates who had demonstrated good behavior. He admits it was a little intimidating at first, but once they got started, he says it was unlike anything he and his band had done before.
“I figured they’d enjoy it, but I wasn’t sure how much. We started the first song, and I don’t know, there was just this energy, and the mood in the room was so vibrant,” Davis said.
“The fact that everyone was so grateful and worked so hard to get there meant a lot. We saw people singing along to songs they’d never heard before, which felt amazing,” Weiner said.
Davis will not soon forget this performance.
“We’re all human beings, man, and sometimes, regardless of what’s going on, it’s always most important to love one another,” Davis claimed.
Giving inmates hope for their future.
The Levitt staff helped make the performance a reality. To learn more about Davis and his band.
