Ross Holmes Band

Ten consecutive Best Local Band wins from Columbia Metropolitan Magazine sit at the top of the Ross Holmes Band's about page, and the roster explains the staying power. Bandleader Ross Holmes came to full-time music after years running a Columbia advertising agency; pianist and vocalist Aletha earned a master's at the University of South Carolina under Bert Ligon and has played everything from big bands to a DOD tour in Turkey; bassist Craig Butterfield is professor of double bass and jazz studies at USC.

Seven configurations are published on the booking page, from an instrumental jazz trio or quartet, through a vocals-piano-bass trio for smaller rooms, a five-piece, a six-piece the band calls its most popular, a seven-piece it points couples toward for weddings, and a nine-piece for large galas and balls. The book covers big band, beach classics, standards, rhythm and blues, and party material, and drummer Scott Burkholder doubles as the group's lighting hand.

Holmes started the band in the late 1980s and it still works out of Columbia, listing a street address, a direct phone line, and an email for booking. Quotes are free and priced per event; no packages appear on the site. A September 2025 post on the band's news page confirms current availability for weddings, debutante balls, and corporate work.