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By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer

HELENA – At 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, Oversoul Brewing closed its doors for the final time, ending an era of live music and cold beer.

A six-year run of providing Helena residents, as well as those visiting from neighboring communities, and even different states, with an enjoyable experience of listening to live music and enjoying a variety of locally-brewed beers has come to an end.

With the final drink having been poured, Jason Pruitt, who co-founded and owned Oversoul along with his brother, Scott, took the opportunity to remember the good times he had running the brewery.

He will never forget opening during the Buck Creek Festival, one of the busiest events held in Helena each year. This timing was beneficial for publicity and awareness, but it made for a hectic day right out of the gate.

“It was an absolute madhouse,” Pruitt said. “We were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm of everybody who came in. It made us feel like we were going to have a good run.”

Starting from the very beginning in May 2019, Pruitt began developing relationships with customers that grew into long-lasting friendships.

The loyal base of regular customers that helped keep the lights on during slower times of the year made a difference. While Pruitt is appreciative of everyone who ever supported Oversoul, those who he could always count on to come by hold a special place in his heart.

“I developed a lot of friendships that I probably wouldn’t have developed at any other point,” Pruitt said. “We’ve had some really amazing regular customers who have supported us all year round. Some of those people literally helped us keep the bills paid at certain times during the season. It’s something we’ll always be eternally grateful for.”

One of the key parts of the Oversoul experience was listening to bands and artists of different genres perform.

Pruitt has made friends with many different musicians over the years, and one of his favorite things was seeing them grow in popularity.

“We’ve also developed a lot of connections with musicians here in the state of Alabama,” Pruitt said. “Some of those musicians have gone from our little stage to being national touring acts. We’ve developed some pretty good ones.”

One musician Pruitt got to watch grow was Drayton Farley, a folk and country singer who has toured with artists such as Willie Nelson and Dwight Yoakam, and performed at popular country festivals including Stagecoach and Under the Big Sky.

For Pruitt and everyone who supported Farley at Oversoul, they will always be able to say they had a front-row seat to his transition from playing in local bars to being included in the lineups of major festivals.

“He played a couple of times, and we noticed the crowd was getting larger each time he played,” Pruitt said. “One night he played, I was getting phone calls about tickets. I remember saying, ‘This is a free event, just come in and support Drayton any way you can.’ We had people from two or three different states show up that weekend. A couple of weeks after that, we had our last run where we could afford Mr. Farley.”

With Oversoul having had a good run, Pruitt is grateful for the support from members of the community who were willing to come out and give business to a small, locally-owned brewery regularly.

As he prepares to enter a new chapter of his life, he encourages people to stay committed to showing love to small businesses, as it really makes a difference in the lives of the owners.

“Support your local businesses,” Pruitt said. “They’re the ones that care about you. They’re the ones that need you, not the corporate ones. The local people need you.”