Classical and modern R&B , hip hop , fusion and more. Local and visiting acts. Hosted by Ciroc. Join us every Tuesday at Crown Station for a night of live music.
Calendar
Jun
18
Tue
Charlotte New Music Festival invites musicians and composers to perform their music in a fun, casual setting at Crown Station! Whether it’s performing a previously written work, exploring something new and unusual, or an improvisation, sign up now and share your creativity! Sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/fMgHZhOVzkSLFKDj2
For this year’s New Music Open Mic Night, we’re partnering with John Shaugnessy and his jazz improv night. The house band will perform a short set and then composers and performers from all over the world will be presenting new and experimental compositions in classical, improvised music, electronic music, and jazz. Admission is FREE.
On The Cinder returns to Charlotte, NC this summer for an evening of punk rock debauchery at Tommy’s Pub. OTC plays a combination of blistering fast skate punk mixed in with melodic hardcore in the vein of Strike Anywhere, Bad Religion, and A Wilhelm Scream. Joining them are local favorites Aloha Broha (best band name ever) and good buddies The Commonwealth ready to rip it up on a Tuesday night. Free show, 21+, starts at 8ish, buy booze/give hugs.
On The Cinder (Buffalo, NY Melodic Hardcore Punk) https://onthecinder.bandcamp.com/
THE COMMONWEALTH (Charlotte, NC Punk/Oi)
https://www.facebook.com/thecommonwealthCLT/
Aloha Broha (Charlotte, NC Punk Rock)
https://alohabroha.bandcamp.com/
Red Rocking Chair is made up of four veteran
musicians, each bringing his own unique approach
to the music they present. An acoustic quartet of
multi-instrumentalists, they blend folk, bluegrass
and country in a way that only players with decades
of making music professionally can attain. Jack
Lawrence, Michael Reno Harrell, Tom Kuhn and
Dale Meyer present a blend of bass, mandolin,
guitar, Dobro, banjo, and vocals that have kept their fans coming back time and again. All that aside, their music is just plain fun to listen to at the bar in Charlotte!
– Charlotte Now
Free show by Jesse Lamar Williams & the Menastree Jazz Jam. 3rd Tuesday of month.
Jesse Lamar Williams & The Menastree Jazz Jam
MENASTREE
Menastree- was born in the early summer of 2014, originating from Charlotte North Carolina.
Beginning with musician/producer and videographer DJ Lil Tone, Musician/producer Jesse Lemar Williams and musician/vocalist Jeremy Mayher. Menastree created their formula for their sound by backing various artist deriving from various genres and performing at festivals such as SXSW. As a result of the new age mashup sound with elements of hip-hop/trap/jazz/house and R&B. By January 2017 Menastree had officially been established.
Solidifying the establishment with the particularly chosen additions of Zach Wheeler , Braxton Bateman , Malcolm Charles, Waneisha Nish Massey , Curt Keyz , Stefan Kallander , and Marcus Jones. Jesse Lamar Williams then planted Menastree in the heart of Charlotte North Carolinas art district Noda at the corner of E. 36th St. and N. Davidson Ave. at the prestigious listening room The Evening Muse where they can often be found cultivating the culture in a monthly residency.
A continuous monthly residency featuring Menastree and special guests. We play original music as well as a blend of modern jazz, hip-hop, funk, and pop including artists such as Robert Glasper, Roy Hargrove, Thundercat etc. Join us for a spontaneous night of music.
Jun
19
Wed
Summit Coffee continues to offer live music, usually with no cover. Summit is located at 128 South Main Street in Davidson. Call them at 704-895-9090 with questions.
From early mainstream successes to imaginative collaborations with icons like the Grateful Dead, Spike Lee, Bonnie Raitt and Bob Dylan, Bruce Hornsby continues to demonstrate exceptional focus on idiosyncratic, creative projects. Backed by The Noisemakers, his return to the Charlotte stage offers a glimpse of the restless spirit that continues to push him into exciting new musical terrain.
THE LEMON TWIGS
Do Hollywood, The Lemon Twigs’ 2016 debut LP, was an invigorating, much-needed blast of fresh air that whipped across the arid landscape of contemporary rock. If that stunningly accomplished recording, which flew in the face of current musical trends, wasn’t surprising enough on the face of it, the fact that Do Hollywood was the handiwork of two teenagers—brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario—rendered the achievement utterly mind-boggling. Now, with the follow-up full-length, Go to School (4AD, Aug. 24), the siblings, now 21 and 19, respectively, have set the bar dizzyingly high even by their own lofty standards, and proceed to soar over it into the stratosphere. Listening to this wildly ambitious album is like entering and inhabiting a parallel universe. Go to School’s subtitle is A Musical, and that turns out to be an accurate description of the 15-song extravaganza, which tells the tale of the pure-of-heart chimpanzee Shane, who’s adopted by a childless couple—played by the brothers’ musical hero Todd Rundgren and their mom, Susan Hall—and raised as a human boy. Michael describes Go to School as “a fairy tale with a dark edge,” as Shane is ostracized, bullied and rejected by the girl he falls for, erupts in an extreme act of retribution for being robbed of his innocence. The libretto is played out in a series of intricate, wildly eclectic musical settings ranging from spot-on throwback rockers to traditional Broadway-style production numbers. “We had enough songs to work on a straight-pop, more obviously autobiographical album—which didn’t feel like much of a risk—or this one,” Brian says of the decision-making that set them off in this envelope-ripping direction. “These [Go to School] songs come from the same place our autobiographical songs come from, so we decided to trust our instincts and to really commit to making it a musical.”
BOA CONSTRICTORS
Start Time: 8:00
Boa Constrictors is Joe Astle. Joe Astle is an American Rock musician from Buena Park California who records and performs under the name Boa Constrictors. He has recorded several albums in his parent’s garage for the past decade and a half. He performs live with his two brothers Jethro and James and their good friend Harley Hill-Richmond from London.
Open mic night tonight and we have a talented bunch of musicians ready to play.
Local, live, free music done right y’all!
MOON HOOCH
Cave Music / ˈkāv myo͞ozik / It’s like House, but its more wild, more jagged, more free, more natural to live in.
“Whoever thought of a band with two saxophones and a drummer? That’s the stupidest idea, right?” Moon Hooch saxophonist Wenzl McGowen asked the crowd at a recent gig. Well, Wenzl, James Muschler (drums) and Mike Wilbur (saxophone) never intended on forming a band together. The three guys attended The New School for Jazz and contemporary music. James is the only graduate.
The three began busking in the subway and in the city’s parks to pay off the New School’s extreme tuition costs. At the same time, Wenzl was producing electronic music. One day he wrote a simple tune with two part harmony. When the guys played this music in the subway, people immediately began dancing.
One subway goer asked, “What’s your band’s name?”
Mike blurted, “Moon Juice.”
A Google search revealed that there were already multiple bands called Moon Juice. With the help of a thesaurus, the name Moon Hooch was selected, and more importantly, the trio now realized that they were, in fact, a band.
Since solidifying as a band, Moon Hooch has quickly gained a reputation for inciting “subway raves” (they were banned from performing at the Bedford Ave stop off the L line in Brooklyn for “starting too many dance parties”), their strange instrumentation and explosive live show. Their frequent presence in New York City subways and parks has brought them notice and fans which has led to appearances as the house band on Australian TV show “Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year,” and a national tour with Mike Doughty (Doughty saw them on a train platform and immediately invited to tour as his supporting act). They have also held residencies at The Knitting Factory and Brooklyn Bowl.
The band has already begun to expand its sound beyond just two saxophones and drums. Wenzl inserts a cardboard tube into his saxophone to create a Dubstep style womp, and switches between a contrabass clarinet and electronic wind instrument. They also have begun experimenting with various vocalists, inviting both singers and rappers on stage with them at shows.
Recorded in just a single day, their debut record, “The Moon Hooch Album,” gives the listener a taste of what’s to come for these guys. They seamlessly blend House, Dubstep, Drum & Bass, and Jazz into style that is uniquely Moon Hooch: Cave Music.
Nathan-Paul & The Admirables
ʜᴀɪʟɪɴɢ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜɴᴋʏ ʀᴜsᴛ ʙᴇʟᴛ ᴛᴏᴡɴ ᴏғ ᴄʟᴇᴠᴇʟᴀɴᴅ, ᴏʜɪᴏ, ɴᴀᴛʜᴀɴ-ᴘᴀᴜʟ & ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴅᴍɪʀᴀʙʟᴇs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴀ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴀʟʟ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴠɪʙᴇs! ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴀᴅᴍɪʀᴀʙʟᴇs sʜᴏᴡ ɪs ᴀ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ. ʙᴏʟᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ғᴜɴᴋʏ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ ᴛᴏɴᴇs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʀɴs ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ғʀᴏɴᴛ ʟɪɴᴇ ʟᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄ ᴛᴡɪsᴛs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴜʀɴs. ʜʏᴘɴᴏᴛɪᴄ ɢʀᴏᴏᴠᴇs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʀʜʏᴛʜᴍ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɢᴇᴛ ʜᴇᴀᴅs ʙᴏʙʙɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴏᴅɪᴇs ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ. ᴀɴ ᴀᴅᴍɪʀᴀʙʟᴇs sʜᴏᴡ ɪs ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇxᴄɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ. ᴡʜᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴅᴍɪʀᴀʙʟᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ᴊᴀᴍᴍɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀᴘ ɢʀᴏᴏᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ʟᴀʏɪɴɢ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜɴᴋ, ᴛʜᴇɪʀ #? ɢᴏᴀʟ ɪs ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ. ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀʟʟs ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴇᴇʟ-ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴍᴜsᴇs ᴏғ ɢʀᴏᴏᴠᴇ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ sᴜᴄʜ ᴀs ᴋᴏᴏʟ & ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀɴɢ, ᴊ-ᴅɪʟʟᴀ, ᴊᴀᴍᴇs ʙʀᴏᴡɴ, ᴇʀʏᴋᴀʜ ʙᴀᴅᴜ, ᴍɪʟᴇs ᴅᴀᴠɪs, ʜᴇʀʙɪᴇ ʜᴀɴᴄᴏᴄᴋ, ᴘʟᴜs ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ. ᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʟᴅ ᴀᴅᴀɢᴇ ɢᴏᴇs ᴍᴜsɪᴄ ɪs ғᴏᴏᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴏᴜʟ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴅᴍɪʀᴀʙʟᴇs ᴡɪʟʟ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴇᴅ!
Jun
20
Thu
You’re invited to Thursdays Live – free live music, cold beer, food from Hawthorne’s NY Pizza and refreshments from 6 until 8pm. It’s happening all summer, the 3rd Thursday of each month. Come hang out with your MoRA neighbors! At the new Embrace sculpture, located at the intersection of Monroe Rd and Conference Dr. Here’s a short video from last year: https://youtu.be/n_kkmLDi2zc
For Upstate, the last few years have been a time of profound exploration and self-discovery. As the band knocked off milestone after milestone on the road, their sound, their lineup, and even their name all underwent dramatic metamorphoses. Challenging and thrilling all at once, those changes have finally culminated in the sextet’s dazzling new album, a collection that showcases both their remarkable growth and their adventurous blend of folk, R&B, jazz, gospel, and rock and roll.
Recorded primarily over six days at the Clubhouse studio in Rhinebeck, NY, ‘Healing’ is the band’s first release with new member Allison Olender, their first with four contributing songwriters, and their first since shortening their name from Upstate Rubdown. It’s also their first project to be produced by Wood Brothers percussionist Jano Rix, who helped the group embrace their transformation and lean in to their unique lineup without sacrificing any of the gorgeous harmonies, eclectic arrangements, and unforgettable performances that have defined the band since their earliest days.
Upstate first emerged from New York’s Hudson Valley in 2015 with their critically acclaimed debut, ‘A Remedy.’ The Poughkeepsie Journal raved that the group “need[s] nothing more than their voices to channel rhythm and stoke your emotions,” while Chronogram hailed their “infectiously sunny organic stew,” and The Alt called them “toe-tapping, contagious, and fun.” The album earned the band festival performances from Mountain Jam to Fresh Grass, as well as a slew of national headline dates and support slots with everyone from The Felice Brothers and Phox to Marco Benevento and Cory Henry.
EVENT DETAILS:
- When: Thursday, June 20
- Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
- Location: River Jam Stage
- Cost: Free and open to the public
- Weather: Events are scheduled to proceed rain or shine. In the event of severe weather, the USNWC reserves the right to reschedule/cancel live music performances.
Mandolin Orange’s music radiates a mysterious warmth —their songs feel like whispered secrets, one hand cupped to your ear. The North Carolina duo have built a steady and growing fanbase with this kind of intimacy, and on Tides of A Teardrop, due out February 1, it is more potent than ever. By all accounts, it is the duo’s fullest, richest, and most personal effort. You can hear the air between them—the taut space of shared understanding, as palpable as a magnetic field, that makes their music sound like two halves of an endlessly completing thought. Singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multiinstrumentalist Emily Frantz have honed this lamp glow intimacy for years.
For this album, Marlin and Frantz enlisted their touring band, who they also worked with on their last album Blindfaller. Having recorded all previous albums live in the studio, they approached the recording process in a different way this time. “We went and did what most people do, which we’ve never done before—we just holed up somewhere and worked the tunes out together,” Frantz says. There is a telepathy and warmth in the interplay on Tides of A Teardrop that brings a new dynamic to the foreground—that holy silence between notes, the air that charges the album with such profound intimacy. “This record is a little more cosmic, almost in a spiritual way—the space between the notes was there to suggest all those empty spaces the record touches on,” acknowledges Marlin. There are many powerful ways of acknowledging loss; sometimes the most powerful one is saying nothing at all.
Looking for a place to showcase your musical talent? Look no further! Join us every Thursday for our Open Mic. It’s free to watch and play! If you would like to perform, please show up at 7pm to sign up.
Jun 20 @ 8:00 pm
TODD SNIDER
One morning near the end of August, Todd Snider was relaxing with a visitor on the back porch of his house just outside Nashville, drinking coffee and shooting the breeze while his dog, Cowboy Jim, took a nap nearby. After awhile, Snider said to his guest, “I’ve got an album’s worth of songs, and I think the songs are telling me to make a folk record.”
This was a surprising bit of news considering he had spent the last six years making rock albums of one kind or another. But Snider was feeling as if he had “maybe drifted too far from the shore.” He was feeling the pull to start over, to go back to what he was doing when he first began, to return to his roots as a folksinger.
If Snider needed any further evidence that was the direction he should pursue, he got it a half hour later. Back inside his home office, he checked his email and had one from his manager informing him he had just received an offer to play the 2019 Newport Folk Festival, an event he had never done.
Snider mentioned he had been listening to Woody Guthrie’s Library of Congress Recordings, then crossed the room to the turntable and put the needle down on side one of the record. “Woody Guthrie sometimes gets me reset on why you do a song, instead of how,” Snider explains of the man who has long been a touchstone for him. “When I was young, there was something about him that made me want to do it. So once or twice a year, I’ll go back to him, I’ll go back to the source.”
Guthrie famously had the words “This machine kills fascists” printed on his guitar, and on several of the songs on Snider’s new album, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3, he squarely aims his guitar at the creeping fascism he sees in America. He had been wanting to make a political record since 2016, and although only half the songs lean in that direction, there is one constant throughout the album: a man, his guitar, and the truth.
* * * * *
Snider has long been recognized as one of his generation’s most gifted and engaging songwriters, so it’s no surprise he has returned with a brilliant set of songs — and make no mistake, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 contains some of his best work as a writer. But what really jumps out on the album is Snider’s growth as a musician and vocalist. He plays all the instruments on the record, and his guitar work and harmonica playing are nothing short of exceptional; not only full of feeling, but highly skilled. In regards to his guitar playing on the record, Snider says he wanted to take everything he’s learned over the past 30 years and play the way he used to play really well.
As far as his vocals on the album are concerned, Snider is singing with more confidence than ever, a confidence born in part from his time with Hard Working Americans doing nothing but sing. His stirring vocal performances range from slurring blues mumble to Dylanesque talking blues to gravely, honest ache.
Of the five songs on which Snider serves up his humorous brand of socio-political commentary, three are performed in the talking blues style: “Talking Reality Television Blues,” a hilariously accurate short history of television; “The Blues on Banjo,” a bad case of the blues caused by the sorry state of everything from the crooked international monetary-military-industrial complex to the spineless politicians who serve it and which references “Blue Suede Shoes,” Richard Lewis, and Townes Van Zandt; and “A Timeless Response to Current Events,” a brilliant bit of wordplay on which he calls bullshit on faux patriotism, crooked capitalism, and lying politicians. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires contributed backing vocals on the latter two songs.
There are two other songs on the album featuring Snider’s socio-political points of view: “Just Like Overnight,” about the surprising inevitability of change, and “Framed,” written from the point of view of the framed ‘first dollar bill’ in a bar, a point of view that shows doing the right thing doesn’t pay.
There also are three songs with a music theme. If not for the events that led to the writing of one of those songs,“The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” there almost certainly would be no Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. After a visit to Cash Cabin Studio for a Loretta Lynn session in 2015 where she recorded a song they cowrote, Snider began having a recurring dream about the studio that featured the Man in Black himself. The dream led him to book time at the studio and ultimately inspired him to write “The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” which tells the story of Loretta Lynn dancing with Cash’s ghost outside the studio in the middle of the night. As he did on much of the record, Snider played the century-old Martin that had long been Johnny Cash’s favorite instrument on that song.
Snider paid tribute to Cash’s longtime friend and confidante in another of the music-themed songs, “Cowboy Jack Clement’s Waltz.” Inspired by the iconic record man’s oft-quoted maxims regarding the art of recording, the song achingly laments Clement’s passing, while touchingly celebrating his legacy.
The album opens with the other song with a music theme, “Working on a Song.” It’s an existential exercise, a song Snider wrote about writing a song called “Where Do I Go Now That I’m Gone,” an idea he actually has been working on for thirty years, but which remains unfinished.
There are also two songs that are personal in nature: “Watering Flowers in the Rain,” which was inspired by a former associate of Snider’s whose nickname was “Elvis,” and “Like a Force of Nature,” a philosophical reflection on the orbital nature of friendships. Isbell also added harmony vocals to “Like a Force of Nature.”
If Snider is anything, he is a true artist, and he reminds us of that on Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. At a point in time when the world has never been more complicated and confusing, with people getting louder and louder, Snider did a 180, went back to his roots as a folksinger, to a simpler, quieter form of expression; and it might be what the world is waiting to hear: just a man, his guitar, and the truth.
Kevin Gordon
A Louisiana native, now 20-year East Nashville resident, Kevin Gordon is a touring recording artist and songwriter. His latest release, Gloryland, garnered high critical praise from The New York Times, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and many others. His songs have been covered by Keith Richards, Levon Helm, Irma Thomas, Ronnie Hawkins, and more. The title track from his Down to the Well CD, a duet with Grammy winner Lucinda Williams, was featured on two prominent compilations: the Oxford American Southern Music Sampler, and No Depression: What It Sounds like, Volume 1. Also a published poet, Gordon earned an MFA degree from the renowned University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Crystal Fountains is a Bluegrass duo made up of Grant Funderburk and Matt Faircloth that play original music Mixed with traditional bluegrass.
Techno Live Sets and Brass Knuckles Prod. presents
Techno Syndicate
Bringing you some of the very best in Techno, HardTechno, and House monthly
Our DJs for the evening are
Spectre
Stacey Essene (Subtek Music-DC)
J Costea (Subtek)
DjCkole (BKP)
DjCkole
ProducerCharlotte, North Carolina
Techno/House Dj/producer. Smashing face with bass for 20 years.
Techno Live Sets
Radio Station
Listen and Download exclusive Techno music sets 365 days a year www.technols.com
Set times:
Stacey Essene: 10-11
J. Costea: 11-12
DjCkole: 12-1
Spectre: 1-2
The Shana Blake Band is an innovative new take on the old soul cover band. The ensemble hails from Charlotte, North Carolina and features singer/songwriter Shana Blake (The Near Misses, Wavy Space, Tesser), veteran guitarist Keith Shamel (Virgo Musik, Daily Soul), bassist Dave Eatman (Bellyful, Automatic Chi) and drummer/percussionist Scott Newell (Vonce, Justice League). The expressive vocals and rich textures of the instrumentation fuse coherently to create a sound that’s as smooth as honey, with a hint of R&B, funk, reggae, southern rock, gospel, country, jazz and the blues. The repertoire covers the gamut from emotionally-charged ballads to energetic, danceable grooves. The song choices are anything but ordinary and, along with the original compositions, appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners. An evening with Shana Blake & Pivotal Soul is like a breath of fresh air. Funky fresh air.
Jun
21
Fri
Bring your lawn chair and join us for Sounds on the Square! This free event takes place at The Square at Spirit Square. Concessions and beverages will be available for purchase. This event will be moved indoors if there is inclement weather.
In 2012, Lucca burned up The Voice stage, making it all the way to the finals on the back of his electric performances. Following this monumental experience, Lucca felt poised for a change and headed to Nashville.
Lucca has spent his fair share of time exploring the country’s greatest music scenes. From his hometown Motown mecca of Detroit, to the hills of Hollywood, to the borough of Brooklyn. Each has made its impact on Lucca, but none quite like Nashville. Lucca brought his same workman-like mentality to songwriting in his new hometown, writing “daily and diligently.”
There’s one song in particular so arresting it became the cornerstone for all the work to come after it. “I wrote something that reminded me I still have something sufficient to say, something that still matters to me — and that was the song ‘Everything’s Changing,’” Lucca says. The emotive, dynamic song became a live show stunner and the catalyst for Lucca’s forthcoming 2019 LP. The combination of meticulously crafting songs and freewheeling in the studio led to a record that is ready to announce Lucca as a force not just for his vocals, but also for his voice.
Formed in the college bars of Statesboro, GA in 2012 and transplanted to Athens among the reminiscence of R.E.M. and Widespread Panic, vintage rock outfit The Orange Constant blends the organic charm of southern psychedelia, heartfelt narrative, and progressive composition all with a spontaneous yet pop-like sensibility.
The band has shared bills with nationally and internationally touring acts including Perpetual Groove, TAUK, Pink Talking Phish, CBDB, RIPE, and Atlas Road Crew and won the 2016 Flagpole Athens Music Award for best “Jam/ Funk” band. Its second LP, Point of Reference (March 2017), was produced by Drew Vandenberg (of Montreal, Kishi Bashi, Futurebirds) and has been described as “eclectic rock n’ roll, everything from blissful southern rock and indie jams to urban funk.” The Orange Constant draws influence from many different styles, and fans are often drawn to their ability to meld progressive composition and improvisation with a pop-like sensibility. The band consists of Andrew Brantley (guitar/vocals), Nickalous Benson (guitar/vocals), Tyler Walker (bass/vocals),Chris Freiberg (keyboard), Sam Groveman (Drums).
EVENT DETAILS:
- When: Friday, June 21
- Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
- Location: River Jam Stage
- Cost: Free and open to the public
- Weather: This event will proceed rain or shine
Nathan Angelo
In the ever-changing landscape of modern pop, Nathan Angelo shines as a refreshing alternative, embracing the classic elements of popular music and celebrating the backbeat of American tradition. As the revival of music in the 60’s and 70’s brought together the heritage of the Great American songbook, the flair of jazz and heartache of the Delta blues, Angelo integrates these forms into his own music with great ease and delight. For the past decade, Angelo has captivated audiences across the country with his high-spirited live show and captured the imagination of a loyal following through prolific songwriting, independently selling over 40,000 albums along the way.
Angelo’s latest full-length album A Matter of Time (Aug 2017) reflects his journey through the life-altering experiences of becoming a father and facing his daughter’s rare, life-threatening metabolic disease. His daughter received a liver transplant in Fall 2016, and Angelo’s latest release A Matter of Time wrestles with the aches of adversity and ultimately celebrates the beauty of life and the hope he has for his daughter. A Matter of Time embraces the soul, classic r&b and piano-pop of some of Angelo’s more prominent influences — Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Elton John — while fearlessly venturing into new sonic territory to compete with pop contemporaries like Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake. Alongside his finest songwriting to date, Angelo’s voice resounds as an irrefutable force as he carries listeners to new places unfamiliar to the likes of modern pop music.
Angelo’s latest full-length album A Matter of Time (Aug 2017) reflects his journey through the life-altering experiences of becoming a father and facing his daughter’s rare, life-threatening metabolic disease. His daughter received a liver transplant in Fall 2016, and Angelo’s latest release A Matter of Time wrestles with the aches of adversity and ultimately celebrates the beauty of life and the hope he has for his daughter. A Matter of Time embraces the soul, classic r&b and piano-pop of some of Angelo’s more prominent influences — Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Elton John — while fearlessly venturing into new sonic territory to compete with pop contemporaries like Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake. Alongside his finest songwriting to date, Angelo’s voice resounds as an irrefutable force as he carries listeners to new places unfamiliar to the likes of modern pop music.
A Matter of Time debuted at #12 on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts and has already garnered more than 1,000,000 streams on Spotify.
Kevin Goodwin
Kevin Goodwin is a singer/songwriter from Charlotte, North Carolina.
An active songwriter since childhood, Kevin Goodwin made his debut onto the music scene with his 2018 single, ‘All I Can Think About’. The upbeat, pop-rock song followed the theme of missed opportunities and was accompanied by a story driven music video.
An active songwriter since childhood, Kevin Goodwin made his debut onto the music scene with his 2018 single, ‘All I Can Think About’. The upbeat, pop-rock song followed the theme of missed opportunities and was accompanied by a story driven music video.
Soon after his first single began to receive airplay on local radio stations, Goodwin released a second single, called ‘Alaska’. A stark contrast to his first release, ‘Alaska’ told the story of a young woman struggling with suicidal thoughts. The emotional track would go on to be added to Spotify’s ‘Radar Indie’ playlist, where it garnered thousands of streams.
After the success of ‘Alaska’, Goodwin released his debut EP, “This Is How It Starts”, on February 1st, 2019. The record included both of his previous singles, as well as three new songs that have quickly become crowd favorites at live shows.
With piano driven verses, lush guitars, and an earnest voice, he aims to relate to listeners in a direct and intimate way. Drawing influence from artists such as The Fray and Jack’s Mannequin, Goodwin’s music strives to stand out from today’s pop music with deep lyrical storytelling and emotionally expressive music.
The Charlotte New Music Festival is proud to present Transient Canvas, featuring premieres by the following composers on this evening: Marti Epstein, Charles Nichols, Ashby Brown, Marina Lopez, Jonathan Rome, Stephen Brown, Hannah Rice, and Katie Lee.
Transient Canvas
Praised by the Boston Globe as ‘superb’, Amy Advocat and Matt Sharrock have been blazing their own trail as the bass clarinet/marimba duo Transient Canvas since 2011. In that time they have premiered over 80 pieces and continue to perform across the United States and abroad. They have been presented by the Alba Music Festival (Alba, Italy), Music at the Forefront (Bowling Green, OH), Composers, Inc. (San Francisco, CA), New Music at the Short North Stage (Columbus, OH), and Music on the Edge (Pittsburgh, PA), among others. Additionally, they have held residencies with the composition departments at Harvard, Northeastern, Brandeis, Otterbein, and Tufts Universities, the University of Georgia, the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. They have two albums, Sift and Wired, both released on New Focus Recordings. Transient Canvas proudly endorses Henri Selmer Paris and Marimba One. For more information, visit www.transientcanvas.com.
$5 Students / $10 General Admission.
Charlotte New Music’s Mission:
To promote contemporary classical music through unique educational experiences, compelling performances, and innovative collaborations across artistic disciplines. As of late 2016, we have proudly presented over 65 concerts full of premieres for contemporary classical music, and 11 concerts premiering new music and dance collaborations. For the 6th year in a row, we are happy to welcome composers, musicians, choreographers, and dancers from all over the world to the CNMF community!
HIPGNOSTIC
HIPGNOSTIC is a live hip-hop band from Charlotte, NC. Driven by powerful lyrics and creative instrumentation, HIPGNOSTIC is inspired to be fresh and delicious. The result is a fusion of hip-hop, psychedelic funk, and melodic rock.
BearCat Kringle, whose lyrical content ranges from straightforward to metaphorically obscure, has teamed up with familiar partners to produce creative compositions with a unique sonic palette. The players are Boss Jones on guitar and vocals, Joni Flynn on keyboards and vocals, Jacob Gresham on drums, and Jason Pentecost on bass. A shared vision inspires each musician to challenge himself to keep the work hypnotic and original.
The members of HIPGNOSTIC have played together since 2005 in varying incarnations and in front of thousands of people, from headlining sold-out club shows to sharing bills at numerous festivals up and down the East Coast. They are currently in the studio recording their newly hatched ideas for an EP to be released in early 2017.
As this reincarnated hip-hop machine again embarks on a mission to deliver a fresh take on new ideas, HIPGNOSTIC eagerly awaits the opportunity to drop an earworm into your head.
For over 10 years, Mike Strauss has been a prominent character in the Charlotte music scene. Throughout the years, Mike has put together an impressive catalog of rural rock featuring songs described as warm, lyrical and gritty.
Appearing in different incarnations, the Mike Strauss band consists of a core trio along with 4 other members that assemble the ‘big band.’
Pen15 were formed 3 decades ago in CLT by the British Mike Bradley and American Ryan Sullivan who bonded over their mutual love of old UK punk. Pen15 have toured the US and UK and briefly appear in the 2013 CBGBs film because of their performance there once. The have performed with The UK Subs, The Misfits, The English Beat and other punk legends. They will perform 3 sets of their originals and 1977-era UK punk covers.
Pen15 will perform three sets of their “anarchy in the UK’ style punk at Tommy’s Pub.
Set 1: Ryan Sullivan performs acoustic covers of punk and classic-alternative favorites
Set 2: Pen15 perform their originals
Set 3: Pen15 perform a set of 1977-era UK punk covers including some “new” songs by Crass and The Stranglers
The Lenny Federal Band Federal, formerly of the …
wait for it … Federal Bureau of Rock ‘n’ Roll (yes!)
was, along with his musical (com)patriots, a staple in
the burgeoning Charlotte rock scene of the ’70s and
early ’80s. Known for its brand of relatively
straightforward bluesy originals and for its good taste
in classic cover tunes, the Federal Bureau always
resisted making the move to the Allman Brothers-like
sound so many of their Caucasian compatriots did,
in favor of keeping it simple. Federal, a cornerstone cog in the Charlotte music scene, hasn’t changed that recipe a whole lot of the years. Forgive the food metaphor, but it’s musical meat and potatoes you’re getting here – meat and potatoes slow-cooked with plenty of care, and with but a soupcon of spice. Appearing at The Comet Grill (Timothy C. Davis) a cornerstone cog in the Charlotte music scene, hasn’t changed that recipe a whole lot of the years. Forgive the food metaphor, but it’s musical meat and potatoes you’re getting here – meat and potatoes slow-cooked with plenty of care, and with but a soupcon of spice. Appearing at The Comet Grill (Timothy C. Davis) – Charlotte Now
http://tunegroover.com/interview-charlotte-music-institution-lenny-federal/
Forming The Void
Imagine you are a celestial traveler powering through the blinding lights at the end of the tunnel into the next world, crossing barriers of space and time without fear. Interdimensional shamanic sludge rockers Forming the Void are here to conjure an ecstatic trip of atmospheric wonder and immerse you in waves of psychedelia.
Topping the August Doom Charts, their fourth effort ‘Rift’ evokes the progressive and heavy tendencies of Mastodon and Torche, the psychedelic and soaring melodies of Pink Floyd, and rolling approach of Soundgarden. Swamp mud stuck to their feet as they trudge from South Central Louisiana, Forming the Void aren’t afraid to slow things to a crawl.
Their otherworldly sound has earned them spots on large festivals such as Psycho Las Vegas, Denver’s Electric Funeral Fest, EndHipEndIt, Stoner Daze and Stoner Jam at SXSW, and Descendants of Crom. Transcend through space and time with Forming the Void as they traverse the cosmic murk.
RUNAWAY GIN – A Tribute To Phish – Phish After Party
With over 290 shows performed since their inception in 2014, Runaway Gin is the World’s Most Active Phish Tribute Band. On July 4th, 2015, after the second show of the Grateful Dead GD50 run, Runaway Gin sold out the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago and catapulting them from a Southeastern regional act onto the National scene.
The members of Runaway Gin are long time Phish fans who have united with the goal of creating musical moments inspired by Phish. The band’s song list is constantly growing and their improvisational and communication skills are constantly developing independently and together. Like Phish, Runaway Gin will never play the same show or jam the same way twice making every show a unique experience and every moment pure artistic creation.
Early Bird Tickets $12, Advanced Tickets $15, Day of show $20
Jun
22
Sat
With their third European tour under the belt, three full-length albums including a fourth nearing completion, and a gravitational pull to their growing fan base down every American highway, the Vegabonds are on a musical pilgrimage to spread the gospel of pure, unadulterated New South Rock.
Some might assert that their sound is Americana, while others may consider them to be true rock ‘n’ rollers. Regardless of what fans like to call them, the Alabama-born, Nashville-bred quintet is pulling themselves up by the bootstraps just in time for 2018, forging ahead into the future by avoiding pigeon holes.
With a sound reminiscent of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers mixed with the grit and twang of the Allman Brothers Band, The Vegabonds give their fans a sensational performance with powerhouse guitar riffs and impactful songwriting night after night. Their hard work and unbridled talents have not gone unnoticed; the group has opened for such notable acts as Lynyrd Skynyrd, the late Gregg Allman, and Kid Rock, among others. Rousing performances at festivals like Peach Fest, Magnolia Fest, Sunfest, and Toadlick grew their notoriety nationwide, leading to a west coast tour that formed in-roads with the music and comedy community in Los Angeles. It’s no wonder that Live for Live Music has compared them to musical legends like My Morning Jacket and The Black Crowes, calling them “a force to be reckoned with,” complete with “gorgeous harmonies and impressive instrumental skills mak[ing] for a perfect combination.”
Born in Alabama. Bred in Nashville. Seasoned by the Road. Celebrated the world over. Come let your hair down with The Vegabonds.
EVENT DETAILS:
- When: Saturday, June 22
- Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
- Location: River Jam Stage
- Cost: Free and open to the public
- Weather: This event will proceed rain or shine
Dane Page
Dane Page is a singer-songwriter living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Influenced by the traditions of Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie, his music reflects the complexities of modern life while keeping true to the simple tenets of songwriting. Dane’s lyrics weave listeners through Greek mythology, 20th Century literature, and American history while telling stories of love, loss, happiness, and pain. His music pulls from contemporary folk artists like Josh Ritter and Gregory Alan Isakov, but also ventures into sounds reminiscent of The War on Drugs and Tame Impala.
Dane Page continues to tour through the southeast and mid-Atlantic in support of his independently produced EP City to City. A collection of bawdy, rambler tunes perfect for taprooms, bars, and breweries. Selma (Summer 2018) will be his first full-length record. Selma is a more mature album that pushes the boundaries of folk and gives Dane the space to fully develop his sound.
Dane is a storyteller perfect for intimate rooms where audiences can delve into the imagery and lyricism of his songs. The full band—Eric Fellner on bass, Kevin Orlando on guitar, and Josh Kelley on drums—is a dynamic act taking Dane’s solo storytelling ability and adding an infectious blend of folk, rock, and blues capable of filling music halls and festival stages. In either setting, listeners are welcomed into the music and leave feeling like old friends after a bonfire.
Heart Hunters
Heart Hunters’ Drew de Man founded his first band, No River City, in 2001 and spent the next several years making records, touring the country and sharing bills with artists such as Iron & Wine, Calexico, and Alejandro Escovedo. After a decade away from the spotlight, his new project Heart Hunters—a duo with his wife, singer/songwriter Brianna Blackbird—builds on the moody indie/alt-country sound de Man explored with No River City, updating them for a new era with debut LP American Eclipse.
Produced by Peter Case (T-Bone Burnett, John Hiatt, Mike Campbell), American Eclipse puts Heart Hunters’ gorgeously wounded harmonies front-and-center
KIM RICHEY
Edgeland moves roots singer/subtle excavator of the human condition Kim Richey through the topography of the life lived by a woman committed to following her music. Flinching over hurting another, knowing the ways of the road, seeking higher ground and accepting the fact everyone’s truth isn’t a white picket fence, she continues defying labels as she defines the thinking person’s life.
“Right now, my stuff is all in storage,” she says of her state of constant motion. “I’ve lived in a lot of different places – different countries even. It’s a little overwhelming, keeping track of stuff, but it’s been an amazing trip because music has taken me places I never dreamed.
“I’m the same way with writing. Even when I’ve finished a record, or am in the middle of recording, I’m writing. Writing songs is what I do; it’s how I connect with the world.”
That sense of motion infuses Edgeland with immediacy. From the Buck Owens/Don Rich opening notes of “Red Line,” the dusky blond sweeps listeners up in her whirl. If “Red Line” is a missed train and a moment of immersion in the station, “The Get Together” shimmers with a Laurel Canyon lushness and ease in the awkward (that evokes J.D. Souther’s post-romantic midtempos) and “Can’t Seem To Let You Go” owns the ‘60s Merseybeat pop luxury of the Seekers or Dusty Springfield in Memphis. Demonstrating a facility for slipping in and out of oeuvres and emotions, this – in many ways — culminates her passage through music.
Kim Richey is a traveller, after all. Musically, physically, emotionally. Not merely restless or rootless, it’s who she is. Willing to follow where the music leads, she’s landed in Los Angeles, Nashville, London, working with a who’s who of producers – Richard Bennett, Hugh Padgham, Bill Bottrell, Angelo, Giles Martin. She’s attracted a coterie of top-shelf genre-definers — Jason Isbell, Trisha Yearwood, Chuck Prophet, My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel, Wilco’s Pat Sansone – for her critically-lauded projects. She has also sung on records for Ryan Adams, Shawn Colvin, Isbell, and Rodney Crowell.
Part of what draws them to the dusky honey of her crystalline alto is the way she writes: to and from the soul, never flinching from the conflicts and crushing moments, yet always finding dignity and resilience. Her arc of the human heart is true. True enough that over the years, Richey’s been both Grammy nominated. Nominated for Yearwood’s truculently groove-country “Baby, I Lied,” she also co-wrote Radney Foster’s #1 “Nobody Wins.”
“Harlan Howard said – and maybe I’ve taken it too much to heart, ‘It’s always more believable if you sing it in the first person.’ And when I sit down to write, if it’s something I’m going to sing, I want it to be what I want it to be. I don’t really settle, which may make me a little hard to write with. But I have to be able to stand up and sing it night after night, and I can’t if I don’t really believe it.”
Those standards made Glimmer one of TIME’s Top Records of 1999 and Rise named People’s Best Alt-Country Record of 2002. Even when singing from the point of view of a guy working on a barge going up and down the Ohio River in “Dear John,” her aim is true. As she says of the man refusing to read the letter that ends his romance, “because if I don’t read your letter, then it’s not over. Sometimes these songs are specific and personal, but it’s also true in ways that reflect so many other people’s experience, too.”
Sometimes Richey channels profound truths. Sometimes she embraces breezy freedom. “Leavin’ Song,” a rambler’s shuffle, is more about tasting the world than exiting a bad situation. As its chorus offers, “This ain’t no leaving song, you ain’t done nothing wrong” over an electric banjo and Resonator guitar, Richey finds the sweet spot in exulting for just being alive.
Once again, Richey has drawn a multitude of collaborators who rival her own singular voice. Veteran journeymen artist/writers Chuck Prophet, Maendo Sanz, Mike Henderson (Steeldrivers), Bill Deasy (the Gathering Field), Pat McLaughlin (John Prine) and Al Anderson (NRBQ), plus Aussies Jenny Queen and Harry Hokey co-sign on these musical polaroids from the going, the leaving, and the pausing.
“I’ll be doing an interview, and people will say, ‘You co-write a lot…’,” she marvels, “like it’s a bad thing. But it’s inspiring to me, and takes me in other directions, to other places. The people I write with are funny, and smart, and a blast to hang out with, but they’re also really good writers in their own right. Nobody’s pandering or chasing ‘a hit,’ we’re all just trying to get to the best possible song.”
Whether growing up, owning and relinquishing high times in the sleek “Chase Wild Horses,” echoed in the ether-lite, percussive folk “High Time,” then jettisoned on the smoky acceptance of her own flawed inability to be in a romance on the Western-tinged on “I Tried,” the woman from Ohio makes our natural selves both exotic and homey.
Richey enlisted producer Brad Jones, known for Over the Rhine, Josh Rouse, Butterfly Boucher, Hayes Carll and Marshall Crenshaw, in crafting an adult album that evokes and provokes musically. “I wasn’t sure at first if we’d be a good combo because he has such strong opinions, and I do, too. But it was (laughter) the easiest record I’ve ever made. He has really different ideas, and it’s nice to have somebody push you in a direction you might not have gone – and have them respect your opinion, too. I really loved working with Brad.””
With three different tracking bands, Edgeland is a who’s who of Nashville’s roots players: beyond co-writers, steel player Dan Dugmore, drummer Jerry Roe, multi-instrumentalist Sansone, guitarist/various stringed thing players Doug Lancio and Dan Cohen, string arranger Chris Carmichael and Robin Hitchcock all contribute to the bewitchery.
“So many of these guys produce and make records on their own,” she marvels. “I’m open to collaboration, too. These songs wouldn’t sound the way they do without these players.”
The noir-slink of “Pin A Rose,” a cautionary told-you-so tale of domestic abuse’s repeat cycles, the neo-madrigal “Not for Money or Love,” inspired by the father Richey lost at 2, and the Mellotron-tinged austerity of “Black Trees,” finished after a few years gestation during a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts Colony and expanded to consider a refugee’s fortunes, all seek and explore. Here melody reinforces words, feelings, even interpersonal dynamics. Simplicity – as executed – breaks complicated things into evocative clouds that seep into the listeners unconscious.
“It’s a lot easier to say something in a song than in a conversation,” allows the easy-going grown-up. “And it’s not all about me, but the people in the songs. Even the stuff you leave out says something, so you’re creating on so many layers. And sometimes I don’t know where it comes from, just some other place.”
Listening to “Whistle On Occasion,” the Everly-esque closer duet with Prophet, Richey owns one’s place in the world. Here, there, going or gone, that’s all anyone can ask.
Holly Gleason
JOSH ROUSE
Never one to ignore the call of his muse, Rouse traded in his trusty acoustic guitar for a synthesizer, a move that quickly pulled him in a slew of exciting, unexpected directions as he found himself freshly inspired by the endless array of possibilities at his fingertips. Where ‘Embers’ was a deeply personal, countrypolitan contemplation on identity and anxiety, the new material that poured out of him was breezier and more carefree, crafted with an 80’s-inspired sonic palette that complemented the shift from somber introspection to more playful observation. The end result, ‘Love In The Modern Age,’ is an album that still bears Rouse’s distinct fingerprints, even as it pushes his limits and forges a bold new chapter more than twenty years into his celebrated career.
Hailed as “a talent to outrank Ryan Adams or Conor Oberst” by Uncut and praised for his “spare and easy sounding guitar songs” by NPR, Rouse first emerged in 1998 with his debut album, ‘Dressed Up Like Nebraska,’ which Billboard called a “dark horse gem.” Over the next two decades, he’d go on to release a steady stream of critically lauded records that would solidify his status as one of the his generation’s most acclaimed songwriters, both in the US and Europe, where he’s lived on and off since 2004. Q called his breakout album, ‘1972,’ “the most intimate record of the year,” while Rolling Stone dubbed his follow-up, ‘Nashville,’ “a landmark album,” and EW described 2013’s ‘The Happiness Waltz’ as “a big contender for Rouse’s best work.” In 2014, Rouse won a Goya Award (the Spanish equivalent of an Oscar) for best song for “Do You Really Want To Be In Love,” from the film ‘La Gran Familia Española.
As he began work on ‘Love In The Modern Age,’ Rouse was caught in a moment of international limbo. He was ready to relocate from Spain back to Nashville with his family, but his wife’s green card process was stretching out interminably. As they awaited news from the US government, their Tennessee home sat empty for more than a year, and Rouse found himself making regular trips across the Atlantic to check in on the property.
“I started working on songs with my old friend and writing partner Daniel Tashian on those trips,” Rouse explains. “I’d just finished reading Sylvie Simmons’ great Leonard Cohen biography, ‘I’m Your Man,’ and it got me really into Cohen’s synthier records. I told Daniel that I thought it’d be fun to write some stuff in that vein, so we’d start with these moody soundscapes, and then I’d write lyrics on top of them.”
Inspired by Cohen and cult heroes The Blue Nile, as well as the English bands Rouse grew up listening to like The Cure and The Smiths, the songs were cinematic and enveloping. Each track created its own entrancing world out of dense synthesizer textures and shimmering electric guitar lines. While many of his previous albums were recorded with a full band performing live in one room, Rouse built up the tracks on ‘Love In The Modern Age’ a layer at a time, recording the majority of the instruments himself between Spain and Nashville.
in me that wouldn’t have happened with just an acoustic guitar.”
Much like love in our modern age, the album is defined by the coming together of those physical and digital worlds. Underneath it all, though, lays the same endless search for human connection that drives each and every one of us. Times may change, but the song remains the same.
Henry, Tyler, Chaandmon, Harrison and Cadman.
Alternative Rock from Charlotte, North Carolina
Rock Band from Charlotte, North Carolina.
EP OUT NOW on most music services!
Follow us on Instagram @mighty.mango
***Floydfest 17 “On The Rise” Competition Winner***
South Hill Banks – Lance Thomas (vocals, guitar), Eric Horrocks (mandolin, vocals), Ryan Horrocks (banjo), Dan Fiasconaro (guitar, vocals), and Matt Eversole (upright bass) – have carved a niche for themselves with their jam infused bluegrass sound. Formed in August 2015 in Richmond, Virginia, South Hill Banks pulls from a wide range of influences such as classic rock, jam, blues, to traditional bluegrass to keep audiences entertained with a blend of sounds old and new.
Since the release of their debut album, Riverside Dr., South Hill Banks has gone on to showcase at the IBMAs in Raleigh, NC, win Floydfest’s ‘On the Rise’ Competition, host a successful monthly residence at The Camel in Richmond, VA, and be feature in the ‘On the Rise’ section in Relix Magazine. SHB has created an ever growing fan base by headlining a multitude venues as well as directly supporting some of the top national touring acts in their genre.
The Sammies
We hear music when people are saying things we are not listening to!
The Sammies are alive, you are a Sammie, listen to more music, and don’t forget to live, holler anytime!
Band Members
Frank Backgammon
Guitar & Vocals
Joseph Huntley (Donnie Yale)
Drums & Vocals
Guitar & Vocals
Joseph Huntley (Donnie Yale)
Drums & Vocals
Bobby Freedom
Guitar & Keys
Conrad Vacation
Bass
Hometown
Charlotte, NC
The Buzzards of Fuzz
For fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Blue Oyster Cult, or Roky Erickson– The Buzzards of Fuzz are a rock outfit from Atlanta with the sound of a ‘72 Corvette Stingray plowing through the desert on half a tank of bourbon.
The band’s legendary live shows and blistering singles have earned the group slots opening for Guitar Legend Dick Dale, Yawning Man, Truckfighters, Cage The Elephant, White Reaper, Gov’t Mule, 1,000 Mods, Low Cut Connie and Primus.
TBOF’s accolades include a Georgia Music Award & 13 2018 Creative Loafing Best of Atlanta nominations.
2019 will bring the Deep Fried Fuzz Run, the reissue of their first EP Buzzard Custard on limited edition hand lathed vinyl and the second year of their namesake festival, Fuzzstock.
Jun
23
Sun
Help our good friend raise funds for his next album!
George Banda
George Banda was born in Arizona, where his father taught him to play guitar when he was just five years old. In the 25 years since, George has dedicated his time and resources to pursuing this passion. He attended Central Piedmont Community College and Queens University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors and was awarded degrees in music theory and guitar performance. In addition to devoting time to his studies, George has also released his own music. He has produced two albums, one of which was an independent EP (2016) and the other a collaboration with local Charlotte artists (2017). While he considers The Evening Muse his musical home, he has played on multiples stages in Charlotte and the surrounding region. When not performing locally, George makes a priority to give back to the community. He has worked with multiple Charlotte organizations, including the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Dream Center, where he serves as the Creative Arts Director; and the School of Rock, where he teaches guitar, music theory, and provides any additional resources required for the musical education of the students the organization serves. In addition, he also provides private lessons. George enjoys expressing himself through both his writing and his musical compositions. His writing draws on themes of prior hardship and love, while his musical compositions have been performed by members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and members of the Queens University Music Department. He hopes to exert a positive influence on the world through his passion for music and works every day to achieve this goal through his commitment to personal growth, community involvement, and artistic expression. In his spare time, George enjoys MMA training, boxing, and riding his yellow motorcycle named Pikachu. He also hates cucumbers. A lot.
BENNETT WALES & THE RELIEF
Bennett Wales & the Relief are a band coming off of a very successful 2018 that saw the group play all over the East Coast region including several large music festivals. They have shared the stage with notable acts such as Umphrey’s McGee, Vulfpeck, Better than Ezra, The All-American Rejects, Goo Goo Dolls, Gin Blossoms and many more high profile artists. The band’s five members are all from the Virginia Beach area and are dedicated to furthering their chosen career path in the music industry. They are currently recording their sophomore album and are looking forward to an even more successful 2019.
HAYES CARLL
The chorus to the title track on the new Hayes Carll album, What It Is, is a manifesto. What it was is gone forever / What it could be God only knows. What it is is right here in front of me / and I’m not letting go. He’s embracing the moment. Leaving the past where it belongs, accepting there’s no way to know what’s ahead, and challenging himself to be present in both love and life. It’s heady stuff. It also rocks. With a career full of critical acclaim and popular success, Carll could’ve played it safe on this, his sixth record, but he didn’t. The result is a musically ambitious and lyrically deep statement of an artist in his creative prime. Hayes Carll’s list of accomplishments is long. His third album, 2008’s Trouble In Mind, earned him an Americana Music Association Award for Song of the Year (for “She Left Me for Jesus”). The follow-up, KMAG YOYO was the most played album on the Americana Chart in 2011 and spawned covers by artists as varied as Hard Working Americans and Lee Ann Womack, whose version of ‘Chances Are’ garnered Carll a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. 2016’s Lovers and Leavers swept the Austin Music Awards, and was his fourth record in a row to reach #1 on the Americana Airplay chart. Kelly Willis and Kenny Chesney have chosen to record his songs and his television appearances include The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Later w/Jools Holland. Carll is the rare artist who can rock a packed dancehall one night and hold a listening room at rapt attention the next. “Repeating myself creatively would ultimately leave me empty. Covering new ground, exploring, and taking chances gives me juice and keeps me interested.” He knew he wanted to find the next level. On What It Is, he clearly has. It wasn’t necessarily easy to get there. Carll’s last release, 2016’s Lovers and Leavers was an artistic and commercial risk — a bold move which eschewed the tempo and humor of much of his previous work. The record revealed a more serious singer-songwriter dealing with more serious subjects — divorce, new love in the middle of life, parenting, the worth of work. What It Is finds him now on the other side, revived and happy, but resolute — no longer under the impression that any of it comes for free. “I want to dig in so this life doesn’t just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work.” And meaning there is. Carll sings “but I try because I want to,” on the album’s opening track, “None’Ya.” He’s not looking back lamenting love lost, rather, finding joy and purpose in the one he’s got and hanging on to the woman who sometimes leaves him delightedly scratching his head. “If I May Be So Bold,” finds him standing on similar ground — lyrically taking on the challenge of participating fully in life rather than discontentedly letting life happen. Bold enough to not surrender bold enough to give a damn Bold enough to keep on going or to stay right where I am There’s a whole world out there waiting full of stories to be told I’ll heed the call and tell’em all if I may be so bold There’s no wishy washy here and he’s not on the sidelines. In fact, he’s neck-deep in life. On the rambunctious, fiddle-punctuated, “Times Like These,” he laments political division in America while delivering a rapid-fire plea to “do my labor, love my girl, and help my neighbor, while keeping all my joie de vivre.” Carll’s signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever. The stark, “Fragile Men,” co-written with singer-songwriter Lolo, uses humor and dripping sarcasm to examine his gender’s resistance to change in less than three minutes of string-laden, almost Jacques Brel invoking drama. It’s new musical territory for Carll, and the result is powerful. His voice is strong and resonant on these songs, and it’s thrilling to hear him use it with a new authority. He is alternately commanding and tender, yet always soulful. Carll returned to trusted producer Brad Jones (producer of 2008’s Trouble in Mind and 2011’s KMAG YOYO) and Alex the Great Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record What It Is, and recruited singer-songwriter, author, and fiancee Allison Moorer as co-producer. The production is adventurous while keeping the focus on the singer and his songs and providing a path for him to go where he wants to go. Where that is, is forward. That’s evident in the songwriting. Carll continues to hone his singular voice, but is also a flexible co-writer. Matraca Berg, Charlie Mars, Adam Landry, and Moorer have co-writing credits here, but it was Moorer’s inspiration that provided the largest impact. “On the songwriting front she’s just a pro. She helps me cut through the noise and she does it with wit and style.” Carll’s own wit and style has never been more evident. Whether it’s with the put-you-in-picture detail of, “Beautiful Thing,” the not quite sheepish enough, dude-esque defense of dishonesty in, “Things You Don’t Wanna Know,” or the strong as a tree trunk declaration of love on, “I Will Stay,” he displays an increasing command of his poetic lexicon. Writers most often wrestle with experience and expectations, either romanticizing the past or telling us how good it’s going to be when they get where they’re going. What It Is is a record that is rooted solidly in the present, revealing an artist in the emotional and intellectual here and now.
BEN DICKEY
Start Time: 8:00
For a guy whose career has evolved more by serendipity than design, Ben Dickey’s professional journey has turned into one heckuva ride. It’s not every day an obscure musician’s famous actor/ director friend hands him the lead in a passion-project indie film, and he not only winds up sharing the screen with one of his musical heroes, he also wins a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Achievement in Acting — and a Variety magazine “for your consideration” plug for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Dickey’s acting debut in Blaze, Ethan Hawke’s biopic about doomed Texas singer-songwriter Blaze Foley, has already led to more roles, including their pairing as bounty hunters in The Kid, a western directed by Vincent D’Onofrio. But just as exciting, as far as Dickey’s concerned, is the opportunity it provided to record with that musical hero, longtime Bob Dylan guitarist Charlie Sexton (who played Blaze’s other troubled Texas songwriting legend, Townes Van Zandt). After they did the film’s original cast recording (on Light in the Attic Records), Sexton produced Dickey’s solo album, A Glimmer on the Outskirts. That inspired Sexton, Hawke and Blazeexecutive producer Louis Black to form SexHawkeBlack Records, a new Austin-based imprint under the umbrella of Nashville’s Dualtone Records. Dickey’s March 7, 2019 release is the label’s first. It’s hardly Dickey’s first recording foray, however. In fact, he says, he preferred the idea of forming a label to shopping for one because he’d been signed before — and still bears scars from watching the dream morph into a momentum-sucking nightmare. But SexHawkeBlack president Erika Pinktipps happens to be friends with Dualtone’s founder; that connection quickly turned into an actual alliance. “We’re all doing this together,” Dickey says, “[it’s] a group of people who all care about each other and have similar artistic arrows pointed in the same direction.” Dickey was 10 when his artistic arrow started pointing toward music; that’s when his grandfather handed down his 1935 Gibson L-30 archtop. “He was a magical fellow, and his guitar is, too,” Dickey says. “So I wanted to be magic, too.” Within a year, his grandfather was gone. The magic, fortunately, stayed. But conjuring it wasn’t always easy for a kid growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, far from his dad — a college football star who’d moved to Georgia after the parental split, when Dickey was 4. Ten years later, Dickey’s mother left, too — following her friend and boss, Bill Clinton, from the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion to the White House. Dickey moved into his grandmother’s basement — and became one more angry, disaffected teenage rocker. He formed his first “real” band, Shake Ray Turbine, at 16, made his first record at 17 and began touring at 18, ditching Little Rock Central High (most famous students: the Little Rock Nine) for an $850 Ford van. When the founder of their D.I.Y. label, File 13 Records, headed to Philadelphia for college, they followed. Dickey wound up staying for 17 years, becoming a chef, falling in love and making music, first with Amen Booze Rooster (the band that got signed, then shafted), then with Blood Feathers. That band recorded three albums, including one created over “a magical rock ‘n’ roll summer” at a Nova Scotia home Hawke owns. (Hawke’s wife and Dickey’s “sweetheart,” artist Beth Blofson, have been besties since childhood.) Several labels and a top management agency courted them, but some members’ changing priorities and Dickey’s label trauma scotched potential deals. Still, when Blood Feathers fractured, he was heartbroken. It was time for another change. Once again, a music connection provided it. The band’s former manager had returned to north Louisiana to run his dad’s cotton farm, and offered Dickey and Blofson a vacant house on the rural property. They’ve been frolicking in that cotton since 2014. Before leaving Philly, however, Dickey devoted 81⁄2 months of Mondays (most chefs’ lone day off) to recording Sexy Birds & Salt Water Classics, his first solo album. Former Arkansas Times arts editor Robert Bell called it “impeccable rock ‘n’ roll … which effortlessly melds Dylan/Petty singer-songwriter tunes and a touch of T. Rex-y sheen with a peppering of country-blues guitar- picking of the first order.” Classics took Dickey in a folkier direction, which continues with A Glimmer on the Outskirts. ?With a broad, low-edged tenor, this 6-foot, 5-inch linebacker’s son sometimes sounds remarkably like Dylan. But while he claims to be influenced by all musical forms, including “mockingbird word, Marshall feedback stack, tap-dance prance, orbital odes and Dinah the dog” (a partial list), Dickey says he’s most attracted to cats like jump bluesmen Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker and especially, the phrasing of Piedmont/ragtime bluesman Blind Willie McTell. “I’ve been doin’ an impersonation of him forever,” Dickey claims. “He takes joy in certain words, and the listener likes that. And I like that.” Of his own style, he says, “I reckon I play rock ‘n’ roll — emphasis on the roll.” “The roll” is about musicality and rhythm, he explains. It’s the unforced ease of big-band swing, or the way late guitarist Hubert Sumlin played before or after the beat, creating another rhythmic pattern. “Chuck Berry doing the first 16 bars of ‘Maybelline’ is a microinjection of what I consider rock ‘n’ roll. When I think of rock ‘n’ roll, I think of that; I think of the Stones; I think of the Beatles’ ‘I Feel Fine.’” The roll is all over A Glimmer on the Outskirts, most of which was written over a few days afterBlaze wrapped, except for “Eloise” and his easygoing, JJ Cale-like cover of Foley’s “Sittin’ By the Road.” “When I say wrote, I mean they just came,” Dickey clarifies. “They usually come in clusters.” That helps explain their thematic connection; the album, he says, is an exploration of hope. “Hope comes in different ways, and in little doses, like when you’re on the freeway and you’re hungry, and you see a sign for food,” he says. “It also comes when you’re chest deep in quicksand and you see someone coming with a rope.” In “Stranger on a Silver Horse (Be Amazed),” it comes “on the outskirts of town, like A Fistful of Dollars; a fixer or something.” In “Sing that One to Me,” hope takes the form of an adventure. Its lyrics directly mention that fixer, who appears again as Dickey explains the album title “refers to finding or remembering hope when all is lost, but there’s a light on the edge of town, or the edge of the galaxy. A fixer on the way.” That’s not necessarily a divine metaphor, however. Celestial citations fill Dickey’s lyrics and conversation, but they’re mainly astronomical, not biblical (though he does debate what’s heaven and what’s hell in “I Think It’s All Different”). His favorite memory involves watching the Orionids meteor shower with his family when he was 3, and he admits, “My version of counting sheep is reading how fast Jupiter is expanding and despanding through the day.” He’s got a thing for prime numbers and has fantasized about working for NASA, but can’t imagine not making music. “That’s how I relate to the world,” he says. “I’ve always been drawn to it.” Eventually, he figured out why. “What happens when you go to a show? You form a relationship with an artist,” he notes. Despite the uncertainties and absurdities of the troubadour life, Dickey needs that connection — “this weird hour of time where you share with a group of people” — to satisfy his soul. Something else he’s figured out: the benefits of trust. After finally agreeing to let Hawke put him onscreen, Dickey discovered he loves acting. “It’s very musical,” he says, “so it feels natural.” He also agreed to let Sexton choose the album’s songs, and players: drummer Conrad Choucroun,bassist John Michael Shoepf, pedal steel player Mike Hardwick and keyboardist, pianist and Mellotron player Bukka Allen. (Dickey and Sexton both play guitar and sing; Blofson sings backing vocals and Emily Galusha whistles on “The Man with the Hammer.”) Dickey is thrilled with the results. He’s giddy about life in general right now. It took a while for him to find his script, so to speak, but he sums up the experiences between getting his grandfather’s guitar and his current pursuits with a perfect quote from Blaze: “You might not get what you go after, but you do get what you wouldn’t have got, if you hadn’t gone after what you didn’t get.”
Sweet and soulful sounds to top off your weekend. Seriously one of the best kept musical secrets in Charlotte is Sunday’s at the Comet Grill with Omari and the Hellhounds, no cover.
Jun
24
Mon
Some people listen to everything ‘but country’ – this night is not for them.
Come hang out at Hattie’s every Monday for Country Music, Boots, Bolo Ties, Belt Buckles and Jorts. The last Monday of every month is Karaoke Country Music Monday.
Drink Specials
$4 Kentucky Gentleman
$2 12oz Bush Light, Natty Light and Narragansett Lager
Find Your Muse Open Mic is Charlotte’s premier open mic night. Each week we feature a special guest performer from around the region. Come out and see some of the area’s best up & coming talent perform their latest original tunes. Always a fun time, hosted by the semi-hilarious Mr. Erik Button. Look forward to the start of a great Monday night at 7:30pm as you are greeted by the rest of our FYM team; Aaaaron at the door, Donniebaseball behind the bar serving up cold ones, and Normal Dennis doing his best at making it all sound great from behind the board. Sign ups are at 7:45, so come out and get your time slot.
Open Mic at Puckett’s Farm Equipment: Every Monday, at 8:00 p.m., Puckett’s Farm Equipment, a bar and music venue in Derita (and yes, it used to sell farm equipment), hosts an open mic that features all kinds of music. No cover. 18+.
2740 West Sugar Creek Road, 704-597-8230
Looking to listen to nice smooth jazz, look no further than Crown Station Coffee House and Pub every Monday at 10 PM!
Join us every Monday at Crown Station for a night of live music featuring Ocie Davis on drums and Troy Conn on guitar from 8:30-10:00. Afterwards there will be an open jam featuring Rob Linton on bass and Eric Chang on drums from 10:00-12:00.
DC Suo Ocie Davis & Troy Conn 8:30pm – 10pm
Rob & Eric’s UNCC Jazz Jam 10pm – ???
No Cover.
Open Mic Mondays with Jeff
8:30 till 11pm
Blind Alien Records & King Batt Entertainment present Phoenix’s Alternative Experimentalist Bent Self for his second North American/Canadian tour in support of his new album ‘Universal Drifter’ (out on Blind Alien Records). Bent Self is a singer/songwriter consistently pushing musical boundaries through his aggressive but melodic vocals, deep lyrics and unique electro-rock sound. Going to be a great night of live music with special guest Sol-Omen (San Diego, CA), along with other talented local acts.
–> FREE album download with ticket purchase – https://www.bentself.com/product-page/show-ticket-universal-drifter
–> Listen – https://bent-self.lnk.to/UV8hQ
–> Videos – https://youtube.com/bentselfrocks
Sponsored by COLDCOCK Whiskey & Dirtbag Clothing
Performances by:
Bent Self – https://www.facebook.com/bentself
Sol Omen – https://www.facebook.com/solomen7
Rec Riddles – https://www.facebook.com/pg/recriddles
Worldwide $cottie
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/killszn/1456383836
more TBA
A weekly party born from the brains of Justin Aswell and friends featuring the best in electronic, hip hop & forward music for the truly awesome human being. *Beginning July 2, 2018, unless otherwise noted for special performances, admission will be $2 from 9 pm-midnight and then $5 from midnight-2 am.
Knocturnal: A weekly party born from the brains of Justin Aswell and friends featuring the best in electronic, hip hop & forward music for the truly awesome human being.
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