Still looking for ideas to close out 2017 and welcome the new year? There are myriad live music options at venues in and around North Carolina’s Triangle and beyond. The following list is in alphabetical order and in no way comprehensive so please feel free to share other options. Happy New Year!
The promising duo, “Couldn’t Be Happiers,” is releasing its debut EP at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 23, at Granite Falls Brewing Co. in Granite Falls, North Carolina (map).
But you can get an exclusive first listen of this fresh, new music, “Let’s Not Bury the Obvious,” here:
The Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based duo, “Couldn’t Be Happiers.” is made up of Jodi Hildebran (vocals, guitar, harmonica) and Jordan Crosby Lee (vocals, guitar). They remind me of all the best things about classic country music.
“Right now, since we are such a young band, we put together the best representation of ourselves we could in three songs,” Lee explains. “We’re songwriters first. Live performers a close second and recording artists third. That will come.”
The Couldn’t Be Happiers plan on selling hard-copy and digital EPs for $5 “just to recuperate cost, including studio time,” Lee adds. “It will also be on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify. We’re basically giving it away to gain exposure and book more live shows.”
You can learn more about the duo here.
Let me give you the bad news first, The Connells and Billy Strings shows are sold out this weekend.
The good news is that you can still get tickets to see three of my favorites this weekend at the Lincoln Theatre: Yarn and The Dune Dogs on Saturday in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, and Town Mountain and Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters are bringing their Asheville Holiday Hang to the Triangle on Sunday.
If you’ve been to Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival, you’re already a fan of formerly Brooklyn-based Yarn, alt-country, roots rockers who now call North Carolina home. And the Ocracoke, North Carolina-based Dune Dogs call themselves “country-fried swamp n’ roll.”
The Asheville Holiday Hang is an event focused on highlighting talent from the Asheville music community, while raising awareness and donating partial proceeds to Feeding America food banks in each city. Continue reading
If, like me, you missed a chance to catch Chatham County Line’s “electric” show, you’re in luck.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based acoustic string ensemble played the set last year at MerleFest and the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s annual festival.
But they’re far from done.
These harmonic boys, whose music has been described as falling somewhere between Del McCoury and the Jayhawks, are back in Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Saxapahaw, North Carolina, over the next three days.
Trust me, you don’t want to miss this show. Continue reading
This just in from the good folks over at The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA):
The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) is proud to announce Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native Caleb Caudle will headline Crossroads @ SECCA #020 on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. The show that is set to begin at 7 p.m. will be the official album release party for his new album, “Crushed Coins,“ on Cornelius Chapel Records.
Opening for Caudle will be Jake Xerxes Fussell.
Tickets for the show go on sale at 3 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2017. You can read my review of Caudle’s last album release, “Carolina Ghost,” on my Huffington Post blog.
Stay tuned for an exclusive release of one of his upcoming singles from his latest album. Continue reading
The holidays wouldn’t be the same without Chatham County Line’s annual December Electric Tour. Continue reading
Music artists are faced with a conundrum today that is worthy of a song. And it’s not just music artists. Ask anyone who is trying to promote a book or any other form of artistry. Do you give your artistic works away to gain exposure? Or do you try to get fans to pay for your hard-earned efforts, instead?
For example, many musicians these days are giving away new tunes on Amazon Prime, Apple Music, SoundCloud and Spotify, just to name a few, in order to try to build a following in the hopes that the masses will then seek out live shows. Continue reading
Greensboro, North Carolina, native and Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens is among the more than 75 artists scheduled to perform April 26-29 at MerleFest on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, festival organizers announced today.
Giddens, who is also a recent $625,000 MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient and a welcome addition to the hit TV show, “Nashville,” is among four additional artists revealed by the festival along with Elephant Revival, Rodney Crowell and Shinyribs. Continue reading
Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival fans, listen up:
The Axton, Virginia, Memorial Day weekend music festival set for May 24-27 turns 10 in 2018 and the initial roll out of artists in the lineup doesn’t disappoint.
J Grey & Mofro,, a southern soul and funk band from Florida, and The Marcus King Band along with Billy Strings will return, both of whom were big hits at Rooster Walk 9. MerleFest favorite and dobro master Jerry Douglas and his jazz-grass band including guitarist Mike Seal and drummer Doug Belote, will make their Rooster Walk debut.
Also announced were Rooster Walk staples Americana/alt-country rockers Yarn and R&B rockers Commonheart.
Of these acts, The Marcus King Band, Billy Stirngs, Yarn and The Commonheart are slated to play two sets each.
