Clocking in at just 20 minutes, the self-titled debut of Durham’s Delta Rae is a folk-inclined power pop EPsincere, mellow, sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Sibling trio Ian, Eric and Brittany Hölljes and childhood chum Elizabeth Hopkins unite big voices with addictive melodies for mostly charming results. Bouncing between blue-eyed soul, raucous gospel and earnest […]
Ashley Melzer
Bio: Ashley Melzer is a writer, photographer and filmmaker living in Carrboro.Twitter: http://twitter.com/ashleymelzer
Posted inMusic
40 Nights of Rock & Roll
Steve LaBate and Scott Sloan film The Moaners and Spider Bags at a free Nightlight show Saturday, May 8, at 10 p.m. Track LaBate and Sloan’s progress at 40nightsofrock.com and 40nights.tumblr.com. If there were a gravestone shaped and chiseled every time someone proclaimed that rock ‘n’ roll was dead, you’d have to bulldoze Yosemite just […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Disappointing musical biopic Runaways
The Runaways Opens Friday in select theaters Dressed like a Space Oddity-era David Bowie with a Brigitte Bardot pout, Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) stumbles from teenage talent shows to back alley clubs and fortuitously into the line of sight of record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) and guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart). Intrigued by her […]
Posted inMusic
Black Banjo Gathering II
The Chaco-clad, North Face-toting students don’t seem to notice the slow trickle of people entering the auditorium. Sprawled in hammocks or bustling to class, the Appalachian State University undergraduates focus on soaking up sunny weather, not sorting out the reason a gaggle of film cameras and strangely shaped instrument cases are heading into Farthing Auditorium, […]
Posted inMusic
Tonight: Shearwater and Wye Oak at Local 506—interviews with both
We spoke with Shearwater and Wye Oak, who play together tonight at Local 506. Hospital Ships open the 8:45 p.m. show. Tickets are $10–$12. SHEARWATER INDEPENDENT WEEKLY: You’re six records deep, and you’ve been playing as Shearwater since 2001. How do you keep it fresh? What was the strategy on The Golden Archipelago? I don’t […]
Posted inMusic
This Week: Black Banjo Gathering in Boone
Old time-enthusiasts, scholars, banjo-slingers and guitar-pickers will converge on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone this week for the Black Banjo Gathering. Stretching from March 24–28, the event features workshops, concerts, panel discussions, lectures, and late-night frolics all designed to commemorate the African, Afro-Caribbean, and African American origins of the banjo and recognize […]