CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM—Going into the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off, the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils and the UNC Asheville Bulldogs came packed with a entirely different set of concerns. While Duke was focused on grabbing more rebounds and encouraging its freshman phenom, Jabari Parker, to willfully roll out his fourth consecutive 20+ […]
Eric Tullis
Bio: Eric Tullis lives in Chapel Hill, where he writes about music and basketball.Twitter: http://twitter.com/erictullis
Posted inMusic
Maceo Parker, The Robert Glasper Experiment among heavyweights announced Friday for next year’s Art of Cool Music Festival
On Friday night, shortly after the Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue concert at UNC’s Memorial Hall, the Durham-based jazz-advocacy contingent The Art of Cool Project hosted an afterparty and jam session at East Franklin Street tavern Linda’s Downbar. By 10:45 p.m., there was barely any standing room in the cramped, hopping space. While TAOC co-founder […]
Posted inCulture
Duke escapes the gaze of The Evil Owl Lady in 97-64 win over FAU
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM—If you were at all bothered to watch Florida Atlantic University head coach Mike Jarvis tromp up and down the sideline during the Owl’s 33-point Friday night loss to the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils, you might have also noticed that his team and staff were joined on their bench by a mysterious […]
Posted inMusic
35,000 records + caffeine: Carrboro’s new Vinyl Perk
If you want proof of the great vinyl boom (and possible bust), Whole Foods Market is now offering its shoppers a record selection. Aside from odd outlets like grocery stores, small vinyl boutiques like Carrboro’s new Vinyl Perk record store, which opened last week, also have their hands in the increased interest in shopping for […]
Posted inMusic
Live: Hip-hop gets old-school with 9th Wonder, Bell Biv Devoe and more in Durham
“It’s all slapdash and not well put-together,” said an older white fellow outside of the Durham Performing Arts Center just after Nice & Smooth’s set as part of N.C. Central University’s two-night Return of the Legends homecoming concert. “Slapdash is the point,” I wanted to yell at him. Maybe he wasn’t impressed by the traditional, […]
Posted inMusic
The Beast + Big Band’s Gardens
The Beast + Big Band with Hindugrass Thursday, Oct. 24 9 p.m., $8–$10 Motorco Durham’s crew of jazz and hip-hop fusion enthusiasts The Beast have built their reputation on a mountain of microcosmic missions. From their live mix of confessional raps and complicated vamps and incorporation of salsa to their involvement in hip-hop education and […]
Posted inMusic
Hip-hop’s role at UNC finds new footing, on Franklin Street and abroad
No one told Pierce Freelon that the chancellor would be here. But early on a Friday evening, UNC-Chapel Hill’s newest leader, Carol Folt, walks into the opening reception of the Chapel Hill Community Beat Making Lab, across the street from campus in the town’s aging courthouse. “The damn chancellor is here, man!” the UNC graduate […]
Posted inMusic
A daily guide to Mosaic Fall Music Festival in Raleigh
Read our interview with DJ Rob Swift An 11-day dance music festival can feel like boot camp if you’re brave enough to romp every night. Taking their cues from the four-day Mi Casa Es Su Casa Holiday party in Mexico and the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Mosaic Fall Music Festival offers variety and balance […]
Posted inMusic
Five words with DJ Rob Swift
Check out our daily guide to Mosaic Fall Music Festival Every year, when Mosaic Wine Lounge offers one of its two 11-day electronic music festivals in Raleigh, there’s generally an interesting musical twist to the dance-heavy roster. This year, they’ve invited DJ Rob Swifta hip-hop artist who, with the groundbreaking turntablist troupe the X-Ecutioners, helped […]
Posted inMusic
Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon’s next project combines theater and music
Nnenna Freelon with The Beast + Big Band Saturday, Sept. 14 8 p.m., $55.25 Fletcher Opera Theater Durham jazz singer Nnenna Freelon kicks off a fall tour this weekend at Raleigh’s Fletcher Opera Theater, where she’ll be joined by her son’s band, The Beast + Big Band, for a night of tantalizing vocal jazz exploration. […]