Just two months ago, the Indy reported that Mount Moriah—the smoldering folk-rock intersection of Bellafea’s Heather McEntire and Horseback mastermind Jenks Miller—had signed to Durham-based indie power, Merge Records. A few weeks later, the label reissued the outfit’s sterling 2011 debut on vinyl. And now, right on cue, comes news that Mount Moriah’s sophomore effort […]
Jordan Lawrence
Bio: After seven years in the Triangle, Jordan Lawrence followed his fiancée and their fluffy cat to Greensboro. He has written about music for the INDY since 2010.Twitter: http://twitter.com/JordanLawrence
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Ryan Gustafson returns as The Dead Tongues
It’s been almost two years since Ryan Gustafson performed his own songs with a full band. At the time, he was rolling with the Drughorse Collective, a mostly defunct collection of Triangle artists with a knack for reinvigorating classic pop and rock styles, and supporting his Donkey LP, a colorful assemblage of old-school rock, soul […]
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Members of Megafaun and Bombadil try out new looks
Photo by Jordan LawrenceJames Phillips on his own for the first time Phil Cook & His Feat, Sumner JamesTir na nOgNov. 15, 2012 Among the advantages of free showcases like the Tir na nOg’s Local Band-Local Beer night is the ability to try out new things without much pressure. With no cost to get in […]
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Lost in the Trees debut new song
It took Ari Picker—the composer and songwriter who leads Chapel Hill’s orchestrally inclined Lost in the Trees—four years to follow up 2008’s All Alone in an Empty House. Though the record was reissued and expanded in 2010, Picker didn’t debut a full collection of new songs until this year’s haunting and fractured A Church That […]
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Tonight: John Vanderslice and Crooked Fingers play in Raleigh
Tonight, Raleigh’s Kings Barcade will host a pair of extremely literate singer-songwriters. But John Vanderslice and Eric Bachmann—who performs with his Crooked Fingers—have more on their minds than penning pristine verses and strumming a guitar, which makes their well-written words that much more potent. In addition to a slew of evocative, symbol-rich albums, Vanderslice is […]
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Update: Casbah changes booking agents
Last week, a blog post about a change in personnel at Durham rock club Casbah got a few key facts wrong. The article incorrectly stated that former talent buyer Steve Gardner had been fired from his position; he was laid off. The article also quotes Gardner’s replacement, Elysse Thebner, saying that she plans to increase […]
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Durham’s Casbah hires new talent buyer (UPDATED)
The Durham rock club Casbah changed direction Tuesday by firing talent buyer Steve Gardner and hiring Elysse Thebner as his replacement. Thebner is a fixture in the local music community, playing with bands such as Some Army and JKutchma & The Five Fifths and promoting shows with Ampersand Booking. Gardner had been at the Casbah […]
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How the Longbranch country music dance hall became an electronica hotbed
Bounce Music Festival—featuring DJ Alesso, Michael Woods, dBerrie and Kevin Focus—comes to the Longbranch Friday, Oct. 26. It’s approaching midnight on a Thursday evening, and Raleigh’s largest rock club teems with neon-clad 20-somethings. Huge balloons bounce from outstretched hands. Clouds of multicolored confetti blast from side-stage cannons. Hip kids with modified leaf blowers shoot streams […]
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Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan to rock the vote with Spider Bags, Titus Andronicus
Update: The Thursday show in Greensboro isn’t coming to pass. Friday in Durham is still on. As he was in 2008, Mac McCaughan is out to motivate N.C. voters. This week, the Superchunk frontman and Merge Records co-founder will play three rallies across the state in support of early voting, including a Friday appearance at […]
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Whatever Brains release video for new song, “Bellied Up at Sick Town”
Bellied Up At Sick Town by Whatever Brains from LoganSayles on Vimeo. Raleigh’s Whatever Brains are nothing if not prolific. After releasing self-titled LPs in 2011 and 2012 that landed less than a year apart, the darkly sarcastic post-punks return with a video for “Bellied Up at Sick Town,” a new demo that will likely […]
