Ladysmith Black Mambazo Carolina Theatre, Durham Friday, Feb. 13 ‘Peace, love, harmony”: That was the mantra Joseph Shabalala, the elder statesmen of South African vocal troupe Ladysmith Black Mambazo, repeated throughout the group’s Friday night performance at Durham’s Carolina Theatre. Ladysmith has clung to such universal hope for five decadesthrough apartheid, a post-Graceland rise to […]
Spencer Griffith
Bio: Spencer Griffith lives in Raleigh, where he teaches school and writes about bands.
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Live: Chatham County Line & Jonas Fjeld
The Norway and Nord Cack ensemble of Chatham County Line and Jonas Fjeld made its debut Raleigh appearance last night at the Berkeley Cafe before heading to Europe for a tour behind their new collaborative album, Brother of Song. The club cut the attendance off at 200, as the set was being recorded for possible […]
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Chatham County Line and Jonas Fjeld
Listen up! If you cannot see the music player below, download the free Flash Player. “Got any cold ones left inside?” calls Jonas Fjeld to journalist and fellow Norwegian Johnny Andreassen from the stoop of a quaint white home a quarter-mile from Raleigh’s Cameron Village. Andreassen remembers that there’s one Hell’s Belle left and that […]
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The wealth of free music in the Triangle
See also: Favorite open mics Free shows venues “It’s about finances,” explained bluesman Corey Harris as he introduced “Money Eye,” the first song of his solo set, from the stage of Duke University’s Page Auditorium two weeks ago. The crowd chuckled along politely with Harris’ timely joke: America’s economy has sunk to its worst state […]
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Raleigh hip-hop six-piece Kooley High hits the big screen
“One Day? Theater Five, on your left.” Guess a Cary art house will screen a hip-hop documentary after all. Black Star’s classic “Definition” thumps from Theater Five of Galaxy Cinema, spilling into the indie multiplex’s lobby like a beacon for the crowd of 300 streaming inside: Co-eds in heels and houndstooth mingle with New Era […]
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Holy Ghost Tent Revival’s So Long I Screamed
Listen up! If you cannot see the music player below, download the free Flash Player. If Greensboro’s Holy Ghost Tent Revival isn’t a band of musical time-travelers, it’s at least happy to play the part. With the mischievous air of a Mark Twain yarn, So Long I Screamed conjures images of eras spent rambling from […]
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Gray Young’s Firmament
In a post-rock field prone to excess, Gray Young trims the fat by cutting its cinematic grandeur into lean, hard-working miniatures. Firmament bursts out of the gate with “Provenance”: Chas McKeown’s chiming guitar and Jeff Dopko’s attacking drums, heavy on cymbals and floor toms, lay an anticipatory foundation before bringing Dan Grinder’s melodic bass in […]
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Max Indian’s You Can Go Anywhere, Do Anything
Like a pair of well-worn blue jeans, Max Indian’s You Can Go Anywhere, Do Anything feels just right. Forgive frontman Carter Gaj if he sounds familiar, as the Chapel Hill singer-songwriter mines several decades of pop genius. From the delicious harmonies and hooks of The Beatles and Badfinger to a distorted take on The Byrds’ […]
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The Cool Kids’ “Delivery Man”
Listen up! or stream it below. If you cannot see the music player below, download the free Flash Player. Over sparse production that relies heavily on sampled accordion, emcees/producers Antoine “Mikey Rocks” Reed and Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll spit lyrics both witty (“I rhyme in tsunamis and this is just a drop of it/ if […]
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Stella By Starlight’s My Electric Robot Friend
Durham indie dance duo Stella By Starlight is songwriter/ producer Nathan Fowler and guitarist Sonny Byrd. Despite collecting an MTVu Woodie Award for Best Music on Campus last year, the duo’s somehow managed to fly under the local radar for the past two years. But “Better Living Through Chemistry,” the lead track on the band’s […]