GUITARTOWN BIRTHDAY BASH: THE BACKSLIDERS, TONK Friday, April 27, 9 p.m., $10–$12 Kings, Raleigh www.kingsraleigh.com Carrying a thick spiral-bound notebook filled with dates and stories, Jonathan Lee is always ready to talk music, though he hardly needs his notes. As an early member of the Guitartown listserv, which fostered a community among Triangle alt-country fans, […]
Spencer Griffith
Bio: Spencer Griffith lives in Raleigh, where he teaches school and writes about bands.
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Durand Jones & The Indications Spin Gold Out of Lo-Fi Origins
MONDAY, APRIL 23 Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro 8:30 p.m., $13-$15, www.catscradle.com The legend of Durand Jones & The Indications’ self-titled debut focuses on its barebones recording budget, exemplified by the use of a microphone repurposed from an American Idol-branded karaoke machine. Though that lo-fi approach lends plenty of grit to the 2016 LP’s vintage […]
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On the Brink of Becoming a Stateside Sensation, Wolf Alice Offers an Exciting Alt-Rock Amalgam
WOLF ALICE Monday, April 16, 8 p.m., $18–$20 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com Though Wolf Alice had a humble start as an acoustic duo in 2010, it didn’t take long for the band to find success after plugging in and adding a rhythm section. Now a quartet, the guitar-forward London outfit incorporates a spectrum of alt-rock […]
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Record Review: Caleb Caudle Overcomes His Ryan Adams Influences on Crushed Coins
CALEB CAUDLE Saturday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., $10–$12 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com Crushed Coins Cornelius Chapel Records Noting the resemblance of a rootsy Carolina singer-songwriter to Ryan Adams is awfully easy, but for Caleb Caudle, it’s awfully appropriate. Raised in Winston-Salem, Caudle has cited Whiskeytown as his gateway from punk to country. Early in his […]
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Record Review: Reese McHenry & The Fox Channel Raw Power on High Comma
REESE MCHENRY & THE FOX Friday, Feb. 16, 9 p.m., $7 Local 506, Chapel Hill www.local506.com High Comma, the debut EP from Reese McHenry & The Fox, features McHenrywhose voice is perhaps the most powerful in the Trianglegoing back to a familiar two-piece format. She first made her name with such a layout more than […]
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Rachel Baiman and Kate Rhudy Find Common Ground in the Personal and Political
“There’s not a lot of room for self-doubt or concern that you’re not good enough to do something when you’re watching the kind of shit that’s going down in our country right now,” Nashville singer-songwriter Rachel Baiman muses from across the globe in Brisbane, just before kicking off a short run of Australian dates. “It’s […]
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In Dire Need of a Kidney Transplant, Charly Lowry Takes a New Look at Her Life’s Work
Charly Lowry is going through a tough season, but she’s not about to let it best her.
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Following a Divorce, a New Record, and a Move to Morrisville, Lydia Loveless Finds a Fresh Focus
LYDIA LOVELESS Friday, Dec. 15 & Saturday, Dec. 16 8:30 p.m., $15 Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro www.catscradle.com If you try to call Lydia Loveless on her cell phone and she doesn’t pick up, you’ll get the following message: “Hello, you have reached firebrand cowpunk badass Lydia Loveless. I can’t come to the phone right […]
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Off Main: Our Picks for IBMA Week
With hundreds of acts in Raleigh for IBMA’s 2017 World of Bluegrass, a glance at the week’s schedule can be awfully intimidating, particularly for those who rarely wade into the genre. Though there’s no shortage of talent on stage at any given moment, it can be trying at times to hunt down the performances likely […]
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Hopscotch, Night Two: Making the Most of a Musical Smorgasbord
Hopscotch Music Festival Downtown Raleigh Friday, September 8, 2017 Despite the growth of Hopscotch, over its eight years of existence, Friday proved that the festival’s hallmarks—its diverse smorgasbord of options and its ability to remind that North Carolina’s scene can compete on the same platform as national acts—are as intact as ever.Speaking with Nathan Price […]