Even without forking over for a festival wristband, fans can get in on plenty of Hopscotch action this weekend thanks to yet another stellar slate of free day party action, a beloved tradition as anticipated by some as the official lineup reveal itself. With more than thirty day parties scattered around downtown, the daytime choices […]
Spencer Griffith
Bio: Spencer Griffith lives in Raleigh, where he teaches school and writes about bands.
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Hopscotch Added a Day and a Half of Extra Programming. Does It Hurt the Day Parties?
Hopscotch Music Festival hasas its name suggestsalways fostered a “choose-your-own-adventure” approach for attendees. Faced with both a limited number of suitable spaces within its downtown Raleigh footprint and the desire to not overwhelm festival-goers with too many conflicting sets, festival organizers have found it challenging to maintain that come-and-go atmosphere while increasing the event’s scale. […]
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John Moreland Breaks Out of His Sad-Bastard Shackles on the Redemptive Big Bad Luv
John Moreland Wednesday, July 19, $13–$15, 8 p.m. Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com Over the past few years, John Moreland has often, and somewhat unfairly, found himself pigeon-holed for penning “sad bastard music,” thanks to his lightly graveled voice paired with a penchant for storytelling that’s emotional, heavy, and honest. The first three records from the […]
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WKNC Makes a Mixtape
The Triangle is home to a ton of local acts, and if you’re new to the scene, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start digging into it. But some folks at N.C. State’s student-run radio station, WKNC 88.1 FM, have assembled a collection of songs that makes for an excellent entry point […]
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Okilly Dokilly explores the surprising darkness of The Simpsons’ Ned Flanders through heavy metal
OKILLY DOKILLY Saturday, May 27, 8 p.m., $15–$18 Local 506, Chapel Hill www.local506.com According to its unassuming origin story, Okilly Dokilly came into being when a pair of bandmates started brainstorming innocuous names for imaginary hardcore bands. A reference to The Simpsons‘ friendliest neighborinothe perpetually upbeat and severely religious Ned Flandersinspired plenty of follow-up jokes […]
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Record Review: Mipso Sticks the Landing With Coming Down the Mountain
MIPSO Saturday, May 6, 8 p.m., $18–$30,6 and under free North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh www.ncartmuseum.org Considering that 2015’s Old Time Reverie set Mipso atop Billboard‘s bluegrass chart and netted the band a performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Chapel Hill quartet should be strapped in for a meteoric ascent fueled by […]
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NC Folk Shines a Light on Jugtown Potters, Harkers Island Mariners, and Burlington Lowriders
NC FOLK FUNDRAISER Thursday, Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m., $20–25 Motorco Music Hall, Durham www.motorcomusic.com For more than forty years, the North Carolina Folklife Institute has worked alongside other nonprofits to promote awareness of the state’s shifting cultural practices, covering a broad array of food, music, arts, and vocations. Recently, it worked with the North Carolina […]
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With Wood Robinson’s New Formal, the Mipso Bassist Steps Front and Center for His Solo Debut
Wood Robinson’s New Formal Saturday, Dec. 10, 8 p.m., $8–$10 The Station, Carrboro www.stationcarrboro.com For the last five years, Wood Robinson has held down the bass position for Chapel Hill’s Mipso, largely remaining in the shadows while performing an occasional lead vocal on a verse and contributing to arrangements more than the initial songwriting process. […]
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Rachel Hirsh Makes a Break for it With Bruxes
BRUXES Friday, Nov. 18, 8:45 p.m., $7 Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro www.catscradle.com Fronting Triangle power-pop prodigies I Was Totally Destroying It, Rachel Hirsh drove home huge hooks with her soaring vocals and moody keyboard textures. But in 2012, the quintet she had cofounded a decade earlier as a teenager dramatically cut back on touring, […]
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For its Fifteenth Anniversary, mewithoutYou Finds New Meaning in its Earliest Material
MEWITHOUTYOU Thursday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., $15–$18 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro Fifteen years ago, Aaron Weiss would’ve imagined he’d be teaching high school by now. Instead, as the mewithoutYou frontman finished his undergraduate degree in English education at Temple University, his band signed to Tooth & Nail Records, sending him on a different trajectory. Weiss expected […]