Third Eye Blind Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh Tuesday, June 9, 2015 Shortly into Third Eye Blind’s midweek set at Red Hat Amphitheater on Tuesday, longtime leader Stephan Jenkins shared his relief and anticipation with the nostalgia-seeking crowd. “We can finally say that our new album comes out next week,” he announced, alluding to a career […]
Spencer Griffith
Bio: Spencer Griffith lives in Raleigh, where he teaches school and writes about bands.
Posted inMusic
Live: In Raleigh, St. Paul forms a Cabarrus Street congregation
St. Paul & The Broken Bones Lincoln Theatre Street Stage, Raleigh Saturday, June 6, 2015 A half-dozen songs into an explosive 90-minute set outside Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre, St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ force-of-nature frontman, Paul Janeway, introduced “Shake,” the group’s first cover of the night: “We’re gonna do a Sam Cooke song, Otis Redding-style, […]
Posted inReviews
Record review: Greg Hawks’ What Goes Around
Greg Hawks Friday, June 5 at 8 p.m. The Artscenter Tickets are $10–$15. “They say what goes around comes around,” Greg Hawks sings on the title track of his third solo album. The aphorism holds for this sharp Americana array, indicative of the North Carolina native’s expansive musical background. Growing up in Mount Airy, Hawks […]
Posted inMusic
Live: Old Crow Medicine Show and Sturgill Simpson cut through classics and more
Old Crow Medicine Show, Sturgill Simpson Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary Saturday, May 2, 2015 Playing one of the first dates of his band’s spring tour Saturday night in Cary, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor tried to explain how the group has kept busy while off the road—including traveling to Los Angeles to pick up […]
Posted inMusic
Live: Diarrhea Planet’s serious fun in Raleigh
Diarrhea Planet Kings, Raleigh Saturday, April 11, 2015 Examining the Nashville band Diarrhea Planet from a distance, it’s easy to make arguments against them. The name alone invites easy criticism, not to mention the fact that two-thirds of the sextet play guitar. That statistic makes the band seem like a hokey, over-the-top, one-trick pony, especially […]
Posted inReviews
Record review: 6 String Drag’s Roots Rock ‘n’ Roll
6 String Drag plays Kings Friday, Feb. 20, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10–$15. The Temperance League and Clear Spots open. Nearly two decades have passed since Steve Earle’s E-Squared imprint issued High Hat, the second LP from 6 String Drag. It arrived near the apex of the region’s mid-’90s alt-country boom; along with Whiskeytown […]
Posted inMusic
Live: American Aquarium kicks off Wolves release weekend in Raleigh
American Aquarium, Cory Branan, The Black Lillies The Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh Friday, Jan. 30 Much has been made of American Aquarium showing a newfound maturity on its latest record, Wolves, and it’s true that frontman BJ Barham is now more likely to spend his downtime gushing about his latest antique finds rather than practicing more […]
Posted inMusic
Live: Jimmy Eat World celebrates Futures, a decade later
Jimmy Eat World, Minibosses Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014 With the queue outside the Lincoln Theatre still a few dozen long as showtime neared for Jimmy Eat World’s sold-out performance on their Futures anniversary tour, venue staff tried to direct traffic. “Guys, there are two lines: One for under 21 and one for […]
Posted inMusic
IBMA, Day Five: Ups, downs and workarounds
For all the fun I had throughout the IBMA festivities during the weekend, I must admit that the final day started with disappointment. Jesse McReynolds, IBMA Hall of Fame mandolinist and half of the legendary sibling duo Jim & Jesse, wouldn’t be playing the noon slot at the Raleigh Convention Center ballroom, his only scheduled […]
Posted inMusic
IBMA, Day Four: Greg Fishel’s musical-meteorological puns and Canadian variations on bluegrass
For all the talk of admittedly thin attendance in clubs for this year’s Bluegrass Ramble showcases, the free Bluegrass Wide Open street festival certainly didn’t suffer the same fate on its opening day. I’m no expert—or even a skilled amateur—at estimating attendance figures, but I was blown away upon arriving downtown shortly before 3 p.m. […]