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Best Art Gallery in the Triangle
Finalists: Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Peel Gallery + Photo Lab Carrboro, Lump, Visual Art Exchange
Best Bartender / Mixologist in Durham County
Shannon Healy – Alley Twenty Six
Finalists: MJ Weber – Corpse Reviver, Bear – Growler Grlz, Kacey Liebes
Best Bartender / Mixologist in Orange / Chatham County
Finalists: Zach White, Elena – Nash Street Tavern, Darrick Long
Best Bartender / Mixologist in Wake County
Joshua Self – The Blind Pelican
Finalists: Jenny – Players Retreat, Kyle Hankin – Foundation, Lucius Cyrus – Person Street Bar
Best Comedy Club in the Triangle
My love for Goodnights is well-chronicled in the INDY Week archives and, I have to say, it’s been an emotional year for fans of the venerable comedy club. But while we’re losing a piece of history, we still do have a lot to look forward to. When Goodnights turns down the lights for the last time at its long-standing Morgan Street location (in that grungy, quirky, 1920s Art Deco-style building that’s slated for demo) on July 31, I’ll be sad, though I can’t wait to catch future shows in its new home in the Village District. First, Goodnights will take over the now-defunct former K&W space. Then, depending on how long it takes to get construction permits and supply-chain-stalled building materials, the club will open in its final form, an 11,000-square-foot lair located underneath what used to be the Bargain Box but will soon be a Shake Shack. Cool? Yes. Suitably wacky? Also yes. Friends, the building may be gone, but the laughs—and the legacy—shall live on.—JP
Finalists: Raleigh Improv, ComedyWorx, Bull City Laughs
Best Community Event in the Triangle
Finalists: Drag Queen Story Hour Triangle, Beaver Queen Pageant, Centerfest, Dix Park Inter-Tribal Pow Wow
Best Draft Slinger in Durham County
Finalists: Nolan – Beer Study, Georgette – Fullsteam, Colby Singleton
Best Draft Slinger in Orange / Chatham County
Cynthia Burkins – Gizmo Brew Works
Finalists: Kacie Walker, Elena McCarry, Dave – House of Hops Pittsboro
Best Draft Slinger in Wake County
Joshua Self – The Blind Pelican
Finalists: Alison Williams, Rusty – The Green Monkey, Zach Neuman – Crank Arm
Best LGBTQ+ Bar in the Triangle
Finalists: Ruby Deluxe, Arcana, Flex
Best Golf Course in the Triangle
Finalists: Hope Valley, Umstead Pines, Pine Hollow Golf Club
Best Indoor Fun Business in the Triangle
Finalists: Over The Moon Play Space, Bull City Escape, Dogwood Country Club
Best Karaoke in the Triangle
Finalists: All King Karaoke, Flex Karaoke, Kingdem Karaoke
Best Live Theater Company in the Triangle
Finalists: Raleigh Little Theatre, Burning Coal Theatre, Theatre in the Park
Best Live Theater Venue in the Triangle
Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC)
Finalists: Playmakers Repertory Company, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Burning Coal Theatre
Best Local Podcast
Finalists: Girls Who Do Stuff, NC F&B, The Bob and Lu Show
Best Museum in the Triangle
Finalists: North Carolina Museum of Art, The Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Nasher Museum of Art
Best Neighborhood Bar in Durham County
“Hey bartender, let me get a roll of toilet paper.” Now that’s a question that’s never come up in bartending school, but during the height of the pandemic, the Accordion Bar had rolls of two-ply for sale. Dive bar sensibility notwithstanding, the Accordion in Durham’s NoCo District is about the closest thing the Bull City has to an English pub. And it screams community. It’s a place where a young Black man, after a meaningful conversation over beer and a cigarette with an older white guy, declares such a conversation would never happen in Brooklyn. The Accordion, with a white fluorescent sign that promises “cold beer” and “hot dogs” along with a list of mostly locally brewed beers is the consummate neighborhood bar. “ There’s a guy named Grant down the street who does our home boucha,” Briggs says. “A local woman does our Spicy Hermit Kimchi.” The Accordion has red-brick interior, green, high-back wooden chairs, cylindrical lighting that once hung in a church, and worn, thick slab of a wooden bar. There are picnic tables out back strings of orange Chinese lanterns gaily festooned overhead. “We get loads of people from the neighborhood,” Brigg says. “A lot of the teachers from the elementary school next to Cocoa Cinnamon are also regulars.”—TM
Finalists: Growler Grlz, Pinhook, Queeny’s
Best Neighborhood Bar in Orange / Chatham County
Finalists: Orange County Social Club (OCSC), Zog’s, The Belltree
Best Neighborhood Bar in Wake County
Finalists: MyWay Tavern, The Blind Pelican, Hero’s
Best Outdoor Music Venue in the Triangle
When it comes to the Triangle’s concert venues, there’s many I’d tip my hat to—but only one that would tip theirs right back. Whether you’re seeing Rex Orange County for the first time or Goo Goo Dolls for the 21st time, Red Hat Amphitheater is sure to give you a night you’ll never forget. From the lawn area to the pit, this huge outdoor venue provides the ultimate Raleigh outdoor music experience with concessions stands, stunning concert lighting, a beautiful view of downtown Raleigh, and open lawn space practically begging for your picnic blanket to rest on it. This summer’s lineup contains a multitude of genres from EDM to country to pop, so that everyone in the Triangle can find at least one artist on their concert bucket list.—HK
Finalists: Koka Booth Amphitheatre, NC Museum of Art, The Kraken
Best Place to Dance in the Triangle
Finalists: Pinhook, The Fruit – Durham, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival
Best Place to Get Specialty Cocktails in Durham County
Finalists: Kingfisher, Corpse Reviver, Arcana
Best Place to Get Specialty Cocktails in Orange / Chatham County
Finalists: Belltree, Bowbarr, Yonder, Orange County Social Club (OCSC)
Best Place to Get Specialty Cocktails in Wake County
Finalists: Bittersweet, The Blind Pelican, SideBar
Best Place to Hear Bluegrass in the Triangle
Finalists: Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, Community Church Concerts, The Kraken
Best Place to Hear Blues in the Triangle
Finalists: The Kraken, Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, Community Church Concerts
Best Place to Hear Hip-Hop or Soul in the Triangle
Finalists: Blue Note Grill, Local506
Best Place to Hear Jazz in the Triangle
Finalists: C. Grace, Carolina Theatre, Kingfisher, Sharp 9 Gallery
Best Place to Hear Noise / Electronica in the Triangle
Finalists: The Fruit – Durham, Nightlight, Ruby Deluxe
Best Place to Hear Rock’n’Roll in the Triangle
Cat’s Cradle, a small, barebones music venue in Carrboro, has been making names in the music world since 1969, helping launch indie rock bands such as Superchunk, Ben Folds Five, Whiskeytown, Polvo, and Archers of Loaf. If you want a cheap weekday or weekend concert featuring your favorite name from Spotify, Cat’s Cradle is the place for you. The venue doesn’t pretend to aspire to greatness. The sticky floor and cash-only bar are what make it a favorite stop for college students and veteran concert-goers, who can enjoy a close-up interaction with their favorite musicians. The black box stage is the first stop for non-mainstream bands coming through the Triangle, including some rappers, soul singers, and noise/electronica artists. But seating is scarce, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes.—JG
Finalists: Motorco, Lincoln Theater – Raleigh, Carolina Theatre, The Kraken
Best Place to Hear World or International Music in the Triangle
Finalists: Carolina Theatre of Durham, Cat’s Cradle, The ArtsCenter
Best Place to Shoot Pool in the Triangle
It’s late Thursday night, and the Green Room has a respectable crowd of folk whose deliberative choreography around the handsome green-felt pool tables is accompanied by the crack of ivory cue balls and the scrick, scrick sounds of chalk being applied to the tips of cues sticks. All of the tables in the 3,300 square-foot room are occupied, and the old bar is doing a steady business too. “We have good music, bad film, and good beer,” the pool hall’s owner Michael Dearing says. “We have bad movies every night. It’s an ode to Wesley Snipes tonight.” The Green Room first opened in the 1950s, and was known back then as the Broad Street Sport Shop before it was renamed in the 1980s. Dearing bought the place in 2005, years after he first started hanging out in the venerable pool hall during high school. He fell in love with the spot. “People from all over the world come here and tell me how much they like the place,” he says. “I tell them, ‘Be careful. You might just end up owning it.’”—TM
Finalists: Zog’s, Sharky’s Place, The Kraken
Best Theater to See an Indie Film in the Triangle
Finalists: Carolina Theatre of Durham, Rialto Raleigh, Alamo Drafthouse
Best Trivia Night in the Triangle
Finalists: Growler Grlz, Durty Bull Trivia, Hammered Trivia at Ruckus Mission Valley
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