Akinmusire—a familiar face at Duke Performances—rose to fame as a firebrand jazz trumpeter, but last year’s Origami Harvest can’t be constrained by any one genre, much like the work of Kendrick Lamar, with whom Akinmusire has collaborated. He spans jazz, hip-hop, spoken word, chamber music, and beyond for his monumental reckoning with structural racism. Sep. 19, Rubenstein Arts Center
As if Meek and Future weren’t enough, this stadium rap bill comes frontloaded with Houston breakout Megan Thee Stallion, who, in addition to fueling memes, goes very, very hard. At least in Raleigh, hot girl summer looks set to last well into September. Sep. 19, Walnut Creek
In 1961, Judy Collins debuted her first album, Maid of Constant Sorrows, thus cementing herself as a Greenwich Village folk mainstay alongside the likes of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Since then, she’s been as prolific with her activism as she has been with her singing. Sep. 19, The Carolina Theatre
Ever since she dug her keys “into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive and carved her name into his leather seats,” Carrie Underwood has also ratified herself as a household name. This fall, the country megastar makes a stop in Raleigh as part of her “Cry Pretty” tour; in November, she hosts the Country Music Awards alongside Reba Mcentire. Sep. 30, PNC Arena
Not many singers can count Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Dylan, and Ben Harper as fans, but Mavis Staples, who is coming to The Carolina courtesy of Duke Performances, has always been exceptional. From The Staple Singers’ gospel-rooted pop resistance to oppression during the civil rights movement to her eclectic solo career today, Staples remains a musical force and a role model in her ninth decade of life. Oct. 3, The Carolina Theatre
Even if you think you don’t know Zedd, you know Zedd. If it’s a ubiquitous pop song and it sounds like a time bomb made of candy, he probably produced it (see Alessia Cara’s “Stay,” Maren Morris’s “The Middle,” and Ariana Grande’s “Break Free). He’s also a stadium EDM monster in his own right, as he reminds us on his “Orbit Tour.” Oct. 5, Red Hat Amphitheatre
Poet of jean jackets and felt cowboy hats Jeff Tweedy is back, and when he plays in Cary this October, he’ll have highly anticipated new Wilco album, Ode to Joy, under his belt. Tweedy’s music is consistently accompanied by a kind of smoky warmth, and while his songs are not full of too many plot twists, it is a bit surprising (delightfully so) that Nashville lo-fi singer-songwriter Soccer Mommy is the opening act on this tour. Oct. 16, Koka Booth Amphitheatre
N.C. Symphony feat. Leslie Odom Jr.
The North Carolina Symphony welcomes Tony-winner Leslie Odom Jr., who played Aaron Burr in the original production of Hamilton, to sing a selection of Broadway and jazz hits. Oct. 18, Baldwin Auditorium
After he virtually disappeared into the glitched-out production of 22, a Million, Bonnie Bear reasserted his humanity on i,i last month, even if his version of humanity sounds like a cybernetic angel. A live band of close collaborators, including Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes, should warm things up, as will Feist in the opening slot. Oct. 19, PNC Arena
If they’re good enough for a prince of England and the Duchess of Sussex, they’re good enough for us, right? Riding their royal wedding stardom into a new Sony Music deal and global touring, British gospel institution The Kingdom Choir brings its uplifting artistry to Duke Chapel for Duke Performances. Oct. 26, Duke Chapel
It’s possible to love contemporary music yet also hear John Prine and think, “They don’t make them like that anymore.” After fifty years in the business, it’s uncontroversial to call Prine one of the definitive songwriters of a generation, whose humorous, political folk and country songs are heavy with human warmth and melancholy wisdom. Nov. 1, Durham Performing Arts Center
Filmmaker Sam Green narrates his “live documentary” as indie-rock lifers Yo La Tengo perform their original score in a stirring, contemplative collaboration at Duke Performances that pays tribute to the polymathic Buckminster Fuller, who, among countless designs and inventions, pushed the geodesic dome into history at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Nov. 1, Reynolds Industries Theater
The Black Keys have scuzz-rock for a pop palate down pat, as you might guess from their utilitarian tour title, “Let’s Rock.” Armed with a praised new back-to-basics album (Lo/Hi, Nonesuch Records), they’re apparently so confident that they’re dragging Modest Mouse out of wherever they’ve been hiding for the last few years. Nov. 8, PNC Arena
If you’re digging through crates at a record store, you can throw a dart and probably hit an Emmylou Harris disc. This is because the country singer is preternaturally consistent, with a stream of strong, steady releases since her early days recording with Gram Parsons. She’s got the hardware to match: thirteen Grammy wins and forty-seven nominations. Nov. 8, UNC’s Memorial Hall
North Carolina Opera continues its snazzy, scrappy exploration of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle with this concert of the penultimate part, in which our hero meets the Valkyrie Brünnhilde. Conducted by Timothy Myers, the music will be sung in German with English supertitles. Nov. 10, Meymandi Concert Hall
The improvisational jazz violinist Regina Carter is widely considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime talent; on her “Simply Ella” tour, she pays tribute to another great: Ella Fitzgerald. “Whenever I hear an Ella recording,” Carter says, “it grabs me at my core.” We’re sure we’ll feel the same way hearing Carter. Sep.28, Stewart Theatre, live.arts.ncsu.edu
Imani Winds is a virtuosic wind quartet that focuses on music by African-American and Latinx composers, and its French hornist composed Passion for Bach and Coltrane for the group, the poet A.B. Spellman, and the jazz piano trio Harlem Quartet. Making its own lane between classical and jazz, the work weaves poetic oration into a visionary pastiche of Bach’s Goldberg Variations and John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Nov. 16, Baldwin Auditorium
Incandescent electronic duo Sylvan Esso’s intimate “WITH” tour is comprised of only six stops, so we’re lucky that Durham gets two of them. Molly Sarlé—who is one-third of the band Mountain Man, and who releases her debut album, Karaoke Angel, this fall—will join the duo on stage. Take it from the New York Times, not us: “Sylvan Esso makes pop human.” Nov. 22, DPAC
Has it only been four years since Ariana Grande achieved notoriety for licking a donut at shop and then putting it back? It feels like at least four decades. In the time since Grande has released several albums and experienced several very dark tragedies. She’s pulled through, though, and along the way, she’s won audiences over with her cathartic, empowering pop, prolific output, and earnest live shows. Nov. 22, PNC Arena
Following the release of In League with Dragons, John Darnielle’s fantasy-besotted new album, The Mountain Goats are embarking on a massive international tour. In December, they make a home-state stop for a special two-night performance at the Haw River Ballroom. Dec. 6 The Haw River Ballroom, hawriverballroom.com
One of these fests is not like the others
‘Tis the festival season—no sooner have we gotten through Hopscotch than ten more day-or-weekend-devouring extravaganzas are breathing down our event planners. They’re mostly music, from the jazz and hip-hop of Art of Cool to the blues and folk of Music Maker 25, though we squeezed in one fest for those of you hate music. (Warning: It, too, contains music.)
1. Wide Open Bluegrass Festival: Sep. 27 & 28, downtown Raleigh
2. Art of Cool Festival: Sep. 27–29, downtown Durham
3. Carrboro Music Festival: Sep. 29, Carrboro
4. NC Dance Festival: Oct. 18 & 19, Durham Arts Council/The Fruit
5. Music Maker 25: Dec. 4–8, The Fruit
Déjà vu all over again
Nostalgia concerts—remember this thing you loved years ago? Here it is again, played by older people!—have become a big enough industry to fill their own sidebar. From indie bands performing classic albums and Explosions in the Sky turning twenty to a touring tribute to The Band and Scorsese’s famed rock doc, these five shows will take you back to when you had more hair and fewer worries.
1. Built to Spill performs Keep It Like a Secret: Oct. 6, Cat’s Cradle
2. Luna performs Penthouse: Oct. 7, Cat’s Cradle
3. Explosions in the Sky 20th anniversary tour: Oct. 11, The Ritz
4. Superchunk performs Foolish acoustic: Nov. 2, Motorco
5. The Last Waltz tour: Nov. 18, DPAC
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