Fledgling festival takes flight

In a musical expression of town and gown relations if there ever was one, this weekend features the Chapel Hill Music Festival with three evenings of live bands on and off the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. The festival will have both student musicians as well as performers with links to the Carolina community. All proceeds from the event will go toward music education and support programs in local schools. With assistance from UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for the Study of the American South, the funds will make their way to primary and secondary school teachers for use in alternative music education programs such as "Blues in the Classroom," and others learning tools. The festival is planned to become an annual event, essentially setting up an endowment for these vital programs.

This is an ambitious first run for the fest. Here are a few selected listings, which cover five different venues. On Thursday, April 15 at UNC's Great Hall, they've got pop-rockers The Balance, The Nathan Davis Band and Urban Sophisticates, among others, while over at Local 506 on the same night is Neverending, Velvet and Parklife. On Saturday at Hanes Art Center, they'll have edgy rock from the Quarantines, along with Pico versus Island Trees, and Spencer Acuff, while at The Fuse on campus is Big Fat Gap and Ashley River Rising, with some acoustic sets by folks like Alysson Light at the Toy Lounge, and over in the Union they'll have various hip-hop groups (to be announced). On Saturday, it's back over to Hanes for The Never, Valient Thorr and Evoka. For more information, visit www.chapelhillmusicfestival.org.

The 9th edition
He's at it again. Little Brother's production whiz kid, 9th Wonder, is set to eclipse even Petey Pablo as the Carolinas' most famous hip-hopper. He pioneered the now common posturing of producers remixing other entire hip-hop albums, when he the remixed Nas' God's Son, as his own God's Stepson. Now with a cut "Threat," (which features an R. Kelly loop) from Jay Z's Black Album, under his belt, his phone is ringing off the hook with people all over wanting the same magic dust sprinkled on their music. The next MC to see this happen is West Coast luminary, MURS, of the Living Legend collective, who asked 9th to do his entire album, simply titled Murs 3:16, The 9th Edition, released by the Def Jux label. Recorded entirely here in Durham, the record was being worked on before the Jay Z news broke, but was recently completed. His characteristic old school take on beat creation is making folks recall visionaries like Pete Rock, who made beat production leaps in the early days of hip hop using basic tools. Look for more of 9th and Little Brother real soon, as their star is only getting brighter and there are rumors of major labels checking out at Little Brother. For more on the MURS record, check out the Def Jux website at www. definitivejux. net/jukies/murs/.

Chapel Hill Music Festival Schedule
Thursday, April 16
Great Hall
8 p.m. The Verdict
9 p.m. Starting Tuesday
10 p.m. The Balance
11 p.m. The Nathan Davis Band
12 a.m. Urban Sophisticates

The Fuse
8 p.m. Jazz Night

Local 506
8 p.m. Eastwood
9 p.m. Neverending
10 p.m. Velvet
11 p.m. Parklife

Friday, April 16
Hanes Art Center
8 p.m. February's Leaving
9 p.m. Quarantines
10 p.m. Pico v. Island Trees
11 p.m. Spencer Acuff
12 a.m. Kenin

The Fuse
8 p.m. The Big Fat Gap
9:30 p.m. Chris Anderson & The Red Hot Railroad Band
10:30 p.m. Ashley River Rising

Great Hall
8 p.m. CUAB Hip-Hop

Toy Lounge
8 p.m. Alysson Light
9 p.m. Dechen Hawk
10 p.m. Adam Cullum
11 p.m. Grant Withington

Saturday, April 17th
Hanes Art Center
8 p.m. The Never
9 p.m. ValientThorr
10 p.m. Evoka