Friday & Saturday, 10/23-24
Kingdom Come
7:30 p.m. | Shadowbox Studio, Durham
The intended audience for Kingdom Come, a new play directed by Carrboro local Lillian White, casts an intriguingly wide net, per event copy: “Southern queers, recovering Catholics, small-town escapees, conflicted churchgoers, true believers, border crossers, and sapphics (both in and out of the closet)!” Starring just one actor (Erin Amlicke) playing multiple characters, Kingdom Come follows Lena, a lesbian returning to her Tennessee hometown for her mother’s surgery—and, of course, unwittingly confronting the past. Doors open at 7 p.m.; early bird tickets are $20 a pop.
Sunday, 10/25
Zine Machine Printed Matter Festival
11 a.m.-5 p.m. | The Durham Armory, Durham
Word on the streets is that analog is back—and frankly, as a newspaper with a free biweekly paper, we couldn’t be more relieved to hear it. Now an annual tradition, the Zine Machine Printed Matter Festival is an opportunity to ditch your phone, support local and regional artists, and browse posters, DIY comics, and zines from more than 70 vendors. Maybe go buck-analog-wild and drop by the Durham Food Hall to visit Durham’s very own zine machine.
Sunday, 10/25
Rainbow Rider
3 p.m. | Fluid Community Garage, Durham
If you passed long-haul trucker Shelle Lichti’s eighteen-wheeler on the highway, you’d most certainly do a double-take—the colorful truck is striped in Pride insignia, earning the outspoken lesbian driver and her chihuahua passenger plenty of middle fingers and honks. Rainbow Rider, a 25-minute documentary short, is a profile in courage of the LGBTQ visibility Lichti gives to a grueling industry. On October 25, drop by Durham’s favorite inclusive auto repair garage for a midday screening. The truck will be on site.
Tuesday, 10/27
Friko
8 p.m. | Motorco Music Hall, Durham
Yearning for a raucous night of fresh indie-rock? Chamber pop foursome Friko is delivering just that on Tuesday night at Motorco. This Chicago-based band received wide acclaim for their 2024 LP from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and NPR Music, and their recently released sophomore record, Something Worth Waiting For, is generating just as much buzz. A portion of the proceeds from this concert will be donated to Santa for a Day, an organization that “answers letters to Santa from kids in underserved communities.” Friko is joined by the Brooklyn-based band Nine Perfect Lives; tickets are $28.02.
Thursday, 10/29
New Stories from the South Reading
6:30 p.m. | Letters Community Bookshop, Durham
The last time there was a new edition of the New Stories from the South anthology series was 2010—though, of course, there has never stopped being remarkable Southern stories. With local publisher Blair relaunching this series, there’s cause for celebration; on October 29, anthology contributors Dean Marshall Tuck and Carrboro’s Joanna Pearson—whose short stories and novel have been reviewed in the INDY—will celebrate the revival with a reading at Letters Community Bookshop.
