Spring is almost here, and that means outdoor festivals and events are near.
Music
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“A State Where Great Acts Feel the Love”: Ryan Cocca on Creating a Hip-hop Platform and Unplugging from the Matrix
Cocca, a longtime INDY contributor, re-launched hip-hop platform Super Empty earlier this year.
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Good Moon Signs: Sylvan Esso On Making a Festival, Maintaining a Community Feel, and 90s Chord Vocoders
The band’s two-day Durham concert runs May 31 and June 1 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
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Suzi Analogue and Blu’s “Best 16” Sounds Like The End of the World
A UNC-Chapel Hill professor and a West Coast rap legend combine to make a fitting soundtrack for unnerving times.
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Matt Southern’s “Tender is the Knife” Is Driven By Pleasant Utility
While the highs aren’t especially high on Southern’s eighth album, the lows don’t dip much lower, with each song more or less scratching the itch it seems intended to scratch.
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Remembering Kevin Joshua “Rowdy” Rowsey II, a Beloved North Carolina Hip-Hop Legend
On April 19, a crowd gathered in Durham’s CCB Plaza to mourn the passing of Rowdy. The Cypher kicked off at 9:19 PM—a marker of our 919 area code, where Rowdy started his hip-hop journey over a decade ago.
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Bury Me at the Casa Bacardí: Dispatches From the 2024 Dreamville Festival
Hip-hop feuds, dancing-bear brand activations, and other scenes from one of the world’s largest artist-led festivals.
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Dreamville Preview: Three NC Artists to See in 2024, and Three to Hope for in 2025
Plus, a roundup of Dreamville-adjacent Friday events to fill out the weekend in Raleigh.
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“Cold Cream II” Is a Fun and Furious Record
The band takes evident inspiration from bands like the Ramones, The Clash, and X and hot-rods it down to the chassis, pinstriping the frames with funny, seriously nonsensical lyrics and polishing them with potent melodic hooks.
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On “Needlefall,” Magic Tuber Stringband Blends Communal Joy With Minimalist Abstraction
On Magic Tuber Stringband’s fourth full-length release, the old-time band effortlessly inhabits both ends of its sonic spectrum.