Topics Related to Come Hear NC

Keenan Jenkins is good at school. He excelled academically in his hometown of Rocky Mount and was admitted to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

The Carrboro, NC supergroup Speed Stick is an ever-evolving project among a group of friends—Ash Bowie (Polvo), Charles Chace (The Paul Swest), Laura King (Bat Fangs), and Thomas Simpson (The Love Language)—whose musical achievements reach back as far as the 1990s.
We spoke with Charles, the catalyst for the band's first show, who caught us up on the band’s beginnings, his approach to music, improvisation, and art.

Tumbao’s style varies from song to song, floating between salsa, bossa nova, funk and Afro-Cuban beats. They released a single in January (expect their first EP later this year) and have an impressive slate of upcoming shows. The group is quickly entering the canon of Raleigh’s most beloved bands. We caught up with Diego Avilez, frontman and founder of Tumbao, before his performance. Diego got his start in music, which started at 4 years old in the church choir, in Lima, Peru, his hometown.

Photos By Sandra Davidson/Graphic Design by Ai-Ling Chang

Shay Martin Lovette is a songwriter and guitar player, based out of Boone, North Carolina. Growing up in Wilkesboro, the home of Merlefest, he was raised around NC music. Despite his early indoctrination into roots music, he resists any classification as an “old-time” musician. His latest album, Scatter and Gather, strums and plucks its way along, supported a cast of talented NC creatives whose music is part of a powerful canon.

Last week Charlie Smarts, MC and founding member of Kooley High, brought down the house at the second installment of Music at the Museum. Before the show, we sat down with him to learn about his trajectory, the groundwork of NC hip-hop, and the importance of talking to venues that hold memories not easily found online.

It was such an exciting evening of music at the NC Museum of Art with Lakota John! John Lakota Locklear hails from both the Lakota and Lumbee tribes, and grew up in Pembroke, NC, near the Lumber River. John’s a blues and roots musician, and someone who truly believes that “change is inevitable, but growth optional” We sat down to chat before the performance, and he had some words of wisdom to share with us.

 

For the past five years, Kinston's Choci Gray has hosted the Chitlin Circuit: an annual community event that features stellar performances by some of the town's most celebrated Black musicians. Gray's Chitlin Circuit event hearkens back to the time of segregation, when Black entertainers were forced to leave white clubs immediately after their performances. These entertainers would head to a Black-owned venue in the same town to perform, eat, and be in fellowship. This network of venues was called the Chitlin Circuit.

 

The band Stray Local was formed in Wilmington by married duo Hannah Lomas and Justin Rowen. Originally organized as a largely live band, their music is changing in a world with less live music.