A special weekend celebrating the talent, legacy, and spirit of legendary North Carolina musician Nina Simone is scheduled Aug. 16-18 in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Art, Come Hear NC, the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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As North Carolina continues to celebrate 2019 as the Year of Music, a first-time collaboration with the Americana Music Association and the state will be announced Tuesday, May 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Executive Mansion.
From the N.C. Music Hall of Fame:
Come Hear NC! As the North Carolina Arts Council promotes the Year of Music, come enjoy old-time tunes and music by Raleigh’s Southern String Band, Thursday, April 25, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh, at a free “Thursday Talk.”
The North Carolina Arts Council and partners in Rocky Mount and Goldsboro will present free concerts that celebrate Eastern North Carolina’s rich African American musical heritage this spring.
Eastern North Carolinians are among the transformative figures in the history of jazz, gospel and popular music and this legacy was documented in the African American Music Trails of Eastern North, a guidebook to eight eastern counties.
Come Hear NC will sponsor the Main Stage at Red Hat Amphitheater during the Wide Open Bluegrass festival Sept. 27 to 28 in Raleigh, which will be open to the public for free for the first time in the festival’s history.
Come Hear NC is a program of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Arts Council designed to celebrate 2019 as the Year of Music as proclaimed by Governor Roy Cooper earlier this year.
The Oxford American Magazine’s 20th annual Southern Music Issue celebrates the musical legacy of North Carolina and features an artistic portrait of North Carolina native Nina Simone, the High Priestess of Soul, on the cover.
Simone, born and raised in Tryon, N.C., is celebrated as an icon of American music in the 160-page issue, along with Earl Scruggs, Elizabeth Cotten, John Coltrane, 9th Wonder, and James Taylor.
The North Carolina Arts Council, The Arts Council of Wilson, and the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park will present a free concert, The Jazz Revival Project, Thursday, June 7 at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson.
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will sponsor musical performances at MerleFest April 27 - 29, including performances by 2018 North Carolina Heritage Award recipient Tony Williamson, and teen guitarist Presley Barker, who brings new life to roots music.The line-up of musicians from the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina will perform on The Plaza, one of 13 stages for the four-day music festival. MerleFest is considered one of the premier music festivals in the country.
Many fans of the “Outlander” book series know that the Battle of Alamance figures prominently in book five, “The Fiery Cross.” Alamance Battleground State Historic Site will celebrate that time period and sensibility with the “Fraser’s Ridge Scottish Music Jam,” April 28, 1 to 4 p.m. Bring a lawn chair and picnic to the free event and enjoy an afternoon of Scottish music.