Come join us next Friday, April 12th, at 6pm for WKNC’s final installment for the semester of Fridays on the Lawn. It’s going to be a grand ol’ time with two incredible indie rock acts: Lonnie Walker and Oulipo. Fridays on the Lawn is WKNC’s free outside concert series. It will be located on Harris Field in front of the Witherspoon building.

Lonnie Walker, who played for WKNC’s 45th birthday party last year, is returning from some recent time off and we couldn’t be happier. Lonnie Walker started out in Greenville, North Carolina and songwriter Brian Corum later relocated to Raleigh with his band. They have since played a countless number of shows including at Hopscotch Music Festival and have really made a name for themselves in North Carolina’s local music scene.

Lonnie Walker frontman Brian Corum at WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit 6, Feb. 5, 2009. Photo by Michele Chandler.

Oulipo, a young band from Raleigh, has also played for Hopscotch Music Festival as well as WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit X. The band is signed to local label DiggUp Tapes and describes themselves as being in the art pop/ rock genre. Oulipo has been compared to Panda Bear with their synthetic vocals and very abstract pop sound.

Oulipo

Bring a blanket and some friends while you enjoy some free food and listen to these great bands. Join the Facebook event for more information as the event approaches!

Double Barrel Benefit 10 is quickly approaching. If you haven’t had time to check out the bands yet, I have made a Spotify playlist that includes a couple of my favorite songs from each band (except for The Lollipops and Some Army who are not on Spotify). So please check them out so you can sing along with us at Double Barrel this weekend. As always, tune in to 88.1 WKNC to hear these artists as well as other great artists all day.

Check out the playlist here!

Here are the songs in the playlist in addition to some songs you should check out by the artists who are not on Spotify.

Night 1
Wolves by The Lollipops
I Love You by The Lollipops
Teenage Lions by Jenny Besetzt
Always by Jenny Besetzt
Rise by Lilac Shadows
Bloodworth by Lilac Shadows
I’ll Survive by JKutchma and the Five Fifths
There’s a Light on by JKutchma and the the Five Fifths

Night 2
Open Wide by Oulipo
Build It Up by Oulipo
Servant Tires by Some Army
We’ve Been Lucky by Some Army
Crying Only Counts the First Time by Wesley Wolfe
Crying/Laughing by Wesley Wolfe
Friday Night by Spider Bags
Simona La Ramona

The Bridge Bus

The Bridge Bus, a nighttime shuttle connecting Durham and Raleigh, will be offering FREE rides both to and from Double Barrel Benefit for all our listeners who would rather not make the drive. While normally at a minor expense, The Bridge Bus has graciously offered their services to WKNC to help ensure that every listener who wants to attend Double Barrel can make it. In order to ride the bus for free you’ll need to present your ticket to that night of Double Barrel Benefit when you board. It’s all the incentive to buy your ticket in advance! The bus picks up from locations in Durham and will take them directly to the Pour House Music Hall. For the complete schedule, please see below.

Don’t forget that you can purchase your tickets to DBB 10 here!

As always, the Triangle hosts some amazing shows coming up this week including our annual Double Barrel Benefit. To see the full list of shows for this area check out the Rock Report. Here’s some of the best of the best.

 
Monday, January 28th- The Music Tapes at Cat’s Cradle , 9:30pm OR
Tuesday, January 29th at Duke Coffeehouse, 9pm

The Music Tapes is the experimental brain child of Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel and Elephant 6 and more recently Robbie Cucchiaro. The music features many non-traditional instruments including banjos and singing saws just to name a few. Their latest effort off Merge entitled “Mary’s Voice,” was recorded in a carnival tent which seems to infiltrate the music. The shows will be performed in a larger version of this tent. This show promises to be one of the more unique shows that you will ever see.

 
Wednesday, January 30th- Ty Segall, Ex Cult, and Gross Ghost at Kings Barcade, 9pm

If you know anything about garage rock, chances are you have heard the name Ty Segall. He has been a very busy man this past year. He released a solo album, as well as an album with the Ty Segall Band, and a third album with White Fence. Their seems to be no end to this young mastermind’s creative genius. In addition to these endeavors, he also managed to produce Ex-Cult’s brilliant debut who also makes the bill for this night. With the always amazing local favorites Gross Ghost opening, this show promises to be one of the hardest rocking and most energetic shows so far this year.

 
Wednesday, January 30th- Jeff Mangum with Tall Firs at Brooklyn Arts Center (Wilmington), 8:30pm OR
Thursday, January 31st at Neighborhood Theatre (Charlotte), 8pm

If you have yet to see Jeff Mangum, this is your chance. You never know which tour will be his last. Although some accuse him of still riding on the coattails of his now 15 year old fame when “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” took the world by storm, seeing him live will change your mind. The pure, raw emotion he brings to the stage with just a guitar and his voice seems to breathe new life into these well aged songs. Make the drive, it will be well worth it.

 
Friday, February 1st- Double Barrel Benefit X Night 1: JKutcha and the Five Fifths, Lilac Shadows, Jenny Besetzt, The Lollipops at The Pour House , 10pm
Saturday, February 2nd- Double Barrel Benefit X Night 2: Spider Bags, Wesley Wolfe, Some Army, Oulipo at The Pour House , 10pm

Double Barrel Benefit speaks for itself. Over the past 10 years, Double Barrel has brought to Raleigh the best local music acts from across North Carolina.  If the name doesn’t do enough for you just go ahead and check out more information on the line-up here. You don’t want to miss the 10th installment of Double Barrel Benefit.

 
Saturday, February 2nd- : Organos, Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores, Estrangers, Ghostt Bllonde, and The Spacemen at Tir na nOg and The Pour House , 1pm

This year’s Double Barrel features our second annual Day Party and Market. After its huge success last year at Tir na nOg, we decided to expand it next door to The Pour House as well. So come on out to check out some great local artisans and vendors selling their wares while enjoying some amazing local music.

WKNC now has for sale pint glasses. The glass, which features the lovely logo of WKNC is at the bargain price of $5. Be sure to pick yours up before they run out. They will be available at Double Barrel Benefit X February 1 and February 2 at the Pour House, and the day party at Tir Na nOg on February 2.  You can also find them at any other event that WKNC can be found. For those that can’t wait to get their hands on one, you can pick them up at WKNC’s offices in 343 Witherspoon Student Center only during normal business hours, 9 a.m and 5 p.m.

2012 was a great year for us and a great year in music.  If you haven’t seen our best of 2012 post yet, you can check it out here.  After spending the past month filtering through other best of 2012 lists to see what I missed from this year, it is time to look forward to next year.  Some of our WKNC DJs share with us the top 5 things that they look forward to in 2013.

DJ GRZA

1. Atoms For Peace album
2. The return of Daft Punk
3. Inaugural edition of Mountain Oasis
4. Alt-J at Cat’s Cradle
5. Jim James’ solo project

DJ DiGiorno

1. Art Lord and the Self-Portraits 10-Year Anniversary Reunion Show at Kings
2. WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit X
3. Hopscotch Music Festival 2013
4. New Bombadil Album “Metrics of Affection”
5. New Frightened Rabbit Album “Pedestrian Verse”

Crystal Beth

1. 4th annual Hopscotch Music Festival
2. Double Barrel Benefit 10
3. Fleetwood Mac reunion tour
4. Kidz Bop 23
5. Public Enemy being inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

CMYK

1. Earl Sweatshirt’s new album
2. More Future Islands shows in town
3. Less Gangnam Style flash mobs
4. Anything that Beck does in 2013
5. A new DOOM album or 3

DJ C’est La Bri

1. The tenth anniversary of DBB, lineup’s gone be crazy
2. The second annual DBB Day Party and Market!
3. HOPSCOTCH, ALL DAY ERYDAY
4. Some exciting new promotional events at LBLB with Tir Na nOg- secrets!
5. Being graced with more Indy Weekly Grayson reviews to put up on my fridge

Seagull

1. Mikal Cronin’s new album
2. Mikal Cronin’s local show, since he signed to Merge
3. Everything Captured Tracks puts out
4. Ty Segall Show!
5. New Deerhunter album (please?)

DJ CJ

1. IBMA World of Bluegrass events moving to Raleigh
2. Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival 2013 (both Spring and Fall)
3. The Fourth Annual Hopscotch Music Festival
4. Atoms for Peace’s debut album
5. New Local Natives album

Virginia Werewoolf

1. New Frontier Ruckus Album – Eternity of Dimming
2. Arrested Development (better than music)
3. Desaparecidos Reunion Tour
4. New Thermals Album
5. Hopscotch 2013

Girls Rock NC is a Durham-based nonprofit organization for girls ages 7-15 that focuses on empowering them through creative expression. Through their after school program, girls learn how to play instruments, write songs and attend workshops in body confidence. Fall’s program will include ten sessions, which will be each monday 3:45-5:45PM from September 17-November 19.

The programming this year will be headed up by Heather McEntire (Bellafea, Mount Moriah, founder of Holidays for Quince Records) and Collier Reeves (co-founder of Homegrown City Farms), both veteran GRNC staff.

If you’ve aged out  of the camper range and still want to get involved, visit GirlsRock.org for ways to volunteer and donate.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Girls-Rock-NC/351736201514929

Raleigh’s Annuals started off the night. With three different kinds of percussion going on all at once, it was immediately an interesting show. They played some new songs and old, each loved just as much by their fans. The coolest part was when the lights would dim almost to blackness and the main drum kit, clear under normal lights, would glow with a green laser pointer. It would go in unison with the beat and created a really awesome effect. The left wall of the Cradle lit up with spirals and the band was illuminated by the main source of sound at this point. Kudos.

Photo by Julie Whelan

I’d only ever seen Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Shakori. Each time they’d been incredible, inviting people up on stage to dance and just looking like they were having in the world. I wondered if playing indoors – away from the mud, grass, ..”grass”.., and hula hoopers – would affect the performance any. Of course, it didn’t.

A guitar string broke during the first song. Instead of having to endure an awkward lull until the guitarist fixed this, the band started to jam and told the crowd to dance until they had it under control. This little jam session was funky – all I could think was how fun their band practices must be. Once the string was replaced, the guitarist just joined back in and started singing “There ain’t no party like a Holy Ghost Tent Revival party cause aHoly Ghost Tent Revival party don’t stop!”  That themed continued through the entire show. The band was excited and happy to be there, and that was mirrored by the crowd.

This show was in support of their upcoming release “Sweat Like The Old Days,” out Sept. 4th. The new tracks that they played definitely won’t disappoint. I’m looking forward to hearing the album as a whole. If you did miss this show, the band will play Grey Eagle in Asheville on Aug. 31 and The Whiskey in Wilmington on Sept. 20.

Photo by Julie Whelan

Photo by Julie Whelan

It is with a heavy heart that I relinquish my title as general manager of  WKNC on May 20. My tenure as general manager would not have been made possible without the advice, positive reinforcement, and generosity of my fellow staff members, advisors, and the community at large.  I am certain that DJ Ones, the next general manager at WKNC, will continue to make WKNC the best radio station in the world.

I want to take the last local lunch shift of my time here at WKNC to thank all of the amazing local bands who have helped me and WKNC out throughout this past year.

These are the bands that played shows like Double Barrel Benefit and related Day Party, Fridays on the Lawn, small concerts that may or may not have been successful, and the birthday party. These amazing members of our community donated their time and their talent to WKNC and deserve to be recognized.

This local music scene and related community has made my job worthwhile. There will be airbreaks full of reminiscing, shout outs, and gratitude.

Tune in for the grateful local lunch, Friday May 18 starting early at 11:30 a.m. and going until 1 p.m.

Birds and Arrows play the first night of DBB9

Mike Dillon of Gross Ghost - Photo Credit: Agatha Donkar

Double Barrel Benefit 9 is coming up this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3 and 4, and oh my is it going to be something wonderful.  Filled with an eclectic mix of local talent spanned across two nights, The Pour House is going to be housing one of the finest locally-grown lineups of the year,  including The Kingsbury Manx, The Future Kings of Nowhere, Organos, MAKE and more.  Night Two in particular boats some of the Triangle’s most exciting and swiftly rising bands, especially Gross Ghost.

Gross Ghost is a four-piece band based out of Chapel Hill with a mesmerizing sound.  While the instrumentation is usually full of driving rhythms that are tinged with surf-punk vibes, the vocal melodies are infectious and perfectly contrast the fast-paced frenetic indie-punk soundscape.  Gross Ghost took the state by storm last year with two incredible EP’s, Lip City and Wicked Game, leaving fans anxiously awaiting their upcoming LP Brer Rabbit, which is to be released early this year.

Gross Ghost’s Grip Tapes label mate Heads on Sticks will also be playing Double Barrel Benefit on Saturday night, along with Naked Gods and The Kingsbury Manx.  Tickets for one night are $10 in advance while tickets for both nights are $15 in advance.  Under 21 is subject to a $5 cover charge.

With the success of the previous 8 Double Barrel Benefits, WKNC is broadening its emphasis on all things local. This year, DBB will include a day party and market Saturday, February 4 from NOON to 5 p.m. at Tir na nOg Irish Pub, just two doors down from The Pour House. The event is free and all ages!

Raffles will be held for WKNC merch, concert tickets, and VIP passes to Hopscotch 2012! There is also a fantastic list of Triangle charities, artists, and businesses important to WKNC.  Check out the following artists

Double Barrel Benefit 9 will be Feb. 3 and 4 at the Pour House Music Hall in downtown Raleigh.
Each night will feature four great local bands. Who, you ask? Tune in to the Local Lunch Friday, Jan. 13, to find out!

Tickets are available online and will soon be available at Schoolkids Records and Bull City Records.

To follow all things Double Barrel, use the hashtag #DBB9 and check out the facebook event.

Stay tuned for a comprehensive look at the ninth annual DBB, coming next week!

And of course, set your radio to 88.1 or listen online at noon Jan. 13!

by Julie Alvarez

Double Barrel Benefit, WKNC’s two-night benefit concert, is just around the corner. In order spice things up, we are taking after POSTERscotch and holding a poster design contest!

Artists can submit their work by Dec. 31 to be publicly voted on. The top five submissions will be printed and sold at the event. The winning artists will receive a pair of tickets to DBB9, a DBB9 t-shirt, a copy of their work, and their work will be featured on the WKNC homepage for two weeks.

Rules:

• No fee to enter
• Must contain the WKNC Logo
• 300 dpi, CMYK in high-res pdf or jpeg format
• Suggested Dimensions: 11×14 or 11×17
• Must be original work, and no more than two entries per person
• Submit your work to gm(at)wknc.org by Dec. 31 at midnight with the subject line “DBB9 Poster Competition”
• Designs will be voted on publicly at www.wknc.org/dbb9 from Jan. 5-13