Magic happened in the form of live local music Saturday night at the Cat’s Cradle as Chatham County Line had their album release show for Wildwood.

Birds & Arrows were invited to open for a late arriving crowd who were chit-chatting quite loudly at the start of the set. That was until the war painted lead singer Andrea Connolly opened her mouth for the first time and her strong but enchanting voice immediately silenced the entire venue as B&A jumped right into one of their favorites, “Honeymoon Song.” The group debuted several brand new songs including their new single “Pride of Lions” which is slated to be released this Friday evening in Durham. Needless to say, I believe many in the crowd were not followers of our local music scene, and I heard nearly a dozen people exclaim how impressed they were with this “unknown” band. After their set, the crowd gave B&A a well deserved rousing applause.

Birds & Arrows are playing this Friday in downtown Durham for the release of their new 7″ single off of 307 Knox Records. Billy Sugarfix who is also on the release and Schooner are playing as well.

Chatham County Line took the stage a short time later to a cheering and delightful near-sellout crowd. There was an immediate hush followed by an ecstatic breakout as the acoustic band dived right into to a couple of brand new songs off of Wildwood. If you still have not had the opportunity to hear the new album yet, which is being released officially tomorrow, you will be happy to know that it is the band’s best to date, even outshining its famous last release, IV. Where IV was poppy, Wildwood is hesitant, teetering on the edge of a jumpy hook and laidback mountain picking culminating in a highly pleasing and overall satisfying listen that keeps you coming back (I’ve had it on repeat for almost two weeks now). The crowd in Carrboro was kind enough to stay mostly quiet through the show until the end of each song (save for a few drunken loudmouths) as the group plays acoustic and using only one microphone stand to play around. Dave Wilson even commented that “Carrboro was always more polite than our hometown of Raleigh.” In total, CCL played 22 songs (by my count) in its entire set including 7 from Wildwood bringing the audience to their knees at the end of the final encore begging for even more.  After this show, it is obvious that CCL owns the Triangle and the entire Southern bluegrass scene.

Chatham County Line is playing several shows on Tuesday including free ones at Sadlack’s Heroes in support of Schoolkid’s Records and another at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.

Listen to CCL on the Local Beat 7/2/10:

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Tomorrow Local Beat is jammed full of great local bands and musicians who will be playing plenty of live tracks for us!

At 5 p.m. I will be joined by Raleigh-based band Kid Future, a relatively new group but one that is making great strides already in the area. Kid Future has a show coming up on July 15 at Slim’s Downtown in Raleigh, which we will be talking about as well as hopefully playing some live songs.

6 p.m. will bring in longtime favorite The Whistlestop who are playing their first live show in over a year on July 16 at Mac’s Tavern in Cary, NC. From what I am told, the boys in Whistlestop have enough new material for a second album, so hopefully we can get them to play us some live tunes on the air!

7 p.m. will bring in a couple members from two groups: Pete and Andrea of Bird and Arrows are coming by alongside Billy Sugarfix of Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel. We will be talking about their new split 7″ single that is coming out on 307 Knox Records on July 16 at the 307 Knox headquarters. From what I understand, both groups are planning on dropping by with their instruments as well!

It should be a great program with plenty of brand new music and a lot of great conversation! So tune in tomorrow evening from 5 p.m-8 p.m. right here on WKNC 88.1!

If 2009 was the year of Hear Here, then 2010 could very well be the year of Musical Chairs.  Carrboro based recording studio Nightsound Studios is releasing a compilation album in a similar vein that Flying Tiger Sound pulled off at this same time last year.  The project is to be titled The Musical Chairs Compilation.  The kicker is that the bands are covering other local bands and have to choose the band they are covering at random.  The compilation is being released for free with all donations going to the production of the free CDs and a local concert, and all concert proceeds will benefit a charity. You can read more about it here.

Bands on the project include:
Birds and Arrows
Butterflies
Erie Choir
I Was Totally Destroying It
Lizzy Ross Band
Luego
New Town Drunks
North Elementary
Pneurotics
Puritan Rodeo
Soft Company
Swaso
Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores and Pecosa

IWTDI has already announced that they are covering a North Elementary track while Puritan Rodeo is covering one of their’s.  I will post more information as I know it.

Photographs taken by WKNC photographer Katie Hill

Birds and Arrows

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Schooner

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Many would call me a hopeless romantic.  I love to send letters and flowers to my girl and pamper her up when I can.  And while I am not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day and its pop culture marketing schemes,, I still feel the urge to go out and buy my sweetie some candy and flowers and make her a nice dinner to show her how much I care.  Another thing I like to do from time to time is make her custom mix tapes based around themes, as it was afterall music that brought us together.  Holiday mix tapes are usually the best and easiest and this Valentine’s Day will be no exception.

North Carolina is a hot pot for music and of course you are going to find some wonderful love songs tucked here and there.  If you had Valentine’s Day creep up on you from the back and take you by surprise today, and your significant other is a fan of local music, feel free to steal this play list as your own.  (You might even want to take it further and take your honey to see all of these artists the next time they play live.)

1. Tift Merritt: Another Country

2. Avett Brothers: I & Love & You

3. The Old Ceremony: God Said I Could Have You

4. Birds & Arrows: Honeymoon Song

5. Nola: Fall Into Me

6. Josh Moore: Rush Down My Spine

7. Benji Hughes: All You’ve Got To Do Is Fall In Love

8. Jeremy Blair From Effingham: I Do & I Don’t

9. Bombadil: Reasons

10. Whiskey Smugglers: Not Your Average Love Song

11. Brett Harris: I’m In Love

12. Mandolin Orange: Oh My Love

13. Stella By Starlight: As Good As It Gets

14. Tomahawks: Just Like One Another

15. Lost in the Trees: Love On My Side

16. Martha Ann Motel: Everything All At Once

Got more to share?  Comment below!

Last week on the Local Beat was a lot of fun, as we had two bands in the studio for 2.5 hours of good conversation. Maria Albani, bass player of Schooner, came in to chat about her new solo project Organos at 5 p.m which is having a debut album release for the brand new EP, Limbs, this Friday at the Pinhook in Durham (it is already getting airplay on Satellite Radio).  Organos is an interesting band in which Maria plays an assortment of unorthodox instruments such as spoons, glass, cardboard, boxes, shaker eggs, and sticks among other interesting sounds to create a unique yet immensely satisfying minimalist folk rock sound.  On the album Maria performed most of the parts herself but live Organos is a whole different animal.   A mini local super group of sorts, Organos live claims the likes of Reid Johnson (Schooner), Wes Phillips (solo, North Elementary, Rosebuds), Theresa Phillips (North Elementary), Nathan White (Nathan Oliver), and John Harris0n (Nathan Oliver, North Elementary), not to mention Maria herself.  In our conversation Maria, Theresa, and I chatted about the album, the band members, the show, and also her past bands which include Pleasant, Tennis and the Mennonites, Un Deux Trois, & The Pox Family Singers.  Listen to the podcast below:

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Organos is playing at the Pinhook this Friday, February 5 alongside Birds and Arrows and Ye Old Shoppe (with members of Wild Wild Geese).  The show is at 9:30 p.m., and you get a free copy of the album with price of admission!

At 6 p.m., local bluegrass favorites The Hotwires stepped in to chat about an assortment of different topics, but mostly to encourage our listeners to head to the Haiti Relief Benefit show at the Pour House Thursday, February 4th.   The Hotwires are playing in the middle of the show after Andy Bilinski, Roger Gupton, and the Debonzo Brothers, and before Chatham County Line, Filthybird, and A Rooster For The Masses.  The show is $12 and all proceeds are going to the Red Cross in support of Haiti Relief efforts.  The fellas and I spent quite a bit of time chatting about bluegrass as a genre, the history of bluegrass, as well as their upcoming album which is hopefully going to be released at some point this spring.   We even got a little touchy when talking about their old band name, No Strings Attached.  They also brought in some instruments and played some live tunes for me.  Check out the reverbnation player below to listen to the songs or listen to the entire podcast:

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I also interviewed Hank Smith for this past Monday’s Eye On the Triangle program here on WKNC about the benefit. You can listen to that segment here.

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Many of my listeners have heard of Carrboro band Schooner and are aware of its upcoming EP release in February.  However, many of you have not heard of Schooner band member Maria Albani’s new project Organos, and the release of her first EP, Limbs.  Maria plays a variety of strange instruments in her songs such as spoons, glass, sticks, stomping, claps and even books which all comes together to create a totally unique minimalist folk rock sound.  The release show will be at the Pinhook in Durham on February 5 with Birds & Arrows. Maria will be joining me on air Friday evening at 5pm to chat about the new EP, the release show, and whatever else comes to mind.

Also, at 6 p.m. local favorite bluegrass band, The Hotwires, will be jumping on the microphones to premiere some brand new tunes and talk about their upcoming album, but most importantly they are joining me to promote the concert on February 4 at the Pour House,  Haiti Relief Benefit Concert (click for more info).

So be sure to listen in as always to the Local Beat with me, Adam Kincaid, this Friday and every Friday right here on WKNC.

Only something so important and profound could bring me out of my food science/chemistry induced blogging slumber the day before a microbiology exam: Troika Music Festival.   Not only is this the biggest and baddest three- day long local music extravaganza in North Carolina but this is the best line-up they have ever had.  I just had to wet my paws on this one.

Troika this year is just not fair.  It’s not fair at the amount of awesome shows the will be happening and the amazing bands that will be playing each day.  It isn’t fair because there is only one of me.  I want to be at every show and hear every song by all the bands playing.  I hate you Bonnaroo Troika, yet, I love you.

Because I can’t be everywhere at once, I have mapped out the path I will try to take as I wind my way around downtown Durham to every show.   The weather might be a tad chilly but it should be nice enough to walk or ride your bike around downtown Durham and enjoy all the shows you can. This listing is just where I plan to be (subject to change). Feel free to modify my path and comment below.

Adam’s Top Troika Bands of 2009
1. Mount Moriah 2. Luego 3. Megafaun 4. Schooner 5. Caltrop 6. Pistil 7. All Your Science 8. Birds and Arrows 9. Future Islands 10. The Tender Fruit

Thursday Night
7 p.m.
Of course I will be starting off Troika as I did last year: Broadcasting on WKNC live from the Festival Kickoff in Durham Central Park.   The Beast is going on first, followed by Megafaun. If you don’t make this, you don’t like local music.

8:30 p.m.
After the Festival Kickoff this gives me plenty of time to walk on over to the Durham Performing Arts Center for one of my favorite up-and-coming band, Ghost Cats of the South.  This new folky sounding indie group from Durham caught my ears over the summer with their demo and I have yet to see them live, though I have yet to hear a bad thing.

9:45 p.m.
For the next hour I have to head over to the Pinhook for House of Fools and Aminal.  Aminal played LBLB a while back and wowed the audience as well as myself.  Plus, I have had their two EPs they put out earlier this year on constant rotation in my house.

10:45 p.m.
Since I saw Max Indian last Friday, and I saw Bowerbirds before its members left for Europe a couple of weeks ago I am going to drop back by the Duke Coffeehouse to catch the last two shows there for the night.  EAR PWR and Future Islands are two bands my feet have been craving recently. (I will make it up to The Moaners somehow).

Friday Night
If I didn’t have a radio gig (The Local Beat, people!) on Friday I would probably be heading to The West End Wine Bar from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for what could be one of the best shows of the night.  Tea and Tempests, Liza Kate, and Birds & Arrows back-to-back-to-back.  I’ll try not to think about what I am missing there for what should be a chilled-out good time, especially since I have not heard Tea and Tempests before.

8:45 p.m.
I saw the Huguenots fairly recently, otherwise I would be hitting them up at the Trotter Building.  Instead I am going to drop by The Pinhook to see The Scientific Superstar.  Probably one of the stranger groups in the area (they base their songs off of the comic books that go along with their albums) I have yet had the pleasure to see what they do in front of a crowd.

9:45 p.m.
Jews and Catholics are always a must for me when they play in Raleigh (which isn’t often enough) so I am sure to swing by Broad Street Cafe for the first time in ages. Depending on how far I mind walking, I also wouldn’t want to miss Brett Harris either who is playing at the same time at the Trotter Building.  Decisions, decisions…

10:15 p.m.
Assuming that my hearing is almost gone by this point, I may have to skip Caltrop, which is still ringing in my ears from the last time they melted my face off and stop by the Duke Coffeehouse instead for the Pneurotics.  Even though I interviewed them about their latest release, Second Skin, I have not had the time to see them live when they have played.  I can’t wait to hear the new songs in front of an audience that includes more than just me.

11 p.m.
I Was Totally Destroying it has been playing A LOT recently and  sounds tighter than ever.  Plus, I am always down to hear some more of their new tracks from Horror Vacui.

11:30 p.m.
My last show before I call it a night will be to see All Your Science who is playing late night at Bull McCabe’s.   I havn’t seen them since Troika last year when they completely won me over.  It’s been too long.

Saturday
Assuming that my beloved Wolfpack are not getting destroyed early by Maryland on Saturday it seems unlikely I will be leaving the game at Carter Finley early.  If I did however, I would NOT miss Mount Moriah (playing at 2:30 at the Trotter Building), possibly my favorite band in the Triangle right now.  You have got to hear them.

9 p.m.
The Bronzed Chorus put out one of my favorite albums of 2009 with I’m The Spring and I have never seen them live.  I hear they really put on a good live show though so I will be getting over to the Trotter Building first and foremost to watch them play Saturday evening.

9:45 p.m.
Once the Bronzed Chorus is done I will be sticking around to watch Maple Stave.  Though I would love to see Veronique Diabolique since I couldn’t make it to their show last weekend.  This could be a tossup.

10:30 p.m.
I just saw Schooner last Friday (who completely ruled) and I have seen them probably more than any band in North Carolina, so instead I will be going to Luego for the second time in as many weeks.   Luego is just one of those bands I cannot get enough of.

11:30 p.m.
The Butterflies are one of those bands I just have never been able to get around to seeing live.

12:15 a.m.
Pistil is by far the best band playing late on Saturday and one I havn’t been able to see in quite some time as well.  I will be ending my night at Bull McCabe’s once more to round off Troika.

For video footage of Troika bands, check out WRAL’s entertainment vlog.

The Troika Music Festival is a three-day music festival in Durham, NC and features several local bands. Attending is a great way to support the local scene!

Local bands on this year’s line-up include The Love Language, Bowerbirds, Dexter Romweber Duo, Birds of Avalon, The Moaners, Red Collar, Future Islands, Hamer No More The Fingers, Lonnie Walker, Embarrassing Fruits, Max Indian, and many more. For a complete list, check out the schedule!

New this year is “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, on Saturday, November 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., which features a unique market of art and handmade wears from local artists and crafters.

Come out to support the local music and arts scene November 5,6, & 7.