In a night of all Raleigh-based music, Annuals, Gray Young and Bright Young Things will take the stage this Friday, February 19 at The Pour House. In anticipation of the show, WKNC will be giving away lots of Annuals gear.

We have Annuals’ new EP, “Big Zeus” up for grabs in the studio, as well as t-shirts, as pictured below:

Stay tuned to WKNC for your chance to win Annuals music and attire!

Sorry for sending this blog in late, but some tests and Food Analysis and Statistical Quality Control labs have had me bogged down all week.  I do still pretend to be a student sometimes.

Tonight on the Local Beat however I am tossing all of that to the side for a fantastic lineup which I know everyone of you will be interested to listen in on.

Last time Reid Johnson tried to come on the Local Beat he got stuck in traffic and we had to settle for a quick phone interview.  Hopefully that won’t happen tonight as he and the rest of Schooner are coming on to chat about their most recent release, the Duck Kee Sessions EP, which will be sold only from CyTunes.org.  Schooner has been making the rounds of public radio in support for the album and I am more than happy to be one of the last stops on their radio tour before the release party next Friday, Feb 19th, at the Pinhook in Durham.  Veelee and the Erie Choir are playing as well and The Popular Kids will be doing standup.  Tune in at 5 p.m. to hear more about CyTunes, artwork at the show, and the album.

At 6 p.m. local favorites Wembley will be stopping in to play some live music off of their recent output, Keywords for Robots EP, which is  a fantastic record and gaining some support throughout the state.  If you havn’t heard the new EP since it’s release back in 2009, you are going to want to listen in and drag yourself out of your box to hear these great tunes.

For the last hour of the show a whos-who of local musicians will be sitting in with me.  Mike Robinson and Adam Baker from Annuals and Dan Grinder and Chas from Gray Young, and maybe some members from Bright Young Things will be dropping by to chat about their show at the Pour House next Friday.  All of these bands are releasing or have released new material so far in 2010 so we will check in with them to see what lies in progress for the upcoming year.

Finally, since I could not fit The Love Hangover onto the program in time, I will be sitting down with Caitlin Cary and Matt Douglas (of the Proclivities) for an informal pre-recorded Local Beat “Mini Exclusive” which will not be aired on WKNC but will be podcasted on the Blog instead.  We are going to try and get The Love Hangover creator, Richard Alwyn, to call in from NYC and chat about the show on Monday and hopefully coerce Caitlin and Matt to sing love songs to me.  With any luck this will be posted on the WKNC Blog sometime tomorrow.

Tune in Thursday, January 28, to  WKNC 88.1 FM for the debut of a brand new Annuals‘ single, “Loxtep.” The track comes from their up-coming EP, “Sweet Sister,” due for release March 30 on Banter Records. Also, WKNC will be debuting Gray Young‘s up-coming single, “Meridian.”

Tune in for the Local Lunch at noon with Tommyboy on WKNC 88.1 or stream online at wknc.org/listen next Thursday to hear these exclusive tracks. Annuals and Gray Young are releasing these songs to promote their concert on February 19 at The Pour House Music Hall featuring both bands, along with Bright Young Things. Additionally, WKNC will be giving away two pairs of tickets to the show during the broadcast.  We are excited to have the opportunity to debut these tracks only to WKNC’s listeners during next Thursday’s Local Lunch.

This Thursday at Tir Na Nog is the Sparkcon Kickoff show. Sparkcon is
a annual DIY festival that showcases Raleigh’s top artists. This show
has a great local lineup: Starmount, Aminal Music, The Jackets and
Bright Young Things. Starmount is a psychedelic, down-tempo, four
piece band headed by Greg Elkin, who has produced albums for many well
known local artists (including Goner- YEAH!). Aminal and The Jackets
will bless the stage with a heavy dose of Americana-Indie rock
followed by Bright Young Things, which will crush you with its pop
sensibility.

This event will also provide local beer tasting from Foothills beer, a
Winston Salem brewery.

Tune in Thursday at 7  p.m. for an interview with Bright Young Things.

New Raleigh has beaten us to the punch announcing this month’s Local Beer Local Band, but we are just excited as everyone else.  This could possibly be the best month’s lineup yet, and features three extra dates not on Thursday!  Check it out:

Wednesday, September 2- The American Princes with Magic Mike (FREE)

Thursday, September 3- Max Indian & Mount Weather (FREE)

Saturday, September 5- Lonnie Walker with Americans in France & Anti-Bubble ($5 cover)

Thursday, September 10- The T’s & Embarrassing Fruits (FREE)

Saturday, September 12- Rollergirl after party featuring Red Collar, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Demon Beat, & Pink Flag ($5 cover)

Thursday, September 17- Sparkcon kick off featuring Bright Young Things, The Jackets, Aminal, & Starmount ($5 cover)

Thursday, September 24- Future Kings of Nowhere & Dry Heathens (FREE)

Every week WKNC interviews our Local Beer Local Band bands, so be sure to check back to the blog for dates and times of live, on-air, interviews.

Also, don’t forget that every week the Hear Here compilation will be on sale at Tir Na Nog!

On Friday Stevo, Hand Banana, and I were joined by Bart Tomlin of Blatant Mischief Promotions to discuss the upcoming inaugural Raleigh Undercover event. Raleigh Undercover is an event that is being put on by Tir Na Nog and Blatant Mischief Promotions as a charity event for the Beehive Collective. Several local bands will be donating their time and playing short sets solely devoted to covering either their favorite bands, bands who have inspired them, or any combination thereof.  The event was inspired similar events in Champaign, IL, and at the venue-turned-parking deck Kings.

The acts that will be performing (in no particular order) are as follows:

Embarrassing Fruits

The T’s

Bright Young Things

Valient Thorr

Left Outlet

The Whalewatchers

Hearts and Daggers

I Was Totally Destroying It

The Jackpot Non-Stars (no telling what this means…)

Static Minds

Mike Roy

The Nevers

Gray Young

Ronnie Wabbs

The shows will take place this Friday, 1/30, Saturday, 1/31; and Sunday, 2/1.  Again, rumors abound about who will be playing what, but the only way to know for sure is to be there.  We’ll see you there!

Welcome back to the Local Music Picture Blog!

This week is another showcase of Local Beer, Local Band featuring The Jackets and Brett Harris.

The night got kicked off with The Jackets performing their fourth live show. The Jackets describe themselves as a “high powered electric harmony quartet” and is comprised of Roger Gupton, Evans Nicholson, with John Teer and Chandler Holt from Chatham County Line.

John Teer of The Jackets

I think this is Roger Gupton, or if I am wrong it is Chandler Holt...

And if this isn't Chandlet Holt, it is Rodger Gupton

Evans Nicholson of The Jackets. Haha, someone I can put a name to!

The Jackets have a solid Americana Pop sound that fits in great with the personality of Tir Na Nog

After the break, Brett Harris got his set kicked off. Brett Harris is a Durham based singer/song writer who plays with members from Bright Young Things. Brett dropped by The Local Lunch eariler in the day for a quick interview. Brett Harris has released two cds in the past year, and is about to start recording for his third.

Singing, playing the keyboard & guitar, and writing songs are just a few of Brett Harris's talents.

The guitarist of Bright Young Things. BYT have been playing with Brett Harris for a little over a year.

His face says it all. The music was so relaxing that sitting back with a White Russian was about the only correct thing to do.

Brett Harris's set featured music from his albums Side Two, Yesterday's News, and his soon to be recorded third album.

Click on any picture to view the full gallery

Today at 12:20, Local Lunch will have its first interview of 2009 with Durham based singer/song writer, Brett Harris.

Brett Harris will be playing at WKNC & Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer, Local Band Night tonight starting at 10pm with The Jackets and members of Bright Young Things.

For information about more great shows, check out the WKNC Rock Report.

M.C. talks with up-and-coming Raleigh band Bright Young Things. Four of the five members are current or former NCSU students. The program includes an interview with the band and live recording from their Nov. 7 show at The Pour House. Music in this podcast used with permission.

Tune in Mondays from 7-8 p.m. or subscribe to the weekly podcast. Bright Young Things will also be playing with Whistlestop at WKNC’s Local Beer Local Band on Nov. 20.

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