The fall semester is on the brink of starting, and it made me a bit nostalgic as I’m beginning my last semester here at NC State University. I came to Raleigh from a small town in eastern NC so I didn’t know much about what I think is the triangle’s most redeeming quality — its music scene. So, we made a bucket list for all you music lovers out there so you don’t miss out on anything.  It’s in no particular order.

Enjoy — and feel free to add your stories and suggestions in a comment!

1.             DJ at WKNC | You can also help out with promotions, production, web, engineering, sports and public affairs. You’ll be first in the know about anything music. We hold interest meetings each semester (even summer!) for NCSU students. This fall’s interest meetings will be held August 20 at 5:30 p.m. and August 21 at 8 p.m. in 201 Witherspoon Student Center.

2.             Bike to First Friday | You can venture to First Friday, a monthly arts event in downtown Raleigh, by starting at NCSU’s Bell Tower at 7PM with fellow bikers. Be careful not to drink too much free wine if you’re biking back.  ”Go to first friday – there’s usually live music performances outside!!” — DJ Trillian

3.             Go to Hopscotch | Hopscotch Music Festival will be September 6-8 this year. “An annual festival held in downtown Raleigh that showcases some of the finest live acts that the state has to offer.  Put on by Raleigh’s Independent Weekly Magazine, this festival boasts an eclectic lineup of local and touring artists from all walks of music, indie-rock, hip-hop, folk, electronic, and pretty much everything in between.  This year’s lineup features The Roots, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Yo La Tengo, Built To Spill, Danny Brown, The Mountain Goats, and much more!  With free shows starting at noon and lasting until around 5:00 p.m. each day, there’s no reason not to check out this unique festival experience right here in Raleigh!”  -GRZA

4.             Heck, hit all the venues. | Let’s be honest, we’re lucky to live here. In Raleigh you have Kings Barcade, The Pour House, Lincoln Theatre, Slim’s, Berkeley Café, Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, Dive Bar, NC Museum of Art, Southland Ballroom, Deep South, Disco Rodeo, Five Star, Raleigh Amphitheatre and concert halls. Chapel Hill/Carrboro area has Cat’s Cradle, Local 506, Nightlight and The Cave. Durham is home to Motorco, Pinhook, Casbah, American Tobacco Campus and DPAC. And of course, the “other” schools’ concert halls and auditoriums. They’re all great. “Attend any and every Future Islands show.” –May Day

5.             Attend Fridays on the Lawn | This is WKNC’s bi-semester free concert event. It’ll always feature local music, food and swag. Usually on Harris Field (rain locations are necessary sometimes), you’re encouraged to bring some friends and a blanket. This is open to the public, and dogs are welcome, too!

6.             There’s also Music on the Lawn at American Tobacco in Durham | Grab a beer from Tyler’s and enjoy some live music. There’s also dance, movies and jazz events that take place here.

7.             Explore SparkCon | This year, SparkCon will take place September 13-16 in downtown Raleigh. In its 7th year, it will encompass everything from music and film to fire dancers and bartending competitions.

8.             Camp out at Shakori Hills | Located in Pittsboro, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival happens twice a year, fall and spring. The fall festival will be October 4-7. Camp out with your friends in the woods, make new friends, and wake up to the sound of banjos. Paint your face, dance, cook over a fire…..also, get a Veggie Thing. It’s amazing. “A stellar 4-day music festival in Pittsboro, NC that boasts everything from bluegrass to soul to funk.  Filled with good vibes and good times, this family friendly festival is loaded with diverse music, yoga, and dance workshops that take up the few minutes of the day that don’t have wonderful tunes permeating throughout the farmlands.  A guaranteed beautiful weekend that rolls around twice a year.”     -GRZA

9.             Dance at Rowdy, Rowdy Square dances | “This is a good way to experience square dancing with young folks, and hear some good ol’ music! Be on the lookout for these dances!” -Cosmic Cowboy

 10.          See a band in the Brickyard | The past few years during Shack-a-thon (fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity), WKNC has hosted acoustic performances from local artists. You can also catch the occasional student strumming a guitar, playing accordion or one of NCSU’s a capella groups performing. 

 11.          Picnic for a show at Duke Gardens | Beautiful, serene, and BYOB. Share a blanket and dinner with some friends while watching local bands perform into the sunset. Make a friend at Duke so your tickets are cheaper.

 12.          Listen to a pianist in Caldwell Lounge | If you’re a student in CHASS (College of Humanities and Social Sciences), you’ve probably already done this. There’s a piano set up in Caldwell Lounge that is frequented by talented students. So while you’re between classes, cramming for a test or taking a lunch break, it’s nice to spare a second to listen.

 13.          Grab a beer at Local Band Local Beer | Local NC brewskis on tap and local bands on stage. This 21+ free event happens every Thursday night at 10PM at Tir Na Nog. 

 14.          Read The Independent Weekly | It’s an alternative weekly (free) newspaper that has all the best music, arts and political news. It also keeps you up to date with what events are going on around the county.

 15.          Join a drum circle at Pullen Park | Channel your inner hippy.

 16.          Celebrate Christmas with Trekky Records | Trekky Christmas puts a new spin on classic songs by featuring their bands and mix-matched members.

 17.          Rock out at Bull City Metal Fest | If you’re a metal head, it’s a must. Two days of heavy metal in downtown Durham, pulling national and local acts.

 18.          Enjoy a performance at DPAC | It’s nice and classy. See ballet, theatre or music here. The last one I went to was BB King. Badass.

 19.          Go to a concert at Memorial Hall | Another very nice venue that will get various acts. It’s can be a bit pricy, but it’s worth it.

 20.          End August with Stars in the Round at Shakori | “Great if you don’t have 4 days to devote to camping. Usually 3rd weekend in August” – Mollypop

 21.          Catch the Diggup Tapes show series | It’s a free show series at Kings each month. This is 18+.

 22.          Go to both nights of Double Barrel Benefit | “For people new to the triangle there is no better time than right now to clear your calendar for the next Double Barrel Benefit. It’s going to be the 10th anniversary, and it’s going to be all kinds of awesome.” -DJ Ones

 23.          Party with the triangle’s finest at Indy Week’s “Best of” Party | Each year, Indy has its readers vote on the best in the triangle. In June, they throw a party to celebrate the winners and finalists. In other words, hear the best music, eat the best food, drink the best drinks and get acupuncture.

 24.          Run in the Krispy Kreme Challenge | This annual charity events challenges its participants to eat a dozen donuts mid-race.

 25.          Drink a PBR during PBart | I’m sure you’ll drink one regardless. But PBart has bands and PBR-themed art on showcase, as well as the occasional ropes performers.

 26.          Buy records on Record Store Day  | Internationally celebrated, it’s the third Saturday in April. Labels put out special limited edition releases and stores have in-store performances, swag and discounts. There’s usually a line so go early.

 27.          Compete in the pants off dance off at TRKfest | Okay, so you don’t actually have to take your pants off. Trekky Records has a day set aside each summer to share its music with the triangle. Not to mention this also means local beer, food trucks and local arts vendors.

 28.          Drive to Haw River Ballroom | “Beautiful venue.  if you have time before the show, go to the Haw River General Store before hand for the best gourmet food you’ll find at a convenience store. Seriously.” – Mollypop

 29.          Dance at Discovery and Dirty Mega | Lights, glow sticks, photo booths and dancing until the lights come on. Then a little more of each.

 30.          Give the saxophonists on the corner of Martin/Fayetteville St. money to play “Careless Whisper“ | His rendition is on point. It’ll get stuck it your head, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. 

With all the students moving back to campus and all the fun activities going on this week (Wolfstock and FTW!, for starters), we here at WKNC couldn’t help but get excited and have a ton of awesome giveaways for you lovely listeners.

Here’s what you should stayed tuned in for this week:

8/19: Alex Kotch, Tyler Hypnosis, Phil Cook and his Feat, H.U.S.S., Locus Recordings @ The Pinhook

8/20: Birds and Arrows, Caleb Caudel and the Bayonets, Jeff Crawford @ The Pinhook

8/20: Peter Lamb and the Wolves with Shana Tucker @ Casbah

8/20: Dntel with The One AM Radio and Geotic @ Kings

8/20: Archers of Loaf, Hammer No More the Fingers, Cobra Horse @ Cat’s Cradle

8/24: Richard Buckner and David Kilgour @ The ArtsCenter

PLUS Pictureplane’s new album, Thee Physical

Keep our requests lines on your speed dial so when the WKNC DJ asks for it, you can be a winner!

Yo, Yo Yiggity Yo.

If you like/love/can-admit-an-appreciation-for, The Decemberists, Best Coast, The Morning After, Corrosion of Conformity, Beggars, Dance Music for Nerds, Caltrop, Americans in France, Jews & Catholics, Red Collar, Dangerous Ponies or Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, then you should LISTEN UP to WKNC 88.1 this week, because we’ve got giveaways right now for every single one of these shows. You should be listening right now.

Below is the list of shows. Read up and get down as you listen to The Revolution, waiting to see if you can win tickets to your show!

6/11 Live Nation presents The Decemberists w/ Best Coast @ The Raleigh Amphitheater

5/25 The Morning After @ Pinhook (Durham)

5/26 Corrosion of Conformity @ Cat’s Cradle (Carrboro)

5/26 Beggars (w/ Colossus and White Tiger and the Bed of Roses) @ Casbah (Durham)

5/27 Dance Music for Nerds @ Pinhook

5/27 Caltrop @ Kings Barcade (Raleigh)

5/28 Americans in France album release party @ Kings Barcade

5/28 Jews & Catholics @ Pinhook

5/28 Red Collar @ Casbah

5/29 Dangerous Ponies @ Pinhook

5/29 Grace Potter & The Nocturnals @ Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh)

Darren Hanlon. Photo courtesy of Bradley's Almanac, under creative commons.

Papercuts will be performing at Kings in downtown Raleigh with Banjo or Freakout. Photo courtesy of Oliver Lopena, under Creative Commons.

4/2: Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Cat’s Cradle
and S. Carey (of Bon Iver) @ Kings
4/3: Warpaint @ Kings

We’ve got a handful of giveaways for you, our avid listener. Listen online or on your dial.

Call in on our studio lines when the DJ asks for it and you could win these tickets:

Elephant 6, photo courtesy of Leigh, is playing a SOLD OUT show at King's

Vetiver is a folk rock band from San Francisco, CA

J Roddy Walston, photo courtesy of Matt Karp,

The Cave Singers, photo courtesy of Redheadwalking, are a band formed after the break up of Pretty Girls Make Graves

Saturday night, my man and I celebrated Valentine’s Day early with a great show at Casbah in Durham. The only other time I’ve been to Casbah was to see Crooked Still, which was in an intimate seated setting. I was expecting this, but the venue quickly filled to standing room only.

After the first song, it was evident why opening band Humble Tripe was “humble.” The one man band slammed on a travel dulcimer, and chugged out a few repetitive chords on his acoustic guitar while singing cute lyrics about his life. I’ve heard studio recordings of Humble Tripe and described them as “if Bob Dylan and Bon Iver had a baby and then dropped it off in Durham,” but I don’t think those expectations were met. This could be because his recordings usually feature more than just Shawn Luby on guitar. Shawn brought to stage Catherine Edgerton of Midtown Dickens to play the occasional harmonica, tambourine, and of course her signature singing saw. Her bubbly presence took the heat off Shawn for a little while and as a budding saw player, I took notes on her technique. Humble Tripe is a band to listen to while sitting on a blanket at a small music festival feel, not as an opening band for a critically acclaimed artist like Ben Sollee.

Ben Sollee, former member of the Sparrow Quartet, is a dapper young cello player from Kentucky. He started things off with a short vocal performance, bluesy and emotional. He then brought in Phoebe Hunt (of The Belleville Outfit) on violin and Jordan Ellis on drums to do “Something, Somewhere, Sometime” off Dear Companion. This live rendition was a bit different from his version with Daniel Martin Moore, bringing in some rock elements and definitely changing my idea of going to a “slow cello concert.” They continue playing upbeat, jazzy at times, bluesy at times music occasionally featuring a bass guitar, drums, cello, and violin. It was fast paced and well instrumented. I enjoyed the more down-tempo songs, but I can see the newer songs really catching on in the indie rock scene—look out for his upcoming album. Ben’s voice was amazing in every song and so perfectly melded with Phoebe Hunt’s, which was reminiscent of Norah Jones or Regina Spektor at times.

Ben Sollee performs at Casbah. Photo courtesy of Rob Lampe

Ben was also a great banter-er; a quality many musicians lack. He told tales of how he came to the ideas of songs—his description of “The Prettiest Tree on the Mountain” was as poetic as the tune itself, and he constantly introduced his friends on violin and percussion. The group definitely had chemistry; probably from their adventures on bike, touring across America. That’s right. On bike, with a cello and a drumset.

The best part of the show, aside from the group dynamic and perfect instrumental choreography, was the first encore “Only A Song.” Ben Sollee explained how this song is off of Dear Companion, an album to raise awareness about mountaintop removal coal mining. He doesn’t want this song to be a protest song, thus its name, but rather to inspire people to think a little harder about their actions in the world.

Looking for a date idea over Valentine’s Day weekend?  Or did you just say “bah humbug” to the idea of Valentine’s Day? Either way, listen to WKNC and you could win tickets to a variety of great shows. We won’t even tell your date that the tickets were free.

Feburary 9:
Blue-Tailed Skinks @ The Pinhook

Blue Tailed Skinks

Feburary 10:
Dance Revolution @ Lincoln Theatre
Diggup Tapes Cassingles Release party @ King’s
Tapes’n'Tapes @ Cat’s Cradle

February 11:
Diggup Tapes Cassingles Night 2 @ King’s
The Moaners @ Slim’s

February 12:
Ben Sollee @ Casbah **my personal Valentine’s Day pick**

Ben Sollee, courtesy of Stan D Payne

February 13:
Veelee @ King’s

Veelee

Inflowential @ The Pour House
Drive By Truckers Documentary @ The Pinhook

February 14 :
Yann Tiersen @ Cat’s Cradle

Yann Tiersen, courtesy of Ivo Kendra

Also, we will be giving away movie tickets to see Hall Pass for Wednesday, February 23 at North Hills.

We have a few giveaways for this first week of February:

You can see Monotonix at King’s in Raleigh on Feb. 3. This Israeli garage rock band on Drag City Records has toured in the past with Dinosaur Jr. and Silver Jews.

Deerhoof is playing at King’s in downtown Raleigh on Feb. 6. They have been noted as influencing bands like Sleigh Bells, Dirty Projectors, Of Montreal, St. Vincent, and Sufjan Stevens.

If you’re a metal head, you could win tickets to Bull City Metal Fest featuring Caltrop, US Christmas, Colossus, In The Year of the Pig, and much more. This two day event will be at Casbah in Durham on the fourth and fifth of February.

If you’re looking for some more great shows, be sure to check out the rock report, and pay close attention to Double Barrel Benefit 8 this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 and 5 at King’s.

Remember, you have to listen to win!

Giveaways are a win-win-win situation for everyone involved. You get to listen to the great tunes at WKNC, the DJs get to talk to you (we LOVE calls)  and you can win tickets to some awesome shows! Win, Win, Win situation.

This week, you could win tickets (you +1) to:

1/27: Alejandro Escoveda at Cat’s Cradle

Alejandro Escovedo, courtesy of Allogist

1/28: American Aquarium at King’s

1/28: Robbie Fulks Duo at Casbah

1/29: American Aquarium at King’s

American Aquarium, courtesy of elawgrrl

1/29: Best Coast at Cat’s Cradle

Best Coast, courtesy of la-underground

1/29: Kickin’ Grass Band at The Pour House

The Kickin' Grass Band's self- titled album was released in 2008

Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it, and you could win!

Tune in to WKNC online or 88.1FM on your dial!

Kings Barcade hosted the kickoff of the Beggars and Colossus’s 2011 North Carolina statewide tour Thursday, Jan. 13. Fortunately for the audience, the opening act was worth the $6 admission price.

The Beggars, classified as punk/rock/soul on their MySpace page, is a five-piece band from Detroit proper. Almost 700 miles is a long way to come to play for the two dozen or so people milling around Kings at the beginning of the set, but the group didn’t seem to mind. Vocalist Steven Davis swaggered around the stage wearing a red polo, khaki pants and a pair of white wrist sweatbands looking like he could be right at home at a 1980s Sunday afternoon family reunion – until the music started. Davis and his band mates were, in a word, enthusiastic. The singer’s theatrics included frequent jumps into the audience, losing his loafers and socks on more than one occasion, tossing the microphone around, crawling on his knees across the stage, a string of “fuck, yeah!”s in between songs and a backwards somersault from the floor back onto the stage. With all the jumping around, he even split his pants (a fact they specifically requested to be put in this blog). Davis slipped off the stage at the start of the last song, returning with “super limited edition” tour merchandise – a six-song CD and spiffy black tee.

The 45-minute set opened with “Same Costume as Mine,” a quirky song about matching outfits punctuated by the superb saxophone work of Rod “Pool Party” Jones. That got the crowd pumped up and kept them there through “FRK,” “It’s All About Me,” “Gold (My Neck I’ll Hang Around),” “25 Miles,” “Us Dudes (Wee get so Rad),” “Sleepaway Camp” and “Thieves.” Their finale “Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll” had the crowd chanting the chorus and pumped for the show’s headliner.

Colossus lead singer Sean Buchanan joined the Beggars on stage for “Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll,” which gave the first hint of intoxication. He made it clear he had a few too many when he crashed in to the drum kit in the middle of the second song. After a brief interlude, Buchanan regained his composure and the show continued. When he knocked over another drum, the band called it quits after the fourth song. The lyrics weren’t coherent enough to get any song titles.

Those who saw Colossus before Thursday should choose to remember them from previous performances. For those experiencing the Raleigh rock/metal band for the first time, consider giving them another chance. Colossus really does display “talent like a Viking lets blood on a battlefield as Independent Weekly’s Bryan Reed wrote. While the crowd did grow from the original two dozen, perhaps it was best there were limited witnesses.

The 2011 North Carolina statewide tour continues Friday, Jan. 14 at Pinups in Greensboro and Saturday, Jan. 15 at Reggie’s in Wilmington. The Beggars conclude their trip of the Wolfpack state Sunday, Jan. 16 at the Reservoir in Carrboro. Colossus will play again Saturday, Feb. 5 for the second day of the Bull City Metal Fest at Casbah.

If you can brave the icy cold air and scraping the ice off your car, we’ve got some hot giveaways for you!

1/12: Obits @ Kings Barcade

1/12: The Walkmen @ Cat’s Cradle

The Walkmen, protected by Wikimedia creative commons.

1/13: Colossus @ Kings Barcade

Colossus' Sean Buchanan and Bill Fisher in the WKNC Studio

1/13: The Wigg Report @ Casbah

1/15: The Love Language @ Cat’s Cradle

The Love Language w/ Schooner, courtesy of Frank McMains

1/15: The Ettes @ The Pour House

The Ettes, courtesy of Oliver Lopena

Be the correct caller at the appropriate time to win tickets — you have to listen to win!

For a more complete list of local shows, visit the Rock Report!

Here at WKNC we’re all about the joy of giving, and in that spirit, we present you with this week’s giveaways.

12/14: Sister Hazel with Matthew Mayfield and Union County at Lincoln Theatre

Courtesy www.sisterhazel.com

12/16: Trekky Records presents “Christmas at the Cradle” featuring The Old Ceremony, Filthybird, The Tender Fruit, and more!  All at Cat’s Cradle.  And we have tickets for electronica group Conspirator at Lincoln Theatre.

12/17: Larry Keel and Natural Bridge at Casbah in Durham

12/18: Cherry Bounce Vaudeville Show at Kings featuring Hank Sinatra, The Floating Children, and Gouge Wrestling. We also have tickets for KO Kid with King Mez and more at Cat’s Cradle and Tonk at Casbah in Durham.

From kingsbarcade.com

’tis the season!

WKNC is true to the holiday spirit– here are this week’s giveaways:

12/7: Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band @ Casbah

If this doesn't look like a good time, I don't know what does. Photo Courtesy of ZioWoody, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives license

12/8: Buckshot Bluegrass Show @ Pour House

12/8: Jukebox the Ghost @ Casbah

Jukebox the Ghost

12/9: Dance Revolution Party @ Lincoln Theatre

12/9 Stroke It Noel Night 1 @ Cat’s Cradle (2 night Big Star tribute show)

12/10: Stroke It Noel Night 2 @ Cat’s Cradle
12/11: Carolina Chocolate Drops @ Lincoln Theatre

The Carolina Chocolate Drops always put on a great show! Photo courtesy of Sparkly Sushi Productions, under creative commons.

12/11: Gene Ween (of WEEN) @ Cat’s Cradle

You too could have your very own Gene Ween signed receipt! Photo courtesy of Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL), protected under creative commons

12/11: Kooley High @ Pour House
12/12: Relient K @ Cat’s Cradle

Relient K, photo courtesy of The Sweetchuck, protected under creative commons.

Remember, you have to listen to win!

Happy Holidays from WKNC!

This past Saturday marked the the last night of the local music festival Troika in downtown Durham. Despite the cold weather, Anastassia and I, AndyQ, had a glorious time running around from venue to venue listening to the Triangle’s finest local music. This is our collaborative blog on our experience.

The first place we went to was at the new Motorco Music Hall, which had a nice upscale warehouse lounge vibe going on.

Filthybird started the evening out nicely with some mellow music. It was fun to watch the lead singer with her short stature play such a huge guitar.

After Filthybird, some men in snazzy suits and well manicured beards came to the stage. With their four-part harmonies and fancy finger work on the fiddle, Chatham County Line managed to crank out some good ole bluegrass reminiscent of classic Avett Brothers.

It wasn’t surprising when we looked back at the crowd and saw that they had packed the house filled with swooning listeners.

We were in for a surprise when we headed over to The Casbah.

Gray Young completely changed the atmosphere of the evening with their garage rock cords that were evocative of Explosions in the Sky. With their awesome stage presence and edgy music, it was impossible to stand still. Seeing Gray Young right after a nice folksy band like Chatham was an eye opening experience to the wide range of local music in the Triangle, and both of us really appreciated that.

Then, we saw  The Loom from Brooklyn, who were well worth the walk to the Trotter Building, which was decorated nicely with lovely lanterns. I liked the band’s ability to start off with a mellow opening, only to build up to a crescendo of high energy horns, banjo, and drums. The “Middle Distance,” showcased their driving beats that backed haunting vocals. The sweet raspiness of the female vocalist accompanied by the male lead’s voice was very enjoyable.

Next, we ran back to The Motorco for Cassis Orange. This girly, but rough band was really fun to watch, with the singer dancing and jumping around. Their use of different and sometimes odd instruments came especially handy when a flutist joined them to cover Ke$ha’s “Tik-tok”. That was probably the best cover that I have heard, hands down.

Finally, after almost five hours of shows, the best was saved for last with Hammer No More the Finger. We had heard of them, but didn’t really know what to expect, and they definitely did not disappoint. It was obvious even from the beginning that they had a solid fan base in Durham. The venue was packed and a sort of mosh pit was forming. No one stood still because the guitar riffs and catchy songs were too good to not dance to.

In general, the festival not only presented some great local music, but it showcased the noteworthiness of downtown Durham, helping to disprove some people’s sentiments that Durham is Raleigh’s ghetto. We were very disappointed that there was not enough time in the night to listen to all the bands that performed.  We also went with fellow DJ Godrik, who would like to add “beer should have been cheaper”.