We here at WKNC are incredibly excited about the tenth anniversary to our Double Barrel Benefit series, our biggest fundraiser of the year. Each year, we ask artists from all over the area if they are available to help us by providing the triangle with two nights of amazing music. This year will be no different. Double Barrel Benefit is set to take place February 1 and 2 at the Pour House Music Hall in downtown Raleigh, and we would like to invite everyone to come, enjoy some amazing music, and help us stay afloat for another year.

For those anticipating who will be playing this year (get excited, I’ve seen the lineup, and it looks awesome), we will be doing an official rundown of all eight artists this year during the Local Lunch on January 4. Mark your calendars! Join us from Noon until 1 p.m. on January 4 to celebrate the awesome artists that are playing this year’s event.

One of my favorite events of last fall was Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, located in Pittsboro, N.C. Camping out with your friends, seeing incredible live music, and living off campfire food and veggie things for the weekend is a cure for anything that’s been getting you down. And it’s back again for its 10th spring installment, April 19-22.

This spring’s lineup is exciting: Leftover Salmon, Donna the Buffalo, Blitz the Ambassador, The Red Clay Ramblers, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Rubblebucket, Suénalo, Preston Frank, The Sim Redmond Band, Elephant Revival, David Wax Museum, Driftwood, and Lydia Loveless…

Local acts like Diali Cissokho & Kairaba, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Bombadil, The Beast, Mandolin Orange, Dark Water Rising, Justin Robinson & The Mary Annettes, Greg Humphreys & The Hobex All Stars, Lizzy Ross Band, Music Maker Revue, Midtown Dickens, Rey Norteño, Big Fat Gap, Randy Dean Whitt, New Town Drunks, Sarah Shook & The Devil, Shirlette & The Dynamite Brothers, Apple Chill Cloggers, Onyx Club Boys, Deep Chatham, Curtis Eller, Jeanne Jolly, The Ayr Mountaineers, and Justin Johnson…

And other bands, such as Revelation Mizik, Equanimous Minds, Richie Stearns & Rosie Newton, Jim Avett, Raffa & Rainer, Dirty Bourbon River Show, Harper & Midwest Kind, Old Man Luedecke, The South Carolina Broadcasters, Dutch Bucket System, Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, Farmer Jason, Mad Tea, Bareknuckle Betties, Roxanna & The Rusty Bucket Band, Elkland Art Center Puppets, Town Hall, Kin Ship, and more.

WKNC will be helping you and your friends go this year, with day-passes to giveaway on the Local Lunch, Americana,  Blues & Company, The Church of Bluegrass and the Truer Sounds, Both Kinds Radio and our Facebook page. If you impress the DJ, you may even get the newest Bombadil CD All the Rain Promises as part of your prize! Make sure to tune in and have your phones ready so when the DJ asks for it, you’ll be all set to win!

North Carolina is on point with fall music festivals – in September, Raleigh hosted Hopscotch Music Festival. This weekend, Pittsboro will have Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival. At the end of the month, Moogfest will reign in Asheville.

Moogfest, named for Bob Moog, the inventor of the Moog synthesizer who was a research professor at UNC-Asheville, is back for its annual music festival during the weekend of October 28 – 30.  Different venues across Asheville’s downtown will host The Flaming Lips, STS9, Passion Pit, TV on the Radio and many more.  In addition to a packed lineup, there will also be artists in panel discussions, question and answer sessions, and workshops.  One thing I’m particularly excited about is the opportunity, in honor of Moog himself, to try out a variety of Moog instruments. There will also be visual art exhibitions, installations, and film screenings.

WKNC has two pairs of weekend passes to give away for this event – but it will take a little luck! Each day until October 21, one WKNC DJ will do a giveaway to get a listener put into a drawing the tickets. During Local Lunch on October 21, DJ Kligz will do the drawing live on-air and announce the recipients of the weekend passes.

Go ahead and put our studio lines on speed dial so when the WKNC DJ asks for it, you’ll be ready to win!

(919) 860-0881 or (919) 515-2400

Yep, you read it right! WKNC will have the great pleasure of premiering two brand new songs by local favorites Lonnie Walker and Future Islands from their split 7″ coming out this November. We are the very first ones to have the tracks, so you’ll just have to tune in to the Local Lunch this Wednesday to hear them (and trust me, they rock).

The one and only DJ Ray will be unlocking the treasure chest of two brand new singles to rock you through the next week and a half until we get to see both bands live at Hopscotch! Are you as excited as I am?!??

The Hopscotch Music Festival has now become synonymous with headliners: Broken Social Scene, Public Enemy, and Panda Bear. However, the Triangle’s largest music festival features plenty of local acts. That’s why every Friday for the next few weeks, Special K will be getting back to North Carolina’s musical roots by keeping spins local and giving away Hopscotch festival wristbands to lucky callers during the Local Lunch (12pm-1pm).

Listen only on 88.1FM or streaming online during Local Lunch for your favorite local Hopscotch bands like The Rosebuds, Bowerbirds, The Love Language and many more! For the full line-up of Hopscotch bands, visit their website here.

Are you a fan of the Local Beat on 88.1 WKNC?  If so, feel free to head on over to the following two websites to show your love:

• The Local Beat ReverbNation page is the home to all live songs aired on the Local Beat.  All songs are free to listen to and download and new ones are being added each week.  We are currently working on adding live songs from older interviews and new songs are being updated as often as possible!  Join the mailing list for special updates and also, feel free to add widgets and playlists to your blog or home page!
• The Local Beat Facebook Fan Page is brand new.  Show your support for the show to all of your social networking friends and check out the page for upcoming photos, videos, and blog updates.  (Also, while you are on Facebook, feel free to become a fan of the Local Lunch and Eye On The Triangle.)

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.

Unfortunately it is time for me to leave the air waves, and make way for a new generation of local music gurus.

In order to celebrate my time at WKNC, I will be doing a special 2 hour session of Local Lunch on Thursday, August 27th starting at 11am. I will be joined in studio by DJs Liztopia and Cantona to debut some new music, hype up the Hear Here! CD Release Concert (this Saturday at Cat’s Cradle), give away some tickets and keep you on top the weekend’s concert listings.

So tune in at WKNC 88.1 FM or skip your browser over here starting at 11am for a dinner portion of Local Lunch.

As we make our way to the Hear Here CD release show Aug. 29 at Cat’s Cradle (also my birthday!), listen to 88.1 as our top-notch Local Lunch crew debut songs from the 17-track compilation. This Friday, Aug. 14, Mikey P and guests Mike Robinson from Terpsikhore and BJ Burton from Flying Tiger will unleash Kooley High’s “Can’t Go Wrong” and Lonnie Walker’s “Feels Like Right.” The freshness will continue through next week, so stay tuned. Local Lunch airs Mon-Fri from noon to 1 p.m.

Exciting stuff happening on both the Local Lunch and Local Beat today.

First, the Local Lunch: our good friend BJ Burton from Flying Tiger Sound Studios is coming by to DJ with Mikey for today’s Local Lunch.  He’s bringing with him exclusive local tracks “that no one’s ever heard before”:

Rosebuds

“Second Bird of Paradise” by The Rosebuds

Lonnie Walker, c/o http://www.terpsikhore.com/

“Seasons” by Lonnie Walker

I don’t know exactly what Mikey and BJ’s plans are, but those songs will be presented to the world for the first time during the Local Lunch today.

Hopeline Benefit at Tir Na Nog: Lonnie Walker, On Photon, Hammer No More the Fingers, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Future Kings of Nowhere

Then, looking ahead to the Local Beat, we’ll be chatting with Shayne from The Future Kings of Nowhere about playing the Hopeline Benefit show at Tir Na Nog tonight, about moving to New York, and about some of his memories from time spent in the Triangle.  He’ll be performing several new songs in studio, as well.

And, of course, we’ll be spotlighting some of the AWESOME new local music that’s been released locally.  Good stuff all around.

Summer is upon the students of NC State, which means some of us are graduating or going away ’til the fall.

But don’t worry, Local Lunch will still be going strong all summer. We’ve gotten our hands on some awesome new releases from local favorites, and I personally look forward to exploring local hip hop and hard rock/metal acts.

So to all of us that call the Triangle home 365 days a year: Life doesn’t end in May and start up again in August, so why should our music?

WKNC Represent

Rich of The Pneurotics came into the Local Lunch on 3/12/09 for a quick interview, live performance, and debut of brand new material.

The Pneurotics played with Pink Flag, River City Ransom, and The Dry Heathens at The Brewery last night (3/12/09).

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Tune in Thursday, March 12th at noon as DJ Murdoc interviews The Pneurotics on Local Lunch.

Chapel Hill based The Pneurotics, will be playing at The Brewery with River City Ransom, The Dry Heathens, and Pink Flag Thursday night at 8pm.

Look for Murdoc’s Local Music Picture Blog later this week for coverage of the event.

If you dig good music, good performance, good art, or if you have a pulse, you’d do well to check out WKNC‘s Local Lunch Wednesday, 2/25, through Friday, 2/27.   Right at the top of the 12:00 hour on each day, we’re airing each piece of a three-part serial of vocal enactment on top of The Never‘s masterful album “Antarctica.”  This is merely a precursor to the event of interest, a theatrical performance of the concept album, released in 2006.

From the band’s website:

The Never has been touring for the last 3 years promoting “Antarctica, A Storybook Record,” a concept album and fully illustrated 50-page storybook. They are currently working to finish their new record to be released on Trekky Records in March, 2009. This event will be a culmination of both works.  The Never is dedicated to the betterment of  community through arts and music and has performed at schools/universities, libraries, theaters, and outdoor festivals over the last few years in order to achieve that.

Missed today’s part 1?  You’re in luck: the performance will be aired in its entirety on the Local Beat Friday, which usually runs from 5:00-8:00.  We will be preceded by NC State baseball, though, so tune in a little before 6:00 to catch the complete piece.

Where can you learn more, you ask?  Head over to the Never’s website for more information.  And, of course, keep it locked on the Local Lunch and the Local Beat.

On 1/22/09, Colossus band members  Sean Buchanan and Bill Fisher dropped in during Local Lunch for a quick interview.

The day started off with Colossus's Sean Buchanan and Bill Fisher stopping by the studio for a quick interview and exclusive debut of two tracks from their next album.

Colossus brought WKNC a belated Christmas gift in the form of 2 exclusive, not yet released, songs from their next album that is set to hit the streets in a few months. Colossus played at WKNC & Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer, Local Band on Thursday, January 22nd, with Double Barrel Benefit 5 alumni, Tooth.

Check out Murdoc’s Picture Blog and exclusive review of Colossus’s next album!

You can listed to the songs Kill More Better and The Mountain in the interview below.

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