03/23/10

Music Tuesday March 23 edition

Really interesting week of music coming up. No big (or even medium-size) national names on my radar, but two very cool local shows and one black banjo reunion. I'm guessing it'll be the only black banjo reunion I write about all year.

Friday March 26
Alan and Chad Edwards (of the band Lou Ford) at Evening Muse
A dozen or so years ago, I met Alan and Chad Edwards and bandmates Mark Lynch and Shawn Lynch (no relation) in an Irish pub to talk about their band Lou Ford for a story. To this day, it may be the best Charlotte band I've heard since moving here fifteen years ago. Their sound evolved from hard country to alt country to twangy indie (all on the same spectrum, but gradually more complex) over the years and through a few different lineups. But... Read more »

Posted at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/17/10

Library closings, layoffs

Among the new items coming out of the county budget workshops is that our library system is getting hammered. On top of $4 million in cuts since January 2009, the library system announced today that it is losing another $2 million in funding before June 30. This will result in at least 140 layoffs and the closure of almost half of the libraries, according to a press release. I've pasted the release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2010

Library learns of $2 million cut in current budget year



Charlotte, NC - On Tuesday, March 16, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library learned that Mecklenburg County would be reducing the Library’s funding for Fiscal Year 2010 by 6.3 percent, or $2 million dollars, before... Read more »

Posted at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1

03/17/10

Music Tuesday March 16 edition

OK, so for the second week in a row I'm a day late with this. Blame it on other deadlines. But I remain committed to getting the word out on great live music. We may not get to host SXSW like Austin, but we get some good shows.

That said, this is a light week. Before we get to the tunes, a quick note. Photographer Daniel Coston, a longtime contributor to the magazine and the man behind the Avett Brothers photo essay in the April issue, is showing his Johnny Cash photos at Dish in Plaza-Midwood until the end of June. Go check 'em out. Now, the music.

Friday, March 19
Ben Folds at Fillmore Charlotte
Lately, this blog space has been skewing toward gritty Southern rock. Ben Folds is Southern, but he's not all that gritty. He writes clever pop songs... Read more »

Posted at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/10/10

Music Tuesday March 9 Edition

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Music Tuesday. Solid lineup of shows this week. Wish I was going to be in town to check out one or two or three, but the ACC Tournament beckons from Greensboro. March belongs to college basketball, y'all.

Thursday, March 11
Robert Earl Keen at Neighborhood Theatre
Though I would have been two years old at the time, I kinda wish I'd spent some time in College Station, Texas in 1974 when Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett were roommates and would play evenings on the front porch. That would have been something. It's always a good time when Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen plays a show. He's known for the party song "The Road Goes on Forever (and the Party Never Ends," which is indeed a great song,... Read more »

Posted at 02:22 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/02/10

Music Tuesday: Hoots and Hellmouth with Flashbulb Fires, Steep Canyon Rangers

Welcome to the second installment of Music Tuesdays, in which I recommend a show or three this week that, in my humble opinion, is worth checking out. Let's get to it.

Wednesday March 3
Hoots and Hellmouth with Flashbulb Fires at Evening Muse — I've never seen Hoots and Hellmouth, but I've heard good things about the Philadelphia trio. Fans of the Avett Brothers and Squirrel Nut Zippers will find a lot to like in H&H's frenetic, throwback, acoustic, revival sound. Opener Flashbulb Fires, with its expansive indie sound (think The National, Arcade Fire, The Format), strikes me as an odd pairing. This Denver band describes itself as "four (remarkably good looking) guys who travel around the country in a band, play good music together, and win... Read more »

Posted at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2