Rural rivers and country songs have long crisscrossed the life of Durham singer-songwriter H.C. McEntire. They have become inextricably braided, like ivy vines around a live oak trunk or barbed wires across a weathered fence post.
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Born in 1929, Reverend Faircloth C. (F.C.) Barnes was a gospel recording artist from Rocky Mount, N.C. His debut record Rough Side of the Mountain, a collaboration with with Reverend Janice Brown, reached #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart in January 1984.
Way back in the pre-digital days of 1992, newspapers published all their news on the actual paper you picked up from the driveway every morning. Press releases and pitches used to come to newspaper newsrooms on paper, too, sent in stamped envelopes rather than e-mail. I recall one from that spring when I had been music critic at the News & Observer (N&O) for about a year. It was a freelance submission sent by a writer all the way out in Vancouver, British Columbia, who was hoping the N&O would print his story.
Nightclub lifespans are akin to dog years, which makes it all the more remarkable that the Cat’s Cradle has been around Chapel Hill and Carrboro for more than half a century. And while the ride hasn’t always been smooth, for most of its history the Cradle has thrived as a beloved institution. The club marked the occasion of its 50th anniversary with two weekends of celebratory shows at the end of December and beginning of January, drawing capacity crowds for some of North Carolina’s top acts past and present.
This month PBS previews Ken Burns' latest documentary series: Country Music. The eight-part series traces "the history of a uniquely American art form...From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity." The series premieres on Sunday, September 15. In preparation, Come Hear North Carolina contributor and intern Scott Stegall prepared a timeline of North Carolina's unique country milestones.
In 1868 a man named Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley) was hanged in Statesville, N.C. after being convicted of murdering his lover, Laura Foster, in 1866.
The execution wasn’t the end of Tom Dula’s story. For generations rumors, conspiracies, and a hit song have swirled around the crime and its fallout.
Lee Morgan, the fiery-hot, extremely talented jazz trumpet player, died much too soon. His skyrocketing career was cut short, at age 33, one cold February night in 1972 at a Manhattan, N.Y. club called Slug's. He was shot to death by his 46-year-old common-law wife Helen. At the time, Morgan was experiencing a comeback of sorts. He had been battling a serious heroin addiction problem for years, but, by most accounts, was drug-free.
Today, Come Hear North Carolina, shared Homecoming, the second installment of director Holland Randolph Gallagher’s documentary series on North Carolina hip hop pioneers Little Brother. Homecoming picks up with the legendary trio - 9th Wonder, Big Pooh, and Phonte – after their initial split in 2010, charting the path that led to their surprise last-minute reunion at the 2018 Art of Cool Festival in their hometown Durham, N.C.
As part of a yearlong celebration of North Carolina’s rich musical history, we are thrilled to unveil The Listening, a Holland Randolph Gallagher-directed documentary about the first golden age of North Carolina hip-hop at the turn of the millennium.
On Thursday, October 10, 2019 baritone Sidney Outlaw from Brevard, N.C. and pianist Warren Jones, who was raised in High Point, N.C. closed out the 2019 Music at the Mansion season with a bang. The golden-hued ballroom of the Executive Mansion served as the perfect backdrop for their musical offerings, and Sidney Outlaw’s powerful baritone had no trouble filling the space.