The CHNCMO Spotify channel features a robust offering of NC music playlists. Looking for theme music for a road trip or a nature walk? We’ve got you covered. Want thematically-organized mixes for Women’s History, Pride Month, Black History, and other important celebrations of civil rights struggles? Also in the mix. Need playlists celebrating music communities throughout the state, geographically ranging from Robbinsville to Kinston, from hamlets such as Danbury to cities such as Durham? Check out our music communities playlists. Tributes to legendary artists such as the singer Roberta Flack and the bassist Willie Weeks? Sorted. How about playlists made by NC musicians themselves (1, 2, 3, 4)? Just there and waiting for you to press play. A celebration of National Moonshine Day? All this and much more awaits your listening delectation on the CHNCMO Spotify channel.
These playlists are a great way to experience directly the fecund and variegated brilliance of our state’s music. Commentary and context can only go so far, and there’s no substitute for the thing itself. And you can use these playlists in many fruitful ways. For example, if you are looking to discover obscure new music from North Carolina, the playlists are studded with such gems. But if you want grounding in the classics of North Carolina music, those are also well represented in the mixes. In fact, you can compare the way bands you might not think to connect (across genres, history, and levels of fame) have handled the same lyrical themes, musical tropes, and instruments. It’s fascinating! And at the broadest level, you can compare the way periods of NC music relate, what’s changed, and what’s remained the same: the mixes, taken together, provide a real lay of the musical land.
Have an idea for a playlist you’d like to hear? We’re all ears, and you can send us a note through our webform. In the meantime, we’ll be posting new playlists monthly, exploring all the new, old, and new/old (rediscovered) music that’s out there in NC, and combining it thoughtfully with the classics to keep our state’s listening life fresh.