Music Features
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Makeda Iroquois Continues Evolution After Return to Charlotte
On Makeda Iroquois’ alluring single “Diamonds,” crystalline chimes cascade into a staccato orchestral stab that smash cuts to her powerful yet caressing vocals: “Diamonds are forever/ They are all I need to please me/ They can stimulate and tease me/ They won’t leave in the night/ Have no fear that…
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Lil Skritt Goes Country on New EP Release
Having performed music in the Charlotte scene for over 10 years now, Lil Skritt has been consistent in his penchant for humor and having a good time. It’s a personality trait that he’s carried with him whatever he does, be it acting in movies or traipsing through a range of…
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We Rock Charlotte Celebrates a Decade of Music, Arts and Social Justice
When Krystle Baller (they/them) was first asked by friend and co-founder Kelly Finley to help launch a local chapter of Girls Rock, a summer camp for young girls to learn to play and perform music, Baller had only taught themself how to play an instrument, having learned the bass guitar…
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Charlotte Musicians Launch DIY Drives to Aid in Helene Recovery
Everyone in the mountainous regions of western North Carolina remembers where they were when Hurricane Helene swept through, decimating entire towns, submerging areas like Asheville’s River Arts District underwater, and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power or running water. As of Oct. 14, two weeks after the fateful…
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Jesse Hinkelman Releases Final Project as The Last Jah
Moving on can mean many things. While the act may often be difficult, there are any number of reasons that moving on, whatever from, can be the best thing for a person. In music, band break-ups and shake-ups happen on a regular basis. Some artists will move on with new…
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Jason Hausman Composes Complementary Soundscapes to the Arts
The Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF) has become an annual celebration within the Queen City that dedicates multiple weeks to imaginative visual arts, interactive displays, and captivating musical showcases, inspiring folks of all ages and providing real depth for folks with a desire to explore the festival’s many angles. Since…
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Lynsea Explores Personal Health Journey with New Single, ‘hormones’
One of the great challenges (and wonders) of daily life is the ability for one to find things to be captivated by no matter where one looks. Inspiration can come in all forms, often emerging from the least expected sources — some shocking breakthrough on a lazy afternoon, a throwaway…
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Charlotte Native Anna Elise LaFrance Shines Overseas
As the saying goes, “There is no place like home.” After all, home is the place where we feel the most comfortable, the area where we know every corner, and, in the quieter moments, we look to when needed. Sometimes in order to truly grow, however, it is necessary to…
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Revisiting Christy Snow’s Epochal 2016 album, ‘Free To Be’
Living free to be who you are and feel out the world in any way chosen is an incredible freedom to have, as well as a notion to capture. It is also the message that is infused into some of Christy Snow’s music. Snow has long been a staple in…
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Heaven Seven Magazine Spotlights Charlotte’s DIY Scene
DIY might stand for “do it yourself,” but in all reality, surviving in the local DIY music scene often takes a community that comprises a conglomerate of bands, artists and supporters who all come together to create an underground culture that defies the mainstream. Promoters, photographers, bloggers and dedicated fans…
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Newly Formed Cassettiquette Prepares to Record Debut EP
Believe it or not, the name Cassettiquette came from an especially well-behaved cat. Shortly after the inception of the then-nameless indie-alt band, the members were having a beer at original bass player Hyatt Morrill’s house when someone commented on the great manners of Morrill’s cat, Cassette. “Cassette had excellent etiquette,…
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Wastoid Rides Hardcore Wave Driven by Mike Smith’s Energy
Some bands are greater than the sum of their parts, representing something larger than just music. Cultivating a special bond with their fans and respect from their fellow musicians, Wastoid has earned a revered place in the Charlotte music scene. Wastoid began as a duo in 2021 when frontman Mike…
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Clarity Allures Audiences with Psychedelic Soul and Gothic Blues
There is an allure to the sound that local psychedelic soul and gothic blues artist Clarity gives to her music that is hard to pinpoint, and after listening to her on and offstage, it’s that unidentifiable appeal that serves as my personal buy-in. Combined elements of neo-soul and psychedelia make…
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Howard McNair’s Improvisational Jazz Has Roots in Gospel
Sitting behind his keyboard, Howard McNair counted in his band members to kick off rehearsal at The Playroom. The snap of drums came, followed by the strum of guitar, and then the rest of the group joined in. They easily slid into a jubilant, upbeat song which immediately had toes…
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Nia J Explores New Sounds in Debut Album ‘Melomania’
The last we heard from Charlotte singer-songwriter Nia J, we followed her on a winding sonic journey in her debut EP Rabbit Hole (2021). Her artistic berth examined the emotional dissonance of life’s sweetness and absurdity through a diaristic songwriting style that felt simultaneously intimate and universal. If this sojourn…
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Evan Plante Returns to Music as True Optimist
Longtime lovers of the Charlotte music scene know the name Evan Plante from his time playing with a number of punk bands locally and elsewhere — Quad, Pleather, Light the Fuse and Run, Escapists, and others. Some years ago, he found himself detaching from the music scene, worn out by…
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