Music
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Crow With No Mouth Delivers Hardscrabble Folk Ballads
The backcountry rhythms laid down by Iain Rocco’s jangling, cantering guitar and Duke Wicker’s heartbeat bass entwine with swells of churchyard organ and Sarah Skye’s dusky alto: “Singin’ til daylight/ I strum until my fingers bleed/ I didn’t even mind/ I can’t feel a thing/ It feels so heavenly, I…
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Creatures of the Sun Prepare Debut Album of Illuminating Psych-Rock
Garrett Ballard’s crooning drawl threads through rattlesnake coils of surf guitar, clacking freight-train drums and growling Harley Davidson bass: “You were obfuscated/ A thief in the night / You were obfuscated/ Now things don’t feel so right…” Charlotte trio Creatures of the Sun (COTS) gets points for using “obfuscated,” from…
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Bush, Mammoth Rock Skyla to Open the Season
Rock bands Bush, Mammoth, and James & the Cold Gun opened the season at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre on Wednesday. When Bush opened for Alice in Chains in 2022, I noted that Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale was quite energetic at age 56. He’s now 60 (?!) and it’s arguable that…
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Tracei’s Debut Album ‘MOOD’ Uplifts Romance and Self-Love
Every time we pick up our phones these days, we’re met with scenes of war, bloodshed and destruction, with all signs pointing to escalation. The anxiety is present when we fill our cars with gas and our bellies with food, the sting of bloated costs never far from our minds.…
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Zara Larsson Brings Arena-Ready Show to The Fillmore
When Zara Larsson performed at The Fillmore on April Fool’s Day, it felt like someone had pranked her. The rapidly rising star didn’t let the cozy confines of the Music Factory’s mid-sized venue restrict anything about her show, which would have certainly been moved outside to the neighboring amphitheater had…
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Lynsea Returns to the Stage Six Months After Near-Fatal Crash
Lynsea Rohde was born in the backseat of a Chevy Blazer on the side of a Texas road on Nov. 28, 1993. Thirty-two years later, on Sept. 20, 2025, that life was almost snuffed out on the streets of Charlotte, derailed by a reckless driver believed to be impaired at…
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LAMÄR Weaves a Spell of Heart and Soul with Moonseeker Trilogy
Screeching tires cut through the sounds of onrushing traffic before we hear the sudden crash of crumpled steel and breaking glass. A few seconds of silence follow. Then LAMÄR’s husky whisper emerges amid the chirping of crickets: “In shadows cast by silver light/ A wonder roams through the night/ With…
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Art, Beats + Lyrics Makes Anticipated Return to Charlotte
The sound of the crowd hums in rhythm with the hip-hop beats permeating the space. The transformed nectar of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey whiskey teases the taste buds of patrons who roam the room to see wall upon wall of artwork. This is not your ordinary art exhibition; it’s a…
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Conan Gray Is Turning My Kids Into Concert Hounds
As a father who goes to somewhere around 60 concerts per year, it’s no surprise that my kids are turning into concert hounds at ages 11 and 13. They’ve only been to a handful of shows in their short lives, but this week they both reached a milestone that made…
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Dexter and the Moonrocks Bring Joy to Carolina
Before Texas-based quartet Dexter and the Moonrocks could even take the stage at The Fillmore on Friday night, dozens in the crowd were already chanting, “Fuck Cheez-Its.” Yes, if you were in attendance, you didn’t mishear that. For the uninitiated, there is a lore behind the aggressive anti-cracker war cries.…
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Indie-Rock Foursome Camisole Puts Community First
Guitarist Justin Thompson kicks off “Vertigo,” the title track on Camisole’s latest four-song EP, with an insistent cantering riff that seems ingrained in our DNA. Then Briella Franciosi’s vocal sweeps in — shorn of illusions and indomitable — surrounded by a whirlwind of propulsive drums, growling bass and slashing guitars:…
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Judebird & Jork Showcase Cross-Collaborative Process with Listening Party, Visuals
It doesn’t take a shared medium for creators to find a connection. Some of the best collaborations come from artists who draw on one another’s strengths from different fields. That is the case for Judebird and Jork, whom I would describe as a musical filmmaker and filmmaking musician, respectively. Jude…
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Nine Inch Nails Deliver Pure Cinema to Spectrum Center
Back in 2009, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee, I witnessed what was reported, at the time, to be the final Nine Inch Nails concert in the United States. The tour was ending as singer/frontman Trent Reznor was set to retire as he had grown tired of…
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Gena Chambers Talks Jazz and Soul in Charlotte Before Lovers’ Night Out
There was a time in the 1990s when Gena Chambers was keeping a roof over her head with karaoke. The soul singer was living in Atlanta, where karaoke competitions were prevalent and rent was low. “I paid rent by going and singing karaoke and doing karaoke competitions, that was the…
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Snow Strippers Bring a Full-Body Experience to The Fillmore
Plenty of artists create a show when they perform live, but for electronic acts, it’s more about creating an experience. Look, nobody needs to watch a DJ turn knobs for an hour; a majority of fans are more interested in the overall vibe and letting the music course through their…
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Anthony Hamilton & Fantasia Kick Off 2026 Tour with Homecoming Show
There’s something special about performing in front of a hometown audience. On Friday, R&B singers and longtime friends Fantasia and Anthony Hamilton showcased their vocals for an enthralled Charlotte crowd that sat for the opening act but stood for every note that the headliners had to offer. Charlotte native Hamilton,…
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