Music
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Modern Moxie Joins Sarah Shook & the Disarmers for Farewell Show
Last month, River Shook announced that their band Sarah Shook & The Disarmers’ upcoming 2025 tour will be its last. After dealing with multiple lineup changes over the last three years, plus Shook’s own journey with sobriety and a transition that saw them drop the name that remains up on…
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‘How to be an Ethical Slut’ Explores Lessons and Logic of Polyamory
Blake Valentini has a problem. She’s wrestling with her desire for a loving, monogamous relationship and the simultaneously dawning realization that there may be alternative — and better — ways to forge meaningful romantic and sexual connections. In short, Blake is contemplating How to be an Ethical Slut — not…
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PREMIERE: Mariah van Kleef’s ‘Infauna 2’ Exudes a Familiar yet Alien Beauty
Alluring swarming vocals slip like a breeze over a gently rolling sea on Mariah van Kleef’s new single “Infauna 2,” an electronic remix/reimagining of “Infauna,” a song she dropped in an acoustic iteration in January. We’re premiering the more rhythmic and propulsive remixed version of the song below. The airy…
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Kash Doll Thinks Pink During ‘The Last Doll’ Stop in Charlotte
With hundreds of phones in the air, rapper Kash Doll took the stage at The Fillmore in the Music Factory on Sunday night by appearing from within what looked like a life-sized, pink Barbie doll box. Dressed in a matching pink bodysuit and rocking pink glasses, surrounded by a variety…
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PREMIERE: Lisa De Novo’s ‘Carolina’ an Uplifting Celebration of Home
Lisa De Novo paints indelible images of her adopted home state on her new bluegrass-infused single “Carolina.” The song, which we’re premiering below, is a valentine to a place that shaped the Charlotte singer-songwriter’s life. The pitch and roll of De Novo’s cantering acoustic guitar suggests a journey through the…
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PREMIERE: ‘Fxck Love’ a Provocative V-Day Message from Jah Freedom and ANON the Griot
On the track “Acrophobia,” poet Ahmariah Jackson’s rich mellifluous baritone pulls us through a thicket of shivery vibes, prowling bass and skip-a-beat percussion to spin a hair-raising narrative: “There is a scene in ‘Forrest Gump’/ Where ‘peas-and-carrots’ Jenny/ Gets so high/ She climbs on a ledge/ And contemplates a jump/…
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WSGE Keeps the Indie Radio Tradition Alive in Gaston County
Tucked away in a quiet enclave of offices on the first floor of the Craig Arts & Sciences Building at the Gaston College campus is the nerve center for one the Charlotte area’s few independent, non-commercial, community-oriented radio stations. Past the hustle and bustle of the students is a quiet…
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Tim Scott Jr. Is a Quiet Force in Charlotte’s Music Scene
At the top of Tim Scott Jr.’s New Year’s resolutions list this year was one item: learning to take credit for his accomplishments. There’s plenty to claim; Scott’s achievements within the music scene are so numerous they were hard to compile in the process of putting this article together. The…
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aespa Goes K-Pop in Uptown Charlotte
Haven’t heard of aespa? You’re not the only one. Pronounced eh·spuh, the K-pop quartet burst onto the scene in 2020 but didn’t release their debut album until May 2024. Considering how many people were packed into Uptown Charlotte’s Spectrum Center on Saturday, Feb. 8, however, there are plenty of people…
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Robert Jon Wrecks the Neighborhood Theatre
From the opening notes of Robert Jon & The Wreck’s salvo of Southern rock at the Neighborhood Theatre on Friday, Feb. 7, it was clear that the band’s years of experience were going to shine through. The group knows when to veer off for a solo, rein it in for…
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PREMIERE: Rasmus Leon’s ‘Young(er)/Strong(er)’ Invokes 8-Bit Nostalgia
Charlotte musician, educator, filmmaker and artist Will Davis, who creates under the mysterious moniker Rasmus Leon, delves deep into 1980s 8-bit nostalgia for his new animated video “Young(er)/Strong(er),” which we’re premiering below. In the video, a two-dimensional depiction of Davis strides steadily down a black-and-white main street as the frame…
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Pauly Guwop Showcases Charlotte Artists in Avirex with It’s All Leather
DJ Pauly Guwop is bringing the power of hip-hop’s golden age into Charlotte’s present with his new digital publication, It’s All Leather, Vol. 1. Launched exclusively on Instagram on Jan. 15, It’s All Leather pays homage to Avirex, a brand that has shown love to hip-hop artists since the late…
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DaBaby Brings a Crowd of Famous Friends for Birthday Bash
Too often, when there’s a concert with a long list of performers, fans have to wait until the end of the night to see the main attraction. During DaBaby’s birthday bash at the Spectrum Center on Wednesday night, fans didn’t need to wonder when the star of the show would…
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Ali Forrest Lands a Knockout with ‘Cagefighter’
Ali Forrest’s harrowing, compulsively catchy single “The Maze,” which dropped in October 2024, is the perfect teaser for her debut album Cagefighter, the much anticipated LP by the artist Queen City Nerve called the city’s Best New Singer-Songwriter in our 2024 Best in the Nest issue. The accompanying video for…
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Couldn’t Be Happiers Premiere Playful Video with Serious Message for ‘Plastic Bag Odyssey’
“Paper or plastic?” asks Jordan Lee Crosby in the role of grocery store clerk at the beginning of Winston-Salem indie-folk duo Couldn’t Be Happiers’ new video for “Plastic Bag Odyssey (I’ll Never Die),” which we’re premiering below. “Whatever’s easiest,” says Jordan’s bandmate and wife Jodi Hildebran Lee, playing a distracted…
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Girl Brutal’s Electronic Rage Attracts Metalcore Fans
Like a nighttime artillery barrage, stuttering strobe lights flash over electronic noise punk trio Girl Brutal. Clad in bunny ears, clownish Joker makeup and thong underwear over her tights, Grace Nelson stalks the stage, stomping, screaming, squatting and rolling on the floor as drummer Music Knight lays down chaotic, pummeling…
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