The Bottom String's Hopscotch Day Party Schedule

Hopscotch is just over a week away and quite frankly I'm finding it hard to contain my excitement for the whole thing.  The festival has been dropping LPs off at random locations in downtown Raleigh, continually having Day Party announcements and even had a few names drop and get added to the lineup a few weeks ago (The Light Pines being the most disappointing loss for me), so the excitement and hype is all finally going to be coming to a head when next week's festivities kick off on Thursday.  Thursday recently had Day Parties added onto it with an insane amount of music going on at Sadlack's Heroes, a 307 Knox hosted show with the likes of Pink Flag, and a Raleigh Denim/Flander's Gallery show highlighted by a Gray Young appearance.  Hop around town on Thursday if you're free to catch some of these awesome free sets to get you pumped up for the night's festivities.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones top off new Shakori Hills lineup additions

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are one
of many new names added to the Shakori
Hills lineup

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival has made yet another lineup announcement in regards to their October 6-9 fall festival and this one's a big one.  The legendary banjoist Bela Fleck will be joined with the original band of the Flecktones with Victor Wooten on bass, Futureman, and Howard Levy at Shakori this fall.  But possibly the most exciting announcement yet is the addition of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, the soulful funk group led by their powerhouse of a frontwoman Sharon Jones.  However, these two acts are merely two of the exciting names that have been added to an already stellar list including Donna The Buffalo, Eilen Jewell, Toubab Krewe, and Brett Dennen.

Around The Triangle: TRKFest 2011

TRKFest was held Saturday August 13, 2011 at
Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC

TRKFest is always one of the most enjoyable parts of the North Carolina summer, it's filled with local love whether it be vendors, bands, or fans who all seem to be enjoying themselves to no end.  Rain or shine TRKFest was going to pull through, and when the rain came the decision was made to move TRKFest to Saxapahaw's Haw River Ballroom, a gorgeous indoor venue that's been hailed by many local musicians and patrons as one of the Triangle's finest.  Our own Agatha Donkar was at TRKFest and captured some awesome shots of some of the bands.  Check 'em out!

For the rest of Agatha's shots from TRKFest 2011 check out her Flickr account

Around The Triangle

Chatham County Line @ Cat's Cradle
8/6/2011

With the recent addition of Agatha Donkar as our newest Bottom String member we're going to be bringing you more show coverage than ever before.  We're implementing our first new piece this week with "Around The Triangle", shots from shows all over the Triangle from local and touring artists.

All photo credit goes to Agatha Donkar unless otherwise noted.This week's photos come from Chatham County Line's Cat's Cradle on Saturday, August 6 with Justin Robinson and The Mary Annettes and Onward Soldiers' July 30 show with The Pneurotics and Effingham

The Bottom String Turns One!

It's crazy to think a year ago that I was sitting down and working out all of my logistics for this new Carolina music blog that I'd had the idea of starting.  I wasn't necessarily at a thrilling place in my life, but I knew that I had this massive adoration for the North Carolina music scene and way too much free time on my hands for a 19-year old to know what to do with.  Bit by bit, brick by brick, The Bottom String began to build into something that I became proud of and could put my time and dedication to.  I began to delve deeper and deeper into the independent scene of thriving musicians in North Carolina and continued to be perplexed with the talents that I found hidden throughout the state.

Before I started The Bottom String I promoted shows in New Bern and now one year later I'm heading off to Raleigh to jump in feet first with this blog.  The first year of The Bottom String went better than I could have ever dreamed of, I got to speak with some of my favorite artists, met one of my biggest inspirations, and better yet started to hear feedback from the bands that I was helping get coverage of.  The thanks I've received from the bands and the readers for simply running this website has been heartwarming.  However, even over the past year the North Carolina music scene has gotten exponentially deeper with the addition of Hopscotch, Moogfest, and consistently amazing local and touring bands playing at all of these great local venues.  As such we must accommodate this growing scene, so The Bottom String has some growth of it's own to announce.

Shakori Hills makes lineup announcement for fall festival

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival will be held October 6-9
in Pittsboro, NC

The Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival is a twice a year joy that's become one of the beacons of light for not only the North Carolina music scene but for the south-east region as a whole.  Three days full of good music and good vibes, Shakori Hills is a home away from home as a family-friendly festival that's still filled with enough hippies and festi-freaks to fulfill your needs.  Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival is held in Pittsboro, NC twice a year acting as a fundraiser to help the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center to buy the farmlands that the festival is held on in order to provide an outlet for community building through arts, nature, and through education.

The group is holding a Shakori Hills Benefit on August 20, 2011 for the second year in a row, NC Stars In The Round, an event that gathers names like Andrew Marlin (of Mandolin Orange), Justin Robinson (of Carolina Chocolate Drops), and Charly Lowry (of Dark Water Rising) in a singer-songwriter circle, plus a headlining slot from The Old Ceremony.  This fall's festival will be held October 6-9 and the festival recently announced a handful of artists in what will be the first wave of announcements. With names like The Old Ceremony, Toubab Krewe Eilen Jewell, and Bret Dennen this fall's festival is already shaping up to be an exciting one.

Tickets for Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival are already on sale now at early-bird prices.  Early-bird prices last until August 14th so if you're trying to get a great deal on tickets then now is the chance to do so.  Ticket prices and festival lineup are as followed:

Mandolin Orange announce new double album + Cat's Cradle release show

Haste Make | Hard-Hearted Stranger by Mandolin Orange
will be released on September 24, 2011

Mandolin Orange dropped a bomb on us today when they announced not only that they'd be having an album release party at The Cat's Cradle on September 24, 2011 but also that it was for a brand new double album that they'd be putting out.  Mandolin Orange is a folk-duo that's been on the cusp of something big for the better part of a year now, this release can have the power to thrust them into the limelight of the Carolina music scene right where they belong.  The band will be playing at Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh this September as well as announcing more CD release dates throughout the state including Wilmington, Asheville, and Charlotte.

Haste Make | Hard-Hearted Stranger, the new double album from Mandolin Orange was recorded over the span of the past year with Haste Make being recorded with Jeff Crawford and James Wallace in Winter 2010/2011 at Arbor Ridge Studios and Arbor Ridge Studios West in Chapel Hill and Franklin, NC respectively, produced by Jeff Crawford and Mandolin Orange.  Hard-Hearted Stranger was recorded in the summer of 2011 at Rubber Room Studios in Chapel Hill and features only Andrew and Emily, produced by Andrew himself.

Troika Music Festival calling it quits

Troika Music Festival will not return to Durham, NC
in 2011

After ten years of festivities it appears that Troika Music Festival is no longer.  Festival organizer and owner of 307 Knox Records, Mel Thomas released a statement last week announcing that the Durham, NC festival would  not be happening this year.  Troika Music Festival began in Durham back in 2000 and has since been credited to helping the Triangle's scene flourish, and flourish it has.  With Hopscotch only 6 weeks away and boasting acts like The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, and Drive-By Truckers it was clear that the scene has started to "outgrow" Troika.