Around The Triangle: Shakori Hills Fall 2011

Shakori Hills is a four-day festival held twice a year in Pittsboro, North Carolina and if you've yet to attend then you're missing out on one of the guaranteed best weekends of your life.  From Thursday to Sunday the farmlands out in Chatham County are alive with music, love, and good vibes.  There's an aura to Shakori that spreads like wildfire and leaves its attendees feeling blissful and carefree, all the while allowing them to enjoy some of the best live music that has graced the state of North Carolina in a very long time.  Between the big headliners of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (with their original lineup!) and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Toubab Krewe, Des Ark, and Donna The Buffalo, this festival's lineup was filled from top to bottom with phenomenal acts.  I was out at the festival all weekend with Agatha dropping in for days two and three, but we got some incredible shots of some incredible artists this weekend.  Check back soon this week for a full write-up of the festival including two new Bottom String Sessions with Driftwood (Binghamton, NY) and Emily Stewart & The Baby Teeth (Greensboro, NC)

Around The Triangle: Week of October 3

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks @ Haw River Ballroom
on October 1, 2011

There's been an abundance of incredible acts stopping through the Triangle lately, so much it's almost become rather daunting.  Within a week of each other Fleet Foxes and Wilco both graced the stage of Raleigh Amphitheater (Fleet Foxes in an absolute downpour has become my favorite show I've ever attended) as well as numerous local powerhouses making waves as well.  Our photographer Agatha Donkar has been here, there, and everywhere as well and this week we'll both be out at Shakori capturing Bottom String Sessions and photos of some of the incredible acts that will be playing throughout the weekend.  Below are Agatha's shots from the Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks show at Haw River Ballroom and from Mandolin Orange's big album release show at The Cat's Cradle:

The full sets of Agatha's photos can be found over at her photoblog

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.

deja Mi announces free festival in downtown Raleigh with Surfer Blood, Wye Oak, and more

deja Fest, held on July 22 and 23 is a
free music festival held in downtown
Raleigh in cooperation with Hopscotch

deja Mi announced the lineup today for their absolutely free two day festival to be held in downtown Raleigh in cooperation with Hopscotch and it's packed with awesome local and nationally touring artists.  With names like Surfer Blood, Free Energy, and Wye Oak,  Deja Fest will be held on July 22 and July 23 in various venues around downtown Raleigh with the Friday night festivities kicking off at Tir Na Nog, The Pour House, Slim's, Kings Barcade and Neptunes Parlour from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.  Saturdays music will be starting at 1:00 p.m. on East Cabarrus St. outside of The Lincoln Theater and music will last until 2:00 a.m. with the afterparty taking place inside of The Lincoln Theater.  Deja Mi is a new media sharing application for sharing experiences via photo and video and Deja Fest will be coinciding with launch of their website and mobile application.

The lineup and schedule for Deja Fest are as followed:

Winoca Fest in Wilmington features Gillian Welch, The Felice Brothers, and more

Gillian Welch will headline Winoca Fest in Wilmington, NC
on August 27, 2011

Tickets for Winoca Fest, the Wilmington, NC music festival put together by Winoca Records went on sale at noon today and their lineup is an excellent mesh of brilliant local talent and nationally touring acts as well.  Headlined by Gillian Welch and The Felice Brothers, Winoca Fest will be held on August 27, 2011 at Battleship Park in downtown Wilmington with tickets priced at $30 in advance and $35 day of.  Winoca Records is home to Bottom String favorites Onward, Soldiers who will also be playing at the festival.

Midtown Dickens sign to Trekky Records, announce tour with The Mountain Goats

It was announced today that Trekky Records' latest signing is none other than Durham's own Midtown Dickens. Midtown Dickens have been tearing up the North Carolina scene with their energetic, rootsy folk music that has left many a crowd breathless.  Trekky Records own Will Hackney is a member of the band making the signing all the more special by officially adding the rest of the band to the Trekky Family.

Midtown Dickens will be releasing their third album on Trekky Records which according to Trekky's blog will be released in early 2012 and is to be produced by Scott Solter (The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, Spoon).  As if that wasn't enough good news for fans of the band, it was also announced that they'll be joining fellow Durhamite John Darnielle on a west coast tour with The Mountain Goats set to kick off next week.  The dates for said tour are listed below

Album Review: "Brice Randall Bickford" by Brice Randall Bickford

Brice Randall Bickford by Brice Randall Bickford
will be released on June 14, 2011 by Trekky Records

Brice Randall Bickford is a name that you'll surely grow familiar with in the coming years if you're not already.  Bickford was the leading man behind The Strugglers and for his latest album he's dropped the name and created his best effort to date.  Brice Randall Bickford and his band have meshed together brilliantly for years and lived up to their name in terms of popularity, though the band continually put out excellent releases they seemed to gain no more notoriety or popularity anywhere outside of the Triangle.

This new self-titled record being released on his new label (local powerhouses of Trekky Records) opens up a realm of possibilities for Bickford and hopefully this gives the band a chance to drop the woes of their old name and start getting the recognition they truly deserve.  Bickford has crafted yet another brilliant album filled with lush orchestration and powerful lyricism.  The album release show will be held Saturday, June 11 at The Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC with a Carolina star-studded lineup featuring names like Phil Cook (of Megafun), Django Haskins (of The Old Ceremony), Lee Waters, and Heather McEntire (of Mount Moriah).  The album will be officially released in Trekky's own LP + CD + MP3 format on June 14.

TRKfest 2011 Announces Lineup

TRKFest 2011 will be on August 13
and will be headlined by Bowerbirds

Every year Trekky Records continues to bring awesome music to the good people of North Carolina whether it be through their excellent artists or through the many events that the label has its hands in.  Arguably the most enjoyable Trekky endeavor though is the annual TRKfest, held at Piedmont Biofuels at 220 Lorax Lane in Pittsboro, NC.  This year on August 13, Trekky Records brings us yet another awesome music festival for a mere $10 suggested donation.  Trekky has brought their favorite NC bands to play yet again and with this year's headliners being Bowerbirds and boasting an undercard filled with Trekky favorites it looks like TRKFest 2011 will be yet another great one.

TRKFest will also feature local arts, crafts, and clothing for sale, make your own tye-dye TRKFest shirt, shadow puppets, and much more.  The event marks more than just a great day of music, it's a joining of the NC music community for an awesome fun-filled day in the sun.  Food and drinks will be available as well from Carolina Brewery, Pie Pushers, Parlez-Vous Crepe, and OnlyBurger.

Hopscotch adds 13th venue and 14 new bands including Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus is one of the 14 new bands added
to the Hopscotch lineup

This morning Hopscotch announced fourteen new bands today, plus a new venue for all of these incredible bands to play at.  This new batch of bands holds quite a few surprises, the biggest name being the indie-punk group Titus Andronicus who've been a name in everyones sights for the past year or two, so getting the chance to see them at Hopscotch will be incredible.  The festival also added Merge artist Times New Viking, Vivian Girls, and Bass Drum of Death.