Peter McPoland: Big Lucky Tour
At just 20 years old, Peter McPoland creates the kind of finespun folk-pop that feels both beautifully lived-in and undeniably original. McPoland picked up guitar at the age of 14 and taught himself to play, finding lessons to be too regimented. Within a year he’d started writing his own songs, mining inspiration from folk artists like John Prine and Gregory Alan Isakov. As shown on breakout hits like his self-released single “Romeo & Juliet,” the Texas-bred artist has an incredible gift for capturing the most nuanced emotional experiences, then bringing that expression to life in idiosyncratic detail. Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok | Soundcloud | Spotify
An Evening with Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland: Songs and Stories from Franklin Street in the Early Seventies
This is a seated show. Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland will sing songs from their solo careers along with favorites they sang in the early 70s at The New Establishment, Cat’s Cradle and Town Hall. They will talk about their experiences in Chapel Hill during that time and answer questions from the audience. The evening will be moderated by Joe Vanderford, NC music journalist and fan.
Beauty School Dropout
Beauty School Dropout is a Los Angeles-based rock band comprised of Colie Hutzler, Beepus, and Bardo. Spearheaded by A&R Mark Hoppus under the trailblazing label Verswire—alongside Pete Wentz and Sherry Saeedi—Beauty School Dropout has been disrupting the scene since their debut in 2022 with a riotous blend of rebellion, freedom, and unapologetic self-expression. Their music exists to challenge the status quo, celebrate individuality, and speak to the frustrations and desires of a generation. After earning global attention with co-signs from Travis Mills, Jack Saunders, Daniel P Carter, and playlisting on BBC Radio 1’s Tune of the Week, New Music Friday, New Noise, and MTV FRESH OUT, BSD has continued to solidify their place as one of the most exciting names in rock. Their press accolades include features in NME, Alternative Press, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, SPIN, Billboard, and beyond. Their first two albums—We Made Plans and God Laughed and READY TO EAT—have amassed over 60 million streams and 4.8 million YouTube views, featuring collaborations with Mark Hoppus (Almost Famous), JXDN (FREAK), and production from Andrew Goldstein, Alex Gaskarth, Inverness, Slush Puppy, and more. The band has proven themselves as road warriors, completing a 36-date U.S. tour, opening for blink-182 on their arena run (featuring Tom DeLonge’s return), touring Europe with Maggie Lindemann and Stand Atlantic, hitting major festivals across the U.S. and EU, and performing to 160,000 people as direct support for Matchbox Twenty. Rock For People Festival raved, “What an incredible show! These guys are going to go far!!” Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud | YouTube
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
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Grace Lucia, The P-90s, Flatrock
Grace Lucia is a genre-blending rock and roll artist based in Wake Forest, NC, known for high-energy and heartfelt performances that light up bars, restaurants, and stages across the Research Triangle. Her original music fuses elements of dreampop, goth, pop punk, and classic rock, balancing grit and vulnerability in songs about resilience, love, and loss. With a voice that cuts through and a stage presence that pulls you in, Grace and her backup band create an atmosphere where every show feels personal. She doesn’t just play for a crowd—she plays with them. Grace Lucia delivers whether you’re ready to dance, laugh, cry, or connect. Linktree The P-90s Instagram Flatrock Instagram
King Mackerel & the Blues are Running
This is a seated show The musicalKing Mackerel & The Blues Are Running is a long-running and beloved theatrical performance of music and stories about fishing and life along the Carolina coastline. Called “a pure salt watered delight” by the late Clive Barnes, New York Post theater critic, King Mackerel is full of tall tales and rollicking songs told by The Coastal Cohorts–a trio of good-ole boys who happen to be staging a benefit concert to save the Corncake Inlet Inn. The lively cast of fishermen-musicians sings up a storm, tells fish stories, ghost stories, and relates accounts of first loves and ones that got away. The Coastal Cohorts are working to protect North Carolina’s coast—and beyond!—by supporting The Nature Conservancy, and you can, too! Please consider adding a donation at checkout. 100% of donations will go directly to TNC’s North Carolina chapter. Productions and personnelThe musical, written and conceived by Bland Simpson and Jim Wann with help from Don Dixon and Jerry Leath Mills, has had many productions around the Carolinas, up and down the East Coast, and from Atlanta to Indianapolis to Calgary in Canada. The original line-up of Coastal Cohorts has carried the show from Key West to Martha’s Vineyard over King Mackerel’s 40-year run. Those players include Don Dixon, bassist, singer-songwriter and renowned record producer of such musical groups as REM, the Smithereens, Marti Jones, Hootie & the Blowfish and more; Bland Simpson, pianist, of the Red Clay Ramblers and Kenan Distinguished Professor of English & Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina; and Jim Wann, guitarist, principal composer-lyricist of Pump Boys & Dinettes, the Broadway hit that was a Tony and Drama Desk Nominee for Best Broadway Musical and winner of the Olivier Award in the U.K. HistoryKing Mackerel opened in 1985 at a westside Chapel Hill club called Rhythm Alley (a club occupying a former location of Cat’s Cradle) and has also had successful runs Off-Off-Broadway at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York (in 1995 and on numerous other occasions), and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (1996). The original Cohorts continue to play live shows, so check back here for dates. Website
King Mackerel & the Blues are Running
This is a seated show The musicalKing Mackerel & The Blues Are Running is a long-running and beloved theatrical performance of music and stories about fishing and life along the Carolina coastline. Called “a pure salt watered delight” by the late Clive Barnes, New York Post theater critic, King Mackerel is full of tall tales and rollicking songs told by The Coastal Cohorts–a trio of good-ole boys who happen to be staging a benefit concert to save the Corncake Inlet Inn. The lively cast of fishermen-musicians sings up a storm, tells fish stories, ghost stories, and relates accounts of first loves and ones that got away. The Coastal Cohorts are working to protect North Carolina’s coast—and beyond!—by supporting The Nature Conservancy, and you can, too! Please consider adding a donation at checkout. 100% of donations will go directly to TNC’s North Carolina chapter. Productions and personnelThe musical, written and conceived by Bland Simpson and Jim Wann with help from Don Dixon and Jerry Leath Mills, has had many productions around the Carolinas, up and down the East Coast, and from Atlanta to Indianapolis to Calgary in Canada. The original line-up of Coastal Cohorts has carried the show from Key West to Martha’s Vineyard over King Mackerel’s 40-year run. Those players include Don Dixon, bassist, singer-songwriter and renowned record producer of such musical groups as REM, the Smithereens, Marti Jones, Hootie & the Blowfish and more; Bland Simpson, pianist, of the Red Clay Ramblers and Kenan Distinguished Professor of English & Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina; and Jim Wann, guitarist, principal composer-lyricist of Pump Boys & Dinettes, the Broadway hit that was a Tony and Drama Desk Nominee for Best Broadway Musical and winner of the Olivier Award in the U.K. HistoryKing Mackerel opened in 1985 at a westside Chapel Hill club called Rhythm Alley (a club occupying a former location of Cat’s Cradle) and has also had successful runs Off-Off-Broadway at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York (in 1995 and on numerous other occasions), and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (1996). The original Cohorts continue to play live shows, so check back here for dates. Website
Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co.
chokecherry
San Francisco’s dreamy chokecherry — comprised of vocalist/guitarist Izzie Clark and vocalist/bassist E. Scarlett Levinson — are back with a gorgeous new single. Watch the video for “Goldmine,” directed by Jack Boston, here. This song almost appeared on the band’s Messy Star EP, released last fall. But something in that moment told chokecherry to hold on to the song. It was ultimately a smart choice, as the song took further shape in seamless fashion when the band returned to the studio with producer Zach Tuch in January. “Goldmine” is a chokecherry breakup anthem… but with a twist. “It is completely resolute in the idea that things will never be the same again, playing with modern riffs and brooding harmonies against the backdrop of our youthful inspirations,” says Levinson.” It is reminiscing about a time that no longer exists, and the brutal challenges we find along the path to letting go of something we once cherished.” It’s a dreamy, breathy-whisper lovesick anthem with a Wes Anderson-like atmosphere, with the occasional break of a symbol ting and crash. Allow the whimsy of the chorus to envelope you and turn your living room, your bedroom, or wherever you may be into a space where the sun sets over crashing waves. Each instrument moves delicately but with purpose, like a time capsule to the best of the ’90s and ’00s. The song was mixed by Chris Coady (DIIV, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Future Islands, Yung Lean). “I drew upon a recent heartbreak to write some of the lyrics I sing in ‘Goldmine,” says Clark. “It felt potent and fresh — getting into the studio right away helped me work through some of the emotional disarray I was feeling. The upbeat guitar riff acts as an optimistic bookend, a glimmer of hope against the heartache. The song also explores stages of grief. The bridge is a desperate bargain — ‘If it’s too heavy, we can dumb it down’ — can’t we run back to what’s familiar, even if it comes with gut-wrenching baggage? The song is colored with an almost naive longing for a person (or feeling) you don’t want to let go of yet.” Levinson concurs, “My hope is that people who listen feel the tangible nostalgia and know they aren’t alone in whatever loss they’re experiencing; it is a collective sorrow. I feel endless heartbreak over parts of my past that no longer live in my present, and Goldmine helps me slip into the rose-colored reminiscence of those days. The title lyrics ‘Goldmine, tastes just like a fire’ allude to the idea that the most beautiful things can burn you, but the chorus is a simple confession of still missing and longing for that time (no matter how imperfect). We’ve all been there.” Regarding the video itself, director Boston said, “It was important that every decision we made had motivation, no matter how abstract. You can watch it and just enjoy the vibe, but there’s intention behind all of it. It’s a breakup song; breakups come with a spectrum of emotion. I was also drawn to the idea that the physical location of an intense breakup becomes emotionally radioactive — like Chernobyl or something — and leaves a kind of residue in the air.” Website | Facebook | Instagram
Dante High
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