Chezile – Wish You Were Here Pt 2 Tour
Alejandro Sanchez, better known as Chezile, has had the kind of overnight success that would give anyone whiplash. After 2023 psych-pop single “Beanie” went viral on TikTok, giving Sanchez 1.6 million monthly listeners in under two months, he went from living out of his car in Los Angeles to getting calls from labels. A sensitive soul, the Albuquerque-born multi-instrumentalist and child of Mexican regional musicians is now based in San Diego, where he’s hard at work on a full-length debut. After 47 garnered an audience for a sentimentality melded with reverberated guitar, an austere indie rock caught somewhere between Tame Impala and Cigarettes After Sex, Chezile kept digging inward. Life now forever changed by his circumstance, he centered himself in childhood explorations skateboarding through the desert landscape of New Mexico in Alē. The EP’s self-referential nature sees Chezile’s nickname —pronounced like the skateboard trick— give an underlying warmth to the music, the kind of feeling one would get flipping through a scrapbook years later when, upon reflection, one is living a completely different moment. “[47] was a tough time of my life,” he says of his last EP. “I think this next project, in comparison, has a lot of elements from my childhood, and tackles trying to deal with the music industry while maintaining that inner child, that little Ale.” Compared to 47, Alē is a hug rather than an echo of melancholia. The title track and lead single, driven by a piano-run and Chezile’s voice, sees him reminiscing on childhood comforts and struggles, through memories of broken air conditioners and skating through patches of brown grass. “Kev’s House” sees him channel an old friendship, and “Hotel” makes a metaphor of the thousand eyes now on him. He leans into his sentimental strengths on tender love song “Wya”, with vocals that call to mind Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” begging you to come closer and really listen. How does one honor their original intentions while balancing what is at stake, especially while making art? How does an artist stay true in the age of viral trends and fleeting fancies? Chezile grapples with these questions through centering the biographical on Alē, the emotional vantage point that’s made his name focused on the kid from humble beginnings dealing with the trappings of fame while trying to stay grounded in the storm of his new reality. It remains in the world of 47, attempting to make sense of it while coming to terms with the present. “I’m nothing special,” Chezile reflects on the making of the new EP and his virality. “I overly manifested this since I was young. If I’m able to do it, I know for a fact that people can do the same thing I’m doing and whatever they want to do. I somehow want to convey that message through art and be a tool to help kids who were as fucked as I was, people who don’t have influences around them to just tell them that they’re fucking special.” Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Spotify
The Runarounds – The Minivan Tour
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School of Rock Chapel Hill’s End of Season Showcase
Free Show / $10 Suggested Donation 12:00 – Doors Open12:30 SHOW12:30 – The Music of New Orleans!1:30 – Guardians of the Galaxy’s Awesome Mix!2:45 – Songwriting!3:45 – Pop Queens!4:45 – Senior Send-Off Ceremony5:00 – Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Californication”!6:00 – Punk! Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Event
The Jins
The Jins have been on a tear for the last decade, bringing their fusion of incredible riffs, bombastic drums, and driving basslines to fans first in Vancouver, and then across Canada and the US. Ben Larsen, (guitar vocals) Hudson Partridge, (Bass) and Jamie Warnock (drums/vocals) got the ball rolling in 2014 in the living room of a shared house. This music was not destined to remain in the living room however, and soon the Jins were playing stages both in Vancouver, and then across Canada, with a self-produced EP and Album along the way. The hard work paid off in 2019 when The Jins were noticed by Vancouver indie label 604 Records, and an EP was soon in the works with producer Dave Genn (Matthew Good Band, 54-40). The resulting EP featured the runaway hit “She Said” (14M+ streams on Spotify) and the eponymous “Death Wish.” In 2022, The Jins returned with a vengeance and once again hit the local scene with songs that they had kept in the vault. The indie rock smoothness of “Metro”, the air punching anthem of “Stay Please”, and the garage rock cool of “Effigy”, the pieces came together that would become 2023’s “It’s a Life” LP. While not afraid to show their influences, one can hear the weight of Sabbath, the harmony of the Beatles, the echoes of Smashing Pumpkins, all wrapped in their unique swagger and humour. When the three-piece hit the stage, you are in for one thing and one thing alone, and that’s a spectacular show. The songs take on new life and become barrelling avatars on the shoulders every rock band stands on. The crowd moves, sways, jumps, and screams to the beck and call of the instruments and vocals as a wall of sound crashes over you, just to recede and hit you once again. In between guitar changes and Larsen’s trademark banter, The Jins achieve one thing on every song they play and every time they take the stage- sheer passion, and the one goal of bringing everyone together for a good time. Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
Hege V, Secret Monkey Weekend, Michael Kelsh
HEGE VChapel Hill’s Original Rural Rockin’ / High Octane HillBilly Band, who Barnstormed their way to MTV w/ the “Burial Ground of The Broken Hearted” Music Video off their critically acclaimed “HOUSE OF TEARS”, Mitch Easter-produced album in 1987!!! That summer, they toured the USA in a 1965 Cadillac Hearse dubbed:”The Hearse of Tears Tour”. Hege (the Man aka George Hege Hamilton V) moved to NashVegas in 1988 to deal w/ their struggling record label and write more songs of “Pain & Misery” for SONY and CURB Music thru the 1990s & 2000s. He helped establish the “Americana Music” scene in Music City, while becoming a World-Travelin’ Troubadour — Releasing 9 albums to-date in Europe & Australasia and Pickin’ & Singin’ in 22 Countries on 5 Continents, so far. Website | Facebook MICHAEL KELSHMichael Kelsh cut his teeth in the Chapel Hill music scene while attending UNC, where he fronted “Jack and the Cadillacs” and performed with “Southern Culture on the Skids”. After releasing two solo albums, “Ghost Dance” and “Steel Blue Ballads”, Michael relocated to Nashville, where he has since collaborated with Music City Legends: Singer/Songwriter Rodney Crowell; “Poco” Co-Founder Rusty Young; John Cowan of “New Grass Revival”; Producer Bill Halverson (Cream, Neil Young, Texas Tornadoes…) and more, releasing his acclaimed album “Well of Mercy”. Along the way, Michael’s shared stages w/ Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Warren Zevon, Richard Thompson, Doc & Merle Watson, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Eric Anderson and NRBQ. *Michael Kelsh’s most recent Album on CD & Vinyl is “Harmony Sovereign”. Website SECRET MONKEY WEEKENDA family band like no other, Secret Monkey Weekend returns with sparkling sophomore album Lemon Drop Hammer on June 6. Comprising seasoned guitarist/vocalist Jefferson Hart and his stepdaughters Ella (bass/vocals) and Lila Brown-Hart (drums/vocals), the North Carolina trio’s harmony-heavy Beatles/Squeeze songwriting, charming lyricism, and familial chemistry is channeled into 10 tracks helmed by revered REM/Smithereens producer Don Dixon. “I wasn’t prepared for Jefferson’s tremendous talent as a writer, player and singer,” said Dixon. “These three individuals have combined to make something I love [and] grown, literally and figuratively, in front of my eyes.” Secret Monkey Weekend (a name derived from a vintage Tiger Beat magazine headline) began as purely organic family therapy, with no plans for anything more. Yet by 2016 they were playing casual shows and soon graduated to a busy calendar of club and festival dates. Debut album All The Time In The World, also produced by Dixon, followed in 2022. It’s a tale so remarkable that the trio is the subject of Emmy-winning 2023 PBS documentary, Secret Monkey Weekend. Website
Night Cap
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The Backseat Lovers
The Backseat Lovers are an indie rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah consisting of Joshua Harmon, Jonas Swanson, KJ Ward, & Juice Welch. Since their formation in 2018, the band has amassed over 800 million combined global streams and sold over 200,000 tickets. Their 2023 World Tour found them playing their largest venues to date across North America, the UK, EU and Australia. The band will be bringing new music to their electric live shows as well as fan favorites off of their sophomore album Waiting to Spill which is the follow-up to the group’s acclaimed 2019 full-length debut, When We Were Friends, featuring the top 20 Alternative hit “Kilby Girl.” Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
The Backseat Lovers
The Backseat Lovers are an indie rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah consisting of Joshua Harmon, Jonas Swanson, KJ Ward, & Juice Welch. Since their formation in 2018, the band has amassed over 800 million combined global streams and sold over 200,000 tickets. Their 2023 World Tour found them playing their largest venues to date across North America, the UK, EU and Australia. The band will be bringing new music to their electric live shows as well as fan favorites off of their sophomore album Waiting to Spill which is the follow-up to the group’s acclaimed 2019 full-length debut, When We Were Friends, featuring the top 20 Alternative hit “Kilby Girl.” Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
Jon Shain and FJ Ventre
This is a seated show. Hailing from Durham, NC, Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who’s been turning heads for years with his words, his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style – combining improvised piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime. Jon has released nine solo albums to date, along with two albums with duo partner FJ Ventre, a Jon Shain Trio live album, and one album of co-writes with Joe Newberry. Shain’s newest album, Restless Soul Syndrome, recorded at Good Luck Studio this past year, was released April 9, 2024. Shain is also the author of the music books Gettin’ Handy With the Blues – a Tribute to the Legacy of W.C. Handy and Jon Shain’s Fingerstyle Guitar Method, both published by Mel Bay Publications. In 2019, Shain won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN in the solo/duo category. Jon grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts, a Merrimack River mill-town that had already seen its better days by the time he was a child in the 1970s. His family’s business was a small textile dyeing company, and he worked in the factory during the summers throughout his teens. At the same time, Shain began to discover his love of American roots music and songwriting, specifically drawn to the narratives about regular people and themes of social justice. Shain headed south to North Carolina in 1986, to study American History at Duke University and to continue his musical journey, as well. In addition to studying with jazz professor Paul Jeffrey, he also had the good fortune to learn the piedmont blues tradition firsthand by playing in Big Boy Henry’s backing band. It was at this time that Shain also got to meet and play with John Dee Holeman and a number of the great older NC blues players. Shain’s classes in school were heavily concentrated in southern history, English, and world religions. That mixture of the academic environment and the real-world blues music is what has most informed his musical direction. Shain cut his touring teeth from 1989-1998 founding the Chapel Hill, NC folk-rock group, Flyin’ Mice and their spin-off group, WAKE. The band performed with acts such as David Grisman, Tony Rice Unit, Hot Tuna, and the Dixie Dregs, released four CDs, and played clubs, schools, and festivals up and down the East Coast, building a legion of fans. After the band’s breakup, Shain went solo, returning to his roots by touring in the folk and blues circuit. Shain has also become a sought after guitar teacher and studio producer. In 2021, he produced Donna Herula’s blues radio chart-topping album, Bang at the Door. Over the last several years, Shain has headlined listening rooms both as a solo and with duo partner FJ Ventre throughout the US and he’s done two solo tours in Europe. He has opened shows for John Hiatt, Keb’ Mo’, Little Feat, and many other roots legends. When Shain is not recording, producing other artists, or performing, he stays busy giving private instruction in guitar, and teaching group workshops in songwriting and blues guitar. Website
Jesse Fox
Jesse Fox – a name that echoes within the realm of soulful artistry and immersive storytelling. Each performance is a gateway to an emotional landscape where heartfelt melodies and eloquent narratives seamlessly entwine, resonating deep within the core of one’s being. Rooted in the musically diverse landscape of North Carolina, Fox emerges as a master craftsman of lyrics, weaving songs that stir even the most stoic of spirits. From his early musical explorations with the acclaimed folk band Love & Valor, Jesse embarked on a journey to define his voice as a singular singer-songwriter. Guided by the echoes of the past, he channels the timeless resonance of songsmiths like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Concurrently, he embraces the sonic tapestry of modern troubadours like The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers, and The Civil Wars. The result is an enchanting fusion of Americana, folk, and deeply emotive ballads. With a gift for delving deep into the human psyche, Jesse Fox’s lyrics resonate with profound honesty. They navigate the intricate pathways of love, the hollow echoes of loss, the reflective inner gaze, and the relentless quest for personal evolution. His narratives are a rich tapestry of life’s shared experiences, stirring a sense of collective authenticity among listeners. Complemented by a skilled ensemble of musicians, Jesse’s live performances radiate with a distinctive energy that electrifies, while simultaneously nurturing intimacy. Each note and harmony fill the room, wrapping audiences in a tapestry of shared emotion and musical unity. Be it on the grand stage of a festival or the close quarters of a small venue, Jesse’s empathic connection with the audience pervades every corner, creating a truly shared experience. As he steps forth into his solo career, Jesse carries the legacy of Love & Valor within his heart. Their final symphony together, ‘Old Oak,’ is an extraordinary portfolio of songs, reflecting the artistic zenith of their shared journey. Jesse Fox, with ambitions to stir hearts across the globe, extends an open invitation to you. Join him on this entrancing musical odyssey. Plunge into his endless well of melodies, immerse yourself in the depth of his lyrics, and feel the unfiltered passion of an artist who crafts each note with undying love and dedication. Let the captivating allure of Jesse Fox – a singer-songwriter of remarkable soulfulness – leave a lasting imprint within your heart. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
