Sierra Hull
Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a master of her instrument; A two-time Grammy Nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for both her most recent projects, 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the 6x recipient of IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country’s most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Béla Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, and Brandi Carlile. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music’s most inventive artists. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Leprous: Melodies of Atonement 2025
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Hovvdy – The Hovvdy Tour
A self-titled statement piece, Hovvdy’s fifth album fits with the comfortable confidence of faded blue jeans. Underlining years of hyper-reflective, deeply-fan-beloved songwriting, the 19-track sequence draws together swirling piano lines and vivid production under the cohesive vision of longtime friends Charlie Martin and Will Taylor. Hovvdy boldly broadens the scope of the Texas duo’s songwriting in a new partnership with Toronto-based outlet Arts & Crafts. The expansive double album presents a true co-production between Hovvdy and their frequent collaborators, Andrew Sarlo (Bon Iver, Big Thief) and Bennett Littlejohn (bassist, multi- instrumentalist). An unprecedented focus on live takes further peels the band’s early slowcore layers to show dazzling dynamic range, from the country feel of “Portrait” to the bombastic drums of “Meant.” Never staying still too long, Hovvdy easily folds introspection into their big, fearless choruses. Always guided with a gentle hand, the listener lands right there in the room, to witness the spontaneous synchronicity of Charlie and Will’s shared songcraft. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
MIKE
MIKE is a quintessential old soul. The 24-year-old artist’s wisdom is evident in both his calm delivery and measured questioning, even if he doesn’t always understand the depth of his words until they’re written. “All of these random ideas come to my head, but always end up making sense after it’s done,” the NY-based rapper-producer says about his method. Known for introspective, subtly profound rhymes that explore grief, family, and identity, and melt over muffled, soul-seasoned samples, on his expansive new record Burning Desire MIKE reaches new heights far above the sonic foundation he laid with his previous project. As MIKE’s career flourishes – already spanning numerous critically celebrated albums and tours with artists like Blood Orange, Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist, and Freddie Gibbs – his inner world demands nurturing. In a noisy metropolis, it can be hard to see beyond what’s right in front you, to find stillness. “So much shit is happening on surface level, it’s hard to have some idea of external shit outside of that,” MIKE says. The beloved rapper has come a long way from making waves in underground hip-hop circles with the [sLUms] collective—a group of young rappers Adé Hakim, Darryl Johnson, King Carter, Jazz Jodi, and DJ Mason formed in New York in 2015. In 2017 MIKE released his mixtape May God Bless Your Hustle, capturing a singular moment in a city where the only constant is change. It received a Best New Music review from Pitchfork as MIKE started to gain international attention outside of New York City. At the end of 2018 MIKE released his album War In My Pen independently, and followed it up in mid 2019 with Tears of Joy, his second album to be selected for Pitchfork’s Best New Music. MIKE’s Weight of the World, released in 2020, is nearly entirely self-produced, and only contains features from Jadasea and Earl Sweatshirt. It is one of MIKE’s most introspective and sonically diverse releases. Disco! followed Weight of the World, and saw MIKE combine his new style of production with his top tier songwriting and delivery. On his most recent record, Beware of the Monkey, MIKE polished the sound he established with Weight of the World and Disco! and cemented himself as one of the main figures at the front of a new wave of hip hop that is showing early signs of cracking the mainstream – a wave that MIKE himself pioneered. Three weeks ahead of Burning Desire, MIKE released Faith Is A Rock, a collaborative LP with fellow NYC rapper Wiki and legendary producer The Alchemist. The project is a kind of passing of the torch, that sees Alchemist cosign MIKE as the future of hip hop not only within New York but far beyond the city. As producer dj blackpower, MIKE has armed himself with a tapestry of ancestral sound built upon repurposed material, from soulful cuts to archival motifs. The ethos of dj blackpower shows up throughout episodes of IFE Radio, an ecosystem of black sound (Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Roy Ayers, Yesterday’s New Quintet) he hosts, featuring guest conversations and sets from artists like duendita and Frank Dorrey. Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud
WXYC Presents: Final Girl: Halloween Night Dance Party
UNC Students $5 with One Card$10 for non students
Mon Rovîa
Mon Rovîa has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket goes to supporting Hurricane Helene relief in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of TN. I’m Mon, born in Mon Rovia, Liberia. My life can be summed up by being born into a civil war, escaping the life of a child soldier, rescued by the hands of missionaries. Spent a lot of my developmental years living in a variety of places with a number of life experiences. And then layered on top of all of this is the assimilation I felt being a transracially adopted refugee. My music in a nutshell is a culmination of these experiences blended with the empathy I feel for the experiences with others. The mission of my music is to heal with others — with every nation and tongue, in due time. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
CG5
CG5 is a 24-year-old prolific singer/songwriter and music producer from Arizona. CG5 has an impressive organic viral following and is well known for his popular YouTube channel which touts over 7.5 Million subscribers. His channel has obtained over 10 BILLION views making CG5 one of the platform’s leading music creators. To date, CG5 has amassed over 1.2 BILLION worldwide streams on Spotify alone accompanied by 2+ Million monthly listeners, and has over 400+ Million streams from his singles; THX, Lonely King, 4GET, Dancin,’ Vibrant Eyes, Good To Be Alive, & I See a Dreamer. In addition, you can find nearly 8 Million video creations on TikTok based on his songs, with 3.5 Million followers on the platform. CG5 is a savage capturer of views and streams by creating catchy music that meets the demands of the masses. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud | TikTok
Lynn Blakey Christmas Show featuring Dave Hartman, FJ Ventre, Ecki Heins
It was probably inevitable that Lynn Blakey would eventually make a Christmas album. Such records are a challenge, as everyone has heard most holiday songs their entire lives; it takes something special to make them worth hearing again, anew. Blakey has that something special — a crystal-clear voice that rings out like yuletide silver bells, sparkles like moonglow on freshly fallen snow, and warms the heart on a silent, holy night.You might not have heard Blakey’s voice before. Or perhaps you have — in the Yep Roc Records trio Tres Chicas with Caitlin Cary and Tonya Lamm, or with her previous band Glory Fountain. Blakey has been making indie-pop music in the South since the 1980s, dating back to stints with Georgia group Oh-OK and North Carolina band Let’s Active; more recently, her backing vocals have turned up on records by the likes of Alejandro Escovedo and Chris Stamey.Along the way, she stole a German. Christmas is is credited to “Lynn Blakey and the Stolen German” thanks to Ecki Heins, a musician Blakey met on tour in 2005; he eventually joined her in North Carolina, where they’ve lived and made music together for more than a decade now. Heins is a secret weapon here, adding whimsical fiddle licks on “Let It Snow” and stepping out with a glorious violin melody on the disc’s classical-oriented hidden track. He and Blakey serve up tag-team vocals on “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” bouncing conversation back and forth with harmony and humor. Joining the duo in the studio were bassist FJ Ventre and engineer Jerry Kee, who added percussion and pedal steel.Most of Christmas consists of songs you’ll know, from traditional carols such as “Do You Hear What I Hear” to the World War II-inspired “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” to the chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire sweetness of “The Christmas Song.” But there’s also a Blakey original here: “Love Finds (Allumette)” is more romantic ballad than holiday jingle, but its setting amid candles, garland and “the bones of winter waiting for the light” help it fit right into the seasonal theme.I first heard Blakey sing upon relocating to North Carolina almost two decades ago and being knocked out by her high notes on a spectacular tune she wrote called “The Beauty of 23.” It became a love-song of sorts for my wife and me, and when we moved away many years later one December, Lynn was kind enough to sing my wife’s favorite Christmas song, “O Holy Night,” on an early winter’s eve in a remote roadside tavern. To have her singing it on record now is something we’ll treasure forevermore.Peter BlackstockAustin, Texas, late 2018Twitter | Facebook
Matty Frank, Johnny Sunrise, Nicole Tester
Self-taught in almost all of his musical and engineering knowledge, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Matty Frank currently creates naturalist art pop for modern druids, infusing every thought with an intangible sparkliness unseen or heard anywhere else. As a lyricist praised for both haunting specificity and relatability, he aims to tap into community and global consciousness to converse with those who daydream of a more fantastic and shiny world, real or otherwise, through music and visuals. Matty Frank sprinkles delectable pop melodic shapes onto fantastical and whimsical video game and cinema inspired sound palettes, making for one of a kind listening and performance experiences. Website | Instagram | TikTok — Nicole Tester is a singer/songwriter currently based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her eclectic indie-folk sound pulls from the roots of the Appalachian Mountains where she was raised, intertwined with modern influences such as Big Thief, The Tallest Man On Earth, Florist, and Sylvan Esso. Balancing wit and humor with introspection and insight, Nicole is sure to cover a vast expanse of emotional ground with her lyrics and expressive voice. Her songs serve as a way to tell stories, process experiences, and simultaneously attempt to find common ground to connect with others. — Hailing from Western Massachusetts, Johnny Sunrise is an indie folk singer-songwriter who draws inspiration from love, longing, the “quarter-life crisis,” and the uncertainty of life. Although Johnny grew up with music primarily as a drummer, his unforeseen travels up and down the east coast and the isolation caused by the COVID pandemic brought him closer to his neglected guitar. Johnny is now joined by the uber talented duo of Gabby Messner (bass) and Jake Richter (drums), whose contributions take the live show to another level. Johnny has carved a place in the Carrboro music scene over the past year or so performing original songs with honest lyrics and a soulful voice. Always with a smile and a healthy dose of banter. Recorded music is on the way with the hopes of a full project release in late 2024 or early 2025. Don’t miss Johnny Sunrise!
Rachel Despard
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