We Love Durham NC

Juno Singer at Troika

I just checked out the artists at this year’s Troika Music Festival. I was going anyway, but am happy to see Kimya Dawson on the bill. No one I know enjoys the Juno soundtrack like I do… I’ve got a whole Pandora station seeded on her and the Moldy Peaches… so I look forward to being in a room of other folks who can appreciate.

Tickets are just $20 for all three days of show. http://www.troikamusicfestival.org/

Tags: festivals, Music

Summer Music Festival

A series of six free summer music concerts sponsored by the Durham Parks & Rec Department begins tomorrow.

June 21st, Duke Park, Bobby Hinton & Cool John Ferguson

June 28th, Twin Lakes Park, Veeda

July 12th, Forest Hills Park, Marcus Anderson & Blue Chip Jazz Band

July 26th, Pineywood Park, Lo-K-Shun

August 2nd, Oval Park, The Tim Smith Band & Erica Newell

Justin Roberts

Justin Roberts and Liam Davis sang the national anthem at last Tuesday’s Durham Bulls game. They happily reported that the Bulls won!

At Saturday’s Artscenter (Carrboro) concert, they wore their new Bulls jerseys to perform songs from their new album Pop Fly, as well as some old favorites like I Lost The Tooth, Cartwheels, and Willly was a Whale. The concert wrapped up the last of the Artscenter’s SuperFun series for the season.

After the concert, Justin took time to talk with each kid during the autograph signing. The boy was thrilled to get his Pop Fly liner notes signed, and to catch Liam outside for a High-5! Baseball jersey t-shirts were provided by CDBaby Live Sales, and were made by American Apparel in the USA.

The Baron Returns

Baron von Rumblebuss returns to Broad Street Cafe this fall: “BROAD ST. CAFE DATES Sunday Afternoons at 4:30! Enjoy libations and victuals courtesy of the Cafe’s kitchen. 10/14 11/11 12/16 1/20 $3 per child or unaccompanied adult. kids under 3 are FREE! 1 parent per paid admission is FREE!”

TMBG, Carolina Theatre, 10/26

The Carolina Theatre is so far disavowing any of this, but Durham is on the TMBG Summer ‘07 Tour.

Brightleaf Music

Last night we saw Will McFarlane and band at Brightleaf Square. That guy does a dead-on Eric Clapton cover.
The kids enjoyed running around the brickyard, eating sweets at Amelia’s, and peering in at the vintage goodies in Dolly’s. I noticed that some people brought folding chairs, and that was a good idea.

Durhamite

Partial Durhamite song lyrics at the bottom of this Best of the Triangle article about Durham. It’d be cool to hear it on their MySpace playlist. (We’re racking our brains here trying to think of another city that calls its residents something ending in -ite. Maybe Seattle?)

CDs, Baby

CDBaby has the best customer service around for online CD purchases. They also feature more local artists than I’ve found anywhere else, and you can listen to the songs online. Here are just a few albums from Durham artists:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/jdholeman
http://cdbaby.com/cd/bettyrwoods3
http://cdbaby.com/cd/hotblocfam
http://cdbaby.com/cd/inthepocket

Piano Lessons

We finally found a piano teacher (apparently it’s hard to start mid-year) at Joyful Noise in Durham (in the Toys ‘r’ Us plaza) in the South Square area. The boy is quite taken with his teacher, and overall the experience has been very positive. Joyful Noise will be expanding soon, and offering more mommy & me classes, more waiting room space, and more practice rooms.

Kid Rockers in Durham

Rumblebuss comes from outer space but they “stay in Durham.” A baron, fairy wings, bear bottoms, and real rock music (supposedly for kids, but I caught a groove). The Broad Street Cafe was packed with their pint size groupies last night. (Broad Street holds kid events every Sunday at 4pm, ending in time for bed on a school night. Sometimes music, sometimes crafts; pizza, drinks, pastries, empanadas; comfy couches.)

Chuck Davis and the African American Ensemble

We saw them today at a school show. Wow! Every time I see this group, I am inspired. Last we saw them was at a show around Kwanzaa. It leaves me with a lot of questions… Who is Sister Norma (who was thanked at the end of the show)? Who makes the costumes? Do the different patterns and colors have meaning? Is Brother Stafford being groomed to take over if Chuck Davis retires? I noticed he was titled “Assistant Director.” When did the AAE start?

In any case, 6 thumbs up for us. My son wanted to get up on stage (which he did before at 3, but doesn’t remember it). We hope to see them again soon.

Oh, I see some of my questions are answered at the AAE site.

Bull City Headquarters

Check this out: a new nonprofit arts venue and community center in Downtown Durham. Rockin’! (UPDATED LINK)

WXDU Online

I cannot wait until 7am when I can begin to listen to WXDU online.

Visit the We Love Durham site to see other Durham radio stations.