NICKI BLUM and the GRAMBLERS / JEANNE JOLLY ALBUM RELEASE

San Francisco's freshest sensation Nicki Blum and The Gramblers are set to perform this evening at Kings.  Strong female vocals and good ole fashion rock 'n roll make for a sound and vision often overlooked in the current indie/whistle/electronic environment in which many are stranded.




Jeanne Jolly, a favorite of everyone here at Dan After Dark, has graced us with Angels , her first full -length album, and boy are we excited.  Sensational and without compare, Jolly knocks em dead ( as usual )  with this showcase of her vocal prowess and maturation into an executor of her own future as a southern siren with operatic pipes and country roots.  Celebrate the release of Angels with Jeanne and her  all star band October 5 at The Lincoln Theater.

Download: "Sweet Love" .  

Listen: Jeanne's tear jerking rendition of Leonard Cohen's masterpiece "Hallelujah." All proceeds go the The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

Watch:

7th Annual SPARKCON THIS WEEKEND 9-13

Grassroots to the core, SPARKcon speaks volumes to the tremendous sect of artists, musicians, thinkers, writers, film makers,chefs, designers and all other creatives our area is so proud to possess.  Through word of mouth, this grand celebration of art and culture is created by an open-source invitation to anyone  seriously involved in a local creative scene.  Hundreds participate and thousands attend.

    

Ignite the "creative hub of the south"  in downtown Raleigh this weekend!  

This year's SPARKS: 

  

• ArtSPARK
•  BazaarSPARK               
• GeekSPARK,  
• IdeaSPARK,
• MusicSPARK, 
• PoetrySPARK,  
• TastySPARK,  
• TheatreSPARK,   
• WheelSPARK 
• CircusSPARK  
• DanceSPARK  
• DesignSPARK,
• FashionSPARK 
• FilmSPARK

HOPSCOTCH IS NOW (re-post)

 The Hopscotch Music Festival is on!
Musically speaking, things have been a little slow around these parts as of late.  Nothing too bad, but knowing hundreds of well known and up and coming bands are  pouring into our fair city soon makes us swell with pride. Now in its third year,  Hopscotch has achieved a long overdue task:  Putting Raleigh and the Triangle on the map as a virtual fertile crescent of creative music.

Not that this is a new notion.  Raleigh has  produced  bands and music of the highest quality for years.  Remember Arrogance? The Fabulous Knobs? (my dad arranged my first guitar lesson with Knobs lead guitar man David Enloe, who died a rock ‘n roll early death only a few years ago).  How about Th' Cigarettes?  The Connells, Dillon Fence?  If not, learn about them and many others at The Golden Age of NC Music and go to Comboland.com where they play the hits born right here 24/7.

I am so happy to see some of the areas oldest and finest acts on the Hopscotch lineup this year, such as Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple's The DB's and  Corrosion of Conformity.  This festival showcases our thriving, musically vibrant city to the watching world -  an accomplishment of the highest degree.        

Founder, Greg Lowenhagen and company have once again brought the best and brightest from today and yesteryear to Raleigh for three nights of  boundless musical entertainment and exposure to what's new.   Headliners performing at Raleigh City Plaza this year include:

• Scotland's The Jesus and Mary Chain, a defining force of alternative music from the 1980's and on. 
• Equally influential among the alternative rock scene, New Jersey's Yo La Tengo.  
• The ever so loud and brilliant Built To Spill.  

• From  The Books  Nick Zammuto's new act, Zammuto. 
• The Roots! 
•  Funkdified, electrified 17 piece ensemble, Escort. 

• Shirlette and The Dynamite Brothers. 

The other hundred or so bands will perform inside our many clubs, music venues and concert halls in the downtown area.

Can't be missed @ HOPSCOTCH 2012:  

LAMBCHOP 

YO LA TENGO

WYE OAK 

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN  

DAY PARTIES DURING HOPSCOTCH THIS WEEKEND

If you are looking to fully participate in the 3rd Annual Hopscotch Music Festival this weekend, day parties are a must.  Friday between noon and 5:00 pm, check out The Love Language and Friends BBQ Jam at  Contemporary Art Museum.  Artists include The Love Language, Lonnie Walker, The American West and The Lollipops with special guests.   At the same time Big Fat Gap, Jon Shain Jason Kutchma and Randy Whitt are playing for Hopscotch At Hibernian.  The music carries on at Hibernian Pub Saturday afternoon with American Aquarium, Mipso Trio, John Howie Junior and The Rosewood Bluff, Justin Robinson and the Mary Annette's and Th' Bullfrog Willard McGee.

Noon - 5 pm.Saturday in front of The Raleigh Times: Royal Bangs with Kooley High, Double Negative,  Red Collar, Spider Bags and The Bleeding Hearts.


Noon -5pm. Friday at  White Collar Crime:  ASSORTED AUDIO with D&D Sluggers, Brody and Choch, Soul Kahn, The Business People, Celebrity DJ Shogun and many more.  

Noon - 5pm. Saturday outside Mecca: Megafaun and Very Special Guests.