By K. Omari Wilkerson | The Metro Record CLT
CHARLOTTE — It is Friday night in Charlotte, and the city is not short on places to hear live music. From Uptown theaters and jazz rooms to neighborhood bars, breweries and smaller stages across the region, the choices are broad enough that the real challenge may be deciding where to begin.
Tosco Music is presenting FabFest — Charlotte’s Beatles Festival at Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts, giving Beatles fans one of the larger events on the evening’s calendar. At the same time, many of Charlotte’s familiar neighborhood rooms are offering the kind of live performances that have long defined the city’s music culture.
The Lenny Federal Band is performing at The Comet Grill, while Pocket Scotch is at Smokey Joe’s Cafe/Bar. The Milestone Club has Cathedral V2, and Gethen Jenkins is scheduled at The Thirsty Beaver Saloon. For people who know Charlotte music, those names and rooms already tell much of the story. These are the places where local music lives week after week, often outside the larger spotlight.
The lineup continues at Snug Harbor, where Brian Davis & the Roadhouse Band are on the bill, while Release performs at Crown Station. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art offers a different atmosphere with vocalist Nicholas Bearde, adding another dimension to an evening that moves easily between rock, soul, jazz and roots music.
The activity extends beyond Charlotte proper. In Matthews, Chairmen of the Board are scheduled at Stumptown Park, while Lisa De Novo performs at Middle James Brewing and Anna J appears at Stumptown Station. Taken together, those bookings make the larger Charlotte region feel less like a collection of separate entertainment districts and more like one interconnected music scene.
Back in Charlotte, McCartney Reinhardt joins Ryan Trotti at Goldie’s Charlotte for a 6 p.m. performance. At Middle C Jazz, Brandon Stevens is presenting an evening of Quiet Storm classics, giving listeners another option for a more intimate night out.
Other performances are spread throughout the region. Four Warned is at Stooges Pub & Grub, while Rlectric Dynamite performs at Moochies Tavern. Justin Mintun is scheduled at Zanzibar in Mooresville, and Kris Atom performs at Bin 110.
The Friday schedule also includes Minutes Past Midnight at Rudder & Rose, Rastacoustic at JackBeagle’s, MHX Bluegrass at Edge City Brewery and Knights of Flannel at Club West Brewing. Blush CLT is combining a sip-and-paint event with live music from Organic Sole, while Miciah’s Bar & Live Music is hosting Shotgun Sunday.
Musicians including Roy Daye Jr., Josh Daniel and Matthew S. Ablan are also active around the area Friday night, adding to a schedule that illustrates just how much live music is happening across Charlotte and the surrounding communities on any given weekend.
For years, Charlotte has talked about what kind of music city it wants to become. Nights like this suggest that much of that identity is already being built. It is happening one stage at a time, in theaters, bars, breweries, listening rooms and neighborhood venues where musicians continue to work whether or not the larger city notices.
Some of these performers are already familiar names. Others may be discovered by someone walking into a room for the first time Friday night. That discovery remains one of the best parts of a healthy local music scene.
A city’s music culture does not survive on talent alone. It survives because audiences show up, venues continue booking artists and musicians have places where they can work.
This Friday, Charlotte has plenty of all three.
Support your local superstars.
Listings compiled by K. Omari Wilkerson. Performances, venues and schedules are subject to change.
