This Week at Haw River Ballroom

All of the other venues must be green with envy this week because it's quite obvious that Haw River Ballroom is having the best week ever.  This lovely music venue, located in the former Dye House of Saxapahaw's Cotton Mill, never disappoints.  This week's lineup is no exception with three spectacular shows. 

St. Vincent:

Just six short days ago, singer-songwriter, St. Vincent performed "Digital Witness" on The Colbert Report. On Tuesday, she'll be in beautiful Saxapahaw next to the Haw River to share her latest album, St. Vincent, at
the Ballroom.

St. Vincent, or Annie Clark, is a multi-talented musician who, in addition to writing thought-provoking lyrics,  plays the guitar, bass, and organ.  In an interview with Tom Murphy of Westword Blogs, Clark discussed her lyrics and explained, "I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I'm sublimating that into the music."


If you were fortunate enough get to tickets before the show sold out, it's sure to be energetic and memorable. The doors open at 7 and Noveller starts the show at 8.  

Future Islands and Wye Oak:

Wednesday brings two more spectacular acts with Future Islands and Wye Oak.  Future Islands hails from Greenville, NC and is used to living the tour life.  They have performed more than 800 live shows since the group developed in 2006.  The ability to capture the feelings of love lost, daily desires and disappointment is what brings people repeatedly to their shows.  The lyrics and emotion are all too familiar for most people, turning listeners into forever fans. Their new album is titled, Singles, and is available March 24.


 

Joining Future Islands will be Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack of Wye Oak, a Merge Records band.  They produce a folk sound meshed with melodic arrangements and a splash of electro-pop. This album features Jenn sharing her new talent with the bass combined with the reliable interaction of Andy playing the keys, drums and back-up vocals.  Wye Oak's latest album,  Shriek, is available April 29 on the Merge Records website. 

These bands are also playing to a sold out, packed house.  The doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 with Ed Shrader's Music Beat.

 

 

Houndmouth:

This unforgettable week will close with Houndmouth playing Friday, March 7. This electric-folk band is known for creating bouncy beats with guitar riffs accompanied by melodic harmonies. 

The band was created in  New Albany, Indiana and formed in 2011.  Things progressed quickly once they joined as a quartet and decided on their sound.  Matt Myers, Katie Toupin, Shane Cody, and Zak Appleby have had the fortune of opening for several notable acts; the Lumineers, Alabama Shakes, and Drive-By Truckers, just to name a few.  Supporting bands with such a strong fan base allowed them to gain their own following and are now headlining their own shows. 

Houndmouth is not yet sold out, so get your tickets before they're gone for $15/$17.  The doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 with rayLand Baxter.

For more details about these shows, please visit the Haw River Ballroom website. 

Hopscotch VIP and 3-Day Presale Starts Today

Hopscotch music festival is the local music event of the year and will be taking place September 4-6.  VIP and 3-Day Presale starts today.

 So what does a VIP purchase get you?
      --All Hopscotch Club Shows
      --2 City Plaza Headlining Shows
      --Priority Access to Club Shows
      --Opening Night VIP Reception (Thursday, September 4)
      --VIP Tote Bag (Who doesn't love a good tote bag?)

For true music lovers who want access to all three days, the wristband is the way to go.  This will give you access to all club shows and the two headlining performances.  If  purchased now during the presale, the wristband costs $125.

This is Hopscotch's fifth year of feeding music fiends' fervent addictions.  This year, there are 175 bands slated to take over downtown Raleigh in 15 different venues.  The purpose of Hopscotch is to highlight our own local talent and combine that with artists from all around the world covering every musical genre.  This is the Mardi Gras of the Triangle, don't miss out on this event.  For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit the Hopscotch website.  We will be sure to keep you posted on sale events and lineup details as they become available. 

Superchunk's 'Indoor Living' is Remastered and Reissued

On Tuesday, February 25, Merge Records will release the remastered reissue of Superchunk's Indoor Living.  This 1997 out-of-print album is part of the celebration for Merge's 25th birthday.  It will be released on CD and LP with liner notes from Laura Ballance and producer/engineer John Plymale.  Both Cd and LP will include a bonus download of Clambakes Vol. 8: We'd Like to Thank the Homecoming Committee - Live at Duke 1997.

An additional extra is the acoustic version created by Mac McCaughan of "Watery Hands" (see at bottom of post).  Why not completely bask in nostalgia with the original "Watery Hands" video featuring Janeane Garofolo and David Cross?  Please enjoy this, it's truly a classic! 

To order the reissue of "Indoor Living", visit Merge Records' website. Superchunk is hitting the road to celebrate their success as a group and with Merge Records.  They will be at Haw River Ballroom on April 10, tickets are currently on sale. 

Delta Rae Returns Home

Most bands dream of that magical moment when they are discovered and signed to a major record label.  For the Triangle's own Delta Rae, this dream has come true and has surpassed all of their expectations.  Bassist, Grant Emerson, took the time to talk with The Triangle Beat about the band's journey to success and the hopes for their future.

The makings of this American folk rock band started years ago in the home of the Holljes family.   Siblings Eric (vocals, guitar, piano, and keys), Ian (vocals and guitar), and Brittany (vocals) started making music together from a very young age thanks to their parents who raised them with a mix of James Taylor, Cats Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, and Paul Simon.  They gathered further musical influences when moving around from Durham, NC, to the San Francisco Bay, then to Nashville, and Georgia.  Along these travels, Brittany developed a life-long friendship with current band mate, Liz Hopkins.  The siblings always admired Liz's raspy, soulful voice and the way it meshed with Brittany's powerful brassiness.

Fast forward a few years and Ian and Eric move back to Durham, NC to attend Duke University.  In the meantime, Brittany was working toward graduating early from Cal-Berkeley.  After all three siblings completed their schooling, they gathered in a small house in the woods, along with Liz, to settle on the group's sound.  First, they had to choose a name and they quickly decided on Delta Rae.  According to Grant, the band's name comes from the main character of a mythological story that is being written by the siblings' mother. During this time, the group focused on harmonizing together, writing strong lyrics, and practicing for live shows.  In 2010, Durham natives Mike McKee (drummer) and Grant Emerson (bassist) made the band complete.

Once the group was settled, the focus turned to crafting outstanding live performances.  Through trial and error, they learned how to communicate the emotion and strength of their lyrics, written mostly by Ian and Eric, and how to improvise at small venues with less than stellar audio.  Their music is powerful on its own, but the group gained a strong following through their genuine and energetic live shows.

A series of events and local success eventually led the group to New York City in 2011 to meet with music executive, Seymour Stein of Warner Bros. and Sire Records.  As Grant recalls, they endured an awkward elevator ride on the way to Stein's office with the executive himself who did not yet know who they were.  The group was filled with nervous excitement and the moment did not seem like it could be real life.  Once in Stein's office, he asked them to sing for him.  They belted out the love struggles of "Hey, Hey, Hey" and didn't even make it to the chorus before getting cut off.  Stein called his assistant on the phone, but when he couldn't reach anyone, he opened the door and yelled, "You gotta hear these people, they sound so beautiful!"  Delta Rae took a collective deep sigh of relief and continued to sing for the label's employees.

Since then, Grant says that he's been crossing one item after another off of his personal bucket list.  The group has been fortunate to perform at several music fests including Bonaroo.  For Grant, his highlighted moment was meeting one of his strongest musical influences, Don Henley.  These surreal moments are going to continue to happen for Delta Rae as their musical career is only getting started.  They are currently touring to promote their debut album, Carry the Fire.  The band will return home for two shows, the first is at Cat's Cradle on March 6 and at The Lincoln Theatre on March 7.

To support this local talent, join us for their upcoming shows and check out the merchandise on their website. 

Matrimony to Play at Lincoln Theatre

With the announcement of an upcoming release of their new full length album, Montibello Memories, Columbia Records' Matrimony will return to their home state of North Carolina to play at Lincoln Theatre this Wednesday.  Led by the talented couple, Jimmy Brown and Ashlee Hardee Brown, Matrimony brings a sound that is certain to appeal to North Carolina natives and folk-rock fanatics alike.  Joined by Jordan and CJ Harde, Matrimony combines the couple's dynamic vocals with the musical talents of Ashlee's brothers on the drums, mandolin and banjo.  

After the success of their first EP in 2010, The Storm and The Eye, this Charlotte based band set out playing together and quickly gaining notoriety.  With popular songs from their first album like, Last Love, the melody created by Jimmy and Ashlee, is an example of how their chemistry both in their music and in their relationship could lead to great success for the band.  Soon after, Matrimony would go back into the studio to record, Montibello Drive.  This song capitalized on the unique blend of folk and Irish inspired beats as displayed in The Storm and The Eye, but also highlighting the bands own maturation as artists in deeply felt songs like, Giants and Obey Your Guns.  With the assistance of Jay Joyce, who is responsible for working on albums with artists such as Cage the Elephant and Eric Church, Matrimony was able see their popularity expand over the past year.  After playing at music festivals like Bonnaroo and Bela Chere, Matrimony is looking to capitalize on their success from relentlessly touring throughout 2013 with the release of their new album. Recently, Matrimony was featured on CMT Edge for their music video "Golden City."

Joining Matrimony will be Raleigh's own New Reveille.  Drawing upon the talents of other Raleigh based acts in Saints Apollo and Jack the Radio, New Reveille is an alternative country/Americana band that features an all female front and the unique sounds of the steal guitar and cello.  After forming in 2013, New Reveille has enjoyed instant success after producing a music video for their song, Babylon, and selling out their first live premier at Deep South on January 31.  New Reveille will also be performing at Brewgaloo 2014 on April 26 in downtown Raleigh.

 

The doors are set to open at 7PM with the show starting at 8PM.  Tickets are on sale for $8 at www.lincolntheatre.com or $10 on the day of the show.

Stream Vertical Scratchers' Debut Album Now

Electric pop duo, Vertical Scratchers, is comprised of John Schmersal and Christian Beaulieu. The pair will be releasing their debut album, Daughter of Everything, on February 25.  The entire album and intriguing artwork can be streamed now via Pitchfork Advance

The group is hopping in a van in March to promote their new album.  They will join The Love Language at the Merge 25K finish line on March 22, which is a free concert to celebrate twenty-five musical years of Merge Records. 

What can be expected from this debut album?  According to John Schmersal via Merge Records:

Simplicity was the inspiration: get in the van, rehearse in the van, tour in the van, stay mobile. “I have played in a lot of bands with complicated set-ups and implemented technologies,” says John. “I also do a lot of recording and editing on computers, so part of the desire for simplicity was about wanting things to be as organic and in real time as possible.” This impulse to keep things moving is reflected in the songs themselves. Most Vertical Scratchers songs clock in under the two-minute mark but often go in twice as many directions as your average-length song. Pop deception. Think the Kinks with a Buzzcocks brevity.

Registration is still open to run the Merge 25K, or you can simply join the label for an amazing afternoon of music following the race. For registration information and event details, visit their website.

Last Call for Local Bands!

The deadline is quickly approaching for local bands to register for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Raleigh  on April 13, 2014.  The final registration day is this Friday, February 21.  

With a newly approved course in hand, race organizers are moving forward with the next steps of planning a world-class running event, with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Raleigh Marathon & ½ Marathon Presented by WRAL Benefiting The V Foundation.

The unique, entertainment themed race will feature the best sights of Raleigh, and its best sounds too. Live, local bands will play each mile of the 26.2-mile course, providing motivation, entertainment and a taste of Raleigh’s music scene to thousands of visiting runners. Bands from across the region are encouraged to apply online. More information is available at RunRocknRoll.com/Raleigh.

 

Participants will experience sights like the Governor's Mansion, Rose Garden, Oakwood neighborhood, Pullen Park, and the North Carolina State campus and will finish in downtown Raleigh near the Red Hat Amphitheater  where they can gather with friends and family for the post race concert with headliners, New Politics.  



The racers will be ushered in with the alt-rock sounds of New Politics.  This group has had an exciting year with their hit song "Harlem" appearing in a trailer for Disney's Frozen and commercials for Windows 8 and Taco Bell.  According to an interview with suntimes.com, Boyd wrote this song after a fling with a girl from Spanish Harlem.  Since then, the band has had the fortune to travel with fellow rockers, 30 Seconds to Mars, Fall Out Boy, and Pink.


The show is free and open to the public.  The Triangle Beat will keep you posted on updates for the race and bands that will perform. For more information, head to the Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh website.