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NIMBYs NIMBY s Raleigh deserves better.

The INDY’s endorsements, p. 13

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23 Whe Son

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WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK RALEIGH

VOL. 36 NO. 36

DEPARTMENTS

6 According to two lawsuits filed this summer, when a UNC-Greensboro nursing student complained that a supervisor had pressed his erect penis against her body, an administrator asked, “Are you sure you want to make this type of complaint?”

6 News 13 Endorsements 16 Food & Drink 18 Music

8 A persistent myth about North Carolina is that the state doesn’t take climate science seriously.

23 Arts & Culture 26 What to Do This Week

13 The state House’s 9/11 sneak attack on democracy may have been shocking, but it shouldn’t have been a surprise.

29 Music Calendar 33 Arts & Culture Calendar

18 The solo debut of Mountain Man’s Molly Sarlé is the sum of her experiences but in a way, it was born in a karaoke bar in Big Sur. 22 Following her death in 1953, African-American composer Florence Price’s music mostly disappeared. Duke’s music department is bringing it back in a special concert.

23 When Richard Wright came to Chapel Hill to adapt Native Son for the stage, he barely made it out of town alive.

24 Though it’s sad, it’s not a tragedy that The Carrack Modern Art lasted for eight years. It’s a miracle.

N.C. Highway 12, washed out after Hurricane Dorian PHOTO COURTESTY OF NCDOT

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backtalk

INDY VOICES

The Eye of the Storm

AT ST. AUG’S, BAHAMIAN STUDENTS PONDER THE FUTURE OF A HOMELAND DEVASTATED BY HURRICANE DORIAN

More Molok Madness

I

n Voices last week, Courtney Napier went hard at those condemning the city of Raleigh for removing the Molok trash bins in response to complaints from M&F Bank, the only black-owned bank in North Carolina. We’ll do one more round of letters on this and then—we promise—move on.

First, someone calling themselves Anti-Racist, who says Napier’s column was “stupid”: “Because a black-owned bank complained, all the white people are racist? This type of attitude is regressive and ignorant. It misuses the term ‘racism’ and diminishes the value of the term in public discourse. Get a life, Courtney. The world doesn’t revolve around you or this miserable bank.”

Van Alston writes that he “told the city when the project first came up that I’d love to have them next to my business. They said that it wasn’t possible because of underground cables.

The Moloks were put next to an empty parking lot, which is not owned by the bank. They can’t even be seen from the bank. You’re wrong. This isn’t about race. It’s about the assholes from the bank who don’t care to be part of the downtown community.”

“The bank has been a part of the community for longer than you or your family have been in Raleigh,” David Moses replies. “You volunteered. Great job! But the city didn’t ask the bank—there was no choice presented. That’s the problem. It’s about respect for an institution that represents more than a corner lot downtown. Black-owned businesses are not guinea pigs that have to put up with whatever the city wants to experiment with. You and I both know that if a different business complained, it wouldn’t have been an issue to move them. And the parking lot is designated for the bank during business hours. I know. I’ve been a patron.”

Want to see your name in bold?

Comment: indyweek.com Email: backtalk@indyweek.com Facebook: @IndependentWeekly Twitter: @indyweek

BY BARRY SAUNDERS

BARRY SAUNDERS is a former News & Observer columnist and editorial writer. He currently publishes thesaundersreport.com.

NEXT WEEK: GREG DOUCETTE, a local attorney, criminal justice reform advocate, and host of the podcast #Fsck ’Em All.

N

olan Sweeting knew he was going to St. Augustine’s University before he knew where

it was.

How, I asked, did he—growing up on Nassau in the Bahamas—know about a small liberal arts university in Raleigh?

“My mom,” he replied. “She is an ’89 graduate of St. Augustine’s. Through her constantly talking about it, I almost had no choice but to choose it as my school.”

Sweeting, twenty-one, is a senior biology major at St. Aug’s. He plans to go to veterinary school upon graduation.

“I want to be the first veterinarian to have his own hospital in the Bahamas,” he told me recently. “I plan to stay here for a while and get some networking opportunities that I can carry back to the Bahamas.”

Right now, he’s just hoping there’ll be someplace left to carry something back to.

On September 1, huge swaths of the Bahamas were obliterated by Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful cyclone on record to strike the commonwealth.

The official death toll stands at fifty, though the number of reported missing is at thirteen hundred.

Lavar Stubbs, a business major from Nassau, says one of those missing right after the storm was a childhood friend.

“That made it hard” to concentrate on classes, he says. But this story has a happy ending. His friend was found after about five days, hunkered down in a shelter.

Stubbs, like Sweeting and four of the other five Bahamian students to whom I spoke, plans to return to Nassau.

“I’m hoping to open my own marketing firm and market the best features of my island to the world,” he says.

All of the Bahamian students on St. Aug’s campus and in the Triangle community are close-knit, Stubbs says, socializing and throwing parties “every couple of weeks. Every time a new Bahamian comes to campus, we welcome him or her.”

I’d called upon Sweeting, Stubbs, and other St. Aug’s Bahamian students to see what we in the Triangle could do for them—being so far from home—but they were only interested in alleviating the misery back home. They told me about the Bahamas Relief Supplies Drive on Friday, September 20, at Emery Gymnasium on St. Aug’s campus, from 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.

Asked what they want people to bring, Stubbs told me, “Anything you would need to start a new life, especially baby supplies.”

Sweeting says most of his immediate family, living in Nassau, were not directly affected by Dorian, but members of his extended family who live on other islands were. (As we spoke, there was another hurricane, Humberto, threatening Nassau; it has since moved away from land, though it did dump rain on areas already soaked by Dorian.)

“We talk daily,” Sweeting told me. “I have an aunt who’s a doctor in Freeport right now. She’s there helping patients cope with all of the trauma

they went through, helping them to regain their strength.”

Even as a student at St. Aug’s—I was there just about long enough to eat lunch four decades ago—I marveled at the number of Bahamian students on campus. Like Sweeting, many of them came after hearing family members and friends extolling the school’s virtues.

Stubbs, a high school classmate of Sweeting, says he chose the Raleigh school not only because his pal did, but because “some of its earlier alumni from the Bahamas have gone on to achieve great things.” Others came after being recruited by the university’s world-renowned track coach, George Williams.

From the 1990s through the mid2000s, there was an airline service— Laker Airways/Bahamas—that twice a week would fly directly from Raleigh to the Bahamas. I mean, you could be sitting at your desk at work, stressing over deadlines, and call up a travel agent, book a flight, and be in Freeport ninety minutes later. I made that jubilant weekend jaunt many, many times.

Laker Airways/Bahamas is no more.

But since the people of the Bahamas always treated me so well when I was there, I figured the least I can do is try to help the students they’ve sent over here. backtalk@indyweek.com INDY Voices—a rotating column featuring some of the Triangle’s most compelling writers—is made possible by contributions to the INDY Press Club. Visit KeepItINDY.com for more information.

INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 5

indynews

Nurse’s Nightmare

A NURSING STUDENT SAYS THAT WHEN SHE COMPLAINED ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WAKEMED, UNC-GREENSBORO ADMINISTRATORS RETALIATED, THEN EXPELLED HER—TWICE. BY THOMASI MCDONALD

A

utumn Davis spent her adult life working to become a nurse anesthetist.

First, she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Clemson University in 2006.

Then she spent almost a decade in the profession, with an emphasis on anesthesia.

Finally, in 2015, she enrolled in the doctor of nursing practice program at UNC-Greensboro, three years of intense studies that, she hoped, would culminate in her six-figure dream job.

Instead, she says, she landed in a nightmare.

In state and federal lawsuits filed this summer, Davis alleges that she was sexually harassed by a supervisor while performing clinical work as part of UNCG’s program.

When she complained, she says, administrators subjected her to a hostile, retaliatory environment that “victimized and damaged her,” including mocking her physical disability. Ultimately, the lawsuits allege, she was drummed out of the program a month before graduation—and to facilitate her removal, the complaints suggest, administrators may have falsified or destroyed medical records.

“There are apparent discrepancies,” says Nicholas J. Sanservino, her attorney.

Though he declined to discuss specifics, he says he has “overwhelming evidence” that records were altered. (Davis declined to comment for this story.)

Davis’s federal lawsuit, filed on July 2 in the U.S. Middle District of North Carolina, names as defendants UNCG, the UNC Board of Governors, and the Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia, a nonprofit associated with UNCG. It alleges that the nursing program has a “history of turning a blind eye towards sexual harassment and engaging in unlawful retaliation” toward female students who complain.

In a statement, UNCG did not directly address the allegations in the lawsuit: “We continue to be confident in the facts of this case, the strength of our nationally ranked 6 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

“Every encounter with [Kimball] has escalated, and the last encounter left me feeling sexually exploited for weeks.”

Autumn Davis PHOTO COURTESY OF NICHOLAS J. SANSERVINO

nursing program and its faculty, and our ability to reach a successful conclusion in court.”

Davis’s state lawsuit, filed in Guilford County on August 6, targets two UNCG officials: Linda Stone, an assistant program administrator at the RSNA and the current president of the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists; and Nancy Shedlick, who runs UNCG’s post-graduate nursing program. Davis accuses Stone and Shedlick of operating the program “under an iron fist designed to create fear and intimidation amongst students” and “[retaliating] against students who bring unwanted issues to their attention.” It also alleges that they “individually fostered a personal, unjustified animus” toward Davis.

Stone and Shedlick did not respond to the INDY’s requests for comment, and UNCG’s statement did not respond to the allegations against them.

According to court documents, UNCG assigned Davis to several hospitals for clinical work, including WakeMed Raleigh,

where in July 2016 she was supervised by a certified registered nurse anesthetist named Jimmy Kimball Jr., a UNCG alumnus and past president of the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

While supervising her, the federal complaint says, Kimball sexually harassed Davis, making lewd jokes, asking her out on dates even after she asked him to stop, asking her to strip for him, and pressing “his erect penis against Ms. Davis’s body while she was working.”

Kimball, who is named in the state but not the federal complaint—and is not a defendant in either—did not respond to the INDY’s request for comment. His Facebook page lists his present employer as Nash UNC Health Care in Rocky Mount.

According to her lawsuits, Kimball’s behavior “mortified” Davis “to the point of being diagnosed with anxiety and depression.” She reported him to Shedlick and Stone, but instead of being sympathetic, the complaints allege, Stone asked Davis,

“Are you sure you want to make this type of complaint?” Shedlick and Stone tried to convince Davis that Kimball’s behavior was “accidental” and pressured her to keep it to herself, the lawsuits say.

This wasn’t the only time something like this had happened, the federal lawsuit claims: “Before July 2016, multiple female students in the [program] lodged sexual harassment and/or related complaints while training as Registered Nurses at local North Carolina hospitals; some or all of these complaints were made against [Kimball]. … Simply put, female students in the [program] have a history of suffering sexual harassment.”

Sanservino declined to provide details about these other allegations of sexual harassment.

Davis pressed ahead with her complaint, the lawsuits say, but UNCG didn’t investigate her claims. Instead, in October, she was assigned to work under Kimball again.

Davis emailed Stone, according to court documents, asking her to place restrictions on her contact with Kimball: “Every encounter with [Kimball] has escalated,” she wrote, “and the last encounter left me feeling sexually exploited for weeks.”

Stone and Shedlick replied by reprimanding Davis for going “outside the chain of command” and addressing the matter with WakeMed’s chief CRNA, the federal lawsuit says. Stone told Davis that she had to understand that “you may work with [Kimball] when assigned to Wake as he works the call schedule.”

Stone and Shedlick also “intentionally took steps” to undermine the accommodations the school was supposed to provide Davis, who has ADHD, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the lawsuits say.

They “repeatedly interrupted” her during tests, “frequently mocked” her disability in front of other students, and “yelled” at her before exams. They also “threatened to have Ms. Davis dismissed from the [program] if she complained about any of their

conduct towards her,” the lawsuits allege.

Davis nonetheless lodged a complaint with the UNCG Office of Accessibility and Resources Services. (The INDY was unable to obtain a copy of the complaint by press time.) After that, the situation degenerated “exponentially,” the lawsuits say.

Throughout 2017 and 2018, the federal lawsuit alleges, Stone, Shedlick, and other UNCG officials “engaged in a near-daily campaign to inflict maximum harm upon Ms. Davis.” They did this, Davis alleges, by forcing her to work under Kimball; by “fabricating documents to make it appear as though Ms. Davis was not completing her clinical work correctly”; by “falsely [accusing]” her of insubordination; and by telling other students that they were actively trying to kick her out of the program.

In June 2018—one month from graduation—Davis was booted from the program. According to the lawsuits, she was dismissed over “unsafe nursing practices,” though the complaints say this reason was “knowingly false.”

Joseph Finarelli, a special deputy attorney general with the N.C. Department of Justice who is representing UNCG and the Board of Governors, has not yet filed a response to Davis’s federal complaint. It’s unclear from court records what the alleged unsafe nursing practices were.

Davis appealed to UNCG. By this point, the federal lawsuit says, Davis had already accepted a $150,000-plus-a-year position, set to start in November, that was contingent on her earning her degree. In October—following a hearing that Davis argues violated her due-process rights by denying her the right the legal representation, denying her requests to call or question witnesses, and allowing UNCG to present evidence not disclosed to Davis before the hearing and records not in Davis’s student file—the university’s appeals board ordered her reinstatement in January 2019.

The downside: Davis missed out on the job.

She had to re-enroll for the spring semester.

A month into the spring semester, however, UNCG kicked her out again—once again charging her with unsafe nursing practices, the lawsuits say. And again, UNCG “altered, falsified, and/or dismissed records (including medical records),” Davis alleges.

For the second time, Davis appealed—and like the first time, she says, she was denied due process. In late May, UNCG rejected her appeal.

This time, Davis sued, seeking reinstatement as well as damages.

Sanservino says Davis doesn’t expect to be readmitted. He says UNCG has made it clear that won’t happen without a court order. tmcdonald@indyweek.com

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news

Our New Normal

AS BIGGER, WETTER, AND MORE FREQUENT HURRICANES SOAK THE STATE, NORTH CAROLINA ADAPTS TO THE REALITY OF CLIMATE CHANGE BY KIRK ROSS

A

fter the second storm, after Hurricane Florence, everything was different.

I heard that over and over again, from people in shelters who had lost everything again to the people who run everything.

It is all different now—something is happening to our climate.

The human tendency to use past storms as markers helps us process disasters. But then you have something that doesn’t fit the pattern, doesn’t work within the reality you’ve constructed, and the only way to process it is to change.

In 2015, I interviewed the noted Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann at a conference on the coast. He said that, at some point, North Carolina would face a reckoning with climate change, that a certain amount of sea-level rise and more powerful and frequent storms were already baked in.

That reckoning began here after Hurricane Florence caused widespread destruction throughout most of eastern North Carolina in 2018. The storm crawled across the state, dropping trillions of gallons of water, flooding places that had never before flooded while inundating many of the same areas deluged during Hurricane Matthew less than two years before.

North Carolinians emerged from the second storm with an understanding that we’ve entered an era of frequent, more intense storms. Even die-hard climate change deniers acknowledged that the climate is changing.

This month, Hurricane Dorian drilled that home.

That understanding has triggered a change in the direction of disaster strategies at the local, state, and federal levels from reactive to proactive, and from a storm-by-storm approach to recovery to new infrastructure charged with managing multiple storms and overlapping recoveries.

There are persistent myths about North Carolina and climate change, and they seem to always pop up at the worst possible time.

8 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

Six Runs Creek floods Sampson Old Warsaw Road after Hurricane Dorian.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE N.C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

One of them is that the state is anti-science, lingering fallout from the sea-levelrise debacle in 2012, in which legislators pushed through a bill that limited the use of climate science in determining sea-levelrise rates. The backstory was that new rates set by a state science panel drew the ire of homebuilders and developers worried that the rates would limit planning.

This story still comes up with irritating regularity every time a storm passes through, even though no one ever took that law seriously, except for the state board that had to produce a new sea-level-rise report. It produced a report that only looked out thirty years, while local planners and state regulators went about their business of thinking a little further ahead.

In the General Assembly, meanwhile, the sea-level-rise backlash and a state energy policy that cleared the way for fracking and offshore drilling made it almost impossible

to even discuss climate change. For several years, you rarely heard it mentioned, and when it was, it was often met with snark or a both-sides retort. Covering the legislature, I saw a renowned soil scientist get grilled in a committee hearing after he made an offhand remark about climate change during a presentation on sedimentation mapping.

Through the 2016 election, the climate change discussion and the sea-level-rise issues were intertwined and heavily politicized—one way for Republicans to show how anti-Obama they were.

Climate change and what to do about it became a key part of the 2016 race for governor. Democrat Roy Cooper hammered at then-governor Pat McCrory’s advocacy of offshore drilling and the legislature’s authorization of fracking. Since his election, Cooper has continued to fight offshore drilling, and last year issued an executive order com-

mitting state agencies and departments to steep carbon reductions. He also required that climate impacts be considered in all rules and regulations.

Just before the election, Hurricane Matthew drenched a huge swath of eastern North Carolina, causing the worst flooding since Hurricane Floyd in 1992. Matthew was a wet, slow-moving storm. In its aftermath, there was a noticeable shift in the discussion of how to recover from the floods, which had exposed flaws in disaster response and the lack of institutional knowledge about how to handle federal housing disaster grants.

Twenty-three months later, when Hurricane Florence rolled through, eastern North Carolina was still dotted with blue tarps, empty storefronts, and tens of thousands of displaced people living in hotels or with relatives or in the one room of their place they had made livable while they rebuilt the rest.

The storms overlapped, dealing repeat devastations to southeastern border counties. But Florence also flooded large areas of Robeson, Scotland, and Columbus Counties that no one could recall flooding before.

Much of New Bern, where the Neuse River narrows, saw record floods that forced an evacuation of thousands of residents to mega-shelters in the Triangle.

The floods from Matthew and Florence were a vivid reminder that eastern North Carolina’s greatest risk is not along its coastline, but along its complex network of rivers and sounds where the majority of people living in neighborhoods threatened by flooding are the most financially and socially vulnerable.

In three short years, this state has become an example of climate change–driven displacement and economic ruin. Above all, we are seeing a housing crisis. Even before the storms, eastern North Carolina faced a massive deficit in affordable housing.

The region had a deficit of about 190,000 units before the storm; now it’s 300,000 and

counting. All over storm-damaged areas, housing costs are going up, while the number of rental units is going down.

Late last year, in a rare moment of consensus between Cooper and the General Assembly, a post-hurricane recovery bill set up a new state agency, the Office of Recovery & Resilience, which could play a significant role in addressing this need. The office will eventually manage more than $1 billion in HUD disaster recovery funding from Matthew, Florence, and Michael, a powerful storm that dissipated as it moved over the Carolinas last October.

The aim of the forty-five-member office, known as NCORR, is to use as much of that funding as possible to move people out of harm’s way ahead of future storms. This summer, the office announced grants to start two new affordable housing projects in Goldsboro and Fayetteville.

Even as the housing challenge inland shapes up as the hardest fix, what’s happening to the coast and the rising vulnerabilities there can’t be ignored. The damage just experienced in Ocracoke is going to have a tremendous economic impact on Hyde County, one of the state’s poorest counties, which relies on the island for about a third of its property tax revenue and almost all of its occupancy taxes. Last year, damage to rentals on Topsail Island had a major impact on Pender County. This year, officials in Surf City had to scramble to replace a berm destroyed during Florence to protect its downtown.

The reckoning is not over by any means.

New construction continues unabated on the coast, while inland communities struggle to find enough housing for displaced people. State officials trying to move residents and sometimes whole communities out of floodplains face resistance from residents who are not ready to give up longtime ties and have difficulty finding housing on high ground.

Meanwhile, the storms keep coming.

What’s playing out is exactly what the deniers scoffed at a few years ago.

This is climate change, not in theory, but in real time. backtalk@indyweek.com

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Kirk Ross is the capital bureau chief for Carolina Public Press, a state government reporter for Coastal Review Online, and a correspondent for The Washington Post.

This week, the INDY is participating in Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit, which begins on September 23.

See more at indyweek.com.

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soapboxer

Can’t Shame the Shameless

NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS SHOWED THAT IF YOU’RE RUTHLESS ENOUGH, YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING BY JEFFREY C. BILLMAN

L

Your Week.

Every Wednesday. indyweek.com 10 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

ast Monday, Donald Trump flew into Fayetteville for a rally to support Dan Bishop, the state senator and congressional candidate behind HB 2.

There, he plowed through his usual litany of MAGA grievances before the usual sea of mostly white faces, which included this line: “You go to California, which has so many sanctuary cities. They don’t know what’s happening out there. You have people that want to get rid of those sanctuary cities; they just aren’t able to do it with the people that get elected. A lot of illegal voting going on out there, by the way.”

The president complaining about sanctuary cities is nothing new. Neither are conspiracy theories about voter fraud in California, which he’s used to suggest that he actually won the popular vote. But someone probably should have reminded Trump why he was in North Carolina—and why there was a special congressional election the next day.

The Ninth Congressional District was having a do-over election because, in 2018, a consultant for Republican candidate Mark Harris appears to have committed widespread election fraud—widespread enough to affect the race’s outcome, in fact—while running Harris’s absentee ballot operation.

The State Board of Elections declined to certify the results, which had Harris up by fewer than one thousand votes in a district Trump carried by twelve points.

In other words, they (allegedly) cheated.

Last Tuesday, the (alleged) cheaters prospered. Bishop won by two, enough for Trump to beat his chest about how he saved the day, though still a ten-point shift from 2016.

The next morning, eighteen years almost to the minute from the 9/11 attacks, North Carolina Republicans cheated again. And again, they prospered.

For the first time since 2013, the state GOP doesn’t have absolute power. There’s a Democrat in the governor’s office, and last year, Democrats overcame gerrymanders

The state House’s 9/11 sneak attack may have been shocking, but it shouldn’t have been surprising. to break GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate and give Roy Cooper a meaningful veto. (To do so, they had to actually win more votes statewide than Republicans.)

Republicans aren’t used to sharing power—or competing for it. So when Cooper vetoed their budget in June in an effort to force a negotiation over Medicaid expansion, they refused to budge. A few piecemeal spending bills notwithstanding, there’s been a stalemate ever since.

To override Cooper’s veto, House Republicans needed seven Democrats to flip — or, more likely, to not show up for a vote. Over the summer, Democrats found this a constant concern, particularly with a House speaker who made clear that he’d call the vote the second he had the numbers, no matter how he got them.

They worried, not without justification, that he’d do it if enough of them went to the bathroom or were out sick.

In that sense, what happened last week shouldn’t have been surprising.

But it was shocking.

On the evening of September 10, Democrats insist (and Republicans deny), Republicans leaders assured them that the next morning’s session would be perfunctory, with no votes taken, as are most morning sessions.

It was 9/11, after all. Cooper was going to attend a memorial ceremony. Several Democrats made plans to work on redistricting maps. Only nine showed up to the House chamber the next morning.

Fifty-five Republicans did.

It was a trap.

Once the few Democrats present realized what was happening, they objected.

State Representative Deb Butler shouted at House Speaker Tim Moore: “How dare you subject this body to trickery, deceptive practices, hijacking the process! It is so typical of the way you conduct yourself. How dare you, Mr. Speaker! If this is the way you believe democracy works, shame on you!”

But it was too late. You can’t shame the shameless—nor can you preach democracy to those contemptuous of it.

The override now heads to the Senate, where Republicans need to flip two Dems. One hopes Democrats won’t be naïve enough let their guard down again.

Like their counterparts in D.C., North Carolina Republicans have bought into the mantra that winning is all that matters, that power is an end unto itself. They didn’t hesitate to use an anniversary the GOP once treated as sacrosanct to launch a sneak attack on democracy.

There’s some irony there.

Let this serve as yet another reminder that the guardrails of American institutions are soft, and those willing to exploit them first and ruthlessly often prevail—at least in the short term.

The problem is, in the end, the victors tend to destroy the very thing they’ve set out to conquer. jbillman@indyweek.com

deep dive EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

SOUTH DURHAM

S

outh Durham is a bit of an outlier. You’re not going to find walkable streets, divey college bars, or relics of Durham’s radical history, like elsewhere in the Bull City. What you will find is the modern iteration of an area designed almost a century ago to accommodate the growing popularity of automobiles and those who could afford them. It’s a suburb, basically, characterized by The Streets at Southpoint and other shopping centers. But that isn’t to say South Durham is stuffy or bland. In between the big-box stores (you love Target, too, admit it), you’ll find eclectic food, stellar beer selections, and plenty of places to get in touch with nature. You just have to get out of your car and look. —Sarah Willets

EAT

BULL AND BEAN

3710 SHANNON ROAD 919-237-2398, BULLANDBEANCAFE.COM I lived in South Durham for about a year, and during that time I went to Bull & Bean (then called Bull Street Gourmet & Market) embarrassingly often. I still go there regularly to work because it’s comfortable and the food is tasty. The menu includes several vegan and vegetarian options, all-day breakfast, and iced coffee that comes with—get this—ice cubes made of coffee.

CHUBBY’S TACOS 4711 HOPE VALLEY ROAD 919-489-4636

When the Chubby’s on Ninth Street closed, there was a minor uproar in Durham.

Fortunately, the second location in South Durham is still churning out quick, affordable tacos, burritos, tortas, and more with a wide array of fillings, from tofu with grilled cauliflower and broccoli to chorizo.

EL CHAPIN

4600 DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL BOULEVARD, #38 919-908-7975, EL-CHAPIN.COM This Guatemalan restaurant is another shopping-center gem, with vibrant colors and music to match the fresh juices and bright dishes. Try rich tamales and stewed chicken, along with house-made toppings like salsa, pickled veggies, and grilled jalapenos.

HOPE VALLEY DINER

3710 SHANNON ROAD 919-419-0907, HOPEVALLEYDINER.COM Hope Valley Diner is my breakfast go-to. My go-to dish is the amply stuffed Greek omelet, although the place offers an extensive menu.

Go early to beat the crowd.

MATTIE B’S PUBLIC HOUSE

PHOTO BY JEREMY M. LANGE

dishes with a fresh Mexican twist. It’s also a place where you can grab a top-notch coffee, a local craft beer, or wine. And last but not least, it’s a sprawling maze of cozy indoor seating, bamboo, hidden outdoor tables, and a garden that’s quiet and peaceful despite being just feet away from the traffic on 15-501.

ONLY BURGER

1125 WEST N.C. HIGHWAY 54 919-401-8600, MATTIEBS.COM The menu at Mattie B’s is patently ridiculous.

First, there are nine different iterations of house made potato chips. From there, you have your pick of wings (from BBQ to guava cayenne), salads, pizzas, burgers, and hot sandwiches, like the Cackalack Club, with ham, turkey, bacon, and pimento cheese. Whaaat?

3710 SHANNON ROAD 919-937-9377, ONLYBURGER.COM Only Burger got its start as a food truck and now has two brick-and-mortar locations: one downtown at the American Tobacco Campus and one in South Durham. The menu has something for every craving. Choose from turkey, veggie, or beef burgers and an extensive list of (mostly) house-made toppings. Fair warning: It will get messy.

PULCINELLA’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

RANDY’S PIZZA

4711 HOPE VALLEY ROAD, SUITE 1E 919-490-1172, PULCINELLASITALIANRESTAURANT.COM Pulcinella’s serves up New York-style pizza and Italian classics, like Penne all’Amatriciana and linguine with mussels and clams. But just as popular as the menu are the ever-present coupons, like discounts on Sunday dinners and entrées for two.

NAMU

5420 DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL BOULEVARD 919-251-9794 Namu is many things. For starters, it’s a collaboration between the Bulkogi Korean BBQ and Bo’s Kitchen food trucks, serving up Korean

4810 HOPE VALLEY ROAD, #112 919-403-6850, RANDYS-PIZZA.COM Randy’s Pizza boasts New York pies—and they don’t lie. Their slices are thin and soft enough to fold in half (the correct way to eat pizza), but the crust still has some bite and crunch. Bonus: This Randy’s shares its outdoor seating area with Growler Grlz.

YAMAZUSHI JAPANESE

4711 HOPE VALLEY ROAD, #6A 919-493-7748, YAMAZUSHIRESTAURANT.COM Fine, traditional Japanese cuisine is the highlight of this dinner-only restaurant, complete with a sake sommelier. Make reservations for its Kaiseki—a multicourse dinner served ceremonially.

DRINK BEAN TRADERS

105 WEST N.C. HIGHWAY 54, #249 919-484-2499, BEANTRADERSCOFFEE.COM The funky, spacious Bean Traders is a great place to work, study, or meet friends. In addition to unique coffee and tea drinks— think espresso soda with vanilla and sparkling water, and sweet basil iced tea with condensed milk—you can also get pie, smoothies, sandwiches, and waffles.

GROWLER GRLZ

4810 HOPE VALLEY ROAD, #110 919-973-2755, GROWLERGRLZ.COM The beer menu is much more serious than the vibe. With forty-two beers on tap, there’s something for everyone, and the friendly bartenders are willing to help you narrow down the options. Most of the seating is outside, so go on a nice day, order a pizza from Randy’s, and park it.

THE GLASS JUG BEER LAB

5410 N.C. HIGHWAY 55, SUITE V 919-813-0135, GLASS-JUG.COM The Glass Jug is part bottle shop, part beer garden, and part microbrewery, making experimental suds befitting of the Beer Lab name. There are events almost every night, from live music, new beer-release parties, and food trucks to the Purling and Pints knitting club and a disc golf league.

9.18.19 • SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION • 11

JOE VAN GOGH

4711 HOPE VALLEY ROAD, #5A 919-973-3950, JOEVANGOGH.COM The local coffee chain’s bright, airy Woodcroft location is larger and serves a more extensive food menu than the others.

Try a nitro cold brew on tap or a rosemary latte with your fresh pastry.

SHOP

BULL CITY RUNNING COMPANY

202 WEST N.C. HIGHWAY 54, #109 919-265-3904, BULLCITYRUNNING.COM Bull City Running Company boasts a six-step “bull fit” process to find the right shoes for any level runner. It also stocks apparel and accessories.

SAM’S BOTTLE SHOP

1112 WEST N.C. HIGHWAY 54 919-973-2489, SAMSBOTTLESHOP.COM

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Sam’s is kind of like a toy shop for beer lovers, stocking everything from your standard lagers to your funky, fruity sours.

You could easily spend an hour perusing the rows upon rows of bottles to go. not to mention twenty-eight brews on tap. But I’d recommend taking a pint upstairs to the outdoor patio. This being South Durham, it overlooks a shopping center, but that seems just fine with a breeze, the sun on your face, and a cold beer in your hand.

SOUTH DURHAM FARMERS MARKET 5410 N.C. HIGHWAY 55 984-377-7301, SOUTHDURHAMFARMERSMARKET.ORG

With a mission to highlight products from within a fifty-mile radius, the market offers everything from grass-fed beef and fresh pasta to gluten-free baked goods and Bonsai trees.

THE STREETS AT SOUTHPOINT

6910 FAYETTEVILLE ROAD 919-572-8808, STREETSATSOUTHPOINT.COM Southpoint’s sprawling indoor/outdoor setup has all the stores you’d expect from a mall. Catch a movie on one of the theater’s seventeen screens.

PLAY HOT ASANA YOGA STUDIO

8128 RENAISSANCE PARKWAY, #206 919-544-9642, HOTASANASTUDIO.COM/DURHAM If the prospect of hot yoga seems daunting, Hot Asana also offers warm yoga classes, where the room is hot enough to keep your muscles loose but not above body temperature.

NEW HOPE CREEK

NEWHOPECREEK.ORG/TRAILS.HTML Pick up the 2.2-mile New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail at Old Chapel Hill Road Park. The natural surface loop goes through the bottomland hardwood forest on the west side of New Hope Creek, home to an array of plants and animals.

PIEDMONT WILDLIFE CENTER 364 LEIGH FARM ROAD 919-489-0900, PIEDMONTWILDLIFECENTER.ORG Located inside the eighty-acre Leigh Farm Park, this education nonprofit is home to rescue animals-turned “wildlife ambassadors,” including snakes, owls, hawks, and turtles.

THIRD FORK CREEK TRAIL

SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES PARK TO GARRETT ROAD PARK TRAILLINK.COM/TRAIL/THIRD-FORKCREEK-TRAIL Third Fork Creek Trail is a 3.5-mile route that runs from Southern Boundaries Park to Garrett Road Park (parking is available at either end). Although it’s paved, the trail takes you a little more off of the beaten path than the American Tobacco Trail, following Third Fork Creek through a wooded corridor.

COMING OCTOBER 16, 2019

FIVE POINTS/ GLENWOOD SOUTH

CONTACT YOUR REP OR ADVERTISING@INDYWEEK.COM

The INDY’s 2019 Endorsements

In Raleigh, down with the NIMBYs! In Durham, down with the … um, well, nobody, actually.

F

un fact: No member of the current Raleigh or Durham city council was elected without the INDY’s endorsement.

As much as we’d like to imagine otherwise, of course, it’s silly to think that our endorsements alone determine elections.

There are a million factors at play: fundraising and name recognition, PACs and advocacy groups, sometimes dumb luck. Then again, in October 2017, about 15 percent of Raleigh’s registered voters went to the polls; in Durham, about 12 percent did. With such low turnout, anything can tip the balance.

The fact that Raleigh holds its elections— everything but runoffs—in the October of odd-numbered years all but guarantees basement-level participation, which in turn all but guarantees that voters will be disproportionately older, wealthier, and whiter.

The good news: Turnout on October 8 will likely be better. The mayor’s seat is open for the first time since 2011, and the council races present a clear clash of values as the city grapples with questions of equity, affordability, and growth.

Though Durham’s leaders have mostly rowed in the same direction lately, the Bull City still faces big challenges: affordability and gentrification, unequal prosperity and pockets of deep-seated poverty that trace back to urban renewal and redlining, a recent uptick of gun violence. The city is holding primaries for its at-large council seats, whittling the field from ten to six. On November 5, voters will choose the three at-large members from the six finalists, as well as the mayor—with only two candidates, there’s no primary—and decide on a $95 million affordable housing bond. (The INDY will make recommendations on the bond and in the mayor’s race next month.)

To inform our endorsements, we’ve solicited detailed questionnaires from the candidates (see indyweek.com/news/elections), engaged community activists and politicos, and had lengthy conversations about which candidates would best move Raleigh and Durham forward.

Early voting starts Wednesday.

For Raleigh mayor: Mary-Ann Baldwin PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

R ALEIGH

Our Raleigh endorsements in four words: Down with the NIMBYs. Under the control of this pining-for-thepast anti-development crew, the Raleigh City Council has been petty, short-sighted, and dysfunctional. The four NIMBYs seeking re-election—David Cox, Stef Mendell, Kay Crowder, and Russ Stephenson—need to go. (Dickie Thompson isn’t running again.)

We endorsed them all in 2017—some because they had awful opponents, others because they had decent records or we figured they were worth a shot. But they immediately usurped Mayor Nancy McFarlane’s committee-assignment prerogative and named themselves to the Growth and Natural Resources Committee. From that perch, they dictated restrictive policies on everything from accessory dwelling units to short-term rentals, while the council wrung its hands over seemingly simple things like scooters and mobile retail. Relationships frayed, and the council became a viper pit of division and distrust.

No matter the outcome of this year’s election, Raleigh will probably be OK. But if Raleigh wants to be great, it needs better leadership than this.

Mayor: Mary-Ann Baldwin Confidence Level: Coin Flip Other Candidates: Zainab Baloch, Charles Francis, George Knott, Caroline Sullivan, Justin Sutton We decided to endorse Baldwin over Sullivan, but only at the last minute, and after a lot of deliberation. More on that in a minute.

First, a quick word about the others.

Knott wants to raise an alarm about a “culture of corporate welfare” luring companies downtown and displacing existing residents. Sutton, a thirty-one-year-old state procurement attorney, has a platform rooted in effective management, quality city services, and business development, but he opposes an affordable housing bond and is too focused on protecting neighborhoods. Still, we like him, and we’d like him to run again—just not for mayor on the first try.

Had Baloch, a twenty-eight-year-old who ran for an at-large council seat in 2017, sought that position again, we’d have supported her. She’s strong on density and police oversight. We love her call for zero carbon emissions by 2030 and establishing a Faith ID program. But—brass tacks here—Baloch hasn’t raised enough money or shown that she can marshal the movement she needs to compete. That’s unfortunate, but it’s reality.

Then there’s Francis, who ran against McFarlane last time. Francis deserves credit for helping force the city into a difficult conversation about the people left behind in the city’s prosperity. But he’s also allied with the NIMBY incumbents, which is a red flag. More important, he can be difficult to pin down on critical issues and sometimes seems to want to be all things to all people. He’s a powerful speaker, compelling on the stump and in person.

He could be a good mayor, maybe a great one. But even after two campaigns, there are too many unknowns for us to sign off.

For us, the choice boils down to Sullivan, a former Wake County commissioner endorsed by McFarlane, and Baldwin, a former city council member popular

among the downtown set. Both are tough, savvy, principled women who know the ins and outs of local government. Both favor smarter, denser development, though Baldwin is more adamant about adding missing-middle housing and stopping neighborhood conservation overlay districts. And both want to see the city council behave like adults.

The biggest difference between Baldwin and Sullivan is style: As a commissioner, Sullivan worked behind the scenes, building consensus on small things when faced with gridlock. Baldwin is pugnacious, never one to back down from a fight. She’s less interested in compromising with the NIMBYs than defeating them.

Who will be more effective? That depends on what the next city council looks like.

If one NIMBY incumbent loses, and Baldwin or Sullivan commands a 5–3 majority, we’d prefer a mayor who comes out swinging to one who’s accommodating. That’s Baldwin. If there’s a stalemate, however—if the four NIMBYs win—there’s a better argument for Sullivan.

But to date, the NIMBYs have shown little interest in compromise, and we suspect they’ll try to wear down anyone who isn’t on their side. Some fights should be taken head-on.

At-Large: Nicole Stewart (inc.), Jonathan Melton Confidence Level: High Other Candidates: James Bledsoe, Portia Rochelle, Carlie Allison Spencer, Russ Stephenson (inc.)

Stewart has sometimes found herself the lone voice of dissent, supporting electric scooters and opposing neighborhood overlay districts.

The council’s youngest member, she understands that the city is growing, and that we need to plan for it to happen equitably. With any luck, Stewart will have a better council to work with the next two years—and with a lot of luck, that council will include Melton.

INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 13

A lawyer and community organizer, Melton isn’t inherently skeptical of change, multifamily housing, or short-term rentals and ADUs. He’d also add an overdue LGBTQ voice to the council.

This means that, after seven terms, Stephenson needs to go. While he distances himself from the NIMBYs, his mantra that finding a fifth vote is what matters most has led to regressive policies over the past two years and consolidated power in the hands of people who wielded it poorly. He can’t have it both ways.

District A: Patrick Buffkin Confidence Level: Meh Other Candidates: Joshua Bradley, Sam Hershey On paper, Buffkin—endorsed by McFarlane, former mayor Charles Meeker, and outgoing council member Dickie Thompson, whom Buffkin thought ineffectual—is probably best suited to our endorsement, though we’re not particularly excited about it. Buffkin is plugged into issues important to this North Raleigh district and has a background in local Democratic politics. He’s likely to vote thoughtfully on key growth issues, too.

But—and this gives us pause—he also gave a quick, dismissive no to our question

about whether he supports a police oversight board.

Hershey would probably be OK, too. He paints himself as an independent unattached to any council faction, and he has smart takes on the affordable housing bond and police oversight. The most interesting choice—we were tempted—is Bradley, who chairs the Piedmont chapter of the Socialist Party USA. He wants the city to look beyond the “constraints imposed by capitalist development,” which, if nothing else, would present the council with unconventional thinking and liven up otherwise dull meetings.

For now, we’ll side with Buffkin and hope our reservations are misplaced.

District B: Brian Fitzsimmons Confidence Level: Very High Other Candidates: David Cox (inc.)

Cox embodies everything we think is wrong with Raleigh politics. He is a reactionary NIMBY through and through. He wants to protect single-family neighborhoods but offers little more than superficial solutions to the affordable housing crisis. He bullies the city’s staff and ignores the city’s code of conduct. He makes knee-jerk decisions, like the time he tried to move funding from one park project to another without consulting constituents, then had to reverse course. He

tries to micromanage city projects in ways that bring government to a standstill. And when he faces the slightest bit of criticism, Cox and his allies petulantly lash out.

Fortunately, District B has an excellent alternative in Fitzsimmons, who envisions Raleigh as a progressive, innovative city, with ambitions like becoming carbon neutral by 2050 alongside district-centric goals such as adding mixed-use, transit-friendly development along Capital Boulevard. Fitzsimmons, a former chairman of the county Democratic Party, also brings a nuanced approach to contentious issues like the RDU Airport Authority quarry lease and short-term rentals.

And did we mention he’s not David Cox? District C: Corey Branch (inc.)

Confidence Level: Medium Other Candidates: Shelia Alamin-Khashoggi, Wanda Hunter, Ricky Scott Branch isn’t the council’s most outspoken member—and we hear murmurs that he’s not as attuned to his East Raleigh district as he should be—but he stepped up as mayor pro tem when McFarlane was on medical leave, keeping the NIMBYs in line and maintaining decorum. We also generally share his views on modifying the NCOD process,

For Raleigh’s District D: Saige Martin PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

allowing multifamily housing in residential areas, and loosening restrictions on ADUs and short-term rentals. We’d like to see him be a stronger presence of the council—and a stronger advocate for District C—but we’ll give him another term to do it.

District D: Saige Martin Confidence Level: High Other Candidates: Brittany Bryan, Kay Crowder (inc.), April Parker A Crowder has represented District D since 2003—Thomas for most of that peri-

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od, Kay since he died in 2014. It’s time for a new voice. Crowder has reflexively resisted development even when it made no sense to do so. She shot down a mobile retail ordinance because she thought no one cared about it—delaying it for a year—but rashly awarded a faith-based health clinic $30,000 in city funds, only to discover it had ties to anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ groups. (The grant was rescinded.)

Martin, twenty-eight, is the fresh energy the council needs. He’s championing a progressive platform centered on housing affordability—he says he grew up homeless—creating incentives for green infrastructure, and making the council more responsive. Like Melton, he would also provide Raleigh’s LGBTQ community with a seat on the dais.

District E: David Knight Confidence Level: Make. This. Happen.

Other Candidates: Stef Mendell (inc.)

Two years ago, Mendell upset incumbent Bonner Gaylord by just 536 votes. It’s possible that our endorsement put her over the edge. Consider this our mea culpa.

Mendell is perhaps the most myopic politician we’ve ever seen, someone who focuses on the needs of the outspoken few at the expense of the big picture.

She pushed the council to abruptly cancel a sidewalk project along Oxford Road because a handful of residents complained.

She fought a rooftop bar atop Scott Crawford’s French bistro Jolie even though it’s not in her district because it’s near a condo she owns, and she worried her tenant wouldn’t like the noise. (The sidewalk, while delayed for months, eventually got back on track. Jolie opened earlier this month, but the rooftop can’t have amplified music and Crawford had to build a fence to shield the neighbors from noise.)

And like Cox, she has extraordinarily thin skin, which sometimes veers into the conspiratorial, like when she suggested that the INDY had a nefarious conflict of interest because our company’s owner has a nephew whose business partner’s wife is Nicole Stewart, which means … we’ll let you know when we figure it out.

Knight, on the other hand, has a long track record working inside government, tackling complicated environmental policy issues. He has a thoughtful vision for downtown as a dense, walkable, less car-reliant city, and wants to expand housing choices, curtail the use of NCODs, loosen regulations on ADUs and short-term rentals, combat climate change by decreasing the city’s carbon footprint, and install a real police oversight board with teeth. Knight is far and away the better choice.

DURHAM

Raleigh has clearly defined political battle lines, but that’s not really the case in Durham. The mayor and five of six council members are backed by the progressive People’s Alliance PAC. The three incumbents on the October ballot—Charlie Reece, Jillian Johnson, and Javiera Caballero, who was appointed to replace Steve Schewel when he became mayor—are running as a slate and share a platform.

Most candidates agree on the challenges the city faces: access to housing, gentrification, and socioeconomic inequality. The biggest point of contention is whether the council should have authorized additional officers in this year’s budget.

At-Large: Javiera Caballero (inc.), Jillian Johnson (inc.), Charlie Reece (inc.)

Confidence Level: High Other Candidates: Charlitta Burruss, Ricardo Correa, Joshua Gunn, Daniel Meier, Victoria Peterson, John Tarantino, Jacqueline Wagstaff When a city council is operating well— more or less, anyway—we see little reason to change it. Such is the case here. There have been missteps, and there are problems to confront. But the council, among the most progressive in the Southeast, is pushing hard in the right direction. Earlier this month, it passed Expanded Housing Choices, a plan to add density to single-family neighborhoods in the urban core. (Raleigh, take notes.) In November, it will ask voters to approve the largest housing bond in state history. (Raleigh, paying attention?)

Durham has also been a leader in reintegrating people involved in the justice system with the community through programs like Welcome Home, and the council has committed to using 80 percent renewable energy by 2030.

The increase in gun homicides this year has been disturbing, to be sure. But it must be viewed in context: Violent crime, on the whole, has declined over the past two years, and we don’t know whether the increase in homicides is a blip or a trend. In any event, throwing a few more cops on the street isn’t likely to staunch the bloodshed.

One challenger did turn our heads: Joshua Gunn—and not just because we appreciate his work as the rapper J. Gunn, which we do. A vice president of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, Gunn offers sharp insights into the city’s approach to economic development. But electing him would mean ousting one of the incumbents—and we can’t figure out which one should go.

Caballero, Johnson, and Reece have done good work. They deserve your vote. backtalk@indyweek.com

THE INDY’S VOTING GUIDE October 2019 R ALEIGH Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin City Council At-Large: Nicole Stewart, Jonathan Melton District A: Patrick Buffkin District B: Brian Fitzsimmons District C: Corey Branch District D: Saige Martin District E: David Knight DURHAM City Council At-Large: Javiera Caballero, Jillian Johnson, Charlie Reece

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indyfood

Resurrected, Unreconstructed THE NEW NANA’S IS DECIDEDLY OLD SCHOOL, FOR BETTER AND WORSE

BY NICK WILLIAMS

I

had two formative dining experiences at Nana’s during its original twentysix-year run.

The first occurred in 2000, a celebration dinner for when my father received a medical school alumni award from Duke. It was a big enough deal that I flew in from Los Angeles for the weekend. I was neither a professional food writer nor a particularly capable person, so I can’t recall what I ate, but I remember thinking it was incredibly good. Like, world-class good, especially from the perspective of a college sophomore who’d been getting most of his calories from frozen taquitos and marijuana.

Seven years later—now firmly ensconced in Durham—an oenologically informed friend invited me to Nana’s to celebrate his own impending medical school graduation.

It was the first time I’d ever tasted the pairing of foie gras and the dessert wine Sauternes, a combination that remains divinely ordained, regardless of your feelings toward force-fed goose liver. It was the first salvo in one of the coziest, loudest, most purely spirited meals of my life.

And then I forgot about Nana’s, a symptom of living in a city that was changing at a breakneck pace, a change spearheaded by an innovative and passionate group of food-and-drink-and-nightlife people. In the twelve years since that foie-and-botrytisfueled night, dining out in Durham has been irrevocably transformed, and it became no longer necessary or particularly desirable to rub elbows with a bunch of expense-account Baby Boomers just to get a good meal.

The perpetually lauded Magnolia Grill was the first to go in 2012. A few years later, Four Square shuttered its stuffy urban manor house. When Nana’s closed in the summer of 2018, it seemed like the death knell for fine dining in Durham—or at least our version of fine dining, an old-school, service-driven approach subsidized by Duke and biotech’s insatiable lust for well-sauced meats and oak-and-tannin red wines.

16 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

Nana’s seared tuna

PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

Of this now-broken triumvirate, Nana’s always seemed like the friendliest and most approachable, a humble neighborhood restaurant at heart, just fancied up and augmented by a kickass beverage program and the considerable talent and dedication of chef Scott Howell and his staff.

And so, even though I hadn’t been in years, I was sad when Nana’s closed, although I thought I understood why.

And then—et voila—it reopened! I was thrilled to be given another chance to darken its doors.

Now that I have, I find that its place in the fabric of things is no longer so simple to define.

Walking into Nana’s feels good. There’s a sense of coming in from the cold, even on a leaden summer evening. The dining room— except for a slight darkening of the palette— is exactly the same, down to the artwork on the walls, bizarrely charming high-contrast photos of abandoned amusement parks.

Plus, the place is packed, no mean feat for that most unsexy of reservation times, 8:00 p.m. on a Wednesday.

My wife and I are shown to our table, an enormous glacial moraine of white tablecloth, where we await the rest of our party. We’re slightly late, and our friends are even later. (It’s important to remember that Nana’s, and indeed the whole of Rockwood Shopping Center, is prone to comically awful flooding.)

We settle in. The cocktail list is brief and not particularly lively, but my Manhattan is deeply satisfying, served in a martini glass the size of a wok. It’s boozy, spicy, and elevated by top-shelf vermouth.

My wife’s seltzer water, on the other hand, is less majestic. Maybe Nana’s has San Pellegrino in the back somewhere, but we were not presented with the option. Further, why would you serve sparkling water in what is clearly a freebie pint glass from a beer distributor? It’s a minor complaint, but a glaring one at a restaurant meant to represent an elegant and detail-oriented form of dining.

Our guests arrive, old friends whom we don’t see often enough, plus their son, freshly evacuated from the coast in anticipation of a looming hurricane. It’s a reunion of

sorts, and it’s great fun, despite the lingering bummer of a sweaty Dogfish Head advertisement on the table.

Our guests pick wines from Nana’s excellent list. An admixture of stone-cold classics peppered with left-field selections, the list pulls off the impressive feat of showcasing domestic wineries without being a steakhouse retread. I almost never want pinot noir from California, but Nana’s has some killers. We pick one, it arrives with a flourish of glassware, and like the expanding cheerful warmth of my Manhattan, it feels right.

Our dishes begin to arrive, and they do their best to keep the evening chugging along. Okra fried to a cornmeal-encrusted snap rest atop paperback-thick slices of tomato—a tomato that appears to be of the bloodless, store-bought variety, but turns out to be crisp, tangy, and exquisitely dressed.

That singing tomato acidity needs a counterpoint, and the ravioli provides a potent juxtaposition: hearty little pillows, their edges precisely al dente, resting in a pork and oyster bolognese that’s earthy, sweet, and luscious. This is the Nana’s I remember, and it’s a moment of innovation on a menu that can best be described as staid.

The meal progresses, and the illusion starts to fade.

The chicken liver pate is, well, fine. Perfectly nice, actually, when smeared on some crusty bread with mustard and pickled onion. But head down the road in at least three different directions and you’ll find chefs turning chicken livers into ethereal clouds of face-melting brilliance. Nana’s take seems like the hotel version, colorless and batch-made.

Then there’s the risotto. Nana’s is famous for risotto, to the point that the wall above the host station features an INDY award for “Best Risotto in the Triangle,” which was apparently a thing once. The risotto that hits our table is claggy and depressing, the texture of melted chalk.

Entreés next. It’s hard to reconcile a stapler-sized chunk of halibut so perfectly cooked yet so devastatingly boring, perched halfheartedly among roasted vegetables that belong on a plate at a political fundraiser in a Sheraton somewhere. The fish has capers on it, easily the most vibrant aspect of the dish.

A pork chop—once again kingly, succulent, expertly cooked—rests next to an enormous pile of mediocre succotash. Every restaurant should stop with the succotash, especially Nana’s, since it has been reduced to serving it in portions that require actual digging.

By my recollection, Nana’s is the only restaurant outside of Tuscany that I’ve visited in the last ten years to have either the cojones or the total lack of awareness to serve veal. Either way, I almost applaud this retrograde power move. It’s veal. With a potato-and-leek gratin. In a foie-gras reduction.

It tastes unsurprisingly delicious, and eating it makes me feel legitimately transgressive.

There is one out-of-nowhere surprise on this fixedly dated menu—the tuna. Seared tuna with a raw center stopped being cool somewhere around 1998, but Nana’s preparation recalls what was so glamorous about it in the first place. It’s marvelous, warmly seasoned, hearty yet refreshing. It’s even better when paired with a bite of the accompanying eggplant, a sweetly caramelized wonder.

Here is the fulcrum of the evening. Nana’s is an old-school restaurant, serving oldschool food. Everything comes in a sauce, or a jus, or a reduction. Everything looks like cruise ship food. Sometimes it does impeccable justice to brass-plated classics, and sometimes it falls back on the stultifying history of banquet dining. Sometimes I crave the former, but the latter seems slightly futile, especially in a town where curry udon and almejas pequeñas and octopus with fregola sarda and grilled pork heart salad and on and on are so wonderfully and extravagantly available.

However.

However.

We order desserts, one of which happens to be the creme brûlée. It’s not infused with lavender, or fish sauce, or Sichuan peppercorns. It’s not served in a cut-glass coupe.

It’s not topped with paw-paw or bonito or ants. It’s creme brûlée, and it’s the best fucking creme brûlée in the world.

After a brief nine months away, Nana’s has reemerged into a restaurant scene that has largely passed it by. But like a good creme brûlée, it’s still nice to know that it’s there. food@indyweek.com The INDY’s restaurant reviews are made possible by contributions to the INDY Press Club. Learn more at KeepItINDY.com.

Where

T O E AT THIS WEEK

POOLE’SIDE PIES 428 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, ac-restaurants.com/poolside Opening night at Poole’side Pies—a full moon on Friday the 13th, accompanied by the reverberating buzz of Lizzo at Red Hat—couldn’t have been more auspiciously timed. Ashley Christensen dropped the news on Instagram that day, generating a wave of excitement evident inside the swim club-themed spot. The Neapolitan-inspired dough is cooked in a Marra Forni wood-fired oven, perfectly charred and chewy; the crust, so spongey and airy it nearly dissolves on the palate. The mushroom white pizza with caramelized onions and chimichurri explodes in a zesty, lemony mouthgasm.

Expect a wait. Expect it to be worth it.

AT THE JOSEPH M. BRYAN, JR., THEATER IN THE MUSEUM PARK

WE DN E SDAY, SE P TE M B E R 2 5

THE GLASS JUG BEER LAB FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY: A FIVE-DAY CELEBRATION Sep. 17–21, Greenwood Commons Shopping Center, 5410 N.C. Hwy. 55, Suite V, Durham, glass-jug.com To celebrate its fifth birthday, Glass Jug is hosting a series of five day-long festivities. This week’s features the release of a quintet of new brews including Festbier, an Oktoberfest-style lager with single-origin German barley, and Fourth Dimension, a barrel-aged dark American fruited sour aged in rum and apple brandy. Don’t miss Friday’s collaboration celebration with Brewery Bhavana, Bond Brothers, and more.

NORTH CAROLINA JERK FOOD FESTIVAL Sep. 21, 11:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

West Point on the Eno, 5101 N. Roxboro St., Durham, caribsplash.org In conjunction with CaribSplash, a local nonprofit supporting Caribbean youth development, the sixth annual NC Jamaican Jerk Food Fest returns to West Point on the Eno on Saturday. Festival-goers can try a number of authentic Caribbean dishes like curry goat or chicken, oxtail, roti, salt fish, and more. The event is free (except for food) and open to the public.

AL BOWERS HOSTS A FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT THE BAHAMAS Sep. 22, 1–6 p.m. Al’s Burger Shack, 516 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, alsburgershack.com Partnering with The Baxter Bar & Arcade, Beer Study, Belltree, Rumors Boutique, Al’s Burger Shack will serve a traditional Bahamian feast for $12 a plate to benefit the Bahamas on Sunday: pork ribs, fried fish with mango salsa, conch fritters, peas and rice, and spicy mac and cheese. Proceeds go to HeadKnowles, a leading hurricane relief foundation. —Andrea Rice

RHIANNON G I DDE N S with

F R A N CESCO TU R R ISI PRESENTED WITH CAT’S CRADLE

In partnership with COME HEAR NORTH CAROLINA #ComeHearNC

T I C K E T S ncartmuseum.org/summer

or (919) 715-5923

presenting sponsor

supporting sponsor

pa r t i c i pat i n g s p o n s o r

2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 17

indymusic

MOLLY SARLÉ: KARAOKE ANGEL Partisan Records, Sep. 20 www.mollysarle.bandcamp.com

Book of Revelations

AFTER HER FIRST BRUSH WITH FAME, MOLLY SARLÉ THOUGHT SHE MIGHT NEVER PERFORM MUSIC AGAIN. LUCKY FOR US, A BIG SUR KARAOKE BAR SHIFTED HER DIRECTION. BY SARAH EDWARDS

S

everal years ago, Molly Sarlé, who provides one-third of the band Mountain Man’s incandescent vocal harmonies, was trying to figure out her next steps while living in a cliffside trailer in Big Sur, California. Nearby, ensconced in redwoods, was a motel-slash-bar called The Fernwood that hosted karaoke every other Friday night. Sarlé often made the pilgrimage. There, she frequently found herself on stage singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” alongside anthems by Linda Ronstadt, Sheryl Crow, and Mazzy Star.

“It kind of feels like your uncle’s dirty basement,” Sarlé says, remembering the bar at her current home in Hillsborough.

“There are couches that have sticky beer stains on them and duct tape, but extreme magic comes out of the people that perform there. And that’s something that inspires me: watching someone completely transform a space. All you need is a microphone and a song you connect to.”

And bam, there’s the thesis of Karaoke Angel, Sarlé’s debut solo album, which comes out September 20 on Partisan Records. Sure, “Dreams” is many people’s go-to karaoke song, but when you listen to Karaoke Angel, that kinship starts to click into place. Like the musky powerhouse ballads of Rumours, Sarlé’s album has a Laurel Canyon sheen to it: gauzy and light, grounded by subtle lines of guitar, bass, and percussion.

But unlike a lot of the material that came out of that era—personal experiences sanded down into generalized heartbreak—Sarlé’s music doesn’t feel like it’s trying to do a lot of standardizing. It’s contemporary and intense and in-step with the metamorphic nature of specific feelings and moments, which (to make another very grand musical allusion) brings to mind Robyn, an artist whose songs reach catharsis via fine-tuned emotional precision.

One of the first songs on the album nar18 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

“Her voice has the magnetism of a mythic animal. I immediately had to go check out who was singing.” and release—and if that’s not a working definition of karaoke, then I don’t know what is.

D

Molly Sarlé

PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

rates a conversation Sarlé’s father had with her about wanting to die. Another is a letter to a lover’s ex-wife. On yet another, Sarlé makes grilled cheese and sings

her way through a post-coital epiphany about power and pleasure. There’s autobiography, sure, but it’s autobiography, bound up in the experience of revelation

irections to Sarlé’s home sound a bit like the chorus of a Lucinda Williams song: windy turns, thick woods, a long gravel road. It’s an image heightened when she opens her door, one day in late August, with two dogs and a cat at her heels. One of the dogs peels off, but she apologizes, saying that the remaining pets will probably stick around during the interview, and of course, they do.

It’s the day before the first leg of her tour, which kicks off in Brighton, England and winds through Europe before a hometown release show at NorthStar Church of the Arts on October 20. It’s not her first international tour: While Sarlé was still in college, Mountain Man caught the interest of Feist, and the trio joined her as backup singers for a fourteen-month tour. It is her first time striking out as a solo act, though.

Born in Santa Cruz, Sarlé headed north for college. While at Bennington College in Vermont, she met Amelia Meath and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig.

“I first heard Molly sing from the floor above her in our dorm,” Meath says in an

email. “Her voice has the magnetism of a mythic animal. I immediately had to go check out who was singing.”

When Meath came downstairs to the dorm common room, she found Sarlé singing a roomy, roaming song she’d written called “Dog Song,” which Meath quickly learned and taught to another friend, Sauser-Monnig.

“Molly sounds like a flute with a sassy attitude,” Meath says. “Like the loudest thing you have ever heard, a femme bird of paradise. Her singing could stare you down.”

The three began singing together and performing at house parties. Earthy and unadorned, their harmonies are very nearly spooky in how closely they evoke the sounds of traditional folk music. The band quickly became beloved for their chemistry and for how faithfully they maintained the intimate feel of a house show, even as they began to perform on big stages. Their debut album, 2010’s Made the Harbor, was recorded in an abandoned factory, giving the music a subaqueous feel; tracks begin with the environmental sounds of people laughing and gathering around a microphone.

At the time, Sarlé was still in college studying gender and performance theory, and she felt hesitant about committing fully to music. Critical acclaim followed the release, though, and the band went on tour, first with the singer Jonsi and later, The Decemberists. Then came the offer from Feist. Sarlé dropped out of college and took the plunge.

It wasn’t an easy transition. While the band’s melodies may have been homegrown, the music industry was not.

“Mountain Man felt like a thing that happened to me in many ways,” Sarlé says. “The momentum was out of my own intention or control, and I didn’t know how it actually connected to what I wanted to be doing with my life. I saw a lot of people in the industry who seemed lost and unhappy, and I saw some really powerful women where it seemed like it was really destroying their self-esteem. I didn’t want to end up that way.”

After the tour, the band dispersed: Meath moved to Durham, where she eventually started the Grammy-nominated electronic duo Sylvan Esso with Nick Sanborn, and Sausser-Monnig returned to her home state of Minnesota before eventually moving to North Carolina, where she released her own album as Daughter of Swords this year.

Sarlé, meanwhile, headed for a Zen center in California.

“After being on tour for about three years, I felt kind of empty inside. I didn’t think I was ever going to do music again,” she says.

She moved into a yurt and would wake up at four-thirty to meditate before helping to clean the facilities. After a few months, she felt that not having a creative project was making her unhappy. For a while, she decamped to Los Angeles and pursued acting while working at a restaurant, but she found that telling other people’s stories also didn’t fulfill her need to be both creative and emotionally honest. According to a Vanity Fair piece on Sarlé, she shared these feelings with Feist, who told her, “You’re a lightning bolt, there aren’t very many of those. You should do your own thing.”

Sarlé had kept in close touch with Sausser-Monnig and Meath, who begged her to move to North Carolina, even offering to fly to her and help caravan her belongings cross-country. Eventually, she took up the offer, and the three women drove from California to North Carolina.

The Hillsborough house that she now shares with housemates is light-filled and crammed with guidebooks to seemingly everything (national parks, nature, sex) and little

Molly Sarlé and Magic Ship

PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

shrine-like arrangements of plastic figurines and rocks and bits of sea glass. When I ask about the song “Almost Free,” about her father’s suicidal ideation, she hesitates and then asks if we can talk in the backyard, where there’s more privacy. It’s not that she doesn’t speak openly with her housemates, she says, but that she’s still figuring out how to put language around the songs, period.

“Almost Free” is probably the most stripped-down and raw song on the album. There’s a particularly long pause that follows the line, spoken by her father, “This time I’m sure” that is almost unbearable to listen to. But then it’s followed by assurance: “I tell my dad what he wants to hear / I say I love you, Dad, I need you here.”

“My relationship to my dad talking to me about suicide has changed since I wrote that song,” she says. “It feels vulnerable. But I think that’s also part of songwriting. Part of the way I thought about writing these songs was I tried to encapsulate experiences clearly enough that they could live on their own and not as they related to me. Just because I don’t feel the same way about my dad talking to me about his illness now as I did then doesn’t mean there isn’t somebody that could listen to that song and be like, whoa, I’ve had this similar experience. A lot of women have talked to me about that.”

I

t’s been a whirlwind year for Sarlé. Last September, Mountain Man reunited for a second album, Magic Ship, named for the stray cat that found its way to Sarlé in North Carolina several years ago, and which is curled up against her leg as we talk. During the same period, Karaoke Angel, produced by the musician Sam Evian, was recorded at Dreamland, a church turned into a recording studio in Woodstock, New York. In January, Sarlé released the first track, “Human,” a warm, swoony single about letting go of someone, which picks up the spiritual, looking-upward-but-earthbound thread of the album (“Well, who

hasn’t talked to God like he’s a man?” she asks in the song).

It was released alongside a music video filmed in The Pinhook, which Sarlé says is one her favorite local karaoke spots (another favorite—and this one is a bit of a plot twist— is Carrboro’s 2nd Wind).

Soon after the release of “Human” she fired her manager and went several months before hiring another; consequently, the release date was pushed back several times. But that also meant that she’s been able to carefully roll out singles alongside music videos; since January, she’s released three more.

“It was frustrating a lot of the time to be managing myself, to try and calibrate advice in a field that I’m not necessarily that familiar with,” Sarlé says. “But I’m proud of pretty much every song on this record, and I’m happy that four of them got to have that moment.” Along the way, she’s earned praise: In a recent interview, Jeff Tweedy named Sarlé as one of his favorite new artists, and she’ll open for Wilco during several stops this fall. She’ll also play with Sylvan Esso during its fall tour. That her new album will resonate widely seems definite. There’s an honest, open-hearted quality about Karaoke Angel, and about the way that she’s brought it into the world. She hasn’t been swept into music; she’s chosen it.

As we sit in the backyard, I mention that the witty “Suddenly,” a song that I took to be about bad sex, is possibly a female music writer’s dream come true. It’s not that leftfield of an interpretation; the delightful bridge-to-chorus portion goes, “After giving you head / I get the fuck out of bed / Melt some butter in a pan / Throw some cheese between two pieces of bread / And I don’t know why / But suddenly I am no longer what I wanna be.”

Sarlé laughs but says that the song is more complicated than that. It’s not about bad sex, per se, although it’s also not quite about good sex. It’s about power and it’s about learning how to be good to yourself.

“It’s interesting, the way men relate to that song and the way women relate to that song,” she says. “Men put themselves at the center of the narrative and are like, oh, she’s written a song about giving me a blow job. No, I wrote a song about how powerful I know that my sexuality is and having the realization that it’s not just about bringing pleasure for the other person. Females are taught that our sexual power is for someone else. That song to me is about understanding the ways that we rob ourselves through our own performance of ourselves.”

These kinds of gradients guide the album: nuances about climax, songs sung to recognize the feeling of recognizing something. Most of us want to reach transcendence, but many of the songs on Karaoke Angel go a bit further, orbiting the territory around that state: How do we get there? What do we do when the feeling fades away? “This Close,” an airy track about falling in love with an addict against the backdrop of Big Sur’s spirit-haunted landscape, gets the closest at addressing those questions. Sarlé sings: “That night at the karaoke bar / Your face came out of the dark / Pasty white and glowing / With some kind of knowing / That all you’d have to do was sing.”

It’s not hard to imagine those lines being written on the back of a napkin, possibly at the Fernwood. It is also not hard to imagine peeling yourself off of a bar stool and heading to the front of a dark room, having connected with that song, having decided to give yourself over to a kind of extreme magic. sedwards@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 19

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music

WHITNEY

Saturday, Sep. 21, 8:30 p.m., $25–$28 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro www.catscradle.com

Drum Role

WHITNEY’S JULIEN EHRLICH DISPATCHES FROM THE SMALL BUT AUGUST LINEAGE OF SINGING TIMEKEEPERS, FROM DON HENLEY TO PHIL COLLINS BY HOWARD HARDEE

F

rom the first verse of Whitney’s 2016 debut single, “No Matter Where We Go,” Julien Ehrlich announced himself as a distinct new voice in indie rock. His delicate, lilting falsetto is like overhearing an intimate conversation between lovers or watching sunlight fade from the trees on a late-summer evening. With their perfectly realized vocal and guitar melodies and honey-sweet horn sections, the Chicago-based band’s plaintive, wistful follow-up singles, “Golden Days” and “No Woman,” cemented the sound that made Whitney’s first record, Light Upon the Lake, one of the best of 2016.

Now the band is back with Forever Turned Around, a record that immerses listeners in the same ’70s soft-rock sound world.

The INDY caught up with Ehrlich ahead of Whitney’s show at Cat’s Cradle on September 21 to talk about his polarizing voice; the creative partnership with guitarist Max Kakacek that carries on from their former band, Smith Westerns; and the challenges of singing and drumming simultaneously.

INDY: Can you wrap your head around the response to Light Upon the Lake?

JULIEN EHRLICH: We could never have imagined that we would be in this position, to make a second record and have people actually anticipating it, but we did put our entire lives and all of our energy into the first record. As soon as we finished Light Upon the Lake, I was like, “Holy shit, are people not going to understand this at all?” But then, as soon as taste-making people in Chicago picked up on it, I was like, “OK, if they’re genuinely excited about it, this shit could grow.”

I thought that if people liked the initial demo of “No Matter Where We Go,” they’re going to fucking love the album.

What about the album did you think listeners wouldn’t understand at first?

The vocals. My voice was almost like a harsh listen, in a weird way, and it was pretty polarizing at the time. I think that was my

“We want it to get stuck in our heads almost to the point of insanity.” or soundtrack a moment, a month, a phase in someone’s life, and you want that person to look back and remember that phase fondly.

What sort of a phase were you going through when you wrote Forever Turned Around?

When we’re writing a record, we’re always searching for something. I think this record sounds like a beautiful form of searching, like a beautiful confusion or an exploration.

Whitney

PHOTO BY OLIVA BEE

main worry, and since I was the one singing, I was extra worried about it. The songs just made so much sense to us on every level, so once people picked up on the sound, we felt like the content was definitely going to resonate with people. We felt like the songs were the best possible songs we ever could have written, and we feel the same about Forever Turned Around.

Have you gotten used to being a front man, the person most responsible for entertaining the audience?

At first, it was pretty tough to figure out how to talk to a crowd and make sure everyone was having their own special time at a show.

Once I realized that this was all happening, that the band was something we were going to commit to and take extremely seriously, it became easy. I mean, not every night. There was a festival show in Europe last month where I was like, “Oh my god, playing drums and singing is so fucking hard.”

You started drumming at a very early age, though, so that part must feel automatic.

I don’t think I would be able to do this if I hadn’t been drumming my entire life. I would say I’m a natural-born drummer; adding singing was like learning a new language and speaking them both at the same time.

I’ve toured a lot as just a drummer, and I find that more difficult. It’s easier to do both jobs when I’m not thinking about either of them.

When you’re workshopping songs witMax, do you focus on creating earworm melodies?

That’s one hundred percent the goal when we’re writing songs. We want it to get stuck in our heads almost to the point of insanity.

We care about writing playful melodies that you want to hear and come back to, even if you over-listened to Light Upon the Lake. You want to make that record that people listen to three years down the road and say, “Oh man, I forgot about this.” You want it to time-stamp

Had anything changed in terms of your songwriting partnership with Max? We just love making records together and playing with the whole group we tour with as well.

Maybe we tried to get out of town or whatever; we went up to Wisconsin and Oregon and New York, but in the end, it all came back to the same basement in Chicago that we’ve always worked in. We didn’t really have much of a choice—it had to get done in Chicago.

Did you have any major breakthrough moments where a song finally came together?

“Friend of Mine” took us so long to crack.

We started the verse back in 2016, and it was maybe the last song we finished on the record. By the end, I was like, “I don’t even know if I like this fucking song.” But it’s crazy, the further removed our heads have gotten from “Friend of Mine,” the more we think it’s the best song we’ve ever done. You question yourself over and over again, and then you feel forever turned around. music@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 21

music

PRICELESS: THE MUSIC OF FLORENCE PRICE Saturday, Sep. 21, 8 p.m., free Baldwin Auditorium, Durham www.music.duke.edu

Bittersweet Symphony

DUKE’S MUSIC DEPARTMENT REVIVES THE NEGLECTED WORK OF FLORENCE PRICE, THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN TO ATTAIN INTERNATIONAL RENOWN AS A CLASSICAL COMPOSER BY DAN RUCCIA

F

lorence Price didn’t mince words in a November 1943 letter to Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra: “My dear Dr. Koussevitzky, to begin with, I have two handicaps—those of sex and race. I am a woman and I have some Negro blood in my veins.” The then fifty-three-year-old composer was no slouch. The Chicago Symphony performed her first symphony in 1933, making her the first African-American woman to have a piece performed by a major U.S. orchestra.

It was also the only performance of her music by a major U.S. orchestra in her lifetime. She was well aware of the double bind her identity created in a classical music world that was dominated by white men (and, to a somewhat lesser extent, still is).

Her music has long been neglected, but a recent revival is stirring up interest. This Saturday, a group of Duke University performance faculty, students, and alumni will present a cross-section of her chamber and vocal music in a concert called “Priceless: The Music of Florence Price” at Baldwin Auditorium. It is, as far as anyone can tell, the first performance devoted entirely to Price’s music in the Triangle, and certainly the first time most of these pieces have been heard here.

Florence Beatrice Smith was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1887 to a middle-class family living in a racially integrated community. Her musical talent was apparent from the beginning: Under her mother’s tutelage, she gave her first piano recital at age four and published her first composition at age eleven. At the age of fourteen, she graduated as valedictorian of her high school and, in 1904, went to study piano and organ at the New England Conservatory. Despite attending one of the only integrated conservatories in the country, Price still felt the need to pass herself off as being Mexican rather than African-American.

After graduating with a double degree, she began teaching composition, bouncing between Arkansas and Atlanta before settling back in Little Rock in 1912. Arkansas in the 1910s and ’20s was a different place than it had been during her childhood, with white supremacist violence on the rise alongside segregationist laws. A lynching in downtown Little Rock prompted her family to move to Chicago in 1927.

Once there, she dove into the city’s musical world and entered the most productive phase of her compositional career. Her songs and piano music began to be published by major publishers, and in 1933, her first symphony and piano sonata won a first and third prize, respectively, in the Wanamaker Foundation Awards. Marian Anderson ended 22 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

Florence Price

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS LIBRARIES

her famed Lincoln Memorial concert with Price’s arrangement of the spiritual “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord,” which would continue to be a staple of Anderson’s concerts for the rest of her career. But following her death in 1953, Price’s music mostly disappeared, beyond the occasional footnote.

That began changing when, in 2009, thirty boxes of Price’s manuscripts and other materials were discovered in her summer home in St. Anne, Illinois. Archivists at the University of Arkansas, where her papers are kept, quickly discovered dozens of unknown pieces, including two violin concertos, two symphonies, a piano concerto, and piles of other, smaller works. This discovery, alongside recent efforts to include more diverse voices in classical concerts, has led to an explosion of performances of her music.

Locally, in just the past year, the North Carolina Symphony performed her piano concerto, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle played her first symphony, and the Raleigh Civic Symphony performed a movement from her first vio-

lin concerto and gave what may have been the U.S. premiere of her tone poem “Ethiopia’s Shadow in America.”

On top of that, the Duke Symphony and pianist Karen Walwyn will perform her piano concerto next month in Baldwin Auditorium. It’s a remarkable turn of events.

Saturday’s concert expands the revival to her pieces for smaller ensembles.

“I’ve been passionate about her work since I first ran across her vocal writings about ten years ago,” says pianist David Heid, who organized the concert. “When all this music was discovered, I started thinking, there’s so much stuff that doesn’t get performed for a variety of reasons.”

“Priceless” collects eight songs for soprano and piano, her string quartet Five Folk Songs in Counterpoint, her piano sonata, and six pieces for chorus. Price’s music is, in a way, a throwback, mixing grand, Romantic-era gestures with a deep understanding of folk music and spirituals, often toggling between those modes with sophistication and ease. She’s at her best when those two sides feed off each other, with rich-hued harmonies sitting alongside off-kilter rhythms and joyful melodies intentionally informed by African-American folk music.

New Yorker music critic Alex Ross has written of her music, “I have the uncanny sense of hearing the symphonies and operas that women and African Americans were all but barred from writing during the Romantic heyday.” Heid describes her piano writing as “big,” saying she was “clearly a pianist at heart.”

The choral pieces are the most rarely heard, in part because the scores are so hard to come by. Heid and Duke University professor and choral director Rodney Wynkoop spent months this summer trying to track down scores, many of which are only available in the University of Arkansas archives. According to Wynkoop, Price’s delicate script was often hard to make out, but the effort was worth it. “[Her music] should have been heard more,” Wynkoop says.

“I’m so glad to play some small role in putting this out there.”

Heid elaborates, saying of that 1933 performance with the Chicago Symphony, “It was actually fairly well-received by the papers at the time, but it was treated sort of like a comet hit the earth. It didn’t occur to anybody that, with opportunity, there would be lots of music by black women being played.” It’s a shame that it’s taken so long for Price to get the recognition she so clearly deserves. This concert is another step toward moving her out of the footnotes and into the broader musical consciousness. music@indyweek.com

indystage

Close to Home

REMEMBERING RICHARD WRIGHT’S DEEP CONNECTION TO CHAPEL HILL, FOR GOOD AND FOR ILL BY BYRON WOODS NATIVE SON

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As Native Son, the play based on Richard Wright’s landmark 1939 novel about systemic racism, runs at Paul Green Theatre, it’s worth reflecting on the show’s deep ties—for good and for ill—to the UNC theater company that eventually become PlayMakers, to one of its most famous playwrights, and to the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Wright’s time here produced the original 1941 Broadway adaptation of his book, but, as if in illustration of its themes, the author also barely made it out of town alive.

Paul Green was one of the Carolina Playmakers’ first-generation playwrights. In the summer of 1940, he invited Wright to Chapel Hill to collaborate on turning his novel into a script for Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre in New York. But Chapel Hill didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet.

While UNC’s theater faculty (including legendary founding playwright Frederick “Proff ” Koch) regularly invited African-American artists such as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard B. Harrison to campus to lecture and perform, “Jim Crow segregation remained the law of the land, and UNC was still a segregated institution,” says retired UNC historian Cecelia Moore. “All of the student body and faculty was white.”

Under the law, Wright could not stay at The Carolina Inn or any other Chapel Hill hotel. He had to find lodging in a Carrboro boarding house instead. Wright was not only denied service at restaurants, but he nearly had the same experience at Green’s house.

In an interview with historian James Spence, Green recalled his housekeeper saying, “That’s a black man, you’re gonna eat with him?” Whereupon Green admonished her, “You just forget and behave yourself.”

But Wright faced a graver threat the night before he left the region. After Green’s sec-

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April Mae Davis and Brandon Herman St. Clair Haynes in PlayMakers’ Native Son PHOTO BY HUTHPHOTO retary, a white female student named Ouida Campbell, threw a party for Wright in Carrboro, local white supremacists—including Green’s cousin, Hugh Wilson—met and planned to hunt Wright down.

“They had guns and rope, and Green went and tried to disperse this mob,” says playwright Ian Finley, whose historical drama on Wright and Green, Native, has toured the South. Green told Spence that he spent the last night before Wright left in a cotton patch behind Wright’s boarding house, “determined that if anything happened, they’d have to kill me.”

But Wright’s friendship with Green didn’t survive Native Son’s Broadway debut. The two could never reconcile their takes on Wright’s protagonist, Bigger Thomas, and the meaning of his crime.

“In Green’s humanist view, we control our destiny,” says Finley. “In Wright’s deterministic view, society determines what we become. Society made Bigger this monster, so society needs to own up to how monstrous it is. It came down to the last page of the script. They didn’t use Green’s ending, and the friendship they had just fell apart.” arts@indyweek.com

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INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 23

indyart

THE CARRACK’S FINAL WEEKEND

Community Show reception: Friday, Sep. 20, 6–9 p.m.

Prompts: Saturday, Sep. 21, 7 p.m.

The Carrack Modern Art, Durham www.thecarrack.org

The Triumph of Transience

THE CARRACK MODERN ART’S CLOSURE IS HEARTBREAKING. BUT IT’S NOT A TRAGEDY THAT IT DIDN’T LAST FOREVER. IT’S A MIRACLE THAT IT LASTED FOR AS LONG AS IT DID, AND ITS LEGACY ALREADY RESOUNDS. BY BRIAN HOWE

L

ast Saturday, as a part of a conference called “Emergent Futures: State of the Field,” The Carrack Modern Art hosted a roundtable discussion on alternative arts organizations that featured Durham community leaders such as Monét Noelle Marshall and Pierce Freelon. The talk ranged widely over inequities, particularly racial ones, in the arts landscape. The gallery was packed with a diverse crowd that offered moving personal stories and snapped their fingers for one another, sitting among the brightly colored bounty of the community show that covered almost every inch of wall space.

In a way, it was a typical day at The Carrack, a noncommercial art gallery that, over the past eight years, has become a haven for Durham’s independent artists by minimizing economic and cultural barriers to participation, and by holding an intentional space for conversations such as this one.

But in another way, it was highly atypical, as this exhibit is The Carrack’s last. After this weekend, with a closing reception on Friday and a final installment of the performance series Prompts on Saturday, the gallery will permanently close.

At first, it was hard to think of this as anything but a tragedy. It’s no stretch to call The Carrack Durham’s most beloved arts landmark. It showed the work of hundreds of local artists (a number that nears one thousand if you factor in the annual community shows), many of them emerging. It accelerated a conversation about injustices in the arts by plunging directly into those conflicts, and it pushed other local institutions to reckon with its example. It forged countless connections among artists and supporters across mediums, genres, genders, races, and classes, and it spawned countless projects and collaborations. It created a revolutionary model and shared it generously.

When you consider that The Carrack achieved all this while charging artists nothing to use the space however they saw 24 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

Saba Taj (left), Laura Ritchie, and community members at The Carrack after the “Emergent Futures” discussion fit and taking not a cent from their sales, it’s not a tragedy that it lasted for eight years, it’s a miracle. In the end, its proprietors realized that the free labor baked into the structure ran contrary to their values, with no viable route to sustainability. To their credit, they chose to stop.

In being honest about its troubles as well as its triumphs, The Carrack is priming the next generation of arts leaders to improve on its transformative model. In a world where change is so necessary, permanence isn’t necessarily a virtue. While this is inevitably a story of loss, it’s also about the triumph of transience and the indelible mark that The Carrack leaves behind.

A

s 2017 turned to 2018, Laura Ritchie was very tired. Since founding The Carrack with John Wendelbo, who exited after a year, she had been the gallery’s sole director and presided over a difficult move from Parrish Street to Main Street, adjacent to Golden Belt. What she thought would be a short project after college had overtaken most of her twenties, and she was ready to do something else. She had also realized that, as a white person who had founded a gallery on Black Wall Street and then moved it to a predominantly African-American neighborhood, she needed to decentralize her leadership if The Carrack was to fully achieve its community-oriented goals.

PHOTO BY JADE WILSON

Though Ritchie was able to start taking a small salary (about $8,000 a year) near the end of her tenure, she had long worked for no pay, aided by a volunteer staff. She knew that asking that of a new director wasn’t fair, and virtually guaranteed one above a certain threshold of cultural privilege. So, with The Carrack’s advisory board and board of directors, she formalized the job description, which would pay $15 an hour for twenty-five hours a week, and they put out a call in the spring of 2018. Saba Taj’s application quickly rose to the top.

Taj already had a deep relationship with The Carrack. As a leader in Durham Artists Movement—a group of working-class

artists of color who inhabited the Carrack’s former space on Parrish Street rent-free for the final six months of its lease—she was immersed in a community The Carrack wanted to reach. And as an artist who used to hand out burned CDs of her work to sometimes-confused art-scene players—after all, that’s not how it’s done—before earning an MFA at UNC and achieving professional success, she understood the barriers and anxieties of emerging artists, especially those who did not see themselves reflected in commercial galleries and museums.

“Saba got the job, and everyone was so excited,” Ritchie says, sitting with Taj on The Carrack’s back deck. “Also, Saba was working way more than she was being paid for, and that became clear really quickly.”

Taj succeeded in continuing and streamlining The Carrack’s activities in tandem with operations and fundraising director Kerry Crocker, The Carrack’s secret engine on many levels, from the depths of its databases to its high-profile Muse Masquerade.

But a flaw that had always lurked in the model was exposed: It only worked because of Ritchie’s ability and willingness to donate copious amounts of time.

“That was just the way The Carrack evolved,” Ritchie says. “There were no bounds. I just lived and breathed it, which is part of why I was so exhausted. It had always been a dream to pass this on. The primary reason we hadn’t done it earlier was feeling limited by our financial capability.”

In March 2019, Taj received word that she’d earned a post-MFA fellowship at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies.

Especially as a single parent, she knew she had to take it—which, as Ritchie points out, is exactly the kind of sustainability The Carrack wants for artists. With her Carrack position already proven to be unsustainable, the decision was made to shut down.

By the end of its lifespan, Ritchie says, The Carrack’s annual expenses amounted to about $80,000. As the gallery doesn’t take money from artists or visitors, it had to come from fundraising efforts, sustainers, and large individual or corporate donors. Taj’s arrival unleashed a vision of sustainability for the institution, but the resources required to get there were out of reach, especially for an organization whose fundraising capacity was hampered by its mission. Its main annual fundraiser, the Muse Masquerade at 21c Museum Hotel, was successful, but it also hedged between attracting wealthy donors and being inclusive.

“When I first came in, Kerry really took on Muse Masquerade alone, and how much we ended up raising versus how much labor it took to pull off just didn’t match,” Taj says.

“A sustainable model requires planning on the front end. Otherwise you get bowled over by the system.”

“We didn’t want to have this super-bougie thing that our people can’t come to.”

“We were always hyper-concerned about it being inclusive and modeling our values,” Ritchie adds. “We tried pay-what-you-want models, a sliding scale, different tiers. It attracted this [wealthy] crowd, but we also never fully went there.”

Though The Carrack had always operated like a nonprofit, it only became a 501(c)(3) last year, mainly in order to qualify for more grants. But the majority of grants are for programming, not salaries and overhead. To get the funding, it needed more staff, which is exactly what it needed the funding for.

“It was the same stuck place we kept running into,” Ritchie says. “The community loves this project, and none of us want it to go away. But we were in a position where, by continuing without a plan that in eight years we had not been able to formulate, we would be conflicting with our values. We’d be asking artists to work for less than they deserve or creating an organization that is dependent upon the leadership of somebody who can do it without pay, which perpetuates inequity in the arts community.”

O

n Main Street, The Carrack’s rent was fairly manageable—$1,200, about twice what they’d paid on Parrish—though it now had staff to pay, and the Golden Belt arts landscape had changed.

Jazz club The Shed closed; neighboring gallery SPECTRE Arts closed; the Golden Belt studios changed ownership and went fallow, though they have since been revitalized.

The Carrack, once the heart of Third Friday art walks, was now cut off from them—a story we’ve seen across the Triangle. As development pushes independent art institutions out of downtowns (see also Chapel Hill’s FRANK Gallery and Raleigh’s Adam Cave Fine Art), the center cannot hold, and the social fabric of local scenes is fraying.

“It’s not straightforward, like our rent went up and we couldn’t afford to be there anymore,” Ritchie says of the original downtown location, which had accessibility issues, with long, steep stairs. “The construction of One City Center made it impossible to be there.

Parrish was shut down. We had pieces on two occasions fall off the wall and be damaged because of the construction.”

While the Main Street space is physically accessible, access was still a challenge.

“The art gallery is not a neutral space,” Taj says. “Without trying, it’s a white space, a white box. It feels like you have to be invited or it costs money. It takes real, consistent work to be in a place like this accountably, and we were already struggling in terms of capacity.”

“We didn’t do that groundwork before we made the move,” Ritchie says. “I wish I had been more conscious of my privilege and the long-term outcome of embedding that into the way The Carrack grew. I wasn’t thinking critically about class privilege or whiteness at twenty-three. It felt like a really hard thing to unravel and rebuild.”

“A sustainable model requires planning on the front end,” Taj adds. “Otherwise you get bowled over by the system. It will institutionalize you. Other models need to be really intentionally paved or you’re going to become reliant on unpaid labor to do something generous in a country built on scarcity.”

These are the kinds of lessons that The Carrack hopes to impart to other arts organizations, current and future. But as we examine its struggles, we should also celebrate its success, which carries on in the connections it forged. They will long outlast the space. The Carrack’s final planned shows are dispersing throughout Durham— to NorthStar Church of the Arts, The Fruit, Durham Art Guild, The Mothership, and Golden Belt, which, Taj says, agreed to honor the zero-commission model.

“Things are different than when The Carrack started, and this creates space for what we need now, which might look different,” Taj says. “And I trust the artists here.”

Indeed, trust is the essential thing The Carrack offered to artists trying to navigate an elite system designed to keep them out.

“Even after everything I’ve done, there’s a discomfort in museum spaces and commercial galleries that persists to this day,” Taj says. “There’s all these codes that I didn’t grow up learning, and The Carrack was a space where I felt comfortable.”

“We’ve always led with a yes,” Ritchie says. “And then, ‘What do you need?’ As opposed to, ‘Can you do this?’ or ‘Prove it.’ We recognized the labor an artist has

already done to create a body of work. We wished we could pay them for that, but we can’t. What we could offer was free space and zero-commission sales, and we then have the privilege to experience the work.”

The Carrack’s generosity allowed artists to experiment and even fail with minimal consequences, which was especially invaluable for those just starting out.

“There’s few places you can show a solo body of work without a resume,” Taj says.

“You usually have to do all these things that cost money to be trusted to have a space [in a gallery], and that’s something The Carrack really pushed against.”

It also connected emerging artists with experienced ones, art makers with art funders, and creators from different mediums. Justin Tornow, a choreographer who has been running Prompts at The Carrack since 2013, met visual artist Heather Gordon there, leading to their robust collaborations to follow.

“The culture of ‘yes’ was so exciting, to show up somewhere and have them say, ‘Yeah, what do you need?’ I had never experienced that before,” Tornow says.

“The artists who show in coffee shops versus the ones who show in museums, there’s not connections there,” Taj says. “And I think The Carrack has been really great at creating community and mutual respect among those artists. Folks who were part of the Carrack’s early life—seeing what’s happened with those artists is beautiful.”

One such artist is Wutang McDougal, who started as an intern in The Carrack’s early days and whose works have gone on to be displayed in many Triangle venues.

“The majority of the folks that I know in Durham have been connected through that space,” he says. “It provided an affordable platform for independent black, brown, and queer artists to reach audiences downtown. [But] I also remember that The Carrack can start again in any space. The people, the community, the regulars are what makes the space.”

We all wish The Carrack could have lasted forever, but it’s probably best that it didn’t, because forever isn’t sustainable.

“There’s such a push to be like, ‘Let’s make stuff that stays and grows and we can always count on it,’ and sometimes maybe we don’t need to do that,” Taj says. “We can do something amazing and out-of-the-box and temporary and allow ourselves the flexibility to do that over and over again.”

“There were arts organizations here prior to The Carrack,” Ritchie says. “We emerged in a certain way at a time when we needed to fill a gap and meet some needs. We did that.

And now we’ll see what comes next.” bhowe@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 25

9.18–9.25

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

MUMU FRESH

Maimouna Youssef, who also goes by Mumu Fresh, has long explored her heritage through music, drawing from the influence of her African-American Muslim parents and Choctaw and Muscogee grandparents. The title track of 2011’s The Blooming is a rich pastiche of early hip-hop that includes sampled schoolyard chants, turntablism, spitfire verses, and polyrhythms. She began her 2018 Tiny Desk Concert by performing a traditional serenade in the Lakota language.

Her steady voice glides adeptly from jazz to soul to gospel, earning her a diverse set of collaborators, including Common and Femi Kuti. As part of Duke Performances’ “Building Bridges: Muslims in America” series, Youssef will undertake a three-day residency that explores her early life and its impact on her identity. Saturday’s concert is rounded out with a free lunchtime talk, also at The Pinhook, on Friday. —Josephine McRobbie THE PINHOOK, DURHAM 8 p.m., $25, www.dukeperformances.duke.edu 26 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

Mumu Fresh

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE PERFORMANCES

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

MANDOLIN ORANGE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

Mandolin Orange is more than just an amusing play on words. It’s a captivating tribute to traditional Southern music. The Americana duo of Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz released their sixth record, Tides of a Teardrop, this February on Hillsborough’s Yep Roc Records. They performed stripped-back renditions of two of their new songs, “Golden Ember” and “The Wolves,” in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series in August, as well as “Wildfire” from their previous record, Blindfaller. Marlin, Frantz, and their touring band—keyboardist and guitarist Josh Oliver, bassist Clint Mullican, and drummer Joe Westerlund—will play at Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Saturday night. Folk trio Mountain Man—Alexandra Sauser-Monnig (Daughter of Swords), Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso), and Molly Sarlé (see page 18)—will open. Earlier this year, they released a collection of John Denver covers, a follow-up to their enchanting album Magic Ship, which was one of the INDY’s top twenty albums of 2018. —Sam Haw

JAY LENO

KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE, CARY 8 p.m., $30–$45, www.boothamphitheatre.com

DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DURHAM 8 p.m., $55+, www.dpacnc.com

Does your dad love Jay Leno? Does your grandma love Jay Leno? Do you take comfort in knowing that Jay Leno’s twenty-two years on NBC are still short of the thirty that Johnny Carson had? Do you realize that an entire generation knows only Leno, and not Johnny Carson, as the Tonight Show host? Do you watch Jay Leno’s Garage? Do you sometimes find yourself thinking it’s not bad? Are you an unapologetic fan of Leno’s shtick, controversy around getting The Tonight Show over David Letterman and getting it back from Conan O’Brien aside? Do you feel mean for writing a snarky blurb about a comedian whose major crime is being an inoffensive, pragmatic businessman instead of being edgy and groundbreaking? Please go over your answers to the preceding questions and give yourself one point for every “Yes.” If you score more than five, you should attend the following event. Thank you. —Zack Smith

Rhiannon Giddens PHOTO COURTESY OF NONESUCH RECORDS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

RHIANNON GIDDENS WITH FRANCESCO TURRISI

For local folks that have followed MacArthur fellow and Greensboro native Rhiannon Giddens since her early days in the Grammy-winning AfricanAmerican string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, it was always easy to see that she was a star. Giddens shone brightest, though, when she sang alone, a capella, or was backed by the simplest and sparsest of arrangements, her raw vocal talent simply blowing crowds away. On There Is No Other—this year’s collaboration with jazz multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi—Giddens’s golden pipes are graced by subtle accompaniment from her arsenal of strings and Turrisi’s piano and percussion, with mesmerizing results. While the pair explores connections between early American banjo and the musical traditions of Turrisi’s Italian heritage, expect the duo’s NCMA performance to incorporate an array of multicultural perspectives, from operatic pieces to the African and Celtic influences of American roots music. —Spencer Griffith NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART, RALEIGH 7:30 p.m., $32–$45, www.ncartmuseum.org

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

Your Week.

Every Wednesday.

THE CARRACK’S FINAL WEEKEND AT THE CARRACK (P. 24), AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL AT THE RUBY (P. 36), NATIVE SON AT PAUL GREEN THEATRE (P. 23), PRICELESS: THE MUSIC OF FLORENCE PRICE AT BALDWIN AUDITORIUM (P. 22), RUBIES AT FLETCHER OPERA THEATER (P. 35), MAB SEGREST AT THE REGULATOR (P. 34), SHE WHO TELLS A STORY AT THE ACKLAND (P. 33), WHITNEY AT CAT’S CRADLE (P. 21) INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 27

Chocolate Lounge & Juice Bar

Wed 9/18 Fri 9/20 Sat 9/21 Fri 9/27 Sat 10/5 Fri 10/18

FR 9/27 @ CAT’S CRADLE

THIS SATURDAY 9/21!

W/THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE

@ KOKA BOOTH AMPITHEATRE

RIDE

Free wine tasting 5-7pm DOTWAV Media Slow Down for Poetry Diana Milz Paul Bogas Marc Kennedy

Music Performed from 6pm to 10pm Beer & Wine Served Daily Timberlyne Shopping Center, Chapel Hill 1129 Weaver Dairy Rd • specialtreatsnc.com

TH 9/19 @ CAT’S CRADLE

SNOW THA PRODUCT

MANDOLIN ORANGE

WE 9/18 TINARIWEN ($30/$33)

W/ LONNIE HOLLEY

TH 9/19 SNOW THA PRODUCT W/

CASTRO ESCOBAR, JANDRO, JAMES ELIZABETH, 3 AM SOUND, ROWDY & NIGHTSHIFT, P3. ($20/$23)

FR 9/20 @ CAT’S CRADLE BACKROOM

DESTROY BOYS

SA 9/21 WHITNEY W/ HAND HABITS

WE 9/25 @ ARTSCENTER

TH 9/26 THE MOTET W/ MELLOW SWELLS

9/19

FRI

9/20

SA 9/28 ABBEY ROAD LIVE! ( 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF "ABBEY ROAD" )

Crank It Loud Presents: Ones to Watch Presents

SU 9.29 CARRBORO MUSIC FESTIVAL (FREE SHOW, 4 PM -MIDNIGHT) TU 10/1 MT JOY W/ SUSTO

FLOR

Joan / lostboycrow 9/21

SAT

9/21

SCHOOL OF ROCK WAKE FOREST

Olivia Neutron-John

SA 9/28 ELLIS DYSON & THE SHAMBLES / NOAH ADAMS & THE LOUISIANA NATIVES ( FREE SHOW/ CMF KICKOFF)

MO 10/7 LUNA PERFORMS PENTHOUSE W/ OLDEN YOLK

SA 11/16 GAELIC STORM

SU 9/29: CARRBORO MUSIC FESTIVAL HIP HOP STAGE

TH 10/10 WITT LOWRY W/ XUITCASECITY ($16/$18)

Season Showcase featuring The Police and Modern Rock

BOY HARSHER

SU 10/6 BUILT TO SPILL

FR 11/15 ALLAH-LAS W/ TIM HILL ($17/$20)

SA 10/5 ELECTRIC SIX

Crank/Itlostboycrow Loud Presents: Ones to Watch Presents Joan

FLOR

SAT

BOY HARSHER

SA 10/12 LANGHORNE SLIM

WE 11/27: LA DISPUTE, TOUCHE

WE 10/16 MELVINS/ REDD KROSS

W/TOSHI KASAI

TH 10/17 WATCH WHAT CRAPPENS ($25/$28)

W/BAYONNE

THIS WILD LIFE

SA 10/19 MOONCHILD ($22/$25)

The Happy Fits / Rome Hero Foxes

THIS WILD LIFE

SOLD OUTSU 10/20

MON

9/23

sings “Hey Good Lookin’” by Hank Williams Sr and a mash up of “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons

THU

RIVER WHYLESS

FRI

THE ART OF COOL FESTIVAL 2019

9/26 9/27 SAT

Lowland Hum

9/29

MON

9/30

WE 10/23 ADHOC PRESENTS: OH

Cats Cradle Presents

GENERATIONALS Neighbor Lady

COMING SOON: The Way Down Wanders, Sheer Mag, Kero Kero Bonito, Team Dresch, White Denim, Blackalicious, Warbringer, Lucky Daye, Sonata Arctica, (Sandy) Alex G, The Allusionist, Griffin House, Fleetmac Wood, Russian Circles, Superchunk, Nile, Leftover Crack, The Japanese House, TR/ST, Chastity Belt, With Confidence, Fruit Bats, Com Truise, Mikal Cronin, Amigo The Devil, Phutureprimitive, an-ten-nae, Jen Kirkman, Street Corner Symphony, Over The Rhine, Gnawa LanGus, Black Atlantic

Also co-presenting at The Carolina Theatre of Durham: Criminal LIVE SHOW (on Oct 5th)

28 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

FR 12/6 OUR LAST NIGHT SA 12/7 SOUTHERN CULTURE ON

SA 12/14 THE REVEREND HORTON

HEAT, VOODOO GLOW SKULLS, THE 5678'S, DAVE ALVIN ($25/$28) TU 12/17 DAUGHTERS/HEALTH W/

SHOW ME THE BODY

01/18, 2020 AMERICAN AUTHORS AND MAGIC GIANT ( $25/$28; ON SALE 9/20)

02/1, 2020 JAWBOX

SA 10/26 KNOCKED LOOSE

02/14, 2020 THRICE, MEWITHOUTYOU, DRUG CHURCH

BIROCRATIC

( $26/$30; ON SALE 9/20)

3/14, 2020 RADICAL FACE

$10/$12

TH 9/19 KOLARS // THE SH-BOOMS

FR 11/8 THE DIP ($15/ $18) W/ ERIN &

FR 9/20 DESTROY BOYS W/FRUIT SNACK

SA 11/9 INFAMOUS

SA 9/21 THE ROCKET SUMMER W/ROYAL TEETH ($15/$17)

STRINGDUSTERS W/ KITCHEN DWELLERS TU 11/12 CURSIVE /

TH 10/10 CHARLIE PARR W/ JOSH MOORE ($15)

SU 9/22 FREE THROW W/CHRIS FARREN, YOUTH FOUNTAIN, MACSEAL ( $14/$16)

SU 11/17 EDDIEFEST HNMTF, YUNG POLVO, ELVIS DIVISION, LUD, AND MORE! ( $10) TU 11/19 ANNA TIVEL & MAYA DEVITRY WE 11/20 KING BUFFALO ($10) SU 11/24: BEACH BUNNY W/ ANOTHER MICHAEL SOLD TH 12/5 JUMP LITTLE CHILDREN OUT

SU 2/23/20 SLOAN ($25)

ARTSCENTER (CARRBORO) TU 9/24 BOB MOULD (SOLO) W/ WILL JOHNSON WE 9/25 HOLLY BOWLING FR 10/25 JONATHAN WILSON W/ THE DEAD TONGUES ($20/$22 ) TH 11/14 ROBYN HITCHCOCK (SOLO) WE 11/20 SAN FERMIN ($18/$20)

FR 10/11 HANK, PATTIE & THE CURRENT

SA11/30 DAUGHTER OF SWORDS $15,ONSALE9/20

SA 10/12 O'BROTHER W/ THE END OF THE OCEAN AND HOLY FAWN ($14/$16)

LOCAL 506 TH 10/17 THE DISTRICTS ( $15/$18)

TU 10/15 MIKE WATT & THE MISSINGMEN ($15)

KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE (CARY) SA 9/21 MANDOLIN ORANGE W/MOUNTAIN MAN

WE 10/16 THE CACTUS BLOSSOMS W/ ESTHER ROSE ($15) FRI 10/18: SWERVEDRIVER W/MILLY SA 10/19 JOHN HOWIE JR & ROSEWOOD BLUFF W/DYLAN EARL AND SEVERED FINGERS WE 10/23 CITY OF THE SUN W/ OLD SEA BRIGADE TH 10/24 DRIFTWOOD

TU 29 FUTURE TEENS W/CALICOCO

FR/SA 11/1 & 2 (TWO SHOWS, FRIDAY AND SOLD SATURDAY) BILLY STRINGS T

THE WILDFIRE

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SA 10/26 CAT CLYDE W/JAMIE DRAKE ($12/$15)

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FR 10/25 HOVVDY, KEVIN KRAUTER, AND CAROLINE SAYS ( $12/$14)

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FR 10/25 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

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TH 12/12 TWIN PEAKS W/ LALA LALA AND OHMME

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SU 11/17 ADHOC PRESENTS: CRUMB W/ DIVINO NIÑO, SHORMEY ($20) MO 11/25 NEW FOUND GLORY W/HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, FREE THROW, JETTY BONES ($27 / $32)

FR 10/18 RA RA RIOT ($17/$19)

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TH 11/14: TURNOVER/ MEN I TRUST

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FR 9/20: THE FAB FOUR AT 55: A LOCAL ALL-STAR TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES ($10)

THU

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WE 10/30 JOAN SHELLEY W/JAKE XERXES FUSSELL ($15/$17) TU 11/5 THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE W/ HARMONY WOODS ( $15) WE 11/6 YOKE LORE TH 11/7 BLUE CACTUS ($12/$15)

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WE 11/13 KIKAGAKU MOYO W/ MINAMI DEUTSCH ($15/$17)

FR 9/27 LESLIE STEVENS W/MICHAEL MCARTHUR ($10/$12)

SA 11/16 THE BLAZERS ‘HOW TO ROCK’ REUNION

FR 11/15 BLACK MIDI ($13)

WE 10/16 WILCO W/SOCCER MOMMY CAROLINA THEATRE (DUR) TH 9/26 JOSH RITTER & THE ROYAL CITY BAND W/ SPECIAL GUEST AMANDA SHIRES MOTORCO (DUR) SU 9/29 THE REGRETTES ($15) MO 9/30 GENERATIONALS W/NEIGHBOR LADY WE 10/23 THE ALLUSIONIST ($25/$28) TU 11/12 TR/ST NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART WE 9/25 RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI THE RITZ (RAL) (PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION W/ LIVENATION)

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9.18–9.25 WED, SEP 18 CAT’S CRADLE Tinariwen, Lonnie Holley; $30-$33. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE The Brothers Gillespie, Slark Moan; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE Diamond Creek; $5. 5:45 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Agent Orange, The Turbo Acs, Queen City Rejects, Poison Anthem, Ghost OSN; $12-$15. 8 p.m.

THU, SEP 19 CAROLINA THEATRE

Judy Collins

NIGHTLIGHT Ben Paley; 10:23 p.m.

[$40+, 8 P.M.]

THE PINHOOK The Muslims, Church Girls, M is We; $10. 8 p.m.

The phrase “she could sing the phone book” comes to mind regarding versatile vocalist Judy

music SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 & SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

HARRY CONNICK JR. Collins. Despite making her name as a folk and pop icon, Collins delivers whether she’s singing show tunes or rock classics, and her exquisite song selections make her truly special. Michael McArthur opens this show, but watch for dates this fall where locals Chatham County Line join Collins, following the release of a collaborative album recorded earlier this year. —Spencer Griffith CAT’S CRADLE Snow Tha Product; $20-$23. 8 p.m.

Grammy and Emmy-award winning musican Harry Connick Jr. has sold more than a million albums.

Now, the fifty-two-year-old jazz singer and pianist sets his sights on the catalog of the prolific composer Cole Porter, who died in 1964, and whose swoony hits include “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love),” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You,” among many others. The world premiere of a preBroadway version of Harry Connick Jr.—A Celebration of Cole Porter will take place at DPAC, and will feature a multimedia presentation of Porter’s work, with scenic design by Beowulf Boritt and Alex Bistler.

—Sarah Edwards DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DURHAM 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Sat./1 p.m. Sun., $40+ www.dpacnc.com

Harry Connick Jr. PHOTO COURTESY DPAC INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 29

SAT, SEP 21 THE ARTSCENTER Alice Gerrard, Allison de Groot, Tatiana Hargreaves; $15. 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE Whitney, Hand Habits; $25-$28. 8:30 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM The Rocket Summer, Royal Teeth; $15-$17. 8:30 p.m.

THE CAVE Sonic Afternoon, Emotion In General; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

KINGS

De La Noche [$10-$12, 9 P.M.]

Kim So Ra performs at The ArtsCenter on Sunday, September 22. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTSCENTER CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM KOLARS, The Sh-Booms; $12-$15. 8:30 p.m.

MOTORCO Tameca Jones; $10$12. 8 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT Ravary, Minor Poet, Sammi Lanzetta; 9 p.m.

THE NIGHT RIDER Ins Kino, Nogenre, DNL; $5 suggested. 8 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Local Band Local Beer: Them, Motorbilly, Born Again Heathens; $5. 9 p.m.

THE RITZ Alter Bridge, 10 Years, Dirty Honey; $30. 8 p.m.

RUBENSTEIN ARTS CENTER

Ambrose Akinmusire [$25, 8 P.M.] Last year’s Origami Harvest is Ambrose Akinmusire’s response to two arts curators who requested the jazz composer/trumpeter’s “craziest idea,” which apparently involved elegant chamber strings mashed against hip-hop

rhymes and funky rhythms spiked with bouts of free improvisation and spoken word.

The challenging, avant-garde work reflects America’s state of sociopolitical chaos—“Free, White and 21” recites the names of black lives killed by law enforcement, interspersed with shouts from a gospel hymn. —Spencer Griffith SLIM’S Night Battles, Sunnyslopes, Winfield; $5. 9 p.m.

WALNUT CREEK

Meek Mill [$50+, 7 P.M.]

Newly signed Roc Nation Management artist and “Hot Girl Summer” hero Megan Thee Stallion joins Meek Mill and Future—two bustling hot boys in their own right—for this “Legendary Nights” tour date where the Big Ole Freaks, Dreamchasers, and Young Metro trusties convene. And

since Bompton-raised rapper YG will also be in the mix, you are obligated to honor the mandatory hard bottoms and white socks dress code.

—Eric Tullis

LINCOLN THEATRE Black Uhuru; $23-$33. 9 p.m.

FRI, SEP 20

Motorco flor, Joan, lostboycrow; $18-$20. 7:30 p.m.

BLUE NOTE GRILL Mojo Collins; $10. 9 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE The Fab Four at 55: Across the Universe; $10. 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM Destroy Boys, Fruit Snack; $10. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE Hi-Dive, Wayne Jetski; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

DURHAM CENTRAL PARK Les Filles de Illighadad, Diali Cissokho; Free. 7 p.m.

IMURJ The Emo Band; $10-$13. 8 p.m.

LOCAL 506 Olivia Gatwood; $15-$17 8 p.m.

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL NC Symphony; 12 p.m.

POUR HOUSE CBDB, Groove Fetish; $10-$12. 9 p.m.

RHYTHMS LIVE On the Border; $20. 8 p.m.

THE RITZ Tesla, Morano, Bad Marriage; $35. 8 p.m.

SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS RALEIGH M.C. Taylor; 6:30 p.m.

SHARP NINE GALLERY The Atomic Mr. Basie Guitar Trio; $20. 8 p.m.

SLIM’S Jphono1 & Loblolly Boogie Band, Bryce Randall Bickford; $5. 9 p.m.

THE KRAKEN Magnolia Collective, Pale Horse; 9 p.m.

De La Noche, the latest project led by Ivan Howard (The Rosebuds, Gayngs), wasn’t initially led by Ivan Howard: The disco-kissed soft-rock dreams on debut album Blue Days, Black Nights were written and recorded by Robert Rogan and Brian Weeks, two longtime Howard pals from Wilmington, before the singer was enlisted.

It’s a smooth yet exhilarating listen that lingers on some nighttime breezeway between Bon Iver and Sade. With Toothsome and Vaxxers.

—Brian Howe KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE Mandolin Orange, Mountain Man; $30-$45. 8 p.m.

THE KRAKEN Matty Sheets, Pete Pawsey, Laura Jane Vincent; 8 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE David Allan Coe; $20-$30. 8 p.m.

LOCAL 506 Kayo Dot, Escaping Aghartha; $10-$12. 9 p.m.

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL

NC Symphony [$44+, 8 P.M.]

Grant Llewellyn’s final season as music director of the North Carolina Symphony begins, appropriately enough, with music from the Welsh composer Grace Williams.

Her Sea Sketches for string orchestra is darting, vivacious, and remarkably chipper despite having been written in 1944. Also on the program is Poulenc’s Concerto for Two

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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30 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

Pianos (a neoclassical farce worthy of Monsieur Hulot) and Elgar’s lumbering, obvious Enigma Variations. —Dan Ruccia MOTORCO Boy Harsher, Olivia Neutron-John; $13-$15. 10 p.m.

THE PINHOOK Building Bridges: Muslims in America: Mumu Fresh; $25. 8 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Groove In The Garden; $11-$20. 2 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Travers Brothership, Litte Bird; $12-$15. 9 p.m.

RED HAT AMPHITHEATER NF; $27+. 8 p.m.

SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS RALEIGH The Time Framed; 7 p.m.

SHARP NINE GALLERY Ron Brendle Quartet; $20. 8 p.m.

SLIM’S Bridesmaid, Rebreather, Aittala; $7. 9 p.m.

THE STATION SunSp.t Album Release with AZULZ, Phat Lip; 8 p.m.

SUN, SEP 22 ARCANA Reese McHenry, Sun Studies; 8 p.m.

THE ARTSCENTER

Kim So Ra [$22, 8 P.M.]

Kim So Ra is a master of the janggu, a double-headed Korean drum whose history goes back at least one thousand years. On this, her first tour of the U.S., she is presenting “A Sign of Rain,” featuring a quartet of Korean instrumentalists playing flickering melodies and complex, layered percussion patterns. —Dan Ruccia CAROLINA THEATRE The Mavericks; $38+. 8 p.m.

CAT’S CRADLE BACK ROOM Free Throw, Chris Farren, Youth Fountain, Macseal; $14-$16.

8 p.m.

DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Harry Connick, Jr.; $50+. 1 p.m.

KINGS Josh A x Jake Hill, Darko, Jordanxbell; $15+. 7 p.m.

LINCOLN THEATRE Afton Music Showcase; 6:30 p.m.

3210 YONKERS RD | 919.250.9826 | MENSCLUBRALEIGH.COM Daniel Bachman plays alongside Yasmin Williams and Michael Daves at “Alternate Tunings,” a thirtieth-anniversary celebration of the Southern Folklife collection, on Monday, September 23. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST LOCAL 506 Jimbo Mathus’ Incinerator; $15. 8 p.m.

THE MAYWOOD Cerebral Rot, Fetid, Priapus, Pathogenesis; $10.

9 p.m.

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL NC Symphony; 8 p.m.

MOTORCO This Wild Life, The Happy Fits, Rome Hero Foxes; $16$18. 7:30 p.m.

NEPTUNES PARLOUR Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster; $10-$12. 8:30 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Beatlesque; $8-$10. 2 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Jesse Dayton; $10-$12. 8:30 p.m.

SLIM’S Girls on Grass, Charles Latham; $5. 8 p.m.

MON, SEP 23 THE CAVE Dany Laj and the Looks; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

MOTORCO Flash Chorus Sings Hank Williams, Lil Nas X, and Imagine Dragons; $7-$10. 7 p.m.

NIGHTLIGHT The Cradle, Julia Santoli, Secret Boyfriend, Parasite; $8. 9 p.m.

DUKE COFFEEHOUSE Bitchin Bajas, Triple X Snaxxx, Bowles/ Bowne/Wagg; $5. 9 p.m.

POUR HOUSE Coast 2 Coast Live Interactive Showcase; 9 p.m.

LOCAL 506 Dude York, Goddamn Wolves; $10-$12. 8 p.m.

SOUTHERN FOLKLORE COLLECTION

THE RITZ Catfish and the Bottlemen, July Talk; $30. 8 p.m.

[FREE, 7:30 P.M.]

SHARP NINE GALLERY NC Jazz Repertory Orchestra; $20. 8 p.m.

TUE, SEP 24 THE ARTSCENTER Bob Mould, Will Johnson; $20-$23. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE Lex the Lexicon Artist, Super Smack, D&D Sluggers; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

ATTORNEY AT LAW Un c o n t e s t e d Di vo rc e

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NIGHTLIGHT Parsnip, Desert Secretary; $10. 9 p.m.

Alternate Tunings To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC, the archive hosts a night of solo guitar performances. Folk and bluegrass innovators Yasmin Williams, Daniel Bachman, and Michael Daves are a fitting set of ambassadors to celebrate the collection’s vast holdings of Southern vernacular music and culture. —Josephine McRobbie

BILL BURTON

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bill.burton.lawyer@gmail.com

WED, SEP 25 THE ARTSCENTER Holly Bowling; $20-$23. 8 p.m.

THE CAVE Upward Dogs; $5 suggested. 9 p.m.

KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE Johnny Folsom 4; $5. 5 45 PM LOCAL 506 Secrets, 13:7; $13-$16.

6:30 p.m.

NC MUSEUM OF ART Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi; $35-$45. 7:30 p.m.

OUR 2019-2020 PERFORMANCE SEASON IS HERE! SAT 9/21 SUN 9/22 TH 9/26 10/ 3, 4, 6 SUN 10/13 FRI 10/13

ALICE GERRARD, ALLISON DE GROOT AND TATIANA HARGREAVES

9.18

NO SHAME THEATRE – CARRBORO KIM SO RA: A SIGN OF RAIN

9.19

POPUP CHORUS (ELTON JOHN)

9.21

MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL BOMBINO AND VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ: SONS OF THE SAHARA SUSAN WERNER

9.22

Get tickets at artscenterlive.org

Follow us: @artscenterlive • 300-G East Main St., Carrboro, NC

9.23 9.24

Stuart Gibbs Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation 7pm Paul Tillery IV—Thundercluck! Chicken of Thor: Recipe of Revenge 7pm Randall Munroe How To 7pm NCSU’s Hunt Library SOLD OUT Max Brallier The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade 6pm John Balaban Empires 3pm Piedmont Laureate Presents: A Chat with Thomas Goldsmith Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown: The Making of an American Classic 7pm Middle Grade Authors Ali Standish and Scott Reintgen 7pm www.quailridgebooks.com • 919.828.1588 • North Hills 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST: BOOKIN’ w/Jason Jefferies

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On view through January 12, 2020 Mirror Shield Project. Conceived by artist Cannupa Hanska Luger. Drone image still by Rory Wakemup. Oceti Sakowin Camp, 2016. A special thank you to Jack Becker from Forecast Public Art and Rory Wakemup at All My Relations Arts in Minneapolis, MN, for helping bring over 500 Mirror Shields to Standing Rock, ND. Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. The exhibition is co-curated by independent curator Candice Hopkins (Tlingit, citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation in the Canadian territory, Yukon), Mindy Besaw, curator of American art at Crystal Bridges, and Manuela Well-Off-Man, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Support for this exhibition and its national tour is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Sotheby’s Prize.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. This exhibition has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

At the Nasher Museum, this exhibition is made possible by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, with additional support from The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Fund for Exhibitions. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.

nasher.duke.edu/voices

art

9.18–9.25

submit! Got something for our calendar? Submit the details at:

indyweek.com/submit#cals DEADLINE: 5 p.m. each Wednesday for the following Wednesday’s issue.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20–SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1

SHE WHO TELLS A STORY

A woman and a man in wedding garb sit in a burned-out car as tanks lurk in the hills behind them. Another woman reclines amid shimmering opulence made of stitched-together bullet casings. Still another stares straight ahead, hand on heart, with Farsi characters scrolling across her face and arms. These are among more than eighty arresting images in She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World. Through the eyes of a dozen female photographers working in areas from portraiture to documentary, including Lalla Essaydi (whose bullet-casing work you might have seen at 21c Museum Hotel) and photojournalist Newsha Tavakolian, we freshly perceive a complex, misunderstood, and shifting region. The exhibit rebukes Western clichés, particularly the idea of women’s powerlessness. Though it comes to Chapel Hill from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, it dovetails with The Ackland’s new initiative to build its Islamic art collection, and a small adjunct exhibit showcases seven recent purchases, including calligraphic manuscripts and textiles, dating from between the eighth and seventeenth centuries. —Brian Howe

THE ACKLAND ART MUSEUM, CHAPEL HILL Various times, free, www.ackland.org

“Untitled #5” by Gohar Dashti PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ACKLAND ART MUSEUM

OPENING

ONGOING

The Atomic Photographers Guild: Nuclear Visions Photography. Sep 20-Oct 31.

UNC’s Hanes Art Center, Chapel Hill. art.unc.edu.

5 Points Gallery Grand Opening Exhibit Group show.

Thru Oct 1. 5 Points Gallery, Durham. 5pointsgallery.com.

Fahamu Pecou: DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual, Resistance Sep 19-Nov 21. Reception: Sep 19, 7 p.m. UNC’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center, Chapel Hill. stonecenter.unc.edu.

Katherine Armacost, Nikki Blair, Natalie Boorman, Peg Gignoux, Linda Prager & Carol Retsch-Bogart Group show.

Thru Oct 5. FRANK Gallery, Chapel HIll. Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now Contemporary Indigenous art.

Thru Jan 12. Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. nasher.duke.edu.

Bill Brown, Jerstin Crosby, Sabine Gruffat, George Jenne, Lindsay Metivier, Alyssa Miserendino, Travis Phillips, Rachele Riley, Derek Toomes, Louis Watts: Another Potato Chip Weekend Group show.

Thru Oct 13. Oneoneone, Chapel Hill. oneoneone.gallery.

The Carrack’s Final Community Show Thru Sep 21. The Carrack Modern Art, Durham. thecarrack.org.

Kennedi Carter: Godchild Thru Jan 31. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com.

INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 33

arts

page

CO NT’D

Cary Gallery of Artists: All Creatures Great and Small Thru Sep 24. Cary Gallery of Artists, Cary. carygalleryofartists.org.

José Manuel Cruz: COLORICAN Various media.

Thru Oct 11. NCCU Art Museum, Durham.

José Manuel Cruz: Urban Cultural Footprints Thru Oct 31. Triangle Cultural Art Gallery, Raleigh. triangleculturalart.com.

Empirical Evidence Group show. Thru Sep 30. Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro.

Fantastic Fauna-Chimeric Creatures Thru Jan 26. Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Raleigh. gregg.arts.ncsu.edu.

Feels Warm, Like Things Burning Group show. Thru Oct 26. Lump, Raleigh. lumpprojects.org.

Ode to the Rainbow: Serigraphs

by Joseph Albers (1888-1976) Thru Sep 28. Gallery C, Raleigh.

Portraying Power and Identity: A Global Perspective Thru Jan 31. 21c Museum Hotel, Durham.

21cmuseumhotels.com.

V L Rees: Seems Like Home Thru Sep 21. V L Rees Gallery, Raleigh. vlrees.com.

Noah Saterstrom: Faces Paintings. Thru Sep 29. Horse & Buggy Press and Friends, Durham. horseandbuggypress.com.

Nicole Simpkins: Giving What Takes Drawing and printmaking.

Thru Sep 28. Artspace, Raleigh.

Raymond Goodman: Burlap Photography. Thru Oct 3. Smelt Art Gallery, Pittsboro.

Lolette Guthrie, Alice Levinson, & Pringle Teetor: Speaking in Colors Group show.

Thru Sep 22. Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Hillsborough.

Southern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off Interactive sculptures. Thru Oct 31. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Harriet Hoover, Vanessa Murray, Rusty Shackleford Thru Jan 5. Oneoneone, Chapel Hill. oneoneone.gallery.

Damian Stamer: Unseen Watercolors and works on paper. Thru Nov 2. Craven Allen Gallery, Durham. cravenallengallery.com.

Jim Kellough: Vine Paintings Thru Oct 10. Durham Convention Center, Durham. durhamarts.org.

Andrew Kozlowski: Dark Days Prints and more. Thru Oct 26.

Artspace, Raleigh. artspacenc.org.

Vanessa Murray: Transmutations Paint and experimental media. Thru Sep 28. Artspace, Raleigh. artspacenc.org.

Frank Myers: Strolling Through Durham Photos.

Thru Sep 30. 5 Points Gallery, Durham. 5pointsgallery.com.

New Orleans Second Line Parades Photos. Thru Dec 31. Love House and Hutchins Forum, Chapel HIll. southerncultures.org.

34 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

MAB SEGREST

The Regulator celebrates the reissue of white anti-racist activist and professor Mag Segrest’s Lambda Literary Award-winning 1994 autobiography, Memoirs of a Race Traitor: Fighting Racism in the American South. The reprint, published by The New Press, includes an updated introduction and afterword to reflect the white nationalism of the Trump era. In Memoirs of a Race Traitor, Segrest covers a wide ground, ranging from her racialized Alabama childhood to the 1979 Greensboro Massacre and organizing to expel the Klan from North Carolina.

Segrest, a lesbian, ties her activism to coming out and finding community with “the ‘political dykes’ in Durham,” and in one timeless queer aside, Segrest recounts her friends insisting that personal challenges in her late twenties could be explained by her astrological “Saturn Cycle.” Following the reading, Christina DavisMcCoy, a longtime North Carolina community organizer and former executive director for the North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence, joins Segrest in conversation.

—Coco Wilder

QuiltSpeak: Uncovering Women’s Voices Through Quilts Thru Mar 8. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. ncmuseumofhistory.org.

Southbound: Photographs of and about the New South Photography. Thru Dec 21.

Power Plant Gallery, Durham. powerplantgallery.com.

John James Audubon: The Birds of America Ornithological engravings. Thru Dec 31.

NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

Leigh Suggs: No One Ever Makes a Promise in a Dream Thru Nov 3. Reception: Sep 13, 6-8 p.m. Oneoneone, Chapel Hill. oneoneone.gallery.

Cheryl Thurber: Documenting Gravel Springs, Mississippi, in the 1970s Photos. Thru Mar 31. UNC’s Wilson Special Collections Library, Chapel HIll. Allison Tierney: A Matter of Form Paintings. Thru Sep 30. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro. artscenterlive.org.

Nicole Uzzell: Landscraping Mixed media and sculpture.

Thru Sep 30. Meredith College: Gaddy-Hamrick Art Center, Raleigh. meredith.edu.

Jan-Ru Wan: You thought you are the center of the universe Found objects. Thru Oct 5. VAE Raleigh, Raleigh. vaeraleigh.org.

What in the World Is a Grain Mummy? Egyptology and art.

Thru Jan 8. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

THE REGULATOR BOOKSHOP, DURHAM 7 p.m., free, www.regulatorbookshop.com

READINGS & SIGNINGS John Balaban Empires.

Sun, Sep 22, 3 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Max Brallier The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade. Sat, Sep 21, 6 p.m.

Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Stuart Gibbs Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation.

Wed, Sep 18, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Dan Kois How to Be a Family: The Year I Dragged My Kids Around the World to Find a New Way to Be Together. Wed, Sep 25, 7 p.m. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

William Krueger Novel This Tender Land. Wed, Sep 25, 6:30 p.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Paul Tillery IV Children’s book Thundercluck! Thu, Sep 19, 7 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Kelly Starling Lyons Children’s book Sing a Song. Mon, Sep 23, 6 p.m.

Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com.

Cadwell Turnbull Novel The Lesson. Thu, Sep 19, 7 p.m.

Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill. flyleafbooks.com. — Sat, Sep 21, 11 a.m. McIntyre’s Books, Pittsboro. mcintyresbooks.com.

Nager Mottahedeh Whisper Tapes: Kate Millett in Iran. Thu, Sep 19, 7 p.m.

Regulator Bookshop, Durham. regulatorbookshop.com.

Christina Proenza-Coles American Founders: How People of African Descent Established Freedom in the New World. Wed, Sep 25, 7 p.m.

Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh. quailridgebooks.com.

Haider Warraich State of the Heart: Exploring the History, Science, and Future of Cardiac Disease. Wed, Sep 18, 7 p.m.

Regulator Bookshop, Durham. regulatorbookshop.com.

LECTURES, ETC. Southern Summit on Philanthropy and the Academy Full schedule online. Sep 9-20.

UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill. documentarystudies.duke.edu.

Imam Omar Suleiman: Human Rights, Faith, and the Border Duke’s Richard White Auditorium, Durham.

stage THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

RUBIES

When George Balanchine created his abstract ballet Jewels, he imbued each of the acts—“Emeralds,” “Rubies,” and “Diamonds”—with a specific style.

Carolina Ballet is kicking off its twenty-first season with the sassiest of those acts, opening the curtain on 2019-20 with “Rubies,” a thrilling mix of striking, sensual lines, crisp angles, and lightning-fast footwork set to Igor Stravinsky’s “Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra.” The only work by the oft-nicknamed “Father of American Ballet” on the company’s docket this year, it’s the perfect bite-size Balanchine. Key hallmarks of the choreographer include quick, jazzy steps and syncopated rhythms, and the piece showcases both with white-hot energy. Plus, a trio of other works will also be performed, including a new creation by Robert Weiss and Zalman Raffael set to music by Shinji Eshima; Weiss’s “Meditation from Thais” pas de deux; and Weiss’s Classical Ballet, which is set to a lively Prokofiev piece. — Rachel Pittman

FLETCHER OPERA THEATER, RALEIGH Various times, $36+, www.carolinaballet.com

Rubies PHOTO BY RACHEL NEVILLE PHOTOGRAPHY

OPENING Chingo Bling Comedy. $25-$35. Thu, Sep 19, 8 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh. goodnightscomedy.com.

Samuel Comroe Comedy. $20.

Sep 20-22. Fri: 7 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. Sat: 6:30 p.m. & 9 p.m.

Sun: 7 p.m. Raleigh Improv, Raleigh. improv.com/raleigh.

Lilith Flair Drag. $5.

Wed, Sep 25, 9 p.m.

Ruby Deluxe, Raleigh. rubydeluxeraleigh.com.

Sweet Mama Stringbean: The Life and Times of Ethel Waters Musical. $20-$25.

Sep 19-20, 7:30 p.m. Hayti Heritage Center, Durham. hayti.org.

John Witherspoon Comedy.

Sep 20-22. Fri-Sat: 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. Sun: 7 p.m. Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh goodnightscomedy.com.

ONGOING The Dangling Loafer Comedy. $7. Fri, Sep 20, 8 p.m. Kings Raleigh. kingsraleigh.com.

Inherit the Wind Justice Theater Project. Thru Sep 29. Umstead Park United Church of Christ, Raleigh. thejusticetheaterproject.org.

The Metromaniacs Honest Pint Theatre. Play. Regional premiere. Thru Sep 29.

North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre, Raleigh. honestpinttheatre.org.

Paperhand Puppet Intervention: We Are Here Puppetry. $20 suggested. Sep 20-22. Fri-Sat: 7 p.m. Sun: 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.

UNC’s Forest Theatre, Chapel Hill. paperhand.org.

Native Son Play. $15+. Thru Sep 29. UNC’s Paul Green Theatre, Chapel Hill. playmakersrep.org.

Six Pack Standup Show Comedy. $5. Wed, Sep 18, 7:45 p.m. North Street Beer Station, Raleigh.

FOR OUR COMPLETE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

INDYWEEK.COM

INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 35

screen SPECIAL SHOWINGS Ash is Purest White Thu, Sep 19, 7 p.m. Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham The Hate U Give $7. Fri, Sep 20, 8:30 p.m. NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Lifeforce Wed, Sep 25, 9 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

Putney Swope Wed, Sep 18, 8 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

Roma $7. Sat, Sep 21, 8:30 p.m.

NC Museum of Art, Raleigh. ncartmuseum.org.

Talk to Her Mon, Sep 23, 7:30 p.m. Alamo Drafthouse, Raleigh. drafthouse.com/raleigh.

That Night in Rio $7. Wed, Sep 18, 7 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

To Be or Not To Be & I Married a Witch $10. Fri, Sep 20, 7 p.m.

Carolina Theatre, Durham. carolinatheatre.org.

OPENING Ad Astra—A tortured Brad Pitt traverses the solar system in search of his lost father. Rated PG-13.

Downton Abbey— King George V and Queen Mary pay a visit to the abbey and cause a flurry of activity in this spin-off of the television series. Rated PG. Rambo: Last Blood—Rambo rescues a friend’s daughter from a drug cartel (expect guts, expect gore). Rated R.

N OW P L AY I N G The INDY uses a five-star rating scale. Unstarred films have not been reviewed by our writers.  After the Wedding— Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams outshine the script, in this gender-flipped remake of the 2006 Danish drama. Rated PG-13. —Glenn McDonald ½ Angel Has Fallen— In the third installment of the Fallen franchise, secret agent Mike Banning is framed for the president’s murder. Rated R.—Neil Morris 36 | 9.18.19 | INDYweek.com

The Angry Birds Movie 2— Jason Sudekis leads a surprisingly decent film about an iPhone game. Rated PG. Blinded by the Light— Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics hold the meaning of life for a Pakistani-British teen growing up in the 1980s. Rated PG-13.

Brittany Runs a Marathon— A woman runs herself out of a rut and across the New York City Marathon finish line in this feel-good comedy. Rated R. David Crosby: Remember my Name—The Byrds singer gets his due in this rock-doc about his tumultuous road to rehabilitation and beyond.

Rated R.  Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw— The testosterone-driven repartee between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham is the only reason to endure this cartoonish, logically and temporally challenged CGI fest. Rated PG-13.—NM  The Farewell— A family travels to China to say goodbye to the family matriarch, who is dying of cancer. The twist? They feel that it’s more benevolent to not tell her she’s dying.

Rated PG. —Sarah Edwards The Goldfinch—Jezebel put it best: “Everyone already hates The Goldfinch,” which makes a pretentious muck of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer-winning novel of art and grief. Rated R. ½ Good Boys—The evolution of coming-of-age comedies is that the subjects keep getting younger. In this Superbad for tweens, a trio of sixth-grade BFFs have misadventures as they try to find the cool-kids party. The profuse profanity is cut by the kids’ infectious charm. Rated R. —NM Hustlers—Based on a true story in New York Magazine, a group of strippers hustle wealthy men during the late2000s financial crisis. Rated R. IT Chapter Two—The evil clown is back in Derry, Maine. Do we really need a movie about an evil clown when we have one sitting in office? Rated R.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL

The Screen/Society’s schedule is back in full swing this fall, regaling us with rare gems such as 2018’s An Elephant Sitting Still. Through its magnificent four hours of length, Hu Bo’s first and last feature recounts the interconnected stories of a high school student whose confrontation with a bully has an unexpected outcome, a teenage girl that escapes her abusive mother through an affair with a school official, a man who feels responsible for his friend’s suicide, and an elderly man who is displaced to a retirement home. With masterful camerawork that conveys the process of psychological isolation and the slow-building tension of despair, the film teaches us to feel the compassion that the characters deny each other. Novelist and filmmaker Hu Bo tragically died at the age of twenty-nine, soon after finishing this piece. He left us a true cinematic gift, one which is bound to become seminal for the future of film. —Marta Núñez Pouzols

THE RUBENSTEIN ARTS CENTER, DURHAM 7 p.m., free, www.ami.duke.edu

An Elephant Sitting Still PHOTO COURTESY OF KIMSTIM ½ The Lion King— Jon Favreau’s photorealistic palette is the boon and bane of Disney’s “live-action” computer rendering of an animated classic. Rated PG. —NM  Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of my Voice—Wisely, this rock-doc chooses to focus on Ronstadt’s vocal range, using it as a kind of stand-in for everything the Queen of Rock represented during the seventies and eighties: adaptability, doggedness, a certain moral clarity. Unrated.

—Sarah Edwards Maiden—The first all-female sailing crew admitted to the elite Whitbread race around the world is the subject of this inspiring biopic. Rated PG.

 Midsommar— Horror upstart Ari Aster’s latest isn’t quite as scary as his unforgettable Hereditary, but his tale of feckless American students and Swedish cultists is likewise brilliant in its treatment of trauma; it’s also a lot weirder and funnier. Rated R. —Brian Howe  Once Upon a Time In Hollywood—Quentin Tarantino portrays the late-sixties Hollywood film industry and vaguely mumbles something about the Manson family in this tedious, irrelevant exercise in bland nostalgia for a bygone era of unaccountable hypermasculinity. Rated R. — MNP

 The Peanut Butter Falcon—This heartwarming Tom-and-Huck tale features a breakout performance by Zack Gottsagen, who has Down Syndrome, and a soulful Shia LaBeouf. Rated PG-13. —GM Ready or Not—Samara Weaver plays a new bride drawn into a brutal game of hide-and-seek with her husband’s wealthy family in this class-ragey, genreblurring horror-comedythriller. Rated R.

½ Spider-Man: Far from Home—It’s a bedrock truism that a superhero story is only as good as its villain. Everyone knows this, except, evidently, the screenwriters of Far From Home. Mysterio’s motivations are entirely and conspicuously dumb. Rated PG-13. —GM  Toy Story 4—A spork’s severe ontological distress ballasts a half-daring, halfpredictable extension of a beloved animated franchise.

Rated G. —NM Where’d You Go, Bernadette— When Cate Blanchett’s titular character goes missing, it’s up to her family to unravel the mysteries of her past.

Rated PG-13.

indyclassifieds NOTICES

NOTICE TO CREDITORS HONEYCUTT

ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against ELMA JOYCE HONEYCUTT, deceased, of Wake County, NC, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before November 18, 2019, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery.

Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 21st day of August 2019. Joanne H. Gibson, Executor, 8241 Allyns Landing Way, Raleigh, NC 27615.

INDY Week: 8/21, 8/25, 9/4, 9/11, 9/16, 2019.

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EVENTS HIGH HOLIDAYS WITH KOL HASKALAH

Join us for a unique non-theistic High Holidays experience and learn more about Humanistic Judaism.

Rosh Hashanah - Sunday, Sept. 29, 7-9pm Yom Kippur / Kol Nidre - Tuesday, Oct. 8, 7-9 pm.

Niskor - Wednesday, Oct. 9, 4-5pm.

Followed by potluck break-the-fast All services at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 4907 Garrett Road, Durham Open to all. For more information: kolhaskalah.org or email khaskalah@gmail.com

FOR SALE

BODY • MIND • SPIRIT

auctions TAX SEIZURE AUCTION

Saturday, September 21st @10am 201 S. Central Ave. Locust, NC. Selling 25 Vehicles, Tractors, (7) Forklifts, Zero Turn & other Mowers, (8) Jet Skis, Boat, Trailors, Power Yard Equipment,Vehicles from 19672016 Models! www.ClassicAuctions. com 704-791-8825 ncaf5479

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Machining Equipment, Machinery, Drills, Tools Dies, Forklifts, Office Furnishings & More, Forsyth County, NC, Begins Closing 10/2 at 2pm, ironhorseauction.com, 800.997.2248, NCAL 3936

AUCTION

Auction: 15.6ac. Big Laurel gated, 4800 ft. ele. Horse friendly adjoins Nat. Forest, Purchase Knob, Cataloochee Divide. Oct 5,2019 11:00am. www.sunburstrealty.com.

147 Walnut Street, Waynesville, NC. Randy Flanigan, NCAL 6421, 7062079436/8284567376.

for sale SMART HOME INSTALLATIONS?

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919-416-0675

www.harmonygate.com holistic health TAI CHI

Traditional art of meditative movement for health, energy, relaxation, self-defense. Classes/workshops throughout the Triangle. Magic Tortoise School - Since 1979. Call Jay or Kathleen, 919-360-6419 or www.magictortoise.com

products STAY IN YOUR HOME LONGER

Gwith an American Standard WalkIn Bathtub. Receive up to $1,500 off, including a free toilet, and a lifetime warranty on the tub and installation! Call us at 1-855-393-3307 or visit www.walkintubquote.com/nc

financial STRUGGLING WITH YOUR PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT?

New relief programs can reduce your payments. Learn your options.

Good credit not necessary. Call the Helpline 888-670-5631 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Eastern) (AAN CAN)

medical DENTAL INSURANCE

from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. NOT just a discount plan, REAL coverage for 350 procedures.

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BOOK YOUR AD • EMAIL AMANDA: CLASSY@INDYWEEK.COM

deep dive EAT • DRINK • SHOP • PLAY

The INDY’s monthly neighborhood guide to all things Triangle

Coming October 16:

FIVE POINTS/GLENWOOD SOUTH For advertising opportunities, contact your ad rep or advertising@indyweek.com INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 37

CROSSWORD If you just can’t wait, check out the current week’s answer key at www.indyweek.com, and click “puzzle pages” at the bottom of our webpage.

su | do | ku

this week’s puzzle level:

© Puzzles by Pappocom

There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box.

The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered.

Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.

If you just can’t wait, check out the current week’s answer key at www.indyweek.com, and click “puzzle pages.”

Best of luck, and have fun! www.sudoku.com solution to last week’s puzzle

38 | 9.19.19 | INDYweek.com

9.18.19

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INDYweek.com | 9.18.19 | 39

HISTORY TRIVIA: •Dr. John Hope Franklin published his seminal From Slavery to Freedom on September 22, 1947. It is still considered the definite account of the African American experience.

•James Kenan, state Senator and member of UNC’s original board of trustees, was born on September 23, 1740. Several buildings on the UNC-CH campus are named for the Kenan family.

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INDY'S GUIDE TO THE TRIANGLE • ON STANDS OCTOBER 23 • RESERVE BY SEPTEMBER 16 THE INDY’S EDITORIAL GUIDE ON WHERE TO EAT WHERE TO DRINK - WHERE TO SHOP - WHAT TO DO PLUS A COMPLETE GUIDE TO CULTURE AND THE BASICS OF LIVING IN THE TRIANGLE

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