NEWS: Mass displacement strikes across Charlotte pg. 4
MUSIC: Makeda Iroquois shifts lanes, stays true pg. 10
THE REAL EPICENTER
Halal Food Cart team builds out from Trade & Tryon
BY ANNIE KEOUGH
LEWIS
dlewis@qcnerve.com
PATRICK MORAN pmoran@qcnerve.com
AD SALES EXECUTIVE
RENN WILSON rwilson@qcnerve.com
MARKETING MANAGER
ALEX KASTANAS HOLLADAY aholladay@qcnerve.com
NEWS & OPINION
4. A Tale of Two Removals by Ryan Pitkin
Mass displacement at Tanglewood Apartments and Lamplighter Inn shines light on negligent landlords
6. Lifeline
7. Soundwave
ARTS & CULTURE
8. A Musical Journey by Ryan Pitkin
‘Long December’ director talks film, local music and chasing the dream
MUSIC
10. Forever Gem by Pat Moran
Makeda Iroquois switches course with ‘Diamonds’
FOOD & DRINK
11. The Real Epicenter by Annie Keough
The Halal Food Cart team builds out from Trade & Tryon
LIFESTYLE
12. Horoscope & Puzzles
13. Puzzles
14. Savage Love
15. Aerin It Out by Aerin Spruill
Thanks to our contributors: Grant Baldwin, Aerin Spruill, Allison Fowler, Derek Worley II, and Dan Savage.
A TALE OF TWO REMOVALS
Mass displacement at Tanglewood Apartments and Lamplighter Inn shines light on negligent landlords
BY RYAN PITKIN
A group of five people huddled in Archie Hoskins’ motel room off Freedom Drive on Nov. 27, with other people circulating in and out throughout the afternoon to check on things or ask a quick question before going about their daily tasks.
The gathering looked like so many families coming together on the day before Thanksgiving to catch up and share memories, but this was a family brought together by necessity — neighbors who had been living in Lamplighter Inn but were now facing eviction by no fault of their own.
Instead of memories, the group shared advice on how to best utilize the support being offered by community organizers like Apryl Lewis and Robert Dawkins, who were there at the motel that afternoon.
“Code enforcement is not with you, they’re against you,” Hoskins pronounced to the group.
“We’ve been over here suffering long enough,” said another resident named Natasha to no one in particular. “Something has to be done.”
Earlier that morning, about a 13-minute drive north on I-85 at the Tanglewood Apartments in the Derita area of north Charlotte, residents stirred about in the parking lot of a building on Wynbrook Way, unsure about their own futures as a Nov. 29 deadline loomed over each of them.
All of Tanglewood’s nearly 50 remaining residents woke up to letters left on each of their doors in late October informing them that their leases would not be renewed. The timing of those notices came as the final residents who didn’t have month-to-month leases neared the end of their agreements, allowing the property owners to end their residency with 30 days notice.
For Shadavious Hopkins-Billings, who lived in Tanglewood with five of her children for the past year, the experience was all too familiar. She and her family had already been repeated victims of displacement due to negligent and in some cases criminal landlords in recent years.
Hopkins once lived at the Airport Parkway Inn, which was billed as “therapeutic housing for the homeless and people recovering from drug addiction” but was shut down in 2017 when it was found that the owner allowed drug dealers to operate inside the hotel and ignored
squalid conditions. He was later alleged to be carrying out a Medicaid scam.
Hopkins then moved to Lake Arbor Apartments in west Charlotte, which became the site of a mass displacement in 2019 after the property owners there kicked everyone out rather than make the repairs needed to bring the complex up to code.
She then moved her family to a motel off Billy Graham Parkway but was forced to leave when the owner discontinued his extended-stay policy, then to Independence Place in east Charlotte before being forced out of there and into Tanglewood.
“It’s happened over and over and over and over,” Hopkins told Queen City Nerve. “It feels like I can’t. Like it’s starting to affect my health, to where my doctor prescribed anxiety medicine and then just referred me to a psychiatrist … I don’t know. I’m just tired. I didn’t even wanna come out today because I start feeling hopeless.”
Now residents and community advocates are asking the city to take action to prevent such mass-displacement events in the future.
In speeches to Charlotte City Council during public forums beginning in August, these residents have called on their elected officials to strengthen its code enforcement policies as a way to hold negligent landlords accountable.
Help on the ground
The Charlotte Housing Collaborative was formed as a result of recommendations from the Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization (NEST) Commission, put together by the city of Charlotte in 2021 in response to the displacement at Lake Arbor.
The commission was “charged with reviewing and recommending specific anti-displacement strategies and tools for protecting residents of moderate to high vulnerability of displacement.”
Spearheaded by Crisis Assistance Ministry, organizers with the Charlotte Housing Collaborative (CHC) have been working on the ground to help residents at both Lamplighter Inn and Tanglewood Apartments find new housing, both in the short term and long term, alongside other community organizers such as Apryl Lewis, founder of Kinetic Works LLC.
At the time of this writing, organizers estimated that, of the nearly 70 people living in Lamplighter Inn when problems began over the summer, they’ve been able to move about 55 into hotels and will continue to seek more permanent housing for those residents, which can sometimes be a months-long process.
In Tanglewood, about half of the nearly 50 people living there have sought help through the Housing Collaborative. The process in that neighborhood continues; some have moved on but are still fighting for the return of safety deposits that were promised to them while others are fighting their forced eviction in court.
Multiple Tanglewood residents told Queen City Nerve they have enlisted the help of Legal Aid of North Carolina to help fight or delay the eviction proceedings the property owners had promised to start against those who did not leave by the Nov. 29 deadline.
Standing in front of Lamplighter Inn on Nov. 30,
whatever they allowed to happen at that property, so the community should benefit in having the reverse, something that’s going to bring more positive energy. I think that’s a fair trade-off,” she continued.
During a public forum at Charlotte City Council’s Dec. 9 meeting, Lewis presented a more detailed plan for how the city should address these mass displacement events before they occur: mandatory code enforcement hearings for negligent property owners, a community stabilization fund to protect displaced residents, and comprehensive tenant protections with real enforcement power.
“The stabilization center model offers a new paradigm, one where we prevent crises instead of just managing them,” Lewis said. “Tonight I urge this council, let’s transform this crisis into a catalyst. The property is ready, the community is mobilized, the residents are willing to be partners, the time for bold action is now. Let’s create a Charlotte we can all be proud of.”
Lewis shared her vision for how the city could take over the property and make repairs, using it as a stabilization center for residents of both Lamplighter and Tanglewood.
Some months ago, Lewis had been in conversations with the owner, Chandreshkumar Patel of Comodo Care LLC, in an effort to mediate the situation. Her original discussions with Patel’s wife saw some progress, Lewis explained, but eventually fell apart. Since then, they have continued to let Lamplighter Inn fall deeper into disrepair, shutting off essential utilities such as water and power regularly.
“I really just think [the city] should make an example out of this owner here, because they know that there’s no real accountability or enforcement,” Lewis said. “So if you make an example, it should be something that’s going to benefit the community … If a bad acting landowner or owner allows property to go in this much disrepair and we have these types of issues, they should be in a streamlined process to enforce or be able to take over that building and turn it over to a stabilization center.
“Because the community was directly affected by
Who has the authority?
Some confusion has been added to the chaotic series of events at Lamplighter Inn and Tanglewood Apartments due to the split in responsibilities between city and county government.
Some of the issues at each of the locations seemingly fall under the purview of the Mecklenburg County Public Health department while others must be addressed by the city of Charlotte’s Code Enforcement.
Queen City Nerve spoke to Charlotte City Council rep LaWana Mayfield on the morning of Dec. 5 when she visited the property with some local pastors to get a grasp on the situation residents were facing there.
Mayfield said that, while the county is better prepared for finding residents housing, she would like to see the city use its authority to push back against corporate landlords and negligent property owners who put people
Lamplighter Inn was fully shut down and boarded up on Dec. 10.
PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN
TANGLEWOOD APARTMENTS RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN TOLD THEY MUST LEAVE.
NEWS & OPINION FEATURE
in these situations to begin with.
She said that simply issuing fines isn’t enough to curb the business practices of property owners who buy properties that could be made into naturally occurring affordable housing in the hopes that the city will buy them for that purpose.
“My concern is that we’ve created a space where slumlords know the government is going to come in and pay me, so I’m going to just sit on it, versus I’m going to be penalized and I’m going to be penalized to the level where I need to sell this and get out, because shame doesn’t help,” Mayfield said. “It doesn’t work to shame people anymore. People have no shame in the disgusting things that they do to other people.
“As this city continues to grow, there is no reason anyone in America doesn’t have access to housing if that’s what they want,” she continued. “But yet the wealthy have become wealthier, the poor have become poorer, and the middle class is almost eliminated. So let’s use the legal ability and the policy language we have to make a difference.”
There are no shortage of areas in Charlotte where residents remain vulnerable to the same type of massdisplacement events that have affected those living at Tanglewood and Lamplighter.
Mike O’Sullivan,
chair of OneMECK’s Affordable Housing
Committee, sorted through the city’s public housing code violation database with his team and found 916 housing code violation reports issued over the last two years that remain open. He added that there are 12 multifamily complexes with at least 11 open reports, and some single reports have up to 40 violations included in them.
“Take a minute to imagine what a family living in a squalid apartment with 40 violations is suffering through,” he told Charlotte City Council members on Dec. 9.
During that public forum, one expert presented a way that the city could begin to take action against negligent landlords and property owners.
Ted Fillette, a retired attorney who spent 45 years helping low-income residents with tenants’ rights cases at Legal Aid of NC, said the code already exists that would allow the city to put out bids for contracts and award them to contractors who could go in and do the repairs in multifamily complexes where owners have ignored the
need to do so themselves.
According to Fillette, if the owners don’t pay for these contracts, the city can place a lien on the property, then foreclose on the property and become title owner if the lien isn’t satisfied.
He added that, for more urgent matters such as inoperable plumbing, no working heat, or collapsing floors and roofs, a judicial injunction can be ordered against the owners to do the repairs that must be done immediately.
“We already have the laws we need to do this, now we need the political will to take action,” said O’Sullivan.
In the meantime, residents like those being forced out of Tanglewood Apartments and Lamplighter Inn will continue to feel ignored by their leaders.
“We’re being treated like this is something we did but this is something that just happened to us,” Tanglewood resident Andrea Farris told Queen City Nerve when we visited on the day before Thanksgiving. “The only difference between me and people with money is my pocketbook.
“I have four daughters that have graduated college or touched college, you know,” she continued. “No one thinks about why you’re in the situation that you’re in and they don’t care, but through this process, we’ve been made to feel like we’re nothing.”
RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM
PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN
LAWANA MAYFIELD TALKS TO ORGANIZERS AND RESIDENTS AT TANGLEWOOD.
ALI FORREST W/ TAYLOR WINCHESTER, MARIAH VAN KLEEF, ERIC MAUST
The city’s Best New Singer/Songwriter, according to us in last month’s annual Best in the Nest issue, headlines an eclectic tunesmith’s bill at Visulite Theatre. On singles like fuzzed-out indie-pop rumination “The Maze,” Ali Forrest’s sweet, lilting vocals complement and contrast her vulnerable yet indomitable vocals. With coiling flat-picked guitar and fine-grained vocals, Taylor Winchester delivers alt-folk tunes that delve into spirituality. Best in the Nest’s Best Vocalist Mariah Van Kleef’s spectral bewitching compositions delight, unnerve and burn a dreamlike afterimage on your brain. Accompanied by his plangent guitar, Eric Maust crafts spare tunes to evoke laughter and tears.
More: $10-$15; Dec. 12, 8 p.m.; Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., visulite.com
STEVE-O: THE SUPER DUMMY TOUR
A YouTube video entitled “My 10 Most Painful Stunts,” is just a sampling of the injuries and indignities stuntman/comedian Stephen Glover, better known as Steve-O, has endured for fans’ entertainment. Glover has burned his chest with a heart-shaped branding iron, and once coaxed an alligator snapping turtle to bite his butt. After studying at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, Glover found fame on Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass TV show. Now 16 years sober, his current Super Dummy Tour proves that physical comedy never goes out of style — even if it involves stapling your testicles to your leg.
More: $35 and up; Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Ovens Auditorium, 2900 E. Independence Blvd.; boplex.com
UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE QUEEN CITY
ELI YACINTHE W/ DREW BILLIONS, THE NUT IS GOOD
Amid clacking percussion and upcut samples, Eli Yacinthe’s husky vocal launches into his 2023 single “I Feel Good Inside.”“I feel good inside of you baby/ The thought alone is killing me lately/ Your body knows how to sate me…” On his EP Something Real From the Heart, the Statesville singer/songwriter, currently attending Boston’s Berklee College, proves himself a poet laureate of love, sex and heartbreak. Miami Rapper Dru Billions’ crafts plaintive, chiming and ruminative tracks like“This is Me” on a bill rounded out by The Nut is Good.
More: $10; Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.; Starlight on 22nd, 422 E 22nd St.; starlighton22nd.com
TOSCO MUSIC HOLIDAY PARTY
Tosco Music celebrates its ninth annual holiday party with a jam-packed bill featuring rock and R&B vocal powerhouse Shana Blake; smooth, soul-pop crooner Collins Jermaine; classically trained, blues- and neosoul-infused violinist/songwriter Emanuel Wynter; classic pop songwriter and fingerpicked guitarist Chris Trapper; swaying,warm and swarming gospelinfused Brighter Day Community Choir; and lilting acoustic Latin-pop duo Cafe Amaretto. All this plus Denver Bierman, Leah Darling, Carolina Ridgeline, Michelle Renee, The Stardusters Big Band, Daniel Thrailkill and Jonah Horton.
More: $22.50 and up; Dec.16, 7:30 p.m.; Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org
CALLALOO & COLLARDS EXPERIENCE
During the COVID pandemic, Charlotte-based hiphop producer and songwriter Geoffrey Edwards, better known as Jah Freedom, began an online discussion with rich-baritone Miami rapper MC Dynas that evolved into the exchange of beats and ideas. The conversation-turned-collaboration resulted in the full-fledged mixtape Callaloo and Collards, which includes contributions from DJ John Doe, Scienz of Life and more. Drawing on regional soul food as a metaphor — Dynas’ Jamaican callaloo and Jah Freedom’s Southern collards, the pancultural project debuts with an online intimate listening session that will include exclusive videos, unreleased tracks, and a Q&A session.
More: Free; Dec. 17, 9 p.m.; virtual; tinyurl.com/CallalooAndCollards
MAD CRUSH, LEMON SPARKS
Charlotte native John Elderkin has always harbored a whimsical streak. Back in 2017, he recorded an endearingly crazy sequel to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust with the late, great Chris Garges. Now Elderkin fronts Chapel Hill’s Mad Crush alongside covocalist Joanna Sattin. With a saucy coquettish giveand-take, the pair trade couplets as snapping drums and skirling fiddle pirouette around them on jaunty country-pop gems like “Dirt” and “Trouble’s Coming.”
Billboard compares the band to June Carter and Johnny Cash backed by The Kinks. Raleigh’s Lemon Sparks proffer jangling effervescent pop rock.
More: $15; Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m.; Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St.: eveningmuse.com
SIEGE HARDEE, BENTON, THOUSAND DOLLAR MOVIE, WHISTLER
The Four Finger Records Holiday Party features four veterans of the Charlotte and regional scenes. Starting in 2010, CJ Hardee toured with brother Jordan and sister Ashley in breakout Americana band Matrimony before the outfit splintered and partially recombined as alt-folk act Bassh. Now performing as Seige Hardee, CJ eschews the rootsy approach of those bands with his solo work, crafting pulsing melodic rock spiked with electronic highlights. As Benton, producer/drummer Jonathan Hussey crafts icy forlorn synth-pop. Post-rock outfit Thousand Dollar Movie and wistful yet luxurious indie rockers Whistler complete the bill.
More: $10; Dec. 20, 7 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com
ECSTATIC DANCE CHARLOTTE: THE END OF AN ERA
Ecstatic Dance Charlotte teams with Hunter the Gatherer for a winter solstice celebration that honors the body and its divine expression through movement. The night of sound, movement, connection and community includes optional body paint, movement practice with Kat Harmon and ceremonial cacao drinking. Three separate alter spaces will honor the divine feminine, the masculine, and unity/oneness/peace. Meanwhile, eclectic DJ Hunter the Gatherer crafts soundscapes that connect to the body’s rhythms. It will be a mystical experience that connects the heart to the body, the divine to the spirit.
More: $25 and up; Dec. 21, 6:30 p.m.; AerialCLT, 801 N. Tryon St.; ecstaticdancecharlotte.com
49 WINCHESTER W/ AARON RAITIERE
In 2014, 49 Winchester dropped a self-titled debut ingrained in red-dirt country, a honky tonkspawned genre that couples country with folk, rock and bluegrass. That LP featured yearning melodies and a gentle nostalgia rooted in the band’s humble Appalachian roots. Ten years on, the band is touring Leavin’ This Holler, their leaner, harder rocking third album. The lyrics aren’t deep, but tunes like blistering boogie “Happy Hillbilly” show that the band may have decamped the holler, but they haven’t forsaken it. Nashville songwriter Aaron Raitiere crafts downhome anthems to low-key living.
More: $41.25; Dec. 28, 8 p.m.; Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com
ALTERCATION: A QUEER PUNK DRAG SHOW
A self-described hellbilly trans woman hailing from Asheville, Pricilla Chambers competed in the third season of The Boulet Brothers Dragula, a TV series featuring drag artists affectionately called “monsters.” Headlining the Haus of Terror soiree at Snug, Chambers should be at home with the bloodspattered horror chic preferred by co-hosts Bloody Mary, who professes a love for guts, glam, glitter and gore; and self-styled Charlotte garbage queen Vegas Van Dank. The sanguinary lineup suggests that the punk booger drag once favored by former Charlotte drag luminary BethAnne Phetamine has gone full on gorehound.
More: $15; Dec. 28, 10 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com
MARIAH VAN KLEEF
Photo by Mariah Van Kleef
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Troubleshoot w/ I Hate Dave, Saturdaze (Snug Harbor)
JAZZ/BLUES
Jazz Nights at Canteen (Camp North End)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B
Babyface Ray (The Underground)
COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
The Steepwater Band w/ The Georgia Thunderbolts (Neighborhood Theatre)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Josh Daniel, Jim Brock & Kerry Brooks (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Lindsey Stirling (Ovens Auditorium)
Shindig! Does the ’70s (Tommy’s Pub) HOLIDAY
JD’s Soulful Christmas (Middle C Jazz) OPEN MIC
Open Mic Night (Goldie’s)
Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Sabella w/ Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Fliora, Conquer (The Milestone)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
PACK’T Battle of Producers (Evening Muse)
COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
The Wilson Springs Hotel w/ Holler Choir (Neighborhood Theatre)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Joseph Gallo Duo (Goldie’s)
Taylor Winchester w/ Ali Forrest, Mariah Van Kleef, Eric Maust (Visulite Theatre)
FUNK/JAM BANDS
JoJo Hermann w/ Big Chief Juan Pardo (Blackbox Theater)
Shana Blake’s Musical Menagerie (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
HOLIDAY
Mindi Abair’s I Can’t Wait for Christmas Tour feat. Lindsey Webster, Marcus Anderson (Middle C Jazz)
Leah & The Speakeasy Jazz Presents... (Petra’s)
COVER BANDS
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening (Ovens Auditorium)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Auroras Hope w/ The White Horse, True Lilith (Evening Muse)
Shoegaze Prom 3 (The Milestone)
Blaakhol w/ Winters Gate, Dr. Blood’s Orgy of Gore (Snug Harbor)
Southern Culture on the Skids w/ Truckstop Preachers (Visulite Theatre)
COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
The Lacs (Coyote Joe’s)
Blue Dogs w/ Cravin’ Melon (Neighborhood Theatre)
Wes & The Railroaders w/ Kit McKay, The Cambrian Iron Co. (Petra’s)
HOLIDAY
Charlotte Symphony: Handel’s Messiah (Knight Theater)
The Pinkerton Raid Holiday Show (Evening Muse)
Mindi Abair’s I Can’t Wait for Christmas Tour feat. Lindsey Webster, Marcus Anderson (Middle C Jazz)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Purgatory: Unholy Night (Amos’ Southend)
Gravedgr (Blackbox Theater)
The Sponges (CUE at Blackbox)
COVER BANDS
Work Trip Band w/ Randy Paul Duo (Goldie’s)
Hard 2 Handle (Black Crowes tribute) w/Mason Cole (The Rooster)
Zeveride (SMokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
The Soundwave is Queen City Nerve’s comprehensive guide to live music happening in Charlotte every night of the week. This list is pulled together by our editorial team every other week from combing through Charlotte music venue calendars and separated by genre. None of these listings are paid advertisements. We understand that many non-traditional music venues offer live music like coffee shops, breweries, art galleries, community events and more.
This list may not have every event listed. To have a venue included in the editorial compilation of this list, please send an email to info@qcnerve.com with the subject “Soundwave.”
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Alex Aff w/ Makeda Iroquois, DamarTheEmcee, Chelsea
Inspire (Petra’s)
CMM Presents 3rd Annual Rockin’ Christmas (The Rooster)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
DJ Dan Slater: ‘Twas the Twirl Before Christmas (Blackbox Theater)
Digital Noir w/ DJ Spider, DJ Baronovva (The Milestone)
Requiem Goth Night (Tommy’s Pub)
Emo Nite (The Underground)
JAZZ/BLUES
Lori Williams (Middle C Jazz)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B
Eli Yacinthe w/ Dru Billions, The Nut Is Good (Starlight on 22nd) FUNK/JAM BANDS
Celestial Company (Birdsong Brewing)
Confetti Cannon (Primal Brewery)
Jesse Velvet (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
Charlie Mars (Evening Muse)
David Taylor & The Tall Boys w/ Holy Roller (Evening Muse)
Coughing Dove w/ Appalucia, Ryan Lockhart & The Night
Brigade (Snug Harbor)
LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE
Bakalao Stars w/ Mofungo Rock, Dorian Gris (Visulite Theatre)
HOLIDAY
Noel & Maria: A Jazz Celebration of the Holidays (Booth Playhouse)
Charlotte Symphony: Handel’s Messiah (Knight Theater) Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Spectrum Center) COVER BANDS
Palmetto Drive Band w/ String Theory (Goldie’s)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Bog Loaf w/ Sun Years, Holyroller, Fireblood (The Milestone) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Hazy Sunday (Petra’s)
Soul Sundays feat. Guy Nowchild (Starlight on 22nd)
A Very Special Christmas Tiki Sunday (Tommy’s Pub)
JAZZ/BLUES
Julian Vaughn (Middle C Jazz)
HOLIDAY
Karla Davis Holiday Show (Evening Muse)
Charlotte Symphony: Handel’s Messiah (Knight Theater)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 16
JAZZ/BLUES
The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s)
HOLIDAY
Tosco Music Holiday Party (Knight Theater)
OPEN MIC
Find Your Muse Open Mic feat. Folkknot (Evening Muse)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill)
COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
A.P. Rodgers w/ Graham Hellderman, Grayson Drum (Tommy’s Pub)
OPEN MIC
Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin J’s (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Jive Mother Mary w/ Justin Cody Fox (Evening Muse)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Lola Grace Duo (Goldie’s)
Josh Daniel, Jim Brock & Kerry Brooks (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) FUNK/JAM BANDS
Improvement Movement w/ Chanclas (Neighborhood Theatre) JAZZ/BLUES
Jazz Nights @ Canteen (Camp North End) MIXED-GENRE/EXPERIMENTAL/FESTIVAL
Holiday Getaway feat. Joshua Cotterino, Curiosidades de Bombrile, QC Jazz Collective, DRMOFO, DJ Zzzzaappp (Snug Harbor)
HOLIDAY
Diane Reeves: Christmastime Is Here (Knight Theater)
A Charlie Brown Christmas feat. Lovell Bradford, Tyra Scott (Middle C Jazz)
OPEN MIC
Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Black Flag w/ The Queers (The Rooster)
The Holdouts (Visulite Theatre)
FUNK/JAM BANDS
Shana Blake’s Musical Menagerie (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Bailey Marie Griggs Band (Goldie’s) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B
Destroy Lonely (The Fillmore) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
Mad Crush w/ Lemon Sparks (Evening Muse)
Matt Woods w/ A.P. Rodgers, Ryan Lockhart (Petra’s) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Virtual Riot (Blackbox Theater)
HOLIDAY
A Charlie Brown Christmas feat. Lovell Bradford, Tyra Scott (Middle C Jazz)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) blankstate. w/ Moving Boxes, Between Two Trees, Nervous Surface, BrizB (The Milestone)
Sacrificial Betrayal w/ Echoes of Humanity, 6 Story
Pyramid, Charlotte Revival (The Rooster) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
Wim Tapley & The Cannons w/ Cam Clark (Evening Muse)
Larry Keel Experience w/ Eternally Grateful (Visulite Theatre)
FUNK/JAM BANDS
Futurebirds (Neighborhood Theatre)
The Goodnight Brothers Band (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) MIXED-GENRE/EXPERIMENTAL/FESTIVAL
Lil Skritt & the Luhvrs w/ Modern Moxie, Dead Sea Scrilla, Moon Man (Snug Harbor)
HOLIDAY
Joey Santo Sings Christmas Classics (Middle C Jazz)
Four Finger Records Holiday Party (Petra’s) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Ryan Trotti Band w/ Rod Fiske (Goldie’s) COVER BANDS
Pandora’s Box (Aerosmith tribute) (Amos’ Southend)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
The Violent w/ Derro, Regence (Amos’ Southend)
Late Night Special w/ Simple Sole Duo (Goldie’s) Bat w/ Skullovich, Axattack, Nemesis, Deceptor, Vigil, Night Attack (The Milestone)
Tiny City w/ Freebased Propane, Morrowville (Petra’s) Fault Union w/ Nosey Neighbor, This Island Earth, EvilLeaf (The Rooster)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Todd Johnson (Evening Muse)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Off the Wall: Wu-Tang Forever V.9 (Snug Harbor) FUNK/JAM BANDS
Futurebirds (Neighborhood Theatre)
Keegan Federal & the Smokin’ Section (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
Bad Daddies (Visulite Theatre) HOLIDAY
Hip Hop Holiday feat. B-Villainous (Tommy’s Pub) COVER BANDS
Soul Sacrifice (Santana tribute) (Middle C Jazz)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22
COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
Yarn (Neighborhood Theatre) JAZZ/BLUES
Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Big Fun (Goldie’s)
Sha La La Sunday (Petra’s)
Soul Sundays feat. Guy Nowchild (Starlight on 22nd) HOLIDAY
Soulful Noel (Booth Playhouse)
Ellie Morgan’s Big Reputation (Taylor Swift tribute) (Middle C Jazz)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 23
HOLIDAY
Soulful Noel (Booth Playhouse) JAZZ/BLUES
The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) OPEN MIC
Find Your Muse Open Mic (Evening Muse)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill) OPEN MIC
Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin J’s (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)
A MUSICAL JOURNEY
‘Long December’ director talks film, local music and chasing the dream
BY RYAN PITKIN
When you hear that a new movie is a musical, what comes to mind? Members of the Sharks and Jets aggressively snapping at one another? The Von Trapps frolicking in a meadow while lip syncing?
Thomas Torrey’s new movie Long December is a far cry from either. It’s certainly a film that revolves around music, however, so is it a musical?
Though we don’t have the data to confirm, it’s safe to say that a majority of the scripted film’s 80-minute runtime features music being played live on screen, none of it prerecorded or lip synced. Characters may break into song together as a family pastime at a holiday gathering, but not as a mode of conversation.
We turned to Torrey, who wrote and directed the film, for the answer. Does he consider Long December a musical?
“Yeah, absolutely I would. I don’t shy away from the musical genre labeling,” Torrey told us. “Sometimes, depending on the audience, I’ll even say, ‘Hey, it’s a Christmas musical,’ just because that gets an eyebrow raise and a laugh. And I don’t mind people’s preconceptions of what a Christmas musical might imply. Hopefully, we subvert that.”
Long December tells the tale of Gabe Lovell, an upand-coming musician stuck between the responsibilities placed upon him as a new father in need of money and his ongoing pursuit of stardom, plugging along for next to nothing on the DIY scene.
Inspired by John Carney’s 2007 Irish Oscar-winning romantic musical Once, Torrey’s new project has already drawn comparisons not only to that source of inspiration but also the famed musical A Star Is Born
If we had to give it a label, we’d call it an Americana musical in the neorealist style (mention of Christmas optional).
Filmed on location in the Charlotte area at venues including Connolly’s on 5th and Booth Playhouse, the movie stars a mix of veteran actors and bona fide musicians who had never acted on screen before filming started.
Long December centers one such musician; Stephen Williams playing Gabe, the singer-songwriter struggling to provide for his family, supplementing his wife’s Etsy income with gigs playing Christmas covers for
uninterested mall patrons.
Williams is known in the Charlotte music scene as vocalist and guitarist with local Americana four-piece Jude Moses. He stars alongside real-life brother-in-law and platinum-selling singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan, who plays Gabe’s famous cousin and sometime band leader.
Torrey, who’s known McMillan since they became high school buddies in 2000 and met Williams through that friendship, wrote the two roles for the non-actors that ended up filling them, but it wasn’t always a given that they would take the gig. As Torrey described at a recent screening of the film in the upstairs room at Connolly’s, where Gabe works in the movie, “I wrote the movie for them, and if they didn’t want to be in the movie, there wasn’t a movie.”
Both musicians were hesitant to join the cast,
preferring to stay behind the microphone rather than jump in front of the camera, but they began to warm up to the idea in a sort of “I’ll do it if you do it” type of way. When they got together for a screen test, however, the vision became apparent to the two reluctant stars of the film.
“We filmed some scenes of them just reading from the script, and they realized these characters were very close to themselves, at least in terms of life experiences,” Torrey recalled. “They realized, ‘Oh, I’ve said these words before. I’ve had these conversations. I know this world … I just have to say the words.’ And that day confirmed for all of us, ‘Alright, we can do this.’”
Ambition, art and knowing what’s important
As much as Williams fit perfectly into the role of Gabe, with Torrey even writing his real-life day job of laying tile into the part, the character was actually autobiographical for the writer-director.
“He’s not Gabe,” Torrey said of Williams. “He’s not as ambitious as Gabe, who’s very much a proxy for myself and my own ambitions. He’s very content being a local market musician who played for his brother-in-law and also laid tile.”
COURTESY OF THOMAS TORREY
FROM LEFT: MCMILLAN, CALNIN, WILLIAMS AND TORREY ON SET AT CONNOLLY’S.
STEPHEN WILLIAMS IN ‘LONG DECEMBER.’
In fact, Gabe’s grappling with the pursuits of fame, happiness and stability — sometimes on parallel paths, other times perpendicular to one another — was based on Torrey’s experience with his previous film project.
Having moved to Charlotte in 2008 after earning a film degree from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, Torrey has worked in the local film industry since, making a living doing corporate, nonprofit and commercial work, “flexing those muscles and building the skill set of making film and video content.”
In 2015, he launched indie production company Bad Theology with longtime friend Justin Moretto and released his first feature, a micro-budget thriller called Fare, which premiered at the 2016 Newport Beach Film Festival and was released in 2017 by Random Media and The Orchard.
Written and directed by Torrey, the flick was called “stunning” by the LA Times.
In summer 2018, Bad Theology partnered with Relic Pictures to produce the sci-fi thriller Minor Premise, which premiered in 2020 at Fantasia and Sitges.
Directed by Relic founder Eric Schultz and written by Torrey, Moretto and Schultz, Minor Premise was called “one of the best sci-fi films in the last few years” by Forbes. Then in 2020, Torrey was all set to produce and direct his biggest film yet, a high-profile Southern thriller that had garnered some pre-production buzz. He expected it could be his big break.
Then COVID-19 clamped down on the country and the film was delayed, only to be completely scrapped later in the summer.
“So when it fell apart, I had an identity crisis and was just struggling with, ‘When is it going to happen for me?’” Torrey explained.
As rough an experience as that was, it served as the inspiration for Long December Torrey had wanted to make a movie with his many musician friends, and the scrapped movie served as inspiration for a plot.
“I wrote it quickly and, of course, infused it with all the creative themes that I was dealing with of an artist wondering if his break is around the corner,” he said. “I wanted to make it a music film and shoot it here in Charlotte where I live and where my friends live, and use my friends as cast and crew and just make a very community homegrown film.
“So once I committed to doing it, it came together real fast,” he continued. “The money came together, the cast and crew came together, and we filmed it during Christmas of 2021.”
A couple of days after the Dec. 1 screening at Connolly’s, we caught up with Torrey to talk about the filming process and his experience in Charlotte’s film and music scenes.
Queen City Nerve: After your sci-fi projects, what made you want to make a film about the music scene?
Thomas Torrey: I’ve known John Mark McMillan for 25 years, and our circle of friends had a lot of incredible musicians and it was just a big part of our culture and identity — film, music, all of that, all of the arts.
I played with John Mark a handful of times in various capacities. I never really tried to pursue it on my own, but I loved writing songs. I played the drums, I played guitar and grew up having a band with my brother in high school. So I was always very much a music lover and a side-hustle musician.
But over the years, as I’ve really grown as a filmmaker and watched friends like John Mark actually become
You’ve cut your teeth in the film scene here and had been working already in North Carolina when the tax incentives were allowed to sunset in 2014. What has your experience been like since then, just in terms of the strength of the scene for people who don’t move to Atlanta or whatever they need to do, but the folks who have stayed here?
Gosh, it feels like in some ways it’s been hard to separate what’s going on in Charlotte with what’s going on in the industry in general. I mean, we’re talking here in the end of 2024 in probably the bleakest year in independent film ever. And that’s from a New York and LA perspective and my partners there and what’s going on there, especially trying to sell Long December and how difficult that was, trying to raise money for the next one.
So that particular idea is something I used to think about all the time. And I was quite self-conscious of the fact that I lived in Charlotte while working towards being a filmmaker. And I lived in New York, and so I would go back to New York or I would go to LA and I was always wondering, “Should I be living in these other places?” And I’ll never forget, when I made my first film, Fare, we shot it here in Charlotte but I did the sound mix and color grade out in LA.
So I was out there, and I’d been out there plenty this particular trip, I just remember being at some party with a lot of other young filmmakers — because in LA, everyone’s an aspiring filmmaker — and I was the coolest guy in the room because I had actually made a film.
successful recording artists. I mean, John Mark’s by far the most successful recording artist I know. He’s a platinumselling songwriter; he’s gotten quite large.
And there’s other friends of mine who I’ve seen have similar success. And so keeping friends with these guys, it was always a dream of like, “Man, I would love to feature them in a film somehow.” I’ve used his music in the past on soundtracks and it was always just a hope to make a film about music.
I was just selfishly like, I want to play in the music world for a little bit. And I want to showcase people like John Mark, Stephen and then even the peripheral artists like Drake Margolnik, Sarah DeShields, Ethan Nathaniel, these other folks who show up in these small performances. They’re all people who live here, people I’ve known over the years, and I really feel a great sense of pride to show them off to the larger world.
So that certainly has trickled down to Charlotte and has made it challenging.
I was always a producer of content as opposed to a day player. I’m hiring the crews, and the impact has been strongest on them, my friends, many of them moved to Atlanta years ago when all the work went there. But a lot of them have started to come back now. I actually live in Fort Mill now on the South Carolina side of the city. So I’m a South Carolina resident here in the suburbs of Charlotte, and there’s a lot of us in upstate South Carolina trying to change things with South Carolina, which has been a hard place to make independent films.
There is a certain parallel there because I’ve been covering music in this city for many years and one constant topic of conversation revolves around whether artists feel like they need to leave Charlotte to become bigger, and that’s a parallel with the film scene here and even the plot of the movie.
I realized, “Oh, it’s not that the city is filled with filmmakers. It’s full of people trying to make it, and it’s just as hard to make it here as it is back home.” I was making something just because I was able to scrape together a film and get something done.
Visit longdecember.movie to learn about how you can stream the film. The soundtrack is available on Spotify or anywhere that you stream music.
A virtual watch party and live cast chat is scheduled for Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. Visit tinyurl.com/LongDecemberWatch to register.
Visit qcnerve.com to read the full Q&A with Thomas Torrey. RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM
PHOTO BY ALLISON FOWLER
THOMAS TORREY WITH DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS CALNIN ON THE SET OF ‘LONG DECEMBER.’
FOREVER GEM
Makeda Iroquois switches course with ‘Diamonds’
BY PAT MORAN
On Makeda Iroquois’ alluring single “Diamonds,” crystalline chimes cascade into a staccato orchestral stab that smash cuts to her powerful yet caressing vocals: “Diamonds are forever/ They are all I need to please me/ They can stimulate and tease me/ They won’t leave in the night/ Have no fear that they might desert me...”
Iroquois cites old school R&B and ’90s hip-hop as her musical influences, so her sultry cover of the James Bond theme song “Diamonds are Forever,” originally sung by jazz-pop chanteuse Shirley Bassey, may seem like a startling change of pace for the Long Islandborn, Charlotte-raised singer-songwriter. But Iroquois’ inspiration for her 2023 single places the tune’s mix of hip-hop and orchestral pop in context.
“I didn’t realize [the song] was from James Bond,” Iroquois says. “Kanye West was my introduction to [it].”
In 2005, West released ““Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” a rap rumination on the blood diamonds that fueled a decade-long African civil war, on his second studio album Late Registration. The propulsive song sampled the John Barry-composed “Diamonds are Forever.”
“I didn’t know at the time that this sample was a Black woman singing,” Iroquois says. “The richness of her voice really impressed upon me [that] I have to cover this song.”
Likewise, the drama inherent in Bassey’s bold yet tremulous vocal appealed to the musical theatre kid in Iroquois, just as the hip-hop beats in West’s cover of the tune appealed to her experience as a professional dancer. Iroquois will perform a selection of her meticulously crafted R&B pop at Petra’s on Dec. 14.
A dance career cut short
Growing up, Iroquois fell in love with the rhythms of hip-hop and R&B, which spurred her fledgling dance career. Before Iroquois turned 10, West African art and music were added to her influences.
“I would go with my mom to Spirit Square, and there would be a lot of African dance classes and drum workshops,” Iroquois says, referencing the since-razed Blumenthal campus. She started singing and developing her voice while attending drama classes at Piedmont Middle School in the Belmont neighborhood just east of Uptown.
At the same time, Iroquois dabbled in songwriting, writing and recording her own lyrics to the melody of Alicia Keys’ serpentine and soulful “Diary.”
Attending Harding University High, Iroquois
performed in school talent shows and danced with an after-school ensemble, but it wasn’t until she graduated that her songwriting blossomed.
“I got my first laptop, discovered GarageBand, and … discovered I can … make a song, and put it on YouTube,” Iroquois says. “That was the moment I [realized], I can make something and it can be mine.”
At UNC Greensboro, Iroquois pursued a degree in music, theatre and dance, with the focus on dance history and choreography. A pair of pulled hamstrings brought Iroquois’ dance career to a premature end, so she channeled her creative energies into music instead. Selftaught in the art of production, she learned to sample and make loops.
In 2010, Iroquois started a long-distance collaboration with producers in Atlanta like Keith Charles and Ethereal (Obie Rudolph). Iroquois contributed three tracks to a mixtape released by the two producers.
Other projects followed in 2012: Atlanta producer Alkebulan’s moody nocturnal Panther and Fox EP and the Aporia EP, a collaborative mixtape that paired Iroquois’ songs with Charlotte rapper/producer Jopedo’s organic J Dilla-style beats.
“That one made the most impact in Charlotte,” Iroquois says.
She remembers meeting local rap royalty Lord JahMonte Ogbon, who told her that Aporia was his favorite project. In the meantime, Iroquois played her first live Charlotte show at the Evening Muse with Jopedo in support of Aporia. Subsequent gigs read like a list of illustrious Queen City music venues past and present — The Chop Shop, Tremont Music Hall, Snug Harbor and Petra’s.
Released in 2013, The Red Reserve EP marked Iroquois’ conscious decision to move into a more soulful and R&Binflected pop direction.
“A lot of people knew me for old-school ’90s hip-hop beats like [MF] Doom and Nas, but I wanted to make something of my own that could reflect a more feminine side,” Iroquois says.
Iroquois graduated from UNC Greensboro in 2014 and by 2016 was ready to move beyond Charlotte. She was working a retail/repair day job at the Apple Store in SouthPark Mall and lobbied for a transfer to the company’s Soho store in New York.
“I came to New York to explore being an artist,” Iroquois says. While working for Apple in the Big Apple had its perks — a large stage drew celebrities, hosting
in-store performances — Iroquois says living in New York was a challenge.
“I was struggling to have the energy as a creative on top of making enough money to sustain myself,” Iroquois says. She decided to concentrate on songwriting, particularly for other artists. Iroquois worked a few connections with people that had the ability to get her material placed with established artists, but in the end those plans fizzled.
Writing and releasing the spectral yet sassy single “After Party” in 2019 proved to be the creative high point of Iroquois’ New York sojourn. She planned to get the song to Ashanti, but when that strategy fell through, Iroquois and her friend and colleague from Atlanta Que hosted a single release party for the song. The soiree lifted Iroquois’ spirits, but the next year COVID came and shut the city down.
A girl’s best friend
Returning to Charlotte, Iroquois reinvigorated her career as a performing and recording artist. “After Party” became one of 13 tracks on the Demo LP that dropped in July 2021. Although the eclectic songwriting collection contains tunes meant to be pitched to other artists as well as material earmarked for projects that didn’t come to fruition, it is an emotionally complex and satisfyingly consistent listen.
Iroquois followed Demo with the single “New Earth,”
which debuted on New Year’s Day 2022. Propelled by producer Rashaun Hampton’s sprightly insistent keyboard loop, the song suggests a smooth Sade tune produced by Todd Rundgren and sung by Eartha Kitt. Contrary to her usual process of writing lyrics before composing the music, Iroquois laid down the song’s music first before letting the uplifting lyrics flow:
“So pure to let the light shine through/ And everything be made anew/ Await the day when I/ I enjoy the view at mountain high...”
The spangled sample that kicks off the follow-up single “Diamonds” is from the Boybandmoney song “Jesus Piece,” co-produced by Hampton. Iroquois plans to perform “Diamonds” and material from Demo at her upcoming Petra’s show as well as a new unreleased tune, which she describes as more upbeat but still in the R&B pop lane.
If a message can be found in Iroquois’ career and muse, she says it’s hard work and persistence.
“People in Charlotte have seen me doing this for a very long time, and doing my best at it,” Iroquois says. “I really hope to show people how much you can grow something ... if you don’t give up.”
But for the most part, Iroquois is content to let her music do the talking, allowing an effortlessly classic and contemporary track like “Diamonds” to weave a sparkling spell on listeners — like the aurora borealis casting its shimmering starburst upon the nighttime sky.
PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM
MAKEDA IROQUOIS
PHOTO BY DEREK WORLEY II
THE REAL EPICENTER
The Halal Food Cart team builds out from Trade & Tryon
BY ANNIE KEOUGH
Halal Food Cart is an undeniable staple of Charlotte — the self-explanatory business title plastered on all four sides of the cart that has stood strong at the crossroads of the Queen City, the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets in the center of Uptown, for more than eight years. Still, one-half of the husband-wife duo behind the business has remained enigmatic.
Unless you’ve happened to spot owner Khuram Bashir during one of his random check-ins at the iconic cart he opened at Trade and Tryon in summer 2016 or any of his four other carts he’s spread throughout the city, chances are you’ve never seen the man in person.
This is intentional, as the self-described “shy” owner likes to stay behind the scenes, preferring to highlight the work of others by showcasing his workers and stepson Christopher Collado, who owns Halal Food Cart’s brickand-mortar restaurants Halal Street Food, in media stories.
True to form, Bashir declined to be included in our photo shoot for this story, instead opting to feature his employees because “they do the work,” but he did agree to speak with Queen City Nerve to share more about everyone’s favorite Uptown food cart and the business’ recent growth.
An uncertain beginning
Lured by the promise of cheaper rent and insurance at the recommendation of his brother-in-law, Khuram and his wife Damaris moved their three children from the overpriced and oversaturated halal market of New York City to the novelty of Charlotte in 2011.
While Damaris worked as a hairstylist at her brother’s local salon, Khuram amazingly continued to work in NYC, commuting to the city by bus every other week to carry on his work in interior design, capitalizing on his architecture background to make enough money to pay his rent back in Charlotte.
He continued that exhausting routine for nearly seven years, even finding time to enter the food service industry while doing so.
After his brother-in-law convinced Khuram and Damaris to open a storefront in an old pizza joint along Independence Boulevard, the couple’s first brick-andmortar restaurant, Mi Barrio Halal Latin Grill, opened in 2014, combining flavors from the couple’s Dominican and Pakistani roots.
After two years of back-breaking work, the duo still weren’t sure their business would survive. Having gone through a rigorous permitting process that lasted nearly
three years, the couple opened the food cart in Uptown on July 4, 2016, taking staples from Mi Barrio’s menu to serve a unique blend of Mediterranean, Pakistani and Dominican flavors.
It was then that things started to change for the family.
“When we opened up the cart, then things started shifting,” Khuram said.
Now, with four operational food carts, two brick-andmortar shops, three additional carts under construction and four storefront leases signed to open new locations, Halal Food Cart and Halal Street Food has expanded its reach across the community to give back to the people it serves.
The Halal Foundation
The Islamic perspective of “halal,” directly translated as “permissible,” requires meat to be raised and slaughtered according to God’s principles.
North American, Australian and European meat industries value meat by weight and slaughter animals in a way that keeps the animal’s blood within the meat, resulting in a heavier and more valuable product. This process is not halal, Khuram said.
To make meat halal, the animal must be cut along its four jugular veins, allowing time for all the blood to drain from the meat.
Although strictly following the halal process can be costly, Khuram said he would not consider it permissible behavior to make more money through the North American practices, which he likened to selling milk diluted with water.
The meaning of halal is not only applied to diets for Khuram, who uses the principles of halal as a lifestyle guide for how to interact with and treat others, he explained. His dedication to not cheating his clients and following ethical codes in paying his taxes and employees is what makes his business halal, too.
Below the original cart’s “Cash Only” sign — a policy forced upon the business due to their location’s poor internet service – sits another sign reading “No tips accepted, please send donation [to] The Halal Foundation.”
The Bashirs built the food cart as a means to serve Charlotte’s workforce and provide good food for a fair price. Attaching an additional tip on top of the meal’s price would contradict their goal, he insisted.
“We appreciate you with a smile. We appreciate you with a ‘thank you.’ You don’t have to do extra for us, let us do extra for you,” he said. “Just love our food, that is a great tip for us.”
Alas, Khuram found Charlotteans to be a gratuitous
bunch dead set on giving back. It was then that he launched a more impactful cause for their gratuity.
At select carts and storefronts, there are boxes that customers can redirect their tip toward The Halal Foundation, which donates to foundations such as the Red Cross, disaster relief efforts, or organizations that build orphanage centers in Africa, Dominican Republic and Pakistan.
The cart’s motto is “No person leaves empty-handed.”
If a person has no means to purchase food, Halal Food Cart will help them out.
Khuram estimates that, since the cart’s opening, it has distributed around 100,000 free meals throughout the community in organizational fundraising meals, providing iftar (breaking fast) during Ramadan and beyond.
After Hurricane Helene devastated large swaths of western North Carolina, Khuram has sent two food carts to Asheville to provide meals to residents and relief workers almost every weekend. The World Central Kitchen offered Khuram compensation for the free meals he was giving out, but he turned them down, as he does with any such offer, instead insisting that organizations redirect the funds back into their own foundations.
Along with the free meals the cart provides, the Bashirs give thousands of dollars to different organizations every week through The Halal Foundation.
Building an empire
When Khuram and his family moved to Charlotte, the halal market was nearly untouched. Stationed on Charlotte’s oldest and busiest street corner, the food cart has played its own role in the city’s growth while witnessing the change from a unique perspective.
The revitalization of Charlotte’s food scene in recent years means more competition, but Khuram isn’t worried. Asked if the boom was helping or hurting his food cart, Khuram smiled, leaned back in his chair and said, “It doesn’t matter.”
“In that sense, we’re blessed,” he explained. “It doesn’t
bother us at all. I believe we continue to do good, and it has its own rewards.”
Those rewards are manifesting in the form of the business’s new brick-and-mortar locations. The first location opened in December 2021 at MoRa Point shopping center off Monroe Road.
In April 2024, they opened their second storefront in Camp North End. The representative that contacted the Bashirs about signing a lease did so due to his loyalty toward Halal Food Cart, having waited hours in line just for the chance to eat the cart’s renowned takeout dishes.
The business’s evolution into a franchise model hasn’t diminished the tight-knit vibe a food cart creates, as the Bashirs keep things in the Halal Food Cart family. Instead of hiring new leadership from outside the business, Khuram gives members of his staff — made up of folks from Venezuela, Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic and other countries — the opportunity to run their own Halal Food cart. They pay for the cart’s construction costs, charge them a franchise fee and set them up at a good location to help make a future for themselves.
It’s a way of saying thank you to their dedicated employees, Khuram said. Despite the success the Bashirs have seen, Khuram said he strives to do more.
“I still feel like I’m not doing enough,” he said. “My wife and I… we continue to come up with the ideas, whether it’s for the business or how to help not only the community, Charlotte, but everywhere else as well.
“It’s never enough, and that’s how I take my life, I guess. Always need to strive [for] higher goals.”
Halal Food Carts are stationed at: 101 N Tryon St. in Uptown; 9430 University City Blvd.; 20833 Catawba Ave. in Cornelius; and 2407 West Roosevelt Blvd. in Monroe. They are open 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m.-4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
AKEOUGH@QCNERVE.COM
THE ORIGINAL HALAL FOOD CART AT TRADE & TRYON STREETS.
PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN
HOROSCOPE
2024 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.
DEC. 11 - DEC. 17
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A change in holiday travel plans might be more vexing than you’d expected. But try to take it in stride. Also, it couldn’t hurt to use your Aries charm to coax out some helpful cooperation.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your Bovine determination helps you deal with an unforeseen complication. And, as usual, you prove that when it comes to a challenge, you have what it takes to be a contender.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Although a romantic theme dominates much of the week, all those warm and fuzzy feelings shouldn’t interfere with the more pragmatic matters that you need to take care of.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Best not to ignore doubts about an upcoming decision. Instead, recheck the facts you were given to make sure nothing important was left out. Meanwhile, a weekend surprise awaits you.
LEO (July 23 to August 22) No time for a catnap — yet. You still might have to straighten out one or two factors so that you can finally assure yourself of the truth about a troubling workplace situation. Stay with it.
VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) News from an old friend could lead to an unexpected (but nonetheless welcome) reunion with someone who had once been very special in your life. Be open to the possibilities.
LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) It might be time for a family council. The sooner those problems are resolved, the sooner you can move ahead with your holiday preparations. Don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Take some time out to give more attention to a personal relationship that seems to be suffering from a sense of emotional neglect. Provide some much-needed reassurance.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Cheer up! An unusual circumstance that might faze most people can be handled pretty well by the savvy Sagittarian. Look at it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Someone you believe has hurt you in the past might now need your help. Reaching out could be difficult, but the generous Goat will be able to do the right thing, as always.
AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Prioritizing is an important part of your pre-holiday scheduling. Try to give time to both your workday responsibilities and any personal matters you might have neglected.
PISCES (February 19 to March 20) With the vestiges of your anger about a painful incident fading, you can now focus all your energy on the more positive aspects of your life, including a certain personal situation.
BORN THIS WEEK: You have a way of bringing your own strong sense of reassurance to others and encouraging them to be hopeful!
DEC. 18 - DEC. 24
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Don’t be sheepish about asking more questions before making a major decision at your workplace. Meanwhile, your personal relationships continue to improve.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) You might be rushed into renewing an old, cold relationship. But do you really want a reheated romance when there’s a chance to warm up with someone new?
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Someone tells you something that could lead you to rethink your plans for the holidays. Get the full story before you make a decision.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A financial matter that had you in a dither is finally being sorted out as more facts become available. A perplexing personal matter also clears up.
LEO (July 23 to August 22) You face a slew of new tasks at home and work. So, as much as you love being a social Lion, be careful not to overdo it at those preholiday parties.
VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Unexpected news could cause some minor adjustments in your holiday planning. Defer a decision about a financial matter until you have more facts.
LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A project might not be bringing you the results you’d hoped it would by now. But stay with it -- things will soon begin to turn around.
SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A budding personal relationship continues to develop. Things also improve in your career, although some problems still need close attention.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Mercury is finally stationing direct in your sign after a few weeks in retrograde. This will give you motivation to take care of any outstanding tasks before the holidays.
CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Allowing a misunderstanding to go unchallenged could jeopardize the plans you’ve made for the upcoming holidays. Clear the air now.
AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) While you should be open to suggestions on how to plan for the holidays, you should also be firm in saying “no” to anything you disagree with.
PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Get out from under all those holiday preparations and immerse yourself in a world of music. You’ll soon feel refreshed, revived — maybe even reborn!
BORN THIS WEEK: You believe in the truth and have little patience for those who try to hide it. You would make an excellent judge.
LIFESTYLE PUZZLES
SUDOKU
BY LINDA THISTLE
TRIVIA TEST
BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ
1. LITERATURE: Which Victor Hugo novel was made into an animated Disney movie?
2. MUSIC: In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” what was the gift on the eighth day?
3. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the Kalahari Desert located?
4. HISTORY: Who was the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court?
5. BIOLOGY: What is the process called in which a nonreproductive cell divides in two?
6. MOVIES: In the movie “Elf,” what is the name of Santa’s sleigh?
7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is the largest mammal on Earth?
8. U.S. STATES: Where did the first organized celebration of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) take place in the U.S.?
9. ASTRONOMY: Which planet is the smallest in our solar system?
CROSSWORD
PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.
10. TELEVISION: Which 1980s-1990s TV family sitcom had a holiday episode titled “A Very Tanner Christmas”?
TEEPEES
©2024 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.
©2024 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.
SAVAGE LOVE
OUT AND ABOUT
You’re here and you’re queer. Now what?
BY DAN SAVAGE
I’m a 45-year-old cis woman. I’ve been married to a cis man for almost 20 years. About a year and a half ago, I made out with a woman at a party, and everything clicked. I realized something was missing in my life, and I started exploring my attraction to women with my husband’s blessing. I had always felt attracted to women but didn’t fully acknowledge it, thinking it was normal for “straight” women to be attracted to other women while only dating men. (I’ve since learned about compulsory heterosexuality.)
I met a wonderful woman, and we dated for over a year. While I was with her, I realized I’m gay. We spent a lot of time together, I had the best sex of my life, saw shows, went out to dinners, had sleepovers, met each other’s kids. It was a real relationship. But she ended things because I wasn’t ready to make major changes in my life — she wasn’t included in our large family gatherings, as some family members don’t know about our open marriage.
My husband has a girlfriend now, and I’m happy for him, but he feels certain family members wouldn’t understand. This made my girlfriend feel deprioritized, despite my reassurances and all the time I spent with her.
I love my husband dearly, but our relationship is platonic, and we’ve stopped being intimate. We have three amazing young children and our lives are deeply intertwined emotionally, financially, and where our families are concerned. While I feel I need to live authentically as a lesbian, I’m terrified of the fallout — hurting my husband, my family, blowing up my life, etc.
The plan was to keep our family together and slowly integrate my girlfriend into my life, but that wasn’t enough for her. My husband wants to stay married, and I wanted to stay married. Should I get a divorce instead? What should I do?
WANTING TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY
You wanna live authentically, WTLA, and I wanna respond authentically. And if I’m gonna be authentic — if I’m gonna be honest — my first impulse after reading your question was to find you and your husband and figuratively slap you both upside your metaphorical heads. On the off chance your email found me in an
ungenerous mood, WTLA, I set your question aside for a few days. But I had the same reaction — the same metaphorical impulse to do figurative violence — the second time I read your email.
Zooming out for a second…
It’s totally fine — not a problem at all — that it took you decades to realize you’re a lesbian. Compulsory heterosexuality is a hellavu drug, WTLA, and lots of queer people don’t figure themselves out until later in life.
And it’s totally fine — not a problem at all — that you wanna stay married.
You’re not letting down the lesbian side by staying in your marriage. Companionate marriages are valid marriages! So long as there’s mutual respect and real affection, marriages like yours can work and often thrive.
If you wanna stay together for the kids and/or stay together because you actually do (platonically!) love each other and/or stay together because divorce is an expensive hassle, you have my blessing!
Where you lose me, WTLA, is when you talk about not being able to “integrate” your girlfriend into your life because “certain” family members wouldn’t understand. I get it. You’re staring down some very real fears: fear of judgment, fear of rejection, fear of losing people you care about.
But every out gay or lesbian or bisexual person that came before you — and every openly non-monogamous couple that came before you — had to confront those same fears.
And the people you and your husband are so afraid of — your families of origin — don’t have any real power over you. Yes, they might not understand. Yes, some might judge you.
Yes, they might say shitty things. But they can’t throw you out of the house (you have your own place!), they can’t cut you off financially (you make your own money!), and they can’t force you into conversion therapy (you are not minors!).
All your judgmental family members can do, again, is say shitty things to you. But one of the best parts of being an adult, WTLA, is that you don’t have to show up for Christmas or Kwanzaa or Hanukkah — you don’t have to do whatever holiday your families celebrate — if your family can’t be kind to you and the people you love.
I understand why your girlfriend dumped you. She doesn’t want to be abandoned on holidays for the comfort of people who don’t fully know you — people
you don’t fully trust — but people whose comfort you’ve decided to prioritize over her safety and comfort.
And while she may be comfortable being with a woman who’s married (companionably!) to someone else, she doesn’t want to feel like your lowest priority either.
Perhaps she should’ve been more patient — you’ve only been out for a year and change — but if she’s close to your age, WTLA, she may not feel like waiting until your husband comes around is the best use of her time at this (grownup!) time of her life.
Look, your family might not understand at first — mine sure didn’t — but if all the gays and lesbians who came before you waited for our families to somehow magically “get it” before we started coming out, no one would’ve come out at all, ever.
While some queer people these days are lucky enough to come out to supportive families who already got it, WTLA, most of our families don’t get it until after we come out to them. If you want to be who you are — if you want to live authentically — you have to be willing to make some people uncomfortable, WTLA, and that includes your husband.
How do partnered-but-monogamish people identify each other and get things going? I’m a 42-year-old bisexual woman, happily married to my husband for 15 years. My husband and I are monogamish and have dabbled here and there, the biggest dabbling being an on-off relationship I had with a woman for nearly a decade. I was able to start that because my former lover was loud (and proud) about her open relationship, and brought it up to anyone who had a set of ears. Aside from her, the other sexual partner my husband and I had was a very close friend who we were able to bring it up to.
I have a crush on my neighbor, who is 10 years my senior. She is married to a man and I’m pretty sure she’s bisexual. However, I’m not really friends with her, and I don’t know how I would go about approaching this if I wanted to make something happen. We live in a close-knit neighborly community and if I were to ask her out, she would interpret it as being purely friendly. I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way if she was not into the idea, but it would be a shame if she would go for this, but we just can’t cross the chasm. How would I go about getting this started, if it is possible at all? Would it be wise to test the waters for potential by asking a third party to feel her out in some way? In general, how do monogamish people identify each other and get things going outside of apps? NEED EXPERT INSIGHT GETTING HOT BABE OVER REGULARLY
Visit Savage.Love for Dan’s answer. Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@ savage.love; or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan.
AERIN IT OUT
SOCIAL MEDICINE
A double dose of Queen City holiday parties
BY AERIN SPRUILL
Introverts have a knack for agreeing to social plans while in a fleetingly social mood, only to later find that these socalled “surprise” plans, which lack any element of actual surprise, must be followed through on. Hello, it’s me, the introvert, undergoing my own self-inflicted torture.
This past Saturday, while braving errands through a cold, I began mapping out my cozy night indoors when I felt an unshakable nudge to check my calendar. To my horror, not only was I expected to be “outside” for one event, but I had somehow agreed to two! A muttered string of MF-level expletives escaped as I realized I’d also be flying solo dolo.
While moping on the couch, I began the frantic shuffle of excuse-building that resembled the morning chats I would have with myself before ultimately going into the office post-COVID. Visions of texting my editor and friends crossed my mind, but the guilt of disappointment tugged harder.
Donning a mix of Miley Cyrus’ raspy voice, mild indignation, and an oversized sweater with knee-high boots, I rallied, mentally recalculating how much small talk my reserves (and my strained vocal cords) could withstand. What’s a little self-sacrifice for the illusion of a thriving social life, right?
The first stop: QC Nerve’s Best in the Nest celebration and sixth-anniversary party at The Barrel Room at Triple C Brewing Company.
When the GOAT of print publications that reigned supreme in the Queen City was abruptly shut down in October 2018 by a publishing entity of Voldemort-like infamy, I felt a blend of rage for the displaced staff and heartbreak for the city’s cultural loss. The void left by this closure was profound, stripping the community of a trusted source for local news, arts, and commentary.
However, in true Phoenix-like fashion, former staff members rose from the ashes stronger than ever to create QC Nerve, a publication that not only filled the gaping hole left behind but became the new pulse of the city. In other words, the busiest, Chaddiest nook of the city nor a cold was stopping me.
The Barrel Room, located across from its big sis, Triple C, is a hotspot for events in South End, including Fever’s Candlelight concert series. The weight of socializing kept me barely above gravel as I exited my Uber in 3-inch stiletto heels, but dissipated as I checked in with the doorman: a man in a purple suit and clown makeup who was handing out wristbands and stickers with his own face on them.
[Editor’s Note: That’s Martin “The Evil Clown” Barry.]
“We’re all mad here, Alice,” I thought as I entered with a “rotten fresh” POV on the night.
To my genuine surprise, I was welcomed by the
wonderfully weird and oddly familiar vibes of Concord’s own Moonlander. “Oh okay, Jack Harlow and Post Malone made a baby just for me?!” I thought as gravity pulled me out of my orbit at the only empty counter-height table strewn with cups from guests who’d arrived on time to bounce to the beat on ankles already expired.
His infectious blend of rap, pop, “rizz” and undeniably genuine storytelling has a way of connecting with a room, whether you’re a cult follower or someone “just happy to be here.” It was the perfect pregame, giving me just the boost I needed for my second stop: Dahlia’s first anniversary party.
On the third floor of the five-story Binaco Tower, you’ll find its newest addition, Dahlia’s, the fourth personality in an eclectic lineup, seamlessly tucked between familiar favorites like Novelty House rooftop bar, Havana Smoke and Reserve cigar lounge, and Saku sushi and yakitori bar.
Like its counterparts, Dahlia’s delivers a classy aesthetic with seasonal Instagram-worthy décor, moody lighting, and just the right amount of seating for a relaxed atmosphere on quieter nights.
Beyond its curated cocktail menu, Dahlia’s elevates the experience with late-night small plates — empanadas, tacos and flatbreads — that fit perfectly within the dynamic of the five-floor lineup, making it easy to want to explore the whole building all night long.
I let out an anxious sigh as I stepped off the elevator, the door guy nodding toward the coat check. It hit me: There wasn’t going to be enough room for my floor-length down jacket, aka my winter emotional support coat.
I immediately regretted letting task paralysis delay my intended early arrival. But the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and the glow of the illuminated bar began to soothe my nerves as I took in the space.
A cold Stella Artois kept me grounded, reminding me to smile and nod when a clearly intoxicated woman slurred, “You look just like Rihanna,” while her friends awkwardly stared, hoping I’d take it as a compliment.
The beer reminded me to play it cool when such wellmeaning strangers, misreading my solo status as loneliness, approached with small talk. But most importantly, it gave me the liquid courage to track down familiar faces for a quick hello before retreating to the warmth of my jacket and the comfort of my favorite “living room” watering hole.
I can’t say it was the night I’d planned — after all, I’d planned to become one with my couch — but it was one that reminded me that sometimes, showing up for people in a city you’ve grown to love can be just the medicine you need, especially in small doses.
INFO@QCNERVE.COM
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