Queen City Nerve - December 2, 2020 by Queen City Nerve

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1; DECEMBER 2 - DECEMBER 15, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

The year that nothing happened and everything happened

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Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Just Recycle,

RECYCLE RIGHT! PUBLISHER

JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS jl afra n co i s @ q cn er ve.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RYAN PITKIN rpi tk i n @ q cn e r ve. c om

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Tips to Reycle Right: NO PLASTIC BAGS Empty and rinse bottles and containers Place lids and caps back on empty containers Keep all items loose, clean and dry Resist the urge to recycle improper items No tissues, paper towels, napkins or plastic utencils

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 EDITOR’S NOTE BY RYAN PITKIN

CITY LIFE

6 CRITICS’ PICKS 15 READERS’ PICKS 16 HALL OF SHAME 18 OBITUARIES

CONSUMER CULTURE 20 CRITICS’ PICKS 27 READERS’ PCIKS

28 LIFEWAVE A dose of reality

LIFEWAVE

FOOD& DRINK ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT 30 CRITICS’ PICKS 38 READERS’ PICKS

FAST

TURNAROUND

GREAT PROFESSIONAL PRICING DESIGNS

DIGITAL & WIDE FORMAT PRINTING

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GRAPHIC DESIGN MARKETING & BRANDING

40 CRITICS’ PICKS 53 READERS’ PCIKS

54 CRITICS’ PICKS 57 READERS’ PICKS

LIFESTYLE

LIFESTYLE 58 PUZZLES 60 THE SEEKER BY KATIE GRANT 61 HOROSCOPE 62 SAVAGE LOVE

THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL OF OUR BEST IN THE NEST 2020 CONTRIBUTORS. WRITERS: DION BEARY, ERIN TRACY-BLACKWOOD, ALLISON FRAZIER, AERIN SPRUILL, PAT MORAN, LEA BEKELE,

704.246.7616

KASEE KEATON, LANDIS WADE, KARINA CAPORINO, MB SCHAFFNER, KIA O. MOORE. PHOTOGRAPHERS: GRANT BALDWIN, ALVIN C. JACOBS JR., AMY HERMAN, KATE GALINDO, JOSHUA GALLOWAY, JEFF HAHNE, DARCY O’HARA, WILL JENKINS, MAGEN MARIE, BIG BRUH GOOCH, SAYMA WALEH, DANIEL ALVARADO, PAUL C. RIVERA. COVER DESIGN & PHOTO BY: JAYME JOHNSON

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DECEMBER

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BY RYAN PITKIN

What the hell just happened? It seems like 10 years ago and yesterday we were coming into the new year excited about a new Charlotte MLS team, a new Panthers head coach, or whatever big events you had planned for this year that did not come to pass. One of my biggest pet peeves is when folks try to act like a calendar year has anything to do with the bad luck or misfortunes that a population faces. We can all act as if 2021 will be better than 2020, and there are signs that things might be turning a corner, but the truth is that the calendar doesn’t care. If we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past nine months, the past four years, the past 400 years, we’re doomed to repeat them in the short and long terms. Another trip around the sun won’t change that. However, this Gregorian measurement of time is helpful in looking back on what has already occurred, and as for the last 12 months, I think we all can agree it’s been a shitshow. When the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced on Jan. 24 that a patient believed to be infected with “the newly discovered 2019 coronavirus,” the first in North Carolina, was in isolation at Duke University Hospital, I was skeptical that this was an issue that would affect many American lives. As it turns out, I overestimated our country’s preparedness, our health-care system, and our potential ability to come together in the interest of public safety. To watch people willfully spread misinformation in the face of all science and data has been a truly terrifying experience. I know I’ll never think of the expression “Run Forest, Run” the same again. After video surfaced of a police officer slowly killing George Floyd with a knee to the back of his neck over a span of 8 minutes and 46 seconds in May, I feared this was just another murder that would lead to maybe some localized protests but no action. As it turns out, I underestimated the rage with which Floyd’s killing would be met, the amount of people willing to hit the streets in support of Black lives, and the desire for change in a country built on the backs of a populace that so often still goes ignored or willfully

Credit where credit is due

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THE BEST PEOPLE SHOW UP IN A BAD YEAR

underserved by people in positions of power. This year has been one of extremes, and it has brought as many signs of hope as red flags for the future. To release a Best in the Nest at the end of such a year was no easy task, and a few times early on we just about decided not to do it at all. But the truth is, the struggles of 2020 have brought out the best in so many Charlotteans, and that deserves some recognition. Folks like Deborah Woolard, who went from serving her homeless neighbors dinner on Sunday nights for two years to serving them dinner every single day come hell or high water. She didn’t do this because it was her job, but simply because she saw other services around town shutting down during the pandemic and her friends without homes would suffer. “It’s a shame,” she told me back in April. “We shouldn’t have had to do it, but it’s our family and we’ll do whatever we can.” As I write this on Dec. 1, Deb and her Block Love CLT team have been out on Phifer Avenue doing what they can for their homeless neighbors for 268 consecutive nights, and tonight, without fail, they’ll be there for 269. There are so many stories like Deb’s that occurred in Charlotte this year — folks who stepped up in a time of crisis, a time of reckoning, a time of need, and helped to fill voids, whether they be voids in time, resources or understanding. Then there are service industry folks, faced with unforeseeable adversity that came down on them without warning. These people work in the background with no expectation of a “Thank you” for serving the millions of residents of the Charlotte-Metropolitan area. In 2020, they all took a big hit. Many are still struggling or without jobs. These folks deserve recognition. And the creatives of Charlotte who have hunkered down during the pandemic but continued to do what they do best, whether that be making art, music, fashion or what have you. And the year has seen some amazing work from Charlotte creatives across the board. It’s important to make clear that the point of this work is to heap praise upon the things we think other people need to know about. We are not gatekeepers by any means; we are simply observers trying our best to give credit where credit is due and show love to the folks who have made the most out of a relatively shitty year. We know we’ve missed plenty in the pages to come, and we know that we’ll hear about it, but that’s the beauty of another year: Folks will keep creating and inspiring, and we will continue to tell as many of their stories as we can. But for the time being, we want to take these 64 pages to spread some recognition to folks who earned it and propped up the Queen City at a time when we needed it the most.

EDITOR’S NOTE

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CITY LIFE

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CRITICS’ PICKS

CRITICS’ PICKS: CITY LIFE

No one will ever forget 2020, that much we can be sure of. Throughout a pandemic, widespread protests and an election that damn near broke our democracy, there has been no shortage of Charlotteans who have stepped up to help those in need, light the way for others and push for a better society. This is for those folks and the movements they represent.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Judy Williams

With each murder that occurs, each life taken too soon, a devestating ripple effect reverberates throughout our community, reaching well beyond the direct family of the deceased. Judy Williams saw it as her life’s work to stand in front of that shockwave and soften its blow. Williams, who passed away at 69 years old on Oct. 10 after a battle with lung cancer, was the co-founder of Mothers of Murdered Offspring, or MOM-O, an organization dedicated to consoling the loved ones of homicide victims in Charlotte while working to help curb community violence. Over the years, Williams held nearly 1,000 vigils for victims of violence in Charlotte and surrounding areas. In 2017, I was fortunate enough to spend time with Ms. Judy, as many around the city knew her. When I met her that spring at a funeral for Taylor Smith, a 14-year-old Charlotte girl who had been murdered in Mount Holly just days before, Williams had vigils planned for every night of the week. The work was grating on her, but she had no idea just how much it was affecting her body. Some months later, she would begin to feel the pains in her back that eventually led her to the doctor’s office and her cancer diagnosis. Williams later insisted that the massive amount of secondhand smoke she came in contact with during hundreds of vigils over the span of nearly 25 years is what led to her lung cancer, as she had never been a smoker herself. Her claims were never confirmed, but it would be no surprise in the end if Williams did give her life for her work, as tragic as that truth would be. Upon learning she was a finalist for the national Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation’s Citizen Service Above Self Honors award in 2010, she told The Charlotte Observer she believed her work was a calling from God, and that it was difficult to accept an award for such a thing.

It was during a record violent year in Charlotte, 1993, that this life became Williams’ reality. Dee Sumpter, a close family friend of Williams and her son David Howard, had just lost her only daughter Shawna Hawk in a devastating manner. Hawk had been brutally murdered by Henry Wallace, a serial killer who claimed 11 victims before finally being arrested in 1994. As Williams sat with Sumpter, grieving in Williams’ living room, she suggested the trio start a support group for victims going through the emotional trauma Sumpter was experiencing. It was an off-the-cuff idea she thought could help Sumpter refocus her energy during her time of mourning. “We were trying to really just pull her mind off of this horrific crime that had just happened to her only daughter,” Williams told me in 2017. “I kind of threw that out there, and the next day David said to me, ‘You know what, Mama, that might be the thing that will get her through this and manage for us to get her mind off of all this by focusing it on something else.’” On March 29, 1993, just a month and 10 days after Hawk’s killing, Mothers of Murdered Offspring held its first meeting. As the second born and oldest girl among eight siblings growing up in Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood, Williams learned early on to be a caregiver. She became the first in her family to attend college, first studying apartment management and criminal justice at Central Piedmont Community College, then later completing her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at Pfeiffer University. Williams was mother to five children, and foster mother to several others. Unsurprisingly, she remained extremely active in all of her grandchildren’s lives up until her death, and acted as a mother figure to many others. According to her obituary, written by Howard: “Judy was a natural born entrepreneur and idea generator. The interests over the years included everything from baking, sewing, wedding planning, gadget inventor, song composer, notary public and realtor. Judy also loved music and loved to sing. She passed her love for music on to her children for sure. Her hobbies included collecting rare coins, playing Bible games, backgammon, UNO and watching game shows.” Most of all, however, she cared about caring for others. When it comes to ripple effects, not many reach farther than Ms. Judy’s — rings of positivity and growth that have touched countless lives in Charlotte and beyond.

CITY LIFE CRITICS’ PICKS

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When we spoke in 2017, I asked Ms. Judy if the work ever got easier for her over the decades, already knowing the answer just by looking into her eyes. “I don’t think it will ever get easier, and I don’t want it to get easier. I want it to get easy because it stops. I don’t want it to get easy while we’re still doing it, because we should never get comfortable with people dying, or people being murdered, lives being taken,” she said. “I don’t ever want to get comfortable with that. I want it to be as uncomfortable as it can get for me and everybody else I’m around. I don’t want people to ease into a state of acceptance, to where we just say, ‘Well, that’s just life.’ No, it’s not. I don’t want it to ever be just life. I want people to know there’s something wrong with this. This is not normal. This is not the way it’s supposed to be.” Today, others in the community continue Williams’ work on the ground, inspired by the example she set. But for her, the time has finally come when she can be comfortable. Now’s your time to rest easy, Ms. Judy. -Ryan Pitkin

Local Hero: Lucille Puckett

Perhaps more than anyone else, Lucille Puckett is filling the shoes left behind by Judy Williams. After running for school board in 2003 and mayor in 2013, Puckett had already started doing community work around violence when the issue quite literally came to her doorstep on March 22, 2016. That was the day her 26-year-old son Shawn Harbin Jr. was murdered in her front yard while she watched, helpless. Two weeks after Shawn’s murder, Puckett joined CMPD’s Homicide Support Group, and eventually founded Take Back Our H.O.O.D.S (TBOH). She can often be found at the scenes of murders, easy to spot with her red TBOH hoodie and red hair, supporting family and friends through what is often the worst night of their lives, while also documenting the tragic stories on Facebook Live. “Ever since [Shawn died] I’ve been out here trying to make a change, trying to make a difference, trying to be a support for families and also trying to do something as far as prevention,” she said. This year, she has begun to focus more on the prevention aspect, working to intervene on situations that have come to a head in the communities where she works, while continuing to help families of the deceased through the frustrating process of justice. As the number of homicides in our city passes the 25-year high we saw in 2019, Puckett’s work is more important than ever.

JUDY WILLIAMS WAS NAMED AN HONORARY MAGISTRATE IN 2019. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID HOWARD

it down and stay away” or “reopen and fuck ‘em all” points of view, Dion took a step back and tried to make sense of a landscape in which the only thing less consistent than the restrictions was the enforcement. Oh, and he’s funny too. For the record, the tongue-in-cheek apology he issued after catching shit for a tweet that read, “Joe said, ‘I need a WAP: a woman and POC’” tweet was perhaps the best thing to happen on Charlotte Twitter all year.

just straight chillin’. Not only is the photography topnotch, but she plays an important role in presenting powerful and positive images of Black children and we love it.

Funniest Twitter: CLT Updates, @clt_updates

No one in our organization is a fan of anonymous accounts on any social media platform, but CLT Updates often has us belly laughing at the snide, satiric remarks they make about happenings in the Charlotte area. Sometimes the tweets are stabs at people for no good reason, but beyond that there is mostly just hilarity. Our favorites include tweets about the false and untimely death of Panthers’ mascot, Sir Purr. I don’t know when all of Purr’s nine lives will be used up, but the potential for more funny, fake news like that has us hanging on the edge of our seats. Maybe we just have a darker sense of humor than most and enjoy terrible takes and a little offensive humor. Maybe CLT Updates isn’t funny to you at all, but it has been one of our favorite Best Twitter: Dion Beary, accounts created this year. In fact, might we suggest this mystery satirist become a comic strip writer for @hashtagdion Ok, let’s address one thing up front. Charlotte pop culture in print issues of Queen City Yes, Inside 485 founder Dion Beary has Nerve? been a major contributor to this issue, writing many of the Critics’ Picks in the Best Instagram: The Bae Hive, Food & Drink section while picking up @thebaehiveagency some others as well. Local lifestyle photographer Bae Hart specializes However, this award was a decision in “providing lifestyle imagery with unrehearsed made long before we hired him for his action and genuine emotions,” and her talent for services, as Beary has spent the year which shows full and well in the feed of work on her being one of those things you just Instagram page, enveloped in the faces of young see all too rarely: a voice of reason on Black models from toddlers to teens. Twitter. We first came across The Bae Hive by chance We don’t always agree with Dion’s after noticing one of these adorable little models takes, but we respect the fact that he was posed in front of a Queen City Nerve distribution doesn’t just fire them out there for box surrounded by Black Lives Matter balloons. After engagement; he clearly thinks them checking the page for more, we couldn’t pull away. through first. Hart does an incredible job of showcasing these Shamefully but not surprisingly, children as fierce and talented, ready to take on COVID-19 became politicized in the world and lead us in the future. The models are America fairly quickly, and while dressed in anything from formal wear to dance attire most folks on Charlotte Twitter took to boxing gloves. There is dancing and laughing and sides and dug in with either the “shut

CLINIC DEFENDER BRITT CHRISTMAS PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

Best TikTok: APWHC Clinic Defenders

In one viral TikTok filmed outside of A Preferred Women’s Health Center this summer, a 19-year-old clinic defender nonchalantly reads the lyrics to the song “WAP,” which stands for Wet Ass Pussy. She talks calmly, but just loud enough to drown out Philip “Flip” Benham, a known religious extremist who has spent nearly 20 years protesting and harassing patients at the east Charlotte clinic. While Benham is usually the loudest person on Latrobe Drive, he looks bewildered by the woman’s confident reading of Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion’s gospel. He continues to read a Bible passage aloud just feet away from her. The video, posted to TikTok on Aug. 25th, garnered millions of views and likes on the app and was shared around different social media platforms, making national headlines on sites like TMZ, Insider, and Daily Motion. Clinic defenders like the woman in the clip, who goes by @alexthefeminist on TikTok, and the one who shot the video, @42069horndog, have gotten growing attention for the posts they’ve filmed in front of the clinic as things there have heated up over the summer. Nicole Ash, board member with Charlotte for Choice, a nonprofit organization that for years has provided escort and defender services in front of the clinic, said the arrival of young defenders to A

CITY LIFE CRITICS’ PICKS

Preferred Women’s Health Center over the summer inspired her to start the @charlotteforchoice TikTok account. “The TikTok has a huge presence,” Ash said. “The goal here is awareness; we want people to know what’s happening. We want them to know that it’s going to happen soon in your own city because [protesters are] not going to stop until they have people on the sidewalk across from every clinic.” Other clinic defender accounts to check out include @violetcherrie, @loveurmother, @scalpgrease, @sapphicsirens and @mad.e.linne.

Best Reporter: Joe Bruno

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There was a time when people just relied on Joe Bruno to tell them what kind of crazy shit had spilled on the local highways. Oh, you’ve come a long way, Joe. The proud Elon grad and Philly sports fan has hunkered down in Charlotte breaking huge stories and earning multiple Emmy nominations for them. And even while he’s carrying out all that hard-hitting work, he’s always keeping an eye on completely meaningless stories that he knows his fanbase will engage with on Twitter — hell, he’s still got the full thread of highway spills pinned to the top of this Twitter feed! Only a couple reporters in town can match his live-tweeting of local government meetings, as well. Bruno got married in November, smartly planning the low-key affair and honeymoon for the weeks around Thanksgiving when there was hardly any news going on around the city. We congratulate him on both the marriage and surprisingly staying off Twitter throughout the entire ceremony. The perennial 30-Under-30 honoree (seriously, when are you turning 30?!) is only getting started in what promises to be a legendary career, and we’re hoping that he remains in Charlotte for at least a few more years before moving on to bigger things.

Best New Newsletter: Jeremy Markovich, The North Carolina Rabbit Hole

Ok, this isn’t necessarily a Charlotte-based newsletter, but it’s from a former Charlotte reporter who just happens to be living in Greensboro at the moment, and his spanking new newsletter covers the whole state, so bear with us here. Our State digital manager Jeremy Markovich

CONGRESSWOMAN ALMA ADAMS ATTENDS PRESIDENT TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL IN JANUARY 2020 PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF ALMA ADAMS

has been so swept up in his great podcast and other tasks that he hasn’t been able to write much lately. Lucky for us, in November, he launched North Carolina Rabbit Hole, which in just a couple weeks has already shared engrossing stories about our state — the actual state, not the magazine — related to Hugo Chavez’s taste for barbecue and the short life spans of pardoned turkeys. We’ve been stuck in a dreary news cycle for years, and Jeremy’s good humor and seemingly endless knowledge of North Carolina trivia is just what we needed. Read up at jeremymarkovich.substack.com. Oh and if you’re such a damn Charlotte purist that a North Carolina newsletter isn’t good enough for you, we’re also psyched for local photographer Logan Cyrus’ new photo-heavy newsletter, which launched right around the same time. Check it out at tinyurl.com/LoganNewsletter.

Best Politician: U.S. Rep. Alma Adams

When Alamance County law enforcement officers pepper sprayed children and the elderly to disperse a multiracial voter turnout rally last October, U.S. Congresswoman Alma Adams condemned the attack on peaceful demonstrators. It wasn’t the first time Adams, a Democrat who represents North Carolina’s 12th congressional district, stood up for citizens who felt their government was abandoning then or turning against them. Last June, Adams responded to a kettling incident in Uptown Charlotte in which police officers

ambushed and encircled peaceful protestors and bombarded them with tear gas and pepper balls. She introduced The Right to PROTEST Act, which would criminalize the use of tear gas and other riot control agents nationwide. “Weapons that are illegal in war should never be used on American soil,” Adams said, “especially

against our own people.” If there’s an issue in which ordinary citizens’ rights, well-being and safety are at stake, chances are Adams has been there to take a stand. This year alone, she’s introduced the Kira Johnson Act, which supports Black maternal health. As Thanksgiving approached, Adams sponsored the Closing the Meal Gap Act, legislation that expands and strengthens Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for vulnerable community members. Adams also authored and spearheaded the Local and Regional Farmer and Market Support Act (Local Farmer Act) to help save the farmers, farms, and families hardest hit by COVID-19. She’s called out Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for undermining election integrity, too: “Facebook has become a super spreader of misleading viral and paid content.” Adams has even pinpointed the root of America’s failure to contain COVID-19, tracing the weakest link to the Oval Office. “Donald Trump hasn’t risen to the challenge,” Adams said over the summer. “The president spends his time tweeting and fanning the flames of racism from the White House.”

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THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) MAY BE STRESSFUL FOR PEOPLE. FEAR AND ANXIETY ABOUT A DISEASE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND CAUSE STRONG EMOTIONS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN. COPING WITH STRESS WILL MAKE YOU, THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, AND YOUR COMMUNITY STRONGER. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK CAN DEPEND ON YOUR BACKGROUND, THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, AND THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN.

Â -Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones -Changes in sleep or eating patterns -Difficulty sleeping or concentrating -Worsening of chronic health problems -Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs Â Â?

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Best Speech: Ray McKinnon, “The Fight for Hope”

the deeds, “This lot shall be owned and occupied by people of the Caucasian race only.” John Nolen specifically designed Myers Park’s curved streets to disorient unwanted guests and send them right back from whence they came, but on June 1, Kass Ottley and about 1,500 of her supporters wouldn’t be turned away during their Justice Walk.

whole was far from friendly to her cause. Her Justice Walk was just one example of the countless ways that, as founder of Seeking Justice CLT, Ottley shows up in Charlotte. From vigils and protests to serving on the Safe Communities Committee community input group, Ottley has irons in many fires — all of them burning so that a better Charlotte can come from the ashes.

“I’m supposed to talk about hope but, I have to make all of you white folks here a Best Long Game: little uncomfortable” Robert Dawkins On May 31, 2020, Ray McKinnon On June 25, as nightly stood atop the “stairs” of First Ward Park protests had begun to taper in Uptown and gave a chilling, powerful off, Robert Dawkins hit Twitter speech that we still think about often. on his @SafeCoalitionNC It was the third day of Charlotte account to rally the folks who protests in response to the police killing were ready to get into the of George Floyd and tensions across the long fight. “Are the Charlotte country were high regarding policing and Protest done? We still got racial issues. The gathering that day was work to do. If you done with organized by local religious leaders as an the streets, Join us on the effort to call out the church on its historic tweets & at public forums silence on issues of racial injustice. [at Charlotte City Council] Ray was not silent, and his booming meetings & community safety KRISTIE PUCKETT-WILLIAMS OUTSIDE OF A PREFERRED WOMEN’S HEALTH CENTER voice still resonates today. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN meetings. We still need you if He began the speech by reading your feet tired. Defunding the Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter From a police starts [July] 1st with the new budget.” Birmingham Jail.” He read the letter with allegro, Marching through the neighborhood for twoRobert is the most active activist you’ll never crafting his amplification with each sentence and-a-half hours to honor George Floyd, the crowd catch at a protest. He prefers to do the work perfectly. chanted loudly, stopping at the intersection of behind the scenes, or in Zoom at one of the aboveThe transition from MLK’s words to his own Queens Road and Selwyn Avenue to take a knee was flawless, as he crescendoed into “friends, hope for nine minutes in memory of Floyd. Throughout mentioned city council public forums, pushing city comes when we the church stand up and speak out the march, Myers Park residents looked on from leaders to reimagine the way policing, violence prevention, and all-around safe communities might against the sin of white supremacy.” their lawns, some showing passive support, others The crowd of more than 1,000 attendees was setting up water stations for passing protesters. As look. This year, he’s seen some of the reforms he and overcome with Ray’s energy, as they cheered him she later explained on our Nooze Hounds podcast, others have promoted for years come to fruition. on through the remainder of his speech. It seemed however, the threatening calls she received before In 2021, expect to see him continue to push for an that everyone in attendance — either in person or the march showed that the neighborhood as a independent audit of CMPD, and in an election year through Facebook Live — was deeply affected by his words’ meaning and delivery. We sit with Ray’s words often as we do with many words and images from the protests in Charlotte between May and August. You can hear them as well on our YouTube channel (tinyurl.com/NerveYouTube), and remember, “There is no hope as long as you are silent.”

Best Community Organizer: Kass Ottley

One of Charlotte’s oldest and wealthiest neighborhoods, Myers Park was built in 1911 and was the first to implement widespread racial restrictions in property deeds, stating in many of

VOLUNTEERS AT JAIL SUPPORT BEFORE MASS ARRESTS WERE MADE ON JUNE 18. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

for council, the pressure will be on.

Best Protest Leader: Shaka Will Johnson

A good protest can be long and daunting. Sure, when you introduce police violence into the mix you get a little more energy to keep going out of anger or the fact that it is counteractive to what you may be marching for. The other thing that can keep you going is a high-energy leader. After the June 2 kettling incident by CMPD, our local protests became a little more organized, and a lot more peaceful. In collaboration with the Million Youth March of Charlotte and Salisbury, Shaka Will Johnson took over the megaphone to keep chants like “If we don’t get no justice, then you don’t get no peace,” and “No Trump, no KKK, no facist USA,” going for hours and hours and miles and miles. We noticed a slight decrease in his energy around the twentieth day of marching, but after one night off, he was right back to it. Will led protesters through the streets of Uptown, South End, Cherry, NoDa, Reedy Creek and more over the course of two months, screaming at the top of his lungs and forming the front line for unified peaceful disobedience. Johnson is not shy about his feelings or beliefs and is very in your face about how the world should turn. While leading marches, he spoke of troubles he witnessed growing up in Liberia and compared them to the state of America. Johnson was who people looked to for direction; he showed leadership in the face of adversity night after night and mended quarrels among different sets of people. In remembering the Charlotte protests of 2020, his name will stick out just like the image of a swaying group of protesters following his lead, chanting, “We ready, we ready, we ready for y’all.”

Best Rabble Rouser: Kristie PuckettWilliams

“You ain’t ready for my Black ass!” If you hear these seven words and you’re police, pro-life, Proud Boys or anything of the sort, you better tuck tail and run. We can count on Kristie to be live-streaming damn near every weekend from a protest or counterprotest of some sort, and we’ve heard the aforementioned expression so many times this year it wouldn’t be far-fetched to call it a catchphrase. As an ACLU campaign manager, Kristie does her share of grassroots community organizing, but she’s at her best when she is face-to-face with some clown like Joshua Flores at one of his Trump rallies or an anti-abortion protester who’s used to harassing medical patients in peace. Don’t be caught off guard when you see her coming, because she’s always ready for a fight.

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Best Activist/Advocate Organization: Jail Support

Originally created on May 29 by core members of Charlotte Uprising as a bail fund for arrested protesters, the original Jail Support space on East 4th Street also became something more: a pit stop for protesters, a space where marchers could stop and rest or find a friend before walking into Uptown to find where the bigger group is marching. It also became a support hub for folks being released from jail, regardless of how they got there. As protests tapered off, Jail Support continued to operate as a hub for those leaving the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, offering food, cigarettes, clothing, rides, phone calls or whatever they could help with. The group soon caught the ire of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, and multiple times Sheriff Garry McFadden’s deputies made arrests in attempts to clear the area of their presence. The group persisted for months, even hanging out in tiny subgroups near the jail to continue their work after multiple mass arrests. In early November, the group held an event at Marshall Park — renaming it Abolition Park for the occasion — to raise money and collect supplies for incarcerated folks, making it clear that Jail Support isn’t dead.

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Best Protectors: Wheels for Equality

Greg Martinez formed Bike Squad in 2016 as a way to help during the Charlotte Uprising protests that arose in response to the killing of Keith Lamont Scott. In 2020, he began showing up to protests on foot early on, watching the unorganized aggression between police and protesters on Beatties Ford Road and then Uptown. He watched as officers would cut protesters off from one another, forming many small groups that were easier for them to quell as compared to one large mass. After June 2, when police trapped protesters with gas and shot pepper balls at them in Uptown, Martinez decided to get back in the Bike Squad game. He got a group of fellow cyclists together, some of whom had helped bicycle supplies to protesters during the Charlotte Uprising, and they got to work on a two-pronged mission to “support and defend,” their answer to the police’s serve and protect motto.

That mission included not only running supplies the department or in the streets. Community understandable, but Koch has noted publicly that such as water bottles and snacks to protesters, members claimed Koch was walking with groups he advocates for progressive change inside the but also acting as a buffer between police and to perform surveillance, he said he was marching department to discourage adverse interactions with the community and promote civic engagement through understanding and conversation. Captain Koch worked as a mediator, communicating with the local Bike Squad so as to allow them to lead the way, rather than CMPD’s Public Order Bike Units. This was in an effort to decrease the potential for face-to-face interactions between police and protesters. He worked to show that there are people in the department below the “political heads” who are there to listen and work with the community in a way that progresses change, BLOCK LOVE SERVES DINNER ON PHIFER AVENUE IN NOVEMBER. and though some will PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN disagree, in many ways he accomplished that goal. protesters. Later, as police began to fall back, the in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Bike Squad acted as a buffer between protesters and Alone. At no other time during the protests did any Best Nonprofit: Block Love CLT traffic, oftentimes the only ones between vulnerable other officer take it upon themselves to march in Deborah Woolard and her organization Block solidarity with the demonstrators. Most will say that Love Charlotte have been serving dinners on Sunday marchers and pissed-off drivers. At some point in June, Bike Squad evolved you can’t march in solidarity with demonstrations nights on Phifer Avenue, which she deemed The into Wheels for Equality, with Martinez hoping to against police as the police, and that is certainly Block, for two years now. But when Woolard and her turn this scrappy group of skateboarders, cyclists team saw what was happening in and bikers into a nonprofit group that serves the the homeless community amid the community, providing free food delivery for elders COVID-19 crisis, as meal services and similar services. began to shut down or scale back, “That accomplishment of doing the right thing she started going out to The Block and continuing to do it and having people in your every single evening to make sure corner and being there for people, too, it just makes nobody went hungry. you want to do it more,” Martinez said. Folks like Woolard and fellow

Best Officer Engagement: CMPD Captain Brad Koch

To intense scrutiny from inside the department and in the streets, Capt. Brad Koch marched alongside protesters every night in Charlotte for 10 days straight. That came to a stop after two incidents involving Koch and protesters became physical near the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center on East 4th Street. He would often march alongside certain groups at the request of the group, but at the hesitation of the department. Koch did not win any popularity contests within

CMPD CPT. BRAD KOCH AT A PROTEST IN JUNE. PHOTO BY ALVIN C. JACOBS JR.

Block Love volunteer Terri Karam have dedicated themselves to making sure people’s needs are met every night. They don’t just provide food, either, they offer whatever they can: shoes, tents, blankets, hygiene products. Once the Phifer Avenue dinners wrap up around 7 p.m., the team hits the streets, driving to the myriad encampments surrounding Uptown handing out to-go boxes of food.

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organizations don’t have the manpower, time or resources to care for everyone in need. Jackson’s community fridge aims to fill one of the most important gaps in resources. The community fridge offers a perspective in which we lean on each other for support rather than prioritizing individualism. It goes to show what the power of one Facebook post can do for the community.

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In October, the team began bringing plates and supplies to the Beatties Ford Road corridor after delivering to the encampments, extending their reach to serve more people. As of the end of November, Woolard and her team had been feeding folks on The Block for 268 consecutive nights. In April, when that number was still under 30, Woolard told Queen City Nerve she was frustrated with the lack of help from city officials and others who pay lip service to helping their homeless neighbors. “It’s a shame,” she said. “We shouldn’t have had to do it, but it’s our family and we’ll do whatever we can.” And she’s been doing quite literally whatever she can since.

Best Pop Up For a Cause: Da Village Pop Up Shop Free Food Fridge

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It all began with a Facebook post. In July, Shamelle Jackson of Da Village Pop-Up Shop started putting feelers out for a free community fridge — the first of its kind for Charlotte. In the 24 hours after

Best Cause on Wheels: Hope Vibes CLT Hope Tank

GREG MARTINEZ OF WHEELS FOR EQUALITY AT A PROTEST IN JUNE. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

the post, she received her first donatio: the fridge itself. That initial donation set off a chain reaction of other donations. Da Village Pop Up shop now runs four food fridges offering fresh food and cold water, free for anyone walking the streets of Charlotte. It allows folks in need to get food as they need without the

stigma of waiting in line at a pantry. Charlotte’s on its way to joining the ranks of other major cities, but one category it’s lacking is community resources. Don’t get us wrong, there are hundreds of organizations in Charlotte providing food and housing for underprivileged people. At no fault of their own, the teams behind these

Adrienne Threatt co-founded Hope Vibes CLT in 2016 after sharing a video that documented the challenges women who struggle with homelessness face related to their menstrual cycle. She, her husband Emmanuel and a group of others began collecting hygiene products for their homeless neighbors, building on such humble beginnings to serve hundreds of folks in our city over the last four years. In 2020, Threatt and Co. unveiled the Hope Tank, a large truck outfitted to serve as a mobile shower

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and laundry center for people living through homelessness in Charlotte. The truck provides people with showers, sinks, toilets and the like, all with a degree of privacy one should expect in their own home. The truck also holds three washers and three dryers, each to be operated with help from a Hope Vibes volunteer. The Hope Tank currently serves once a week at different locations, with a goal “to create an environment that promotes dignity and hope, giving guests a renewed sense of purpose.”

onto the foundation of an old Hollywood Video. The Reagan Drive and transform it into a mixed-use mentorship and case managers to assist in transitioning out of the facility. skaters have built quarter pipes, skate ledges and transitional living complex. The future Heal Charlotte campus will be located “We are showing Charlotte what can be done if kicker ramps that often attract between 50 and 100 we are willing to invest in its people,” Jackson said in a statement. “This campus will provide a safe space for youth, affordable housing, job training, and supportive services. Our families will not merely survive here but really thrive.”

Best Historian: Dr. Willie Griffin

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Best Pivot: ourBRIDGE for KIDS

When Gov. Cooper issued an executive order on March 14 closing all public schools, Sil Ganzó and her staff needed to plan their next move — and fast. As founder and executive director of ourBRIDGE for KIDS, an afterschool program for immigrant and refugee children, Ganzo knew she couldn’t just go home and wait for the crisis to pass. Four days after Cooper’s announcement, Ganzo found herself driving around the east Charlotte neighborhoods where many of her ourBRIDGE students live, delivering free meals to families as part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) meal-distribution program that launched on March 17. She started with 40 breakfasts and 40 lunches on March 18, and quickly built that up to deliver 1,000 of each every day. Issues that many struggled with during the pandemic were magnified for ourBRIDGE families. Due to job loss, language barriers and fears around eviction, Ganzo and her staff lost track of entire families who would pick up and move in the middle of the night. Still, they kept their heads down, determined to feed as many children as they could. As of Thanksgiving, they had served 134,564 meals, along with 791 CMS meal boxes. “What I’m most proud of is that we were dynamic enough and we have been resourceful enough to not miss a beat,” Ganzó told Queen City Nerve in April. “How much worse than a pandemic could it get? And we still figured out within 48 hours how to make this happen.”

A SKATER HITS A QUARTER PIPE AT EASTLAND DIY SKATE PARK IN MARCH. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

skaters over the course of a given day. Since construction on Eastland DIY began in August 2015, the folks involved have kept their heads down and tried to stay inconspicuous. They started with the centerpiece, a concrete box, and waited to see if someone would stop them. Nobody did, so they kept going. Later, after Tepper Sports and Major League Soccer announced the first real plans for redevelopment of the site since Eastland Mall was demolished in 2013, skaters worried all their hard work would be erased. As meetings continued throughout the year, the skate park looked all but doomed, but with October’s news that Tepper Sports would no longer be building the MLS headquarters at the site, hope returned. A new petition sprang up in November asking that developers include the skate park in their plans, and garnered more than 5,000 signatures. It’s a very cautious optimism, but we’re all for keeping that dream alive.

where an Economy Inn now sits on the 5500 block of Reagan Drive. The current 31,000-square-foot, 132room property on 2.69 acres will undergo a major upfit to create affordable one- and two-bedroom units leased to families in need. In addition to housing, the Heal Charlotte campus will provide residents with food, ongoing

Last fall, Levine Museum of the New South historian Dr. Willie Griffin helped bring Brooklyn to life for museumgoers through the Brooklyn: Once a City Within a City exhibit, which implements augmented reality technology to let museum goers hear the stories of former Brooklyn residents and view the way displacement has changed the face of Charlotte. While museums have had a rough go of it in 2020, there may be a silver lining for Griffin, who we hope has used his time wisely to work on the book he’s been writing about Charlotte civil rights journalist Trezzvant Anderson. But that’s just our own excitement for the book talking, Anderson has stayed plenty busy at the museum. Upon reopening, Griffin and fellow Levine staff introduced new augmented reality additions to the long-running exhibit Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers, allowing museumgoers to interact with Harvey Gantt, Hugh McColl and Dorothy Counts-Scoggins. He’s also brought us new exhibits such as It Happened Here: Lynching and Remembrance;

Best Lost Cause: Eastland DIY Skate Park Best Investment in our Future: Feeling ignored by city and county leaders, Heal Charlotte Affordable Housing members of the local skate scene have taken it upon Campus themselves to build up Eastland DIY skate park at

In August, Heal Charlotte founder Greg Jackson the old Eastland Mall site over the last five years, announced the launch of a $10 million capital pouring about $15,000 worth of concrete and steel campaign to acquire and renovate a motel on

A RENDERING OF THE PROPOSED HEAL CHARLOTTE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAMPUS. COURTESY OF HEAL CHARLOTTE

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#HomeCLT: People. Places. Promises.; and CountingUP: What’s On Your Ballot.

Best Podcast: The Black Guy Who Tips

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Everybody’s got a podcast these days, but nobody’s doing it like Rod and Karen Morrow. The couple, who have been married since 2002, broadcasts five times a week. That’s hustle ... and it’s paying off. The pair has grown a huge following over the years, garnering mentions in publications like Huffington Post, New York Times, Washington Post and Ebony. Judging by the attention alone, this is not your average local podcast. But the fun part about this show is that Rod and Karen still just kick it like only 10 people are listening. They cover race, politics, relationships and any topic that comes to mind with a laid-back air that makes them hard to hate. We’re sure plenty of people do, because America, we’re just not them.

The new shelter will be designed not just to meet the basic needs of its guests, but also to help the men staying there to emerge from homelessness by utilizing office space for on-site case management for housing and employment services, according to Roof Above. It will be around 15,000 square feet, nearly double the current 8,500-square-foot building, and will add a cooking kitchen, guest laundry services, a group room for classes and a mobile computer lab. It’s scheduled to open early in 2021. “It’s very important to meet people’s basic needs, but one of the things we’ve learned in this pandemic: There’s just no substitute for home,” said Liz ClasenKelly, CEO of Roof Above. “So a lot of what we’re adding here are things that help us get folks out of homelessness and into housing — the one-on-one support that allows people to make that transition.”

Tryon Palace is celebrating 250 years of North Carolina history. This calls for fireworks and a celebration fit for a Royal Governor. You're Invited.

Local Issue That Needs More Attention: Abuse During COVID-19

In October, officials with CMPD and Safe Alliance discussed a rise in domestic violence calls locally since COVID-19 led to restrictions and shutdowns in Best Development: New Statesville March. According to Lt. Stephen Fischbach, officers Road Emergency Shelter had seen a 6% rise in domestic violence-related calls In May, when Roof Above announced construction to that point. There have been at least 15 murders in had begun on a new state-of-the-art emergency Charlotte related to domestic violence this year, six of shelter on Statesville Road through a $1-million which involved victims killed by an intimate partner. donation from the Howard R. Levine Foundation, the The concerns don’t stop with intimate partner violence. With children out of school and people spending more time at home, there is a higher chance for child abuse and a lower chance that someone outside the family will recognize and report it. In October, Safe Alliance announced the launch of a Survivor Resource Center (SRC), a stopgap effort to help survivors of domestic violence while city and county officials continue to work toward developing a CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON A NEW STATESVILLE ROAD SHELTER IN MAY. more comprehensive Family PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN Justice Center. The SRC will focus on the highest-risk abuse existing Lucille Giles Center on the same property had already reduced bed capacity from 180 beds to 132 to cases locally to provide wraparound support, achieve proper social distancing. The location ceased though more resources will be needed throughout operations in July as Roof Above began operating the community to identify how and where abuse shelter services out of a motel to serve guests with victims are suffering silently. COVID risk factors, highlighting the precarious nature INFO@QCNERVE.COM of providing services to Charlotte’s homeless residents during a pandemic.

www.tryonpalace.org

CITY LIFE READERS’ PICKS

READERS’ PICKS: CITY LIFE

Best Free Event Friday Nights at Camp North End Runner Up: Juneteenth in Plaza Midwood

Best Photojournalist Logan Cyrus Runner Up: Alvin C. Jacobs Jr.

Best Twitter Account @cltdevelopment Runner Up: @katie_levans

Best Golf Course Charlotte Country Club Runner Up: Highland Creek Golf Club

Best Place To Get Back To Nature Blue Ridge Parkway Runner Up: Crowders Mountain

Best Twitter Account for Humor @clt_updates Runner Up: @gussirBEEF

Best Place To Get Hitched McGill Rose Garden Runner Up: Petra’s

Best Use Of Tax Money Affordable Housing Runner Up: Parks & Greenways

Best Place To People-Watch Plaza Midwood Runner Up: Optimist Hall

Best Virtual Event Girls Rock Charlotte Virtual Summer Camp Runner Up: SkillPop

Best Place To Take Out-Of-Town Visitors U.S. National Whitewater Center Runner Up: Camp North End

Best Way To Get Around Without A Car CATS Blue Line light rail Runner Up: Walking Best Weekend Getaway Asheville Runner Up: Folly Beach, Charleston, SC

Best Group Workout Charlotte Free Skate Runners Up: THE JAM: CLT, Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers Bloom Movement Artistry (tie)

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through a two-month nomination process followed by a two-month voting process. The nominations were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff at all — save for removing ourselves from a few categories to proactively dispel any notions of favoritism. In other words, if you disagree with these ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us.

Best Hero/Heroine N.C. Sen. Jeff Jackson Runner Up: Braxton Winston Best Hiking Trail Crowders Mountain Runner Up: Little Sugar Creek Greenway

Best Activist Braxton Winston Runner Up: Kristie Puckett-Williams

Best Hotel The Dunhill Hotel Runner Up: Kimpton Tryon Park

Best Place To Volunteer Time Out Youth Runners Up: Jail Support, Crisis Assistance Ministry (tie)

Best Activist Group Charlotte Uprising Runner Up: Charlotte for Choice

Best Instagram Influencer Sydney Duarte (@traveling_gypsy) Runner Up: Katie Levans (@katie_levans)

Best Apartment Complex The Village At Commonwealth Runner Up: Novel Stonewall Station

Best Investigative Reporter Joe Bruno, WSOC Runner Up: Jeff Taylor, indie journalist

Best Podcast WFAE She Says Runners Up: Mouthin’ Out, The Bad Seed Podcast (tie)

Best Area To Live Plaza Midwood Runner Up: East Charlotte

Best Local Celebrity Brad Panovich Runner Up: Luke Kuechly

Best Bike Club Ride And Destroy Runner Up: P-Ride Charlotte

Best Local Festival Charlotte PRIDE Runner Up: Yiassou Greek Festival

Best Blog Charlotte’s Got a Lot Runner Up: Pachyderm Music Lab

Best Local Mascot Sir Purr Runner Up: Hugo the Hornet

Best Business Instagram Suarez Bakery (@suarezbakery) Runner Up: Black Wednesday (@blackwedco)

Best Local Sports Figure Christian McCaffrey Runner Up: Bubba Wallace

Best Camping Spot (in state) Pisgah National Forest Runner Up: Blue Ridge Parkway

Best Local Sports Team Carolina Panthers Runner Up: Charlotte Checkers

Best Church Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte Runner Up: Temple Beth El

Best New Thing Black Lives Matter Mural Runner Up: Charlotte FC

Best Co-Working Space Hygge Runner Up: Advent Coworking

Best News Anchor Morgan Fogarty, WCCB Runner Up: Erica Bryant, WSOC

Best Disc Golf Course Reedy Creek Park Runner Up: Kilborne Park

Best News Story of the Last 12 Months Black Lives Matter Protests Runner Up: Black Lives Matter Mural

Best Event For A Good Cause RAINN Bingo Runner Up: Joyride @ Goodyear Arts

Best Nonprofit Charlotte PRIDE Runner Up: Girls Rock Charlotte

Best Facebook Page Camp North End Runner Up: Burt Savage

Best Politician Jeff Jackson Runner Up: Braxton Winston Best Radio Personality Mike Collins, WFAE Runner Up: Woody from Woody & Wilcox Best Radio Show WFAE Charlotte Talks Runners Up: The MRL Morning Show, KISS 95.1; The John Boy and Billy Big Show, 99.7 The Fox (tie)

Local Issue That Needs More Attention Affordable Housing Runner Up: Homelessness Thing We Need Less Of Luxury Apartments Runner Up: Expensive Housing Thing We Need More Of Affordable Housing Runner Up: Arts Funding Worst Politician Sen. Thom Tillis Runner Up: Tariq Bokhari Worst Use Of Tax Money Funding CMPD Runner Up: Funding Political Trips

Best Rec Center YMCA Dowd Runner Up: West Charlotte Rec Center Best Run Club NoDa Run Club Runner Up: Charlotte Running Club Best Support Group Time Out Youth Runner Up: Safe Alliance

BEST CLOTHING STORE

Best TikTok @CharlotteforChoice Runner Up: @alexthefeminist Best TV Personality Brad Panovich, WCNC Runner Up: Larry Sprinkle, WCNC Best TV Sportscaster Ashley Stroehlein, WCNC Runner Up: Matt Harris, WSOC

Best TV Station Best Personal Instagram Account WSOC Onya Nerves (@onyaofficial) Runner Up: WBTV Runner Up: Jennifer Austin (@jenniferaustinphoto)

THANK YOU!

704-375-0079 @BorisnNatasha

HALL OF SHAME

We hate to be downers, but there are some people walking the streets of Charlotte who really just made a shitty year shittier for everyone. Do better, y’all.

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Worst Politician: Tariq Bokhari

2020 was the year Tariq Bokhari finally tore away what remained of his “cool-guy conservative” mask to reveal his fully-painted clown face underneath. So what was his breakout clown moment? It wasn’t the time he helped city administrators juggle $1.5 million in COVID relief dollars and almost dropped it into the nonprofit he executive directs. That’s just typical politician stuff. It wasn’t the bad classist joke to his server at Hattie’s, that the bar owner then emblazoned on a t-shirt to memorialize how asinine he acted that night. Pretty goofy, but that’s typical tech bro stuff. It wasn’t the crocodile tears he cried about how mean Gov. Cooper was for not letting Donald Trump hold a massive, maskless convention here during a global pandemic. That’s just typical Republican stuff. His breakout clown moment came on June 4, a day after he ugly cried while taking a knee with protestors, when he tumbled into a backflip and fell all over himself thanking CMPD for trapping and gassing those same protestors later that night. You may think that’s typical bootlicker stuff, but it’s not. He deep throated those clodhoppers. He wrote a love letter to police, thanking them for pummeling citizens he’s supposed to represent, with tear gas banned by the Geneva Convention: “Thanks for using chemical munitions once things turned unlawful within the bounds the City Council has asked of you in our policy.” Nothing could sway him from his big simpin’, either. Even after CMPD’s disgraceful kettling operation was seen and widely condemned around the world, and body-cam footage revealed the entire thing was a torture plan, seemingly for the cops’ own amusement, Bokhari still stood by their tactics, telling WBTV in August that nothing about the footage changed his mind. We have at least another year of this clown show. Maybe in 2021, he can just spray himself in the face with a firehose or something.

Worst Influencer: Where To Eat Charlotte

As an influencer, Miranda “the darkest person in Mexico” Mounts, a.k.a @wheretoeatcharlotte on Instagram, is a constant reminder of my least favorite parts of Charlotte. Every photo includes Miranda with her Cheshire Cat grin, mid-bite with a caption that says something along the lines of, “10 Adorable Places to Make Off-Putting Racist Comments” or “6 Must-Have Dinners That Won’t Make You Vom (with help from my Asian friend).” It’s not the fact that she preaches authenticity while posting a highlight reel of posed “candids.” What I think sets her apart from other influencers in Charlotte is her inability to take constructive criticism seriously. When people reach out about her repeated racist behavior, her first reaction should not be to double down on the bullshit. Responding to callouts with, “Sorry that I offended you,” is not an actual apology, it’s just a cute way of saying, “I’m not taking what you said seriously and I’m sorry I got caught.” The absolute caucacity.

Worst Restaurateur: Jim Noble Coming into 2020, Jim Noble had been sly yet outspoken about his support of Donald Trump and then his opposition to the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd. He smugly tweeted on July 3, in the middle of the uprising “Get a job.” His restaurant King’s Kitchen was vandalized during the protests, which I’m sure would make anyone upset, but this isn’t Noble’s first rodeo. He has a long history of hatred in this town, including his outspoken support for the infamous HB2. I can’t say that just being a Republican and in support of Donald Trump could land you on the list as Worst Restaurateur, but when you follow the path Jim has taken all the way up to his ‘Trump Pride’ event that he held in late October, the pieces fall into place. He offered a space for false claims and conspiracy theories against President Barack

Obama long after his term had come and gone, as if he were accomplishing some grand goal. Jim may not be the worst person to walk the face of the planet, but silently propagandizing discrimination through the word of God carries a negative impact that has spread around the world for thousands of years and it something that we do not need any more of. Just like the Elevator Lady over on the next page, popularity blinds the populace of wrongdoing — in this case their blinded with barbecue — but we are not blind to the fact that you are an asshole, Jim.

Worst Restaurant Group: Bottle Cap Group No good deed goes unpunished — at least by Bottle Cap Group. Last June, when Ink N Ivy, an Uptown Charlotte restaurant owned by the culinary conglomerate, was notified about a staff member’s racist behavior, the establishment’s management acted swiftly and terminated the offender. But then ownership began retaliating against anyone in the hospitality business who commented on the original Facebook post from Queen City Nerve publisher Justin LaFrancois that alerted the community about the racist behavior in the first place. In effect, the Bottle Cap Group restaurant contacted companies and threatened to stop carrying their products because someone on their payroll spoke out against racism on social media. In addition to Ink N Ivy, Bottle Cap Group is behind Charlotte-area restaurants such as Whiskey Warehouse, Jack’s Corner Tap, Brazwells Premium Pub, Rosemont and Oak Room. Let’s not forget the group made headlines in March when one of its South End eateries, Hot Taco, was hit with federal fines for minimum wage violations and ordered to pay nearly $121,000 in back wages and damages.

Worst Business Owner: Ken Gill, CPI Security Last summer, Jorge Millares, leader of equality advocacy nonprofit Queen City Unity sent a letter

to CPI Security CEO Ken Gill calling for action in response to police violence directed against Black people. In a stunning display of racist whataboutism, Gill penned the following reply to Millares, who is also a former CPI employee: “Please spend your time in a more productive way. A better use of time would be to focus on the Black on Black crime,” Gill wrote, not-sodeftly sidestepping the main issue that police are supposed to protect and serve their community, not beat and club them. Gill’s message was not so much a dog whistle as a bullhorn, and in short order community partners, including the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets, the Charlotte Knights, YMCA and Bojangles severed all ties with CPI. Gill issued an apology saying, “Working alongside our diverse employee base and community partners, I remain committed to being part of the solution.” Apparently, the apology didn’t do the trick. Subsequently, NC State University’s Athletics Department and University of South Carolina Gamecocks Athletics also told Gill that the door might hit his ass on the way out. No sooner had the dust settled when CPI hired outgoing CMPD Chief Kerr Putney as a consultant. It was a month after Kerr’s department had ambushed and encircled a group of peaceful marchers protesting police brutality in Uptown Charlotte, before proceeding to bombard the unarmed demonstrators with chemical weapons. Upon his hiring, Putney stated, “I have always been impressed with CPI’s commitment to the underserved in our community. I’m thrilled to have found a role in which I can continue to protect people.”

Worst Anticlimax: National Convention

Republican

The Republican National Convention was going to either be the biggest economic boon the city’s ever seen or a hyper-violent shitshow fueled by the GOP’s white supremacist constituency. (As former conservative apparatchik Max Boot says, the Republicans have gone from being a conservative

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HALL OF SHAME

party with a white nationalist fringe to a white nationalist party with a conservative fringe.) As it turned out, the RNC was neither, but it took a torturous route dotted with several hairpin turns, to get to Charlotte. Last May, President Trump demanded that Gov. Cooper guarantee a full convention with no face masks and no social distancing. Cooper said he was open to negotiation, “But we are not going to sacrifice the health and safety of North Carolinians.” He asked the RNC to submit convention plans that factored in pandemic safety measures. The convention never submitted those plans. Balking at Charlotte’s social distancing measures and restricted crowd sizes, Trump and the RNC moved the convention to Jacksonville, Florida, in June. But with COVID-19 spiking in the sunshine state, the convention bounced back to Charlotte for four days August. When the RNC finally rolled into town, it was a scaled back gathering, reducing delegates from 2,500 to 336. Big guns like Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were only here for 24 hours, which amounted to a day trip for hard-working authoritarians. The rest of the glitz and speeches took place in Washington D.C., where the highlight was a loud and unhinged speech from former Fox News personality and Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. (It later transpired that Guilfoyle has a colorful history as a sexual predator at Fox.) The RNC’s main event was outside the Charlotte Convention Center. Protesters took to the streets every night of the big con, demonstrating against both the Trump administration and police violence. The police proved the protesters’ point by dousing them with pepper spray and bludgeoning them with bicycles. On the other hand, CMPD did a bang-up job of protecting white supremacists and anti-abortion activists.

Worst Corporation: Wells Fargo It’s a truly towering achievement to piss away a century and a half of goodwill, connsumer trust and impeccable community standing, but Wells Fargo has done a bang up job of doing just

that. From humble beginnings as a cross-country express service in 1852 to a regional retail banking powerhouse today, the corporation was sitting pretty. But apparently, that wasn’t enough. Back around the foreclosure crisis of 2008, Wells Fargo perfected the delightful practice of dual-tracking. That’s where the bank works with homeowners to modify their loan on one hand while the other hand starts the foreclosure process on the same homeowner. Then in 2013, the company was busted for pressuring their sales staff into setting up fraudulent accounts, signing customers up for loans and credit cards they didn’t even know about. The scandal festered for years, reaching an apotheosis when Sen. Elizabeth Warren ripped then-CEO John Stumpf a new one for being a sleazy crook scapegoating the same low-level employees Wells Fargo was systematically bullying. Then in 2017, cities like Oakland and Miami sued the bank for discrimination after Wells Fargo deliberately saddled Black and brown homebuyers with expensive and shitty mortgage terms. Just this year, Charlotte businesses applying for loans under the federal Payroll Protection Program got the runaround from Wells Fargo, first being told to apply later, then learning that funds were gone when they applied on the date set by the bank. In a plot twist worthy of a time travel story, business owners discovered that Wells Fargo stopped accepting loans because the bank exceeded a Federal Reserveimposed cap on loans. The cap was instituted in 2018 after Wells Fargo was found guilty of — wait for it — creating millions of phony accounts! Add this to the bank’s propensity for approving loans for large corporations in lieu of the small businesses that PPP was designed to help, and you’ve got a picture of the racist, greedy and sleazy circular shitshow that is Wells Fargo, a name synonymous with scandal.

Worst Sports Figure: Dan DiMicco When Charlotte Independence striker Dane Kelly took a knee and raised his fist to the sky after scoring a goal in the team’s first home game of

2020, it was more than just a signal of support to the Black Lives Matter movement, it was a provocative middle finger to the team’s owner, Dan DiMicco, who spent much of June sounding off on Twitter about his beliefs that the Black Lives Matter protests were not protests at all but riots organized by the bogeymen of Antifa. As other USL Championship teams took action in response to the racial reckoning happening in the United States, implementing initiatives around race, class and gender, the Independence remained handcuffed by their owner’s backwards beliefs. Support for the team, which already garnered some of the worst ticket sales and support in the league, began to falter. The team’s fan club, Jack’s Militia, released a statement calling on someone within the organization to take a stand against racial injustice, but other than a fruitless meeting with Militia president Ben Goshorn, there were mostly crickets. Not from players, however, who eventually teamed up with local youth development organization Heal Charlotte and also raised money for homeless support organization Block Love Charlotte. Cheers to them for not kneeling to the owner, but instead taking a knee in defiance. As for DiMicco, even as this paper goes to print, the former trade adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign is ranting away on Twitter about election fraud and the vote count in Georgia. Some folks will never get it.

Don’t Let the Elevator Door Hit You: Cherie Berry You have to hand it to “Elevator Lady” Cherie Berry for punching all the right buttons to garner name recognition and get elected. The NC Labor Commissioner is best known for placing her photo on the state-mandated inspection certificates that hang inside elevators. As a campaign gambit, it’s so simple it’s brilliant. When you’re stuck in a slowmoving elevator with nothing to do, you’re going to notice the pictures and remember the kindlylooking lady with the cute name when it’s time to cast a ballot. As a result, the staunch Republican has headed the state’s labor department since 2001.

PHOTO CAPTION PHOTO CREDIT

But no more. Berry declined to run for reelection this year, and will leave office in January 2021. It would have been much better for North Carolina if she had stepped off a lot sooner. When she wasn’t slapping her face on elevators and looking out for the employers who bankroll her campaigns, Berry was constantly doing her damnedest to undercut workers. Under her Occupational Safety & Health Agency (OSH), many employers have been shielded from hefty fines for serious safety breaches. She’s refused a federal order to raise the state’s penalties for employer workplace violations, and even contended that North Carolina’s “at-will” employment law means workers can be fired for refusing to report for work in the midst of a hurricane. In a perversion of her job title, Berry is negligent, mean-spirited and contemptuous of the working men and women she’s been charged to protect and serve. She might think she’s going out on top, but her reputation belongs in the subbasement. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

OBITUARIES Pour one out for the ones we lost along the way

Every time a business is forced to shut its doors for good, a ripple effect passes through the community. While most of the social media chatter revolves around patrons who loved the place, it hits hardest for the folks who clocked in every day and relied on that business to pay their rent or mortgage. Whether caused by COVID-19, development, or the death of a beloved owner, as was the case with Oasis Day Spa, Charlotte’s first Black-owned day spa, each closure is the end of a chapter for everyone involved. We’ve picked a few businesses that were our favorites to say a few words about on these pages, and we wish the best for everyone affected by all of these closures.

The Manor Theatre (1947-2020)

From Gentlemen’s Agreement in 1947, to JoJo Rabbit in 2019, the Manor Theatre has been creating movie-going memories for generations of Charlotteans. The city’s oldest movie theater was launched by H.B. Meiselman of Eastern Federal Corp. on April 1, 1947, with a showing of The Egg and I starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. Over the years, it became the go-to venue for the kind of alternative or independent films passed over by the multiplexes. The theater also enthusiastically supported the Charlotte Film Society, a volunteer consortium of cineastes, and its eclectic slate of artsy and outré films. Manor also partnered with the Charlotte Art League, which would display new artwork every month in the Manor’s lobby. That all changed in 2005 when Regal acquired the theater. No longer run as a family-owned Charlotte business, The Manor ousted the Art League and the Charlotte Film Society. But the twin screens continued to feature films beyond the industry’s superhero blockbuster norm, and the Myers Park venue remained cemented in movie lovers’ hearts and minds as a link to both tradition and artistic experimentation. Last May, the 73-year-old theater, also known as The Manor Twin, saw its dual screens fade to black one last time.

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Carpe Diem (1989-2020) Iyengar Yoga Charlotte (1993-2020)

One of the pioneers who popularized yoga in the west, B.K.S. Iyengar brought his teachings to the U.S. in 1956. In time he counted novelist Aldous Huxley, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and actress Annette Bening among his adherents. Iyengar’s style of yoga is characterized by the

precision of its poses and the use of props such as belts, blocks and blankets to help practitioners attain the poses. Just as Iyengar was a yoga pathfinder, so too is Phyllis Rollins, who opened Charlotte’s first yoga studio in 1993. From its studio in Elizabeth, Iyengar Yoga Charlotte became a focal point for teaching yoga fundamentals. Then after 27 years in business, Rollins announced on her studio website that her practice and her business was poised to undergo a transformation. Rollins noted that while people stayed home during the pandemic the earth began to recover from the onslaught of human development and encroachment. She decided that the most sustainable way forward for her classes was to offer all of them virtually. Rollins decided to let her Elizabeth studio go, and shut its doors last May. “I know this may be sad news,” Rollins writes, “but I hope you have begun to see some of the advantages that live stream classes offer in the development of your home practice.”

Oasis Day Spa (1997-2020) Nova’s Bakery (1996-2020)

Every Sunday growing up, my dad and I would grab our respective books for the following week from Book Buyers and follow the excursion by heading down the street to Nova’s Bakery to get our usual, a black coffee with a little honey for him and a hot chocolate for myself. Sunday afternoons were spent sharing the plots of the books we just bought and sharing theories of how the conflicts would play out. I think my love for coffee shops and coffee, in general, began in this quaint neighborhood spot. Its quiet, cozy atmosphere made it the perfect

escape for a kid with not many friends and far too many fantasy books on her to-read shelf. The love affair continued while visiting on breaks from college, though I moved on from hot chocolate to lattes with a double shot of espresso. It’s sad to see this childhood staple close but I understand that comes with the territory of a constantly developing neighborhood. I’ll always have those fond memories of getting deeply engrossed in fantastical plots with my dad, dragging friends and partners there to gossip over pastries and finding a peaceful solitude while people-watching through the window.

The Mayobird/Summit Room (20172020) Bill Spoon’s BBQ (1963-2020)

I first tried Bill Spoon’s BBQ in 2017. Everyone I was dining with told me that Spoon’s was the best BBQ spot in Charlotte. And look, I understand that being beloved isn’t a guarantee that you’ll make it through the worst global pandemic of this century. But man, people seemed to love Spoons. It felt for a moment there like we could rally around local favorites and save them from closure, like we did with Lang Van. The closure of Spoon’s, months after lockdown ended, was a sobering reminder that this virus is on an amoral warpath. Like I said on Twitter: “If you don’t buy food from a restaurant, they will close.”

Bold Missy Brewery (2017-2020)

Fitzgerald’s (2012-2020)

The bright red Fitzgerald’s sign that lured so many of us into its trap for eight years has finally been turned off and Charlotte is reeling. The “American tavern with an Irish twist” solidified its place in the hearts of Charlotteans traipsing through the corner of Fifth and College Streets. The sights of hundreds of bargoers and spots fans alike spilling out of the bar onto the patio or scattered throughout the bar in the warm light of night no longer to be seen. The food (and bartenders) that kept many coming back, no longer to be tasted. And the tradition of family gatherings, happy hours, and game nights no longer to be had. Fitzgerald’s you will be sorely missed.

Sammy’s Deli (1997-2020) CIAA (2006-2020)

The finale of CIAA was bittersweet. In February, some bought flights to escape the city, some bought tickets to support the basketball tournament, and the majority bought tickets to some of the largest parties Charlotte has ever seen. Whether you were a participant or a hater, CIAA without a doubt brought thousands of visitors, millions of dollars of revenue to the city, and an explosion of culture that Charlotte often had to be reminded that it needed. As with any large event, the annual week of parties came with its ups and downs, but it became a part of the fabric of the community. It is with resigned sadness (with a touch of indifference) but excitement for a new norm that Charlotte gives CIAA a warm goodbye and good tidings for success in Baltimore.

Thirsty Nomad Brewery (20162020)

La Belle Helene (2018-2020)

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When La Belle Helene, an upscale French brasserie started construction on South Tryon Street, the interests of passersby and the palates of food connoisseurs were piqued. And then insiders with the scoop started sharing their “sneak peeks” and the food scene was absolutely abuzz with anticipation of the grand opening and the chance to capture the picturesque cuisine, decor, and Instagrammable bathrooms. After opening, La Belle Helene quickly became a coveted French culinary escape from the mundane from the passionate plating to the interior design. Each detail was thoughtful and none were overlooked. Charlotte will yearn for a single bite from their favorite dish for many years to come. Au revoir Le Belle Helene!

OBITUARIES

Wet Willie’s (2010-2020)

For many, Wet Wille’s was the go-to spot to get “wet” i.e. liquored up before and after a music or comedy show at the Music Factory. During the day, it may be a dead zone, but you didn’t need a large crowd when you ordered, “A large Call-A-Cab please with a jello shooter on the side.” The diverse array of flavored icy, frozen drinks would summon a brain freeze for even the most seasoned of slushy connoisseurs, and yet, people kept going back for more. It was often a laughable venture when someone suggested that be the move, but now that it’s gone, the mouths of bargoers have gone dry. If Charlotteans want to wet their whistle at Wet Willie’s now they’ll have to venture to Columbia, Beaufort, or Myrtle Beach in South Cack.

Queen City Q (2012-2020)

Chris’ Deli (1980-2020)

Buffalo Exchange (2011-2020)

Lucky’s Bar & Arcade (2016-2020)

For the up-and-coming thrifter, Buffalo Exchange was a thrill ride. From the moment you walked into the store, the visual appeal of colorful used and vintage clothing would overtake your senses. For seasoned thrifters, it was no secret that the prices were much higher than those at Goodwill and Value Village. But there was something to be said about the care that the “pickers” took when deciding which items to purchase from sellers who brought clothing in — each item carefully examined and handpicked making the task of finding “good picks” for new shoppers pretty easy. The look and smell of old, colorful clothing clisters brought comfort to the eyes and noses of many passersby on Central Avenue and will be missed dearly. The good news? You can still sell or trade your clothing by mail!

The People’s Market (2017-2020)

Following in the footsteps of the arcade game renaissance culture came Lucky’s Bar & Arcade, and it became the go-to spot for the casual gamer searching for a nightlife atmosphere. It was often the spot that felt like a “Why not? I’m already here” decision when determining what to do next while bouncing around Uptown. After Lucky’s replaced the everso popular BAR Charlotte, many would argue that the “party hard, drink harder” mentality never left following the transition. On busy nights, Lucky’s Bar & Arcade felt very much like a club. A few patrons sprinkled throughout may have been playing games intently while others were grabbing cocktails at the bar, dancing, and giving away the precious game coins they purchased upon entry. While it may not have been THE ultimate arcade bar in Charlotte, it was greatly appreciated for the interactive appeal it brought to the Uptown nightlife scene. And the Nerds Rope cocktail will certainly be missed.

The Pink Hanger (2007-2020)

Corkbuzz (2015-2020)

While some may have been intimidated by the world of wine, Laura Maniec, master sommelier and owner of Corkbuzz Wine Studio, created an atmosphere that was approachable, conversational, communal, and downright sexy when she opened the doors of Corkbuzz Restaurant & Wine Bar + The Cellar at Corkbuzz in Southpark. Laura opened two Corkbuzz locations in New York before deciding to come on down to the South. And for those that had the chance to visit, they know that Corkbuzz stood out far beyond the rest when it came to the wine landscape of Charlotte. Combine a wine menu that offers diversity in taste and selection with winemaker dinners, classes, private events, a stellar dinner and brunch menu, and then top it off with a boss-ass master sommelier, and well, you had quite the recipe for a delectable experience. The good news? You can still get your “corkbuzz” on! The New York locations haven’t been closed permanently, virtual classes are still a go, and custom wine packages curated by Laura Maniec are still available.

The Wooden Vine Wine Bar & Bistro (2011-2020) Elizabeth Billiards (1986-2020)

A bar name that only recently begged the question, “Why Elizabeth and not Plaza Midwood?” But if you know, you know. Until November, Elizabeth Billiards was tucked behind CVS pharmacy on Pecan Avenue, a coveted favorite for regulars for 23 years, but before that it had been a hangout for pool sharks in the Elizabeth neighborhood since 1986. That’s why there was a public outcry when owners announced they would be closing their doors for good … or at least until we hear news of a third location. EB’s, as it was lovingly called, was the spot many went to play pool, shoot darts, hang out on the patio, and stumble out when the night came to a sad end. While Elizabeth Billiards’chapter at this Plaza Midwood location may have ended, the story isn’t over.

Owners have assured us on social media that they will be looking for a new home soon. And while it won’t be quite the same, we can rest easy knowing we’ll see them again one day.

Upstream (2000-2020) Yoga One

Let’s keep it real, everyone’s hopped on the yoga train at some point under the notion that they would find the inner peace, sobriety, balance, serenity or the keys to the universe they’ve always been looking for. And most of the time, that search ended after a mere two or three sessions. But Yoga One was a whole different beast when it came to attracting ride-or-die yogis. What at first felt “cool, cozy, and trendy” for the newbies just trying to figure it out, soon felt like home, a part of their routine. You’ve heard about the idea “six degrees of separation?” There was a time where name dropping Yoga One, a friend’s name you went with to a class, or an instructor would conjure someone in the room who was a regular attendee, who became a licensed instructor, or who discovered their obsession with yoga there. Best believe, the yoga community will be reeling over this loss.

Luciano’s (2013-2020) Rooftop 210 (2008-2020)

Three words: Alive After Five. Anyone who attended AA5 in the EpiCentre back in the day knows that Thursday night happy hours weren’t complete until you made your way to the top floor at Rooftop 210. If you did it right, you pregamed elsewhere and were good and saucy before attempting to rub shoulders with strangers pretending to have the funds (unless you were in banking) to support the expensive cocktails you were about to purchase. If it wasn’t for AA5, you were there for rooftop concerts with skyline views, or pay-to-party events like New Year’s Eve. Whatever your purpose, any EpiCentregoer landed on the Rooftop and most likely stumbled off into a taxi after. Oh the memories (or lack thereof) we will have to hold onto. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

CONSUMER CULTURE

CRITICS’ PICKS: CONSUMER CULTURE

Best New Place: The Corner

Best Local Item: Charlotte Skyscraper Chess Set

won’t find anywhere else.

A corner for the culture in the north Charlotte suburbs. A haven for hip-hop heads and hypebeasts. The Corner is part bodega and part artists’ lounge. Here you can cop goodies like Rap Snacks, Funko Pops, artist tees and limited collections from indie designers. You can also catch pop ups from We had to say goodbye to too many of our performing and visual artists, or just catch them cherished local businesses this year, and we hope vibing. Store owner Amy Goudy is known in the everyone involved in those closures gets back on Charlotte hip-hop community for cultivating spaces their feet moving forward. We also want to shout that cater to collaboration among young artists. out the folks still standing in the community. Here’s Now, she invites the public in to participate and to hoping we can do a little less online shopping gives them a curated collection of cool shit to shop and a little more perusing come 2021. while they’re at it. This is the one store in Charlotte I know I can go to and see, hear, and buy something I

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Joel Bonasera, founder of Making Things CLT, left his decade-long career in science and tech education to focus on digital fabrication, and he’s gotten pretty damn good at it. After spending two years obsessively working on a scale model of Uptown, Joel noticed that the buildings would translate well into a chess set. And that’s how legendary ideas are born. Standing at heights ranging from 1.5 inches (the Odell building as pawns) to 3.65 inches (the Bank of America Corporate Center as kings), the set is designed for a small chessboard with squares between 1.5-1.85 inches. The set is completed by the Duke Energy Center (queen), One Wells Fargo Center (bishop), Hearst Tower (knight), and The Vue (rook). Visit makingthingsclt.com to check it out.

EASTWAY CROSSING

Best Strip Mall: Eastway Crossing

This unassuming strip mall is no longer a secret kept by urban adventurers drawn to the shopping center’s growing list of diverse and exciting stores and eateries. In some ways, Eastway Crossing feels like a throwback to the Plaza Midwood of the past, — an artsy, eclectic bohemian enclave unsullied by cookie-cutter chain stores and restaurants. The once-upon-a-Plaza Midwood vibe is reinforced by some of the older tenants in the mall. Many like Dairy Queen, Armada Skate Shop and Tommy’s Pub are refugees from Plaza Midwood’s wrecking ball and ridiculously skyrocketing rents. VisArt Video, a longtime anchor of the strip, relocated from nearby Elizabeth. EastSide Local, a cozy café

PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

CONSUMER CULTURE CRITICS’ PICKS and oasis for vegans and vegetarians is next to the video store. The café’s co-owner Gina Stewart, who also manages both businesses, is creating a synergy between EastSide Local and VisArt. These businesses, plus Atlantic Farmers Market, Portofino’s Pizza and US Food Chef Store have been joined by independent restaurant Royal African Cuisine, essential oils shop Taj Essentials, bottle shop Bart’s Mart, a dog salon and more. Open Door Studios, which held ballet, jazz, and modern dance classes in Plaza Midwood for 15 years, will be coming to the crossing in the spring. “There’s some really cool stuff here, and if it continues, it’s going to be great,” Stewart offers. “Plus, you can park here.”

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Best Tattoo Shop: Made To Last Tattoo

The pandemic has been all about survival for people and businesses, and once survival has been obtained, it’s all about giving back to the community. Made To Last Tattoo has been giving back to the community in large sums since opening in July 2016. At the beginning of the pandemic, shop co-owner Chris Stuart’s wife Maria was diagnosed with breast cancer just weeks after finding out she was pregnant with their second child. Shop employees started a GoFundMe, hosted art auctions on Instagram and even auctioned off a 1963 Oldsmobile to raise over $200,000 for the couple to move forward. The shop is also big on backing Safe Alliance in their goal of supporting survivors of domestic violence. They regularly host flash tattoo events in support of the annual Still Not Asking For It fundraising initiatives. To date, Made To Last has raised nearly $40,000 in support of Safe Alliance, sometimes having tattooers from around the country come in and tattoo from noon to 3 a.m. In addition, this year they’ve also raised over $4,000 for The Pink House Charlotte and $5,000 for the beloved Lang Van, as well as sharing local business’ GoFundMe pages through their own social media. Studio manager Brandon Swiderski, who heads up most of the shop’s charitable endeavors and has recently started his own 501c3, Derski Foundation, says, “We believe that we treat people super well and it creates a sense of community within our shop and emanates outward. It feels like a family honestly. That when somebody is in need, there are no questions asked and our whole community rallies and answers the call. A tattoo is meaningful

and cool of course, but we are super grateful that we prescription for stir craziness. are able to take that platform and make a difference Owner Preston Brown and the rest of his team in our city.” at the Belmont drive-in stepped up to the high demand, hosting regular movies and concerts, Best Collaborative Space: Camp including big acts like Metallica! OK, so Metallica was just a live-recorded North End concert that streamed to drive-in theaters around Everyone is looking for the next best thing to the country (Garth Brooks did the same) but the collaborate on. We get requests all the time from theater did host plenty of worthwhile shows and, people saying “Let’s work on something together!” let’s be honest, even the Top 40 cover band were Though those statements rarely come with a solid good enough reason to get out of the house and do idea, it shows that collaboration is the best way to something. get your name, work or community engagement efforts out there for the world to see. Camp North End doesn’t just host that space, but actively works Best Pet Rescue: Humane Society of to collaborate with creatives, creators and innovators Charlotte throughout the year to provide space for everyone to The wonder of bringing a four-legged enjoy. companion into your home is exciting for you and Art studios, small businesses, festivals, events, whichever pet you end up adopting. The Humane live-music bookings, food stalls, retail and office Society of Charlotte has trained adoption counselors space, architecture design opportunities, goats, that match you with the animal that is best suited to murals, culinary activations, pop-up markets and your lifestyle and provide the resources necessary to almost anything else you can think of has, or will create a loving home for your new friend. eventually, take place within the 76-acre space just Everything is so up in the air this year and it can north of Uptown between North Graham Street and be hard getting through it on your own. If you’re in Statesville Road. the market for an apocalypse buddy make sure to The space has been slowly built out over the adopt, don’t shop. past three years to become a daily destination for Charlotteans looking for walkable spaces to expand local experiences. Most recently they partnered with Blumenthal Performing Arts to bring a premiere of next year’s We Are Hip Hop festival that Blumenthal plans to activate quarterly. CNE collaborated with Free Range Brewing to brew Camp Beer, a Carolina light lager. They collaborated with culinary elites to showcase top quality food and bev through their Next Plate series. The list goes on and will continue to go on well into the coming years. As long as the space continues to work as an incubator for Black-owned businesses and POC creatives, it can curb the potential that it may become its own gentrifying force in years to come. The CNE team works its ass off to create and showcase the things that make this city great.

Best Place at the Right Time: Hound’s Drive-In

When we came rolling into 2020 with big stupid smiles on our faces, not a single one of us were thinking about a drive-in movie theater. However, come late spring, as that shutdown was starting to wear on our mentals, it turned out a live-music venue/movie theater where one can stay in the car with their quarantine family was the perfect

Best Plant Shop: Shades of Moss

Hidden away in the upstairs of an unassuming white house on East 7th Street is Shades of Moss, a Black-owned plant shop. Every inch of the small room is covered with greenery of all shapes and sizes, along with local plant-themed artwork and gardening books. Barry Greene, the shop’s owner, offers a helping hand to everyone from novices to the full-fledged plant aficionados. Greene recently tested positive for COVID-19 and took a step back, letting his mother take the reigns, all the while offering virtual guidance via appointment for shoppers. It’s this kind of accommodating service that sets Shades of Moss apart from the larger box stores.

Best Etsy: Art By Monday

Charlotte-based artist Stacie Monday creates stunning paintings that, according to her Etsy bio, “seek to deconstruct the negative stereotypes of Black women with which we are bombarded on a daily basis.” Her Etsy is full of poster prints and gorgeous canvas prints that give a similar feel to buying an original piece at a more affordable price. Monday’s work has an unmistakable artistic signature, putting abstract twists on her subjects, which are almost exclusively Black women.

CONSUMER CULTURE CRITICS’ PICKS Whatever piece you choose it is sure to include a colorful palette that will brighten up the space in which it hangs and be a statement-making piece you will treasure and love to show off. If you’ve gotta spend all day, every day in your home, you may as well pick up some local art as eye candy.

Best Designer: J.Reid

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The soft-spoken J. Reid lets his fashion do the talking for him. The king of the local pop-up, you can always catch J.Reid putting out new gear, you just don’t know where that might happen next. From the Lauryn Hill tee to his most recent falling man sweatshirt to the more simplistic J.Reid signature designs, his work is always on point. And that’s not even to mention his trademark-style sunglasses, which bring a whole new dynamic to his repertoire. Keep an eye on @j.reid_ on Insta for the next local pop-up, because there’s no telling what he might bring next.

her clients, including Thomas Davis, Trai Turner, and Kyle Larson. Extremely versatile, Erica is a stylist that has conquered the industry offering her expertise in personal, commercial, and editorial styling and consulting for companies, agencies, personal clients and athletes alike. We love a woman that can do it all! This year alongside Sarah Ashley, Erica pivoted to meet demand and added a multi-brand digital e-commerce site to her extensive resume when her newest venture, Showroom, was born. Featured in both Women’s Wear Daily and The New York Times, you can check out Erica’s breathtaking portfolio on her website theericahanks.com or shop with Erica at shopshowroom.com.

Best Video Store: VisArt

In this case of, our category title is wholly inadequate for the winner of said category. Yes, VisArt is a video store — as far as we can tell the only independent one in Charlotte that isn’t adultthemed. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Even better, it’s a cool and crazy brick and mortar store where you can pop into its warren of VISART VIDEO shelves lined with movies and merch including movie or series in mind, you’re bound to come out t-shirts, masks, stickers and the-fly-that-lived-onBest Stylist: Erica Hanks with something completely different. The joys of Mike-Pence’s-head action figures, and get lost in If you’re familiar with Charlotte fashion, or just discovery awaiting patrons at VisArt cannot be movie nerd heaven. fashion in general overstated. You never know when the “WTF really, the name Erica did I just see?” show you snapped up on a Hanks has probably whim will become your next obsession. come up. Her passion But in addition to being a video store, for personal style VisArt has become a nonprofit, with the is as contagious as mission of promoting filmmaking-andher energy, and she watching in Charlotte. Plans for the future embraces the notion include providing a hub and meeting space that what we wear is for the city’s film community and curating a an extension of who film library that includes classics and rarities. we are. Pre-COVID you could catch some of the Erica knows that latest finds from the Charlotte Film Society’s when we look good, Back Alley Film Series in VisArt’s comfy, cool we feel good, and her screening room, where several indie releases goal is to ensure each get their coveted theatrical run — crucial for client she works with cash-strapped auteurs’ marketing budgets. looks and feels like a But while we await the pandemic’s end, million bucks. Highly VisArt remains the go-to venue for classics, sought after by the new releases and weird and wonderful country’s top athletes, mind-bending experiences. On a recent executives, and high visit, we scored a copy of House, a perky profile personalities, upbeat supernatural mystery where highit’s easy to see why PHOTO BY DARCY O’HARA spirited Japanese school girls gradually get ERICA HANKS Fox Sports East Coast devoured by a haunted house. Somehow this hired Erica as their hallucinogenic, batshit crazy ensemble piece was Be forewarned: Even if you’ve entered the city’s head of wardrobe. Even if you don’t recognize Erica the director’s attempt to emulate Jaws. most diverse cinema portal with a specific rental by name, I’m willing to bet you recognize some of

PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

Best Book Store: Book Buyers

When we venture into Book Buyers with a hunter/gatherer gleam in our eyes, wait a full day before contacting air/sea rescue. Amid the used books, DVDs, CDs, vegan food and household products and adorable kittens up for adoption, it’s all too easy to get lost in Plaza Midwood’s funky and eclectic Mecca for bibliophiles. The best damned used book store in Charlotte has a boundless selection of best sellers, classics and curios, but the store is also a multitude of other things. Lee Rathers sells vegan products from her store The Greener Apple, housed in the front. Cute and furry kittens, rescued by Virginia O’Riley, scamper down the aisles looking for you to give them a permanent home. Need another point of interest? Owner Richard Rathers, who has been a coal miner, a school teacher and a pilot, is also building a full-sized airplane. You can see it hanging from the ceiling above the kittens’ sleeping quarters. In recent years, the store has gone from a cherished semi-secret for the city’s book lovers to a bustling destination for young professionals that have moved into the neighborhood. It’s a heartwarming sight for anyone who has feared that the country is lapsing into illiteracy, or that Plaza Midwood is losing its cool. Take it from us, a trip to Book Buyers will restore your belief in the goodness of everything funky and bohemian.

CONSUMER CULTURE

back bohemian types — a staple for anyone that Stop by and say “Hi!” to Jekia and buy yourself doesn’t fit into the financial and banking-centric something special for the holiday season. parts of Charlotte’s community. CRITICS’ PICKS Over the past half-century-plus, the loyal Best Consignment: Nouveaux customers that Infinity’s End served have brought Consignment Boutique Best Pop-Up Shop: Oakhurst Mess in generations of other customers; parents bring in New to the neighborhood but not to Charlotte, their children, who in turn, bring in their children. Nouveaux Consignment Boutique brings its unique Market It’s not just a head shop, but a family-friendly retail style to Plaza Midwood. Taking over the historic When the going got tough this year, the pop-up store . space that used to house local favorite Frock aficionados Esther & Elsa got tougher. As COVID hit Shop, Nouveaux has embodied the energy of its the small-business community hard, the minds that Best Clothing Store: Five 13 Studio predecessor and made it their own as they find their brought you Front Porch Sunday and Nebel’s Alley The first time we walked into Five 13 Studio footing in their new neighborhood home. Night Market dug in — knowing that their vendors we were not expecting to be met with every color, The shop offers an array of items for women and community needed them now more than ever. texture, and fabric known to man at such great including Louis Vouitton handbags, funky Nine A result of hardship, uncertainty, and determination prices. It’s hard not to walk out with the whole West boots, and vintage fur coats with price points in the face of both those things, the Oakhurst Mess store in your bag. Customers are surrounded by chic anywhere from $20-$500. While traditionally Market became a beacon in the night for local smalleveryday staples, paired alongside fringe, sequins, catering to an upscale consignment demographic, business owners. and patterns galore. Better yet? Owner Jekia Doss we hope Nouveaux will also seize the opportunity Throughout the year the Oakhurst Mess Benson, a local fashion stylist and wardrobe curator, Market, located in its namesake neighborhood, hosted a small outdoor market of local vendors across the street from Common Market Oakwold, which often provided the morning coffee while the market provided a variety of goods from fresh local produce, groceries, and plants, to soaps and home goods. The team worked diligently to prepare the community for shopping in the era of COVID by instituting firm regulations and effectively educating people about what to expect. At a time when we were all looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, in a lot of ways it wasn’t just small businesses who needed this lifeline - it was the community too. Keep up with Jordan Dollard and the Esther & Elsa team to see what they’ve got up their sleeves next on SISTERS BONNIE WARFORD (LEFT) AND TRICIA MADDREY (RIGHT) IN FRONT OF EARL’S GROCERY ON ELIZABETH AVENUE Instagram @estherandelsa. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

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Best Head Shop: Infinity’s End

Infinity’s End began as Charlotte’s first head shop over 50 years ago in 1969. Along with the typical items you’d find at a smoke shop, shoppers can find skateboarding equipment, metaphysical crystals and even cuckoo clocks. Before you get to the head shop in the back of whichever location you visit, you’ll pass by jewelry, clothing, gifts, crystals, disc-golf equipment and much more. The dynamic shop mainly caters to the counterculture and laid-

is as vibrant as the clothing she lines the walls of her store with. She makes you feel like you just walked through the door at your own personal wardrobe fitting. With such a diverse offering, Five 13 Studio has you covered whether you’re looking for something casual yet sassy, or a show-stopping piece for a special (socially distant) event. This year Five 13 Studio opened a physical retail space at The RailYard and is open 10 am - 6 pm Tuesday through Saturday.

to fill the thrifting gap that was left behind after the loss of Buffalo Exchange earlier this year in the same neighborhood. They strive to offer items that are on-trend, including vintage, rather than just labels and price points, and we’re excited to see how their offerings and style continues to evolve. While they offer a small selection of what you can find online (along with tips for consignors) you’ll want to drop in the store to really get a feel for everything they have.

Best Grocery Store: Earl’s Grocery

When sisters Bonnie Warford and Tricia Maddrey closed their iconic Carpe Diem Restaurant and Caterers in the spring, they didn’t know it would be for the last time. By June, however, the sisters had to make the heartbreaking announcement that after 30 years, Carpe Diem was shutting its doors, making the Elizabeth staple one of the first restaurants in Charlotte to close permanently because of the pandemic. The unshakable sisters weren’t giving up completely, however. In the same statement grieving the closing of Carpe Diem, they announced the planned reimagining of Earl’s Grocery, another local joint they own just a few doors down from the former Carpe Diem on Elizabeth Avenue. With less than a month left on Earl’s lease, rather than riding out the remaining time and closing for good, Warford and Maddrey chose to take a leap of faith and extend it for another six, then revamp and reopen the popular shop. Balance and flexibility have been the key ingredients in curating the selection. Shoppers will find a variety of everyday cleaning products, cereal, canned goods and specialty items, including a handful of local favorites such as Homeland Creamery milk, Duke’s Bread, Chef Alyssa’s Spreads, Cannizzaro sauces, and Pure Intentions Coffee.

CONSUMER CULTURE CRITICS’ PICKS The recently closed Carpe Diem and reimagined Earl’s Grocery are testaments to the sisters’ drive, showing that no matter what, they have given their all throughout the entirety of their careers. With over six decades of service industry experience between them, Warford and Maddrey managed to stay flexible and true to their values even in the midst of a pandemic.

Best Record Records

Store:

Lunchbox

the health and safety of his staff and customers. Drive by the store any Saturday and you’ll see masked patrons lined up outside the front door. Wishart still strictly limits the amount of people allowed inside the store, and judging by the line forming in his parking lot, it doesn’t seem to have hurt the shop’s popularity. Lunchbox won’t turn away business, but they don’t want anybody to die for it.

Best Bottle Shop: Bloom & Bottle

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Fourteen years ago, Lunchbox Records opened Bloom & Bottle is more in a storefront in Plaza Midwood. It was a time than just a bottle shop. In fact, before vinyl’s dramatic commercial resurgence, they’ve taken two of Charlotte’s when it seemed that physical media like records favorite things — booze and and CDs were on the wane. Instead, Lunchbox LUNCHBOX RECORDS plants — and combined them flourished, moving to bigger and better digs in the PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN into one funky package. While Belmont neighborhood. small in size, owner Doug Coty and Today, the bright blue building that was Bloomer, runs the store because he loves music. got gobbled up by big corporations pleading poor; beertender Ben Grimm have created a space that formerly a funeral home is a beacon to music lovers You also have to hand it to Wishart for his when pressure mounted for merchants to open their across the city. It’s clear that owner Scott Wishart, response to COVID-19. When financial aid for small doors to bring in enough people and money to keep packs a powerful punch with an energy as spirited who plays drums in local indie rock band Late businesses beset by the pandemic’s economic fallout the wolf at bay; Wishart stuck to his guns, ensuring as the bouquets Doug designs.

CONSUMER CULTURE CRITICS’ PICKS Featuring a rotating tap including a variety of beers from across the nation, a wide array of classic and unique wine offerings, and even some local snacks and provisions, there’s a little something for everyone (and it’s all delicious too). If you’re not sure what you’re looking for don’t be scared to give Ben a flavor profile and let him pick your next drink! You won’t be disappointed. There is no kitchen on the property, but most nights Carlos Dogs can be found on the patio slinging everything from tacos and empanadas to his famous Classic Carlos Dogs. Plus, food from other establishments is welcome as well, which is a huge perk considering Ace No. 3’s and Sweet Lew’s are right across the street. This team has a penchant for supporting local and have already hosted local community vendors and charity events despite the pandemic and the restrictions they’ve had to accommodate to keep staff and patrons alike safe. Whether you’re stopping in for a beautiful bouquet and a bottle of wine to go, or if you’re

BLOOM & BOTTLE

PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

planning to drink a couple socially distant beers on the patio, Bloom & Bottle is a one-stop shop — just don’t forget your mask. From the eclectic interior decor to the handpainted mural to the heated outdoor patio space, the flowers aren’t the only beautiful thing about Bloom & Bottle.

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Best Way To Stay in Touch: Good Postage

Best Local Product Thank you Charlotte! goodpostage.com

Camp North End 270 Camp Rd. Ste. 102 Charlotte, NC 28206

This is the year of long-distance friendships made easier by technology in the form of Zoom parties and Facetime dates. It doesn’t hit you how much time you’re spending staring at screens big and small until that pesky screen-time data is staring you right in the face. So, how are we supposed to stay in contact with socially distant friends without getting sucked into the seductive tech rabbit hole? Two words: write letters. The act of sitting down and writing a thoughtful note just because is unmatched. especially when you’ve got some adorable stationery to do it with. Good Postage, which opened in Camp North End earlier this year, is a paper good store owned by mother-daughter duo Karen & Jane Manfredi. The stationary, greeting cards and stickers they carry are printed on recycling paper and covered in quirky, hand-drawn artwork. Jane Manfredi, School of the Art Institute graduate and the daughter of the duo, is responsible for all the designs. Jane captures animals, everyday objects, zodiac signs and memorable moments with color and charm. Check them out at goodpostage.com. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

CONSUMER CULTURE READERS’ PICKS

READERS’ PICKS: CONSUMER CULTURE

Best Consignment Shop Sleepy Poet Runner Up: Buffalo Exchange Best Dentist Plaza Midwood Dentistry Runner Up: Dilworth Family Dentistry Best Doctor Dr. Rhett Brown Runner Up: Dr. Allen Shepard Best Doggie Daycare Lucky Dog Bark & Brew Runner Up: NoDa Bark & Board

Best Attorney Tin Nguyen Runner Up: Troy Thresher

Best Dry Cleaner 2ULaundry Runner Up: Carriage Cleaners

Best Auto Dealer CarMax Runner Up: Scott Clark Toyota

Best Fashion Designer Jade Sky Runner Up: RCB Fashion

Best Bank State Employees’ Credit Union Runner Up: Bank of America

Best Fitness Studio Ebb & Flow Movement Studio Runner Up: Bloom Movement Artistry

Best Barber Shop Midwood Barbers Runner Up: Bishops Cuts & Color

Best Flea Market (within an hour of Charlotte) Charlotte Open Air Market Runner Up: Webb Road Flea Market, Salisbury

Best Bicycle Shop The Spoke Easy Runner Up: Charlotte Re-Cyclery Best Bookstore Park Road Books Runner Up: Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find

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Best Clothing Store Boris & Natasha Runner Up: Girl Tribe

Best Car Mechanic Nick’s Auto Repair Runner Up: The Neighborhood Garage Best CBD Shop Charlotte CBD Runner Up: Infinity’s End Best Clothing Alterations Anna’s Alterations Runner Up: Myers Park Tailors

Best Furniture Store Slate Interiors Runners Up: Magnolia Emporium, Nadeau (tie) Best Gift Shop Paper Skyscraper Runner Up: CLTCH Best Hair Salon eXplicit Salon Runner Up: Bohemian Stylehouse Best Hair Stylist Kenzie Veurink Runner Up: Candace Stamper

Best Heating & Air Company Morris-Jenkins Runner Up: McClintock Heating and Cooling Best Home Accessories Store Paper Skyscraper Runner Up: BLACKLION Best In-Store Pet Yola, Park Road Books Runner Up: Tater, The Dog Salon Best Jewelry Store CLTCH Runner Up: Pura Vida Worldly Art Best Law Firm Michael A. Demayo Runner Up: Sodoma Law Best Local Product Good Postage Runner Up: Needles & Pins Best Makeup Artist Elizabeth Tolley Runners Up: Lindsey Reagan Thorne Best Massage Shop Okra Runner Up: Zen Massage Charlotte Best Nail Salon Mimosas Nail Bar Runner Up: Tiptoe Nail Boutique Best New Retail Store (Last Two Years) CLT Boutique Runner Up: Curio, Craft, & Conjure, Inc. Best Pet Store Four Dogs Pet Supplies Runner Up: Pet In The City Best Piercing Studio SADU Body Piercing & Modifications Runner Up: Made To Last Tattoo Best Place To Buy Vintage Sleepy Poet Runner Up: Stash Pad Best Plumbing Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Charlotte Runner Up: Wonderful World of Plumbing

Best Pop-Up Market Girl Tribe Runner Up: VTGCLT Best Real Estate Agency Savvy + Co Real Estate Runner Up: Allen Tate Realtors Best Record Store Lunchbox Records Runner Up: Tip Top Daily Market Best Adult Store The White Rabbit Runner Up: The Reddoor Best Shoe Store Black Sheep Skate Shop Runner Up: Social Status Best Smoke Shop Infinity’s End Runner Up: High Life Smoke Shop Best Spa OM Spa, Copper Willow Salon (tie) Runner Up: Urbana Spa Best Tattoo Shop Canvas Tattoo & Art Gallery Runner Up: Made to Last Tattoo Best Vape Shop High Life Smoke Shop Runner Up: Kure Vapes Best Veterinarian Monroe Road Animal Hospital Runner Up: Long Animal Hospital Best Yoga Studio NoDa Yoga Runner Up: Okra Yoga

December Specials 20% OFF on T-Shirts 20% OFF on Jewelry

Day After Christmas Sale 30% Off Storewide

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December 4th - 13th

Spend $50.00 or More and Receive $10.00 in IE Cash

ONGOING

CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL SCREENING ROOM

NUTRIENT RICH

What: The Charlotte Film Society presents a pair of thought-provoking documentaries. In Coded Bias, MIT Media lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software does not accurately identify darker-skinned faces and the faces of women. She delves deeper, investigating widespread bias in algorithms. It turns out, AI is not neutral, so what does it mean when biased AI increasingly governs our liberties? In Collective, a fire in a Bucharest club leaves 27 dead and 180 injured. When burn victims in hospitals start dying from non-life threatening wounds, a doctor blows the whistle to a team of investigative journalists. One revelation leads to another as the journalists uncover vast healthcare fraud. When a new minister is appointed to clean up the health department, he offers the journalists unprecedented access to the entrenched the corrupt system. More: $10-12 for 72 hours; ongoing; charlottefilmsociety.com

BOOM ECHOES EAST CHARLOTTE

12/04

FRI12_04 NUTRIENT RICH

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What: Art is as essential as a bag of groceries. Nutrient Rich showcases a grand buffet of 100+ small individual artworks by 30+ artists. Visit the checkout lane and take your new art home with you in one of our limited edition tote bags. A selection of work from the exhibition will be available for purchase through Goodyear Arts’ online shop. Participating artists for this small works show include Amy Bagwell, Renee Cloud, de’Angelo Dia, Virginia Fifield, Joan E Gardner, Susan Hendley, Aubrey Hedrick, Amy Herman, and many others. Masks and social distancing are required. More: Free; starts Dec. 4, 5 p.m.; Goodyear Arts, 301 Camp Road; goodyeararts.com

CURT KEYZ, ‘BLACK HEART’ RELEASE

12/04

12/05

CURT KEYZ, ‘BLACK HEART’ RELEASE

What: “This album was vengeful, graceful, loving, truthful and altogether beautiful for me,” said Charlotte R&B and soul artist Curt Keyz about the release of his debut album Love or Lack Thereof in August 2018. Melodic, articulate and an emotional open book, the collection set a high bar for Keyz, which he nonetheless easily vaults with his new release Black Heart. The EP chronicles Keyz’s thoughts on being a Black Christian man in a time where hate is louder than love. He also expresses his frustrations about Black people being murdered, tokenized, marginalized and misunderstood and give hope to endure it all. More: Dec. 4; online; iamcurtkeyz.com

SAT12_05

SUN12_06

What: BOOM Echoes East, a collaboration between BOOM artists and organizers, ourBRIDGE for KIDS, Refugee Support Services and Charlotte EAST, presents a celebration of the artistry, diversity and eateries of East Charlotte on Facebook or YouTube live. Featured artists include Breeze The Poet, Elizabeth Kowalski and Julio Gonzalez, Geinni, Korey Townsed of VoicedTV, Kurma Murrain and Joseph Gallo, MufukaWorks Dance Co., MyLoan Dinh, Sarah Council Dance Projects and author and historian Tom Hanchett. More: Free; Dec. 5, 4 p.m.; online; tinyurl.com/BoomEchoes

What: Based on the idea of a local bodega, retail space and event venue The Corner aspires to be an experience as well as a store. Founded by Amy Goudy, The Corner is a self-described haven for hip hop heads, hypebeasts or just people looking for a place to chill and find unique and custom items. To that end, the scheduled pop-up features far more than merch. It also marks the premiere of a new video by Charlotte rapper Jah-Monte, who has seen his name grow in cities beyond Charlotte — thanks to attention from national outlets like Pitchfork and regular radio play on Hot 97 in New York. More: Free; Dec. 6, 3 p.m.; The Corner, 8838 Arbor Creek Dr.; facebook.com/thecornerclt

BOOM ECHOES EAST CHARLOTTE

POP UP SHOP & VIDEO PREMIERE

JAH-MONTE (POP UP SHOP & VIDEO PREMIERE)

12/06

THURS 12_09 THE WORMHOLES

THE WORMHOLES

What: On Cosmic Propaganda, the Wormholes’ 2018 breakthrough album, the Wormholes jettisoned standard indie-rock tropes like the first stage of a rocket ship and catapulted into space music, with keyboards washes and brittle electronics giving tracks like “Cold Fish” and “The Antidote,” a detached but spiraling feel. Between them, the Charlotte power duo of Ben Verner and Chris Walters create a galaxy of sounds with a guitar, a drum kit, and a series of interconnected synths, amps, and effect & Looper pedals. Their innovative sound transcends classification but taps into post-rock, synth pop and psychedelia. Their aim is to transport listeners to spiral realms of electronic bliss. Released last March, the track “Temporary Vessel” is structured to mimic a meditative experience. The concert streams free on Mandolin, and donations help the artists and Neighborhood Theatre. More: $10 suggested donation; Dec. 9, 7 p.m.; online; neighborhoodtheatre.com

12/09

FRI12_10

‘LITTLE WOMEN’

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What: Director/screenwriter Greta Gerwig’s 2019 take on a great American coming-of-age period drama: the seventh film adaptation of Louis May Alcott’s durable 1868 novel. Like Gillian Anderson’s 1994 telling of the story, Gerwig’s version enhances the feminism implicit in the text without making it seem anachronistic. Saoirse Ronan plays the headstrong Jo, the stand-in for Alcott in this semiautobiographical tale, and imbues the character with a steely determination and intelligence. More: $30 per car; Dec. 10, 7 p.m.; Camp North End, 400 Camp Road; tinyurl.com/SkylineLittleWomen

‘LITTTLE WOMEN’

12/10

CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

12/11

SAT12_11

THE RODNEY SHELTON GROUP WITH CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS What: Jazz N Soul Music presents its 6th Annual A ROBYN SPRINGER

What: Robyn Springer’s diverse musical background includes a debut R&B solo album plus featured vocal performances on albums by artists including jazz saxophonist Najee and alternative rapper John Forte. Springer’s versatile and sultry alto can transport audiences from church pews to Delta juke joints to downtown jazz cafes. Her latest album, The Acoustic Project, is an eclectic collaboration with guitarist and songwriter Greg Cagle. More: $26; Dec. 10, 7 p.m. & 8:15 p.m.; Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.; middlecjazz.com

Charlie Brown Christmas and Cool Holiday Favorites featuring The Matt Kelly Band. This Charlotte holiday tradition features all of the classic Peanuts songs from the Emmy Award winning soundtrack by The Vince Guaraldi Trio, including “Skating” and “Linus & Lucy,” performed and interpreted by The Matt Kelly Band. The show will wrap up with Jazz and Soul Holiday favorites that Snoopy’s alter-ego Joe Cool would approve of. The show is streamed Live from The Cube, with a limited number of free, pay-what-you-can, and studio audience tickets also available. More: Free-$10; Dec. 12, 7 p.m.; online; charliebrownjazz.eventbrite.com

AT HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

What: The Charlotte Symphony’s 2020 holiday concerts feature seasonal hallmarks, beloved traditional works, and a family-friendly adaptation of The Nutcracker streamed directly to your home. In At Home for the Holidays, The Charlotte Symphony, led by resident conductor Christopher James Lees, heralds the holidays with a concert full of traditional favorites and new surprises, including the premiere of “A Carolina Christmas Carol” by Charlottean and Emmy Award-winning composer Gary Fry. The concert will be available to stream on demand until Dec. 28 More: $25; Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m.; online, charlottesymphony.org

THE RODNEY SHELTON GROUP WITH ROBYN SPRINGER

12/11

FOOD & DRINK

CRITICS’ PICKS: FOOD & DRINK

sides like fried okra and hushpuppies. It’s a killer down-to-earth addition to a part of town that needs to remain affordable and neighborhood friendly.

We don’t need to tell you the dire situation faced by restaurants and just about anyone in the food-service industry this year. From owners to part-time staff, anyone who relied on restaurants to make a living has had a rough go of it. Even while we’ve lost some of our favorite eateries, others have survived through adaptation, community support and perseverance — while delivery drivers and servers literally put their lives on the line to continue serving food. If there’s one lesson we take from this year (and there should be many), let it be that we never take our service workers for granted again.

Yeah, it technically opened in late November of 2019, but that was too late to be on Best Of lists, so we’re using Grammy rules and including it here. I wanted to hate Kiki and Tattoo. Everything about it is so easy to dislike. It’s (another) expensive menu-less cocktail bar in a gentrifying neighborhood. But the concept is so multilayered and intricately designed, it’s basically the restaurant version of an Autobot. From the French cuisine, to the rooftop bar, to the cozy Tattoo side where your cocktail might be served in a foaming brass pineapple, everything about this bar tries extremely hard and succeeds extremely well.

Note: We brought in Dion Beary of local food blog Inside 485 to help with some of our food choices this year, so when you hear that first-person voice, that’s

Best New Taphouse: Charlotte Beer Garden

Best New Bar: Kiki and Tattoo

I’m so sick of big empty warehouses we’re just Dion talking, otherwise we’ll let you know with initials. supposed to drink in. It’s almost contemptuous the way brew folks seem to believe all we need to get drunk Best New Bougie Restaurant: Vana is four walls and a quirky name. That’s what was so Vana is a masterclass in, well, everything about refreshing about Charlotte Beer Garden. They went for running a restaurant. The space has bookshelves, old a world record for taps, put a giant tree in the center of furniture, and a garage door, which makes you feel the space, made the entire thing three floors high, and like you could be either in the 1970’s or the 1870’s. The served a fun little menu of stuff like elevated corndogs. Ever since owner Niall Hanley announced the menus are nailed to a piece of old wood to complete opening of the Charlotte Beer Garden, I had a lot of the scene. But it’s not just easy on the eyes. The small plates come out with such consistent negative speculation about the operation. It made excellence, you’ll find yourself shocked that the no sense to me how a small team could operate dishes keep topping each other. How could anything on such a large scale (serving more than 400 draft be better than this tender pork shoulder? The garlicky grilled shrimp do it. Then the heirloom tomatoes, with their sweet, fresh crunch, somehow top that. Finish off your night with some tequila gummy bears and you’ll see why date nights, anniversaries, and general bougieness don’t get any better than Vana in 2020.

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Best New Down-to-Earth Restaurant: Skrimp Shack

Whenever I don’t know what to try at a new restaurant, I always go for fried fish. It’s comfort food for me. Unfortunately, the higher end dining side of Charlotte can’t seem to figure out there are other seasonings besides salt and pepper. That’s where Skrimp Shack comes in. Its gigantic menu features golden fried shrimp baskets, po’ boys, catfish, and downhome SKRIMP SHACK

PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

FOOD & DRINK

streak beforehand. The Waterman set the scene on fire, becoming the only oyster bar I’ve ever known CRITICS’ PICKS to become a legitimate nightlife spot. Sea Level has beers) and expect to keep the beer fresh and the one of the best lobster rolls in the city and is great for seasonal options up to date. I was curious how you oysters. With two more Ace No. 3 locations planned, momentum is high for High Tide. wouldn’t waste all that beer. The Charlotte Beer Garden (CBG), sister concept of the Raleigh Beer Garden, opened in South End on Feb. 26. The space hosts 436 draft beers throughout a 16,663-square-foot layout and on those three floors, a keg cooler behind each tap wall. The first level is dedicated to only North Carolina beers, with 190 tap handles. The team goes through painstaking processes of ordering purposefully and monitoring the draft lines for flow and freshness. With the immense amount of beer and the overall attention to detail in how that beer is stored and served, you are guaranteed to enjoy the selections, even if you hate the fact that you are in South End.

New Restaurant That We Can’t Decide If It Sucks Or Not: The Degenerate

I really don’t know how I feel about this spot. The interior is boring, the menu is basic, the patio is small, and the cocktails aren’t particularly creative. However, I went to The Degenerate more than any other new restaurant this year. There were points when I was going there two to three times a week. It has the effortless appeal of that Cheers-style bar we’re all looking for, that place so perfect for weeknight drinking, catching up with a good friend, happy hours with your coworkers, or a slightlyabove-casual first date. It’s not quite divey, not quite bougie, not quite hipster, not quite local. It doesn’t Best Ownership Group: High Tide have the best entree or the most ostentatious cocktail, but it does have that undefinable It Factor Hospitality that makes you think “My heart will break if this What’s left to be said about Ace No. 3 that place closes.” hasn’t been said? Every new restaurant gets hype

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Most Underrated: Pizzeria Sapienza

I’m sick of Yankees talking about how good pizza is back in their hometown. Nobody cares. Chicago’s deepest dish doesn’t run nearly as deep as my hatred for transplants who can’t stop talking about how their dough/sauce/cheese is better than our dough/sauce/cheese. You especially have no room to complain because Pizzeria

physically restrain myself from ordering takeout at Phillip McLamb halted the forward progress of a Sap multiple times a week, and most days I lose that new space and evaluated “business as usual.” As breweries around the city realized the battle. demand for their products from the dog moms and Best Brewery: Resident Culture dads of the Queen City, Resident Culture was the first to set up a drive-thru operation for call-ahead and Brewing Company online orders. With Charlotte’s always growing craft beer They began hosting pop-up activations at scene it is difficult to critically decide which of our neighborhoods around the area like in Union county 40-something breweries could stand out as the and Davidson. It was the first step in how local best. Resident Culture resides as the winner in breweries would pivot, at least right up until they this category for local innovation and quick COVID had a special designation by the Governor and have pivoting. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN operated successfully ever since. PIZZERIA SAPIENZA For a taproom and production facility that has Either way, Resident Culture has been a welcome been open for just three years, RC has poured heavily addition to Plaza Midwood, doing the right thing Sapienza exists. as routinely as new babies get a smack on the into the regional and national market. and serving beer that has garnered a well-deserved This mighty slice spot in Uptown has created bottom. Rarely does a restaurant so thoroughly live This year, after a whisper of an announcement following. a family atmosphere around its genuine New York up to its hype. It became Charlotte’s best burger of opening a second taproom in Charlotte, RC owner pizza, other Italian goodies, and cozy bar. I have to from day one. But High Tide was already on a hot

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Best New Brewery: Devil’s Logic Brewing

goes to print due to rising COVID numbers during the cold season. Now hopefully the government will do what they have to in order to ensure Sycamore and other establishments can continue to survive.

Maybe it’s because I turned 30 this year, but did the brewery scene become a little too “clubby” for anyone else in the last few years? The music is way too loud, you stand at the bar for 15 minutes waiting for a bartender to notice you, and there’s a whole bunch of twenty-somethings up in your personal space. Devil’s Logic took a different approach: a brewery for grownups. Sure, you’ve got flights and hazy IPAs and picnic furniture, all the stuff you expect to see at a HALAL FOOD CART brewery, but you’ve PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN also got space to move around that remains cozy, and a clientele who just feels happy to drink a few beers in the sun on a Best Beer: Edge City Brewery, Black relaxed Saturday. is Beautiful It’s nice to not have to be an old man yelling at It’s no secret craft beer has a diversity problem. In clouds, and just be an old man sipping beer while this summer’s national uprising against police brutality, watching them float by. a Black brewer named Marcus Baskerville, co-founder of Weathered Souls Brewing Company in San Antonio, Best COVID-19 Response: Sycamore asked fellow brewers around the world to stand in solidarity with Black people by brewing a beer called Brewing I sympathize with restaurant and bar owners Black is Beautiful and giving 100% of its proceeds to a during this pandemic. The federal government local organization focused on police reform. Nineteen hasn’t provided nearly enough relief to help them breweries around Charlotte answered the call, and we continue to operate, while the local government has got a wide variety of tasty beers and even a mead. Our favorite came from Edge City Brewery, which essentially placed all the pressure of policing mask incorporated chocolate and vanilla salted-caramel mandates on individual business owners. I commend Sycamore for being the first brewery gelato and conditioned it with salted pistachios, cocoa to shutdown voluntarily as the pandemic began nibs and bourbon oak cubes to make its oatmeal to ravage Charlotte. After that, in times where the stout. All proceeds from Edge City’s beer went to Heal brewery staff felt like they weren’t able to enforce Charlotte to help raise funds for that organization’s affordable housing campus we discuss in City Life. masks, they closed for service. Here’s a full list of other area breweries who Compare that to a brewery like Olde Meck, who not only threw a large-scale event, but blamed participated, so you can collect them all: Ass clown, “cancel culture” when a COVID cases were connected Birdsong, Cavendish, Divine Barrel, Goodroad to Mecktoberfest, and blocked any journalist or Ciderworks, High Branch, Hive, Middle James, Newgrass, NoDa, Pilot, Protagonist, Resident Culture, patron who mentioned it. Sycamore is doing what they have to in order to Salud Cerveceria, Sycamore, Unknown, Triple C, keep people safe, shutting down again as this paper Wooden Robot.

Best Step in the Right Direction: Sugar Creek Brewing Internship for Aspiring Black Brewers

told Queen City Nerve. But in this case the idea can be restated as: “Why release a Black is Beautiful beer, when you can give a Black person a livelihood and career.” When the Black is Beautiful initiative swept In late November, Sugar Creek brought on their through Charlotte’s craft beer industry, Marques first intern, Lashea Johnson, who said she’s excited Nash was gratified. As the general manager of Sugar to start and wants to pursue brewing beer full-time. Creek Brewing Company — the only Black brewery GM in town — Nash approved of the idea Best Food Cart: Halal Food Cart of utilizing the popularity of craft beer to During the large-scale movement against raise awareness and funding for a worthy police brutality and systemic racism in Charlotte, cause. But he also wondered: Why stop we saw Uptown turn into a warzone as kettling with a beer release? and flashbangs were used by police on peaceful Nash went to his employers, Sugar protesters. Throughout all the chaos, Halal Food Cart Creek Brewing Company founders and never left its corner spot on Tryon. They served lamb co-owners Joe Vogelbacher and Eric gyros to protesters still trying to flush pepper spray Flanigan, and proposed that the brewery from their eyes. It was a tiny piece of warmth in a offer a paid internship to a Black person neighborhood that felt like it was growing cold. This interested in entering the craft beer field. is food service with conviction and courage. The internship would cover all aspects of the industry, and upon completion the intern would receive assistance in finding Best Foodie Event: Unknown a job in the field or becoming an owner of Brewery Cocktail Preview Event their own business. When I got invited to Unknown Brewery’s “I was thinking of the saying, ‘Give a preview of its new cocktail menu, I was expecting man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach the usual event with the usual suspects. That means a man to fish and he’s set for life,’” Nash sipping small samples with Instagrammers I barely

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and packs a punch but leaves room in your stomach and wallet for a partnering lunch item. CRITICS’ PICKS They also offer an awesome “Avo-keto” stuffed with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, EVOO, know as we all try to snap a somehow unique photo of the same exact cocktail. What I wasn’t cilantro, bacon and balsamic on a bed of romaine if expecting was Unknown to give us nine full-sized you’re into that sort of thing. cocktails with nine different liquor bases. Best New What preceded was an Menu: Dish insanely fun night that Dish’s new led to a whole lot of owners are the cars being left behind. same folks who The cocktails were own Sweet Lew’s phenomenal, but the BBQ in the Belmont fun was unforgettable. neighborhood. You’re always going to get some pangs of worry when an established restaurant comes Leah and Louise under new was my most ownership, but the anticipated opening Sweet Lew’s team PAN-SEARED NC FISH FROM LEAH & LOUISE of 2020. When did a great job at PHOTO BY DION BEARY the pandemic hit, maintaining and they were the first expanding upon restaurant I thought of. How do you open a restaurant the no-frills Southern menu that made Dish famous. when the local government just commanded that Expect flavorful Southern favorites, plenty of vegetarian all dining rooms be closed? But Greg and Subrina options, and enough sides to bring home leftovers. Collier used curbside pickup to maintain until their dining room could launch. When it did, they Best Breakfast: Poppy’s Bagels received national attention as one of the best new In a decade in Charlotte, the Rippner family restaurants in the country. You’ll understand why if hasn’t seen a year like this one, but they’ve been you try the NC fish. The pan-seared NC fish is flaky, able to take things in stride and offer up their kettletender, and sits in a sweet and savory brown butter boiled-and-baked bagels sauce. It comes with a balancing seared squash and on a to-go basis, and on the is presented like a religious relic one might stumble occasions we’ve stopped by upon in some Aztec jungle. L&L puts out a rapidly the South Boulevard location, rotating menu, but if you might happen to come the crowd puttering about across any dish from 2020, you going to want to outside on the sidewalk makes come across this one. it seem like they’re doing OK for themselves. Best Side Item: Coaltrane’s Char With Owen’s Bagel and Deli shutting down just up Grill, Half-Stuffed Avocado Avocado toast is so 2019, millennials have the street, it’s all the more moved on and now this fruit is the foundation important for South Enders (it’s an actual fucking berry, did you know that?!). that Poppy’s continue to pump Coaltrane’s offers up the full avocado stuffed with out their amazing specialty wild rice and quinoa then topped generously with egg sandwiches, especially queso fresco, red peppers and salsa roja for about that Eggs Benedict Bagel. $10, but since you’re going to want some chicken if you’re at Coaltrane’s, our suggestion is that you go with the half-stuffed avocado, which goes for $5

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Best Menu Item: Pan-Seared NC Fish, Leah and Louise

Best Brunch: Uptown Yolk

If you’re just learning about Greg and Subrina Collier because of Leah & Louise, you need to get up on the original: Uptown Yolk located in 7th Street Public Market. Brunch still looks a bit different as restaurants navigate COVID-19, but if you’re looking for a brunch that packs a flavor-punch (even when you order it to-go) that will force you into a “love affair with breakfast,” this is where you need to look. The Mojo Hash and Shrimp & Grits includes meltin-your-mouth textures and flavors that will have you going back again in the very near future. Start cheating on your previous favorite brunch spot ASAP and experience all the guilty pleasure that you won’t regret.

Best Lunch: Sub One

certainly have you wondering if you’ve died and gone to heaven after seeing and tasting the beautiful creations of Chef Michael Knoll. Then, you’ll walk out reborn, yearning for more. Bardo rejuvenated the Charlotte food scene when they opened in 2018 and they’ve done it again in the midst of COVID-19, debuting their new tasting menu concept featuring tastings of 3, 5, 7, and 12. As dining experiences go, Bardo is the crème de la crème.

Best Late-Night: Billy Jack’s Shack

Billy Jack’s has changed a lot since they first opened just two short years ago. In the beginning, they were a formidable new dive bar. You could join their beer club, always find a seat at the bar to drink for a few hours, and crush boxes of Sticky Nuggs like the world was ending. Now they’ve got a huge patio, a line that stretches around the corner, and a clientele that looks like they’d be just as happy at Brickyard. It’s bittersuite watching your secret spot morph into the best late-night experience in the entire city. You’re happy for them, but you miss it a little. Either way, you’re still having a great time.

This unassuming storefront is tucked away in a Fourth Ward strip mall on Graham Street, but we highly suggest you seek it out. The subs are high quality, and most of them actually come in under $5, which other chains claim on commercials but don’t carry through on. Most of all, the family that runs it, led by owner Richard Jones, his son Derek and nephew Aaron, could not be nicer folks. It’s a go- Best Place to Share: Hawkers to for us in the office when we’re feeling indecisive, When I die, bury me in a casket full of Hawkers because Sub One never lets you down or leaves you small plates. 2020 isn’t the greatest time to talk broke. about the best spot to gather a with a group of friends, but if you’re dedicated to sucking down your mate’s water droplets, Hawkers is the best place to Best Dinner: Bardo Bardo (in Tibetan Buddhism) is a state of do it. [Editor’s Note: You can still share to-go plates.] existence between death and rebirth, varying in You and your crew will have a killer night if you grab length according to a person’s conduct in life and twice-fried wings, tofu bites, wontons, dumplings, manner of, or age at, death. And it’s safe to say that and a bunch of other apps and spend a few hours one visit to this South End dining experience will crushing the entire table together.

Best Dessert: Milkglass Pie

DISH PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

In March, amid the chaos of the sudden lockdown, an email went out from local author and pie goddess, Keia Mastrianni. It read, in part, “Times are wild. Pie helps.” That email turned out to be very true, and started the front porch pie delivery service from Mastrianni’s company Milkglass Pie. Through months of the most isolation many of us ever experienced, Keia delivered comfort to doorsteps each Friday in the form of flaky crusts, creamy custards and delicate herbs intertwined with farm fresh fruits and veggies. From strawberry

FOOD & DRINK CRITICS’ PICKS chamomile to ginger peach to sweet potato with miso caramel, the pies didn’t lie about what season it was, even as time seemed to stand still otherwise. As the pandemic rages on, we imagine front porch pie will too. Get on the mailing list to place an order at loveispie.com

Best Coffee Shop: Cuplux Coffee

I love Waterbean, Undercurrent, and Queen City Grounds. I love the nasty burnt pot of coffee in the Shell gas station with spilled sugar all over the counter. I love the free Keurig pods in a cheap hotel. All that to say I love coffee, all coffee, all the time. But ask me about my favorite coffee shop, and the same spot comes to mind year after year. Cuplux, a tiny drive-thru coffee shop on Freedom Drive, serves draft cold brew and seasonal specials (their PSL puts Starbucks to shame). For pure coffee, the hot stuff that comes in your cup, I don’t think anywhere in Charlotte can touch it.

James Beard nomination, his nationally-recognized debut of Leah & Louise, his mentorship of young Black chefs, and the fact that he and his wife Subrina are total couple goals. But beyond all of that, I recall a marathon phone conversation I had with Greg and Subrina in August. We talked about race, history, family, Charlotte, media, real estate, education, and the South. And that’s the kind of full-fledged thoughtfulness you can feel when you dine in Leah & Louise. I’m not surprised their restaurant says something about the culture it exists in, because Greg and Subrina have a lot to say.

Best Brunch Item: Letty’s on Shamrock, Honey Pecan Chicken

Normally I wander into Letty’s on a Saturday morning after a night of drinking with sunglasses on looking for coffee and a water, lots of water — the staff is always more eager to fill my coffee cup and not the latter. I peruse the menu thinking that I’m going to order something different or try something new, but I know I’m going to get the honey pecan chicken entree. It comes out fast and is served crispy and golden, covered in a pecan honey butter sauce with two side items of your choosing.

Best Food Truck: What the Fries

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. We all love french fries, so why not open up a food truck where we put a bunch of shit on top of french fries? What the Fries’ loaded fries seem like something my brain dreamed up at its hungriest. Lobster mac and cheese fries? Shrimp hibachi fries? Classic truffle fries? Yes, yes, and yes. The owners got a bunch of hype this year for being one of the standout Black-owned restaurants in Charlotte. It pushed their awareness into the next level in Charlotte and I can’t think of a group of hardworking folks who deserve it more.

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Best Bakery: Burney’s Sweets & More

Burney’s sits at a mostly quiet section of North Davidson Street heading into Uptown. You’ve probably driven by it a hundred times and never noticed it. But this small North Carolina bakery packs a punch due to its secret weapon: stuffed glazed croissants. Imagine a croissant, but it’s a donut instead. I’m not exaggerating in the least bit when I say this is the most important invention since the automobile. I recommend picking up a dozen so you can try all the flavors. They’ve got your standard donuts, cakes, cookies, and brownies too.

Best Chef: Greg Collier

There’s plenty of reasons why Chef Greg Collier deserves the title of Charlotte’s best chef. There’s his

BURNEY’S SWEETS & MORE PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

Southeast Asia aside, the rest of the dining room is pretty basic. Small tables and diner-style booths sport tablecloths emblazoned with multi-hued maps of Vietnam, a reminder of Nguyen’s homeland. Last summer customers learned that Nguyen was keeping those tables empty because she cared for the health of her staff and customers, whom she considered family. But business paid dearly for Nguyen’s decision. For months the restaurant operated as take-out only, even through NC’s COVID-19 restrictions would have allowed 50% indoor seating capacity, and bills piled up. An Instagram post about Lang Van’s dire financial straits from Made To Last Tattoo owner Chris Stuart spread like wildfire. Longtime customer Carly Valigura West started a fundraiser. As funds poured in to save the beloved dining institution, many people went online to share stories of wonderful meals and acts of kindness by restaurant staff. With her newfound influx of cash, a grateful Nguyen paid her bills and rent, but she also paid it forward. To each of her staff members, who never received a pay cut despite the restaurant’s halting cash flow, she gave a $1,000 bonus. She has also tracked down each and every donor, so she could thank them with gift cards, bottles of champagne or free food. If Nguyen has any money left over, she plans to donate to cancer research, helping the homeless, and supporting veterans. It’s not a surprising move for a business owner who truly loves her customers and community.

Best Comeback: Brooks’ Sandwich House

It is a hefty piece of chicken that will keep you full well into dinner time that is equal parts sweet Early on the morning of December 9, 2019, Scott Since 2012, Julia has helped Charlotteans on and savory. I promise that when you eat this meal Brooks, co-owner of Brooks’ Sandwich House along their vegan and healthy-eating journeys through her for the first time, you will continue to think about with his twin brother David, was opening for the day catering and delivery company Nourish Charlotte. eating it for years to come. -JL when he was shot and killed during an attempted In those eight years, she’s been a transformative robbery. The following night, the tiny burger stop figure on the city’s vegan scene, which has grown was swarmed with community members wishing to Best Old Place: Lang Van exponentially since her arrival. The best Southern comfort food in Charlotte pay their respects to the fallen roadside restaurateur. She puts in hours of service to our community, “I’ve had a lot of people come to me and … includes homespun family favorites from the educating on topics of nutrition, cooking deep South – by which we mean deep in the tell their own story about what the Brooks family techniques and sustainability and donating food to heart of South Vietnam. Lang Van, the cozy and meant to them,” CMPD Lt. Bryan Crum said during organizations like Time Out Youth, Goodyear Arts, unpretentious eatery on Shamrock Drive, has been a press conference. “A common thread through all and Feed the Movement. Plus, she makes a mean owned by Dan Nguyen since 2009. Before that, the of these is that [the Brooks family] were out in the butternut mac n cheese. restaurant was launched in 1990 by No Duong who community, they knew their neighbors and they In November, she opened her first restaurant, hired Nguyen and took her under the Duong family’s were there to help them.” Plant Joy, at Camp North End, and we’re already The tragedy forced the restaurant to close after wing. addicted to her rainbow toast. Upon entering the restaurant, visitors are 40 years in business, but on Feb. 1 they reopened. “I’m just so thankful to be able to open back up confronted by a surprising and fanciful bamboo and serve the public again,” David Brooks said. curtain. This tiki-bar-like concession to exotic

Best Vegan Chef: Julia Simon

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In March, the Brooks family took a step toward justice when police arrested Terry Connor Jr. as the first suspect in Brooks’ murder, which police said was carried out by two people as part of an armed robbery. But March was also the month when COVID-19 transmission rates surged in Charlotte. The neighborhood institution with the walk-up window and no indoor seating shut down again. “We do not want to risk anyone’s health over work,” the eatery posted on its Facebook page. With the spring, the beloved NoDa restaurant came back stronger than ever, reopening for the second time this year on May 4. Patrons started lining up immediately for burgers, chili and simple sandwiches. In November, CMPD charged a second man in the murder of Scott Brooks, alleged spree killer Steven Staples. It could be a sign that the beloved neighborhood restaurant’s travails are coming to an end — or it just might mean you can’t keep a good sandwich shop down.

Best Farmers Market: Mecklenburg County Market

When it comes to farm fresh food, Dale McLaughlin knows what he’s talking about. Now 82 years old, he’s been running Dale McLaughlin Produce at Mecklenburg County Market for over 50 years. On any given morning, the red brick market sandwiched between hospital buildings on the campus of CMC Main near Uptown is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, most of them from nearby farms. Shoppers sift through sweet potatoes, bell peppers and squashes, but many make a beeline for the refrigerator cases at the back of the building. The coolers are stocked with packaged vegan and vegetarian meals — homemade soups, salads, quiches, pies, pasta dishes and more, all made with fresh whole foods. They are all mouthwatering offerings from Beverly’s Gourmet Foods, a company owned and run by Dale’s daughter Beverly McLaughlin. Clearly fresh food is a family affair at this cozy building. Both father and daughter affirm that their products are fresh and wholesome. As healthy eating becomes increasingly

Gina Stewart runs the café with Brenda Gambill, important to consumers, Dale and Beverly stress that the wisest course of action is to know where who also runs vegan/vegetarian catering company Over the Moon Raw Food and develops EastSide and who your food is coming from. Local’s recipes in the kitchen. Popular items include the Shamrock, a green Best Veggie Burger: Eastside Local’s smoothie containing pineapple, mango, spinach Impossible Carolina Burger and banana, and EastSide Local’s own coffee blends. When I became a vegetarian the hit songs But the top of the food pyramid, the eatery’s were a mix of disco, soundtrack tunes and brothers most popular item, is the exquisite Impossible with the last name Gibb, either alone or in groups: Burger — done up Carolina style with veggie chili, Andy Gibbs’ “Shadow Dancing,” the Bee Gee’s “Night mustard, slaw and a choice of cheese or vegan Fever,” and Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life.” cheese. The top grossing movie was Grease, followed by The co-mingling of flavors and the tactile National Lampoon’s Animal House. The point is, it pleasures of munching on an actual burger are was a different time — a time when it was hard almost indescribably delicious. The burger’s size is to find decent vegetarian food. If you went to most also a plus. I frequently can only finish half the patty restaurants, your choices were dinner rolls, soggy in one sitting, so I doggy-bag it with the satisfaction overcooked vegetables and iceberg lettuce. I was that I have a mouth-watering lunch to look forward very thin. to the next day. -PM For years, I searched for a decent veggie burger. Slabs of grilled tofu didn’t cut it, and when soybased burgers eventually came out, they had the Best Off the Beaten Path: Korean restaurant in the back of Super G texture and taste of hockey pucks. I have finally found the holy grail of veggie Mart burgers at EastSide Local, a hidden oasis for vegan There’s an important food rule to live by, and and vegetarian diners, tucked into a courtyard at that rule is if you’re ever in an international grocery Eastway Crossing shopping center. store and there’s a restaurant in the back, you damn

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Terms of Strict Foreclosure: User's non-payment in full of all unauthorized-use fees itemized in Invoice within said twenty- (20) day period for curing default as set forth above under "Terms for Curing Default" authorizes Secured Party's immediate non-judicial strict foreclosure on any and all remaining former property and interest in property, formerly pledged as collateral by User, now property of Secured Party, which is not in the possession of, nor otherwise disposed of by, Secured Party upon expiration of said twenty- (20) day default-curing period. Ownership subject to common-law copyright and UCC Financing Statement and Security Agreement filed with the UCC filing office. Record Owner: Tylen Narion Blackmon©, Autograph Common Law Copyright © 2007. 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FOOD & DRINK CRITICS’ PICKS well better eat there. Walk to the end of the aisles in Super G Mart on Independence Bouelavrd and you’ll find a mini food court. Go to the side that reads “Korean” for generous portions of bulgogi, bibimbap, hot pots, and the kimchi that fermented dreams are made of. The menu is limited, probably due to the small space, but don’t let that deter you — they slay the staples. Don’t let unfamiliarity or fear of a language barrier deter you, either; there’s signage telling you about each dish and how they’re pronounced, making your trip here a good user experience as well as a dope culinary outing

Best Takeout: King of Spicy

It was a big year for takeout, obviously, and among the restaurants pivoting to takeout only was King of Spicy, an Indian & Himalayan restaurant on East Harris Boulevard. Previously, they were known for their buffet, and it was aiight, but putting their full menu up for ordering online called new attention to their unique specialties, especially their Himilayan dishes. Try the momos, which are Tibetan dumplings, or if you’re sick try the thukpa, a traditional Nepali soup that will set you straight, and maybe change your life. You can make several mealtimes out of their portions which are packaged perfectly, and labeled so you can tell your naans apart.

Best Food for a Cause: Feed the Movement CLT

The committed folks at Feed the Movement work to support movements for justice and equality across the city by feeding protestors and those on the front lines f the Black Lives Matter movement and other worthy causes. Throughout the June protests and beyond, FTM organizers Nada and Tatiana could be found at First Ward Park, Romare Bearden, Veterans Park, or wherever they were needed with large tubs full of to-go boxes, offering up food that went beyond protest fuel, but was actually damn good. Always about inclusivity, the team kept vegan options on hand as well.

Best Cookbook: Cooking With Joya, It’s Soul Mahmazing, Vol. 1

Last year’s Best Vegan Chef honoree wasn’t able to host all those private parties or table at the largescale culinary events that made her popular in 2019, but that’s OK, because she had something else up her sleeve. With the release of Cooking With Joya: It’s Soul Mahmazing, Vol. 1, in June, Adjoa Courtney shared 23 of the recipes that have shot her to local celebrity status in just two short years as a full-time chef. “I’m always surprised by how many people show support for what I do,” Chef Joya said upon the book’s release. “It makes me smile every time someone tells me that my food is amazing, even magical. I enjoy showing love through my cooking, and so many people have asked me to write a cookbook, so I figured it was finally time to make it happen.” Recipes include Not Your Mama’s Meatloaf, Southern-Fried Fysh, Jalapeño Cornbread, Grandma’s Potato Salad, Mama’s Black & White Greens and more, and that’s not even to mention the fire food porn pics from local photog Jonathan Cooper and design work of graphic and visual artist Vashti Crowell-Fowler. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

“BEST FRIES” THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

A YEAR-END NOTE OF GRATITUDE Dear Charlotte, The board, volunteers, and staﬀ of Charlotte Pride wish to extend a deep and heartfelt note of thanks for all of the ways this beautiful community has stepped up and stepped out in the midst of this challenging year. We are so proud of the many ways each of us have made the most of 2020, even as we mourn lost loved ones and yearn for a return to the ways we once were able to support and build community. We sincerely thank our many sponsors and partners who continued to support our year-round programming and this year’s many virtual events. We eagerly look forward to the return of in-person events and programs in 2021. We wish you the happiest of holidays and a Happy New Year! Thank you!

CHARLOTTE

PRIDE

™

2020 Festival & Parade Sponsors MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 2021 Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade August 21-22, 2021 Uptown Charlotte

Best Local Festival Best Non-Proﬁt THANK YOU Queen City Nerve readers!

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2020 Reel Out Charlotte Sponsors

FOOD & DRINK CRITICS’ PICKS

READERS’ PICKS: FOOD & DRINK

Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers through a two-month nomination process followed by a two-month voting process. The nominations were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff at all — save for removing ourselves from a few categories to proactively dispel any notions of favoritism. In other words, if you disagree with these ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us. Best African Cuisine Abugida Ethiopian Cafe Runner Up: Enat Ethiopian Restaurant Best Bagels Poppy’s Bagels Runner Up: Owen’s Bagels Best Bakery Suarez Bakery Runner Up: Sunflour Baking Company Best Ballantyne Restaurant Midwood Smokehouse Runner Up: Cabo Fish Taco Best Barbeque Midwood Smokehouse Runner Up: Sweet Lew’s BBQ Best Beer Selection Common Market Runner Up: Salud Beer Shop

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Best Bloody Mary Moo & Brew Runner Up: Snooze AM Eatery Best Bottle Shop Salud Beer Shop Runner Up: Rhino Market & Deli Best Breakfast Original Pancake House Runner Up: Snooze AM Eatery

Best Brewery Birdsong Brewing Runner Up: Resident Culture Brewing Co.

Best East Charlotte Restaurant Lang Van Vietnamese Runner Up: Dish

Best Indian Cuisine Copper Modern Indian Cuisine Runner Up: Maharani Indian Cuisine

Best Brunch Bistro La Bon Runner Up: Snooze AM Eatery

Best Farm-To-Table Restaurant Haberdish Runner Up: Heirloom Restaurant

Best International Food Store Super G Mart Runner Up: The Asian Market

Best Burger Brooks’ Sandwich House Runner Up: Ace No. 3

Best Farmers Market Charlotte Regional Farmers Market Runner Up: Kings Drive Farmers Market

Best Italian Cuisine Mama Ricotta’s Runner Up: Portofino’s

Best Caribbean Anntony’s Caribbean Cafe Runner Up: Mama’s Caribbean Bar & Grill

Best Food for Reheating Thai Taste Runner Up: Mac’s Speed Shop

Best Japanese Cuisine Futo Buta Runner Up: Ru San’s

Best Chef Greg Collier Runner Up: Chef Joya

Best Food Truck The Dumpling Lady Runner Up: What The Fries

Best Juice Bar Green Brothers Juice Co. Runner Up: Viva Raw

Best Chinese Cuisine The Dumpling Lady Runner Up: Ho Ho Cherry House

Best French Bistro La Bon Runner Up: Cafe Monte

Best Korean Cuisine Seoul Food Meat Company Runner Up: Let’s Meat KBBQ

Best Cocktails Dot Dot Dot Runner Up: Idlewild

Best Fries What the Fries Runner Up: Five Guys

Best Late-Night Eatery Midnight Diner Runner Up: The Diamond

Best Cocktail Kit Dot Dot Dot Runner Up: Haberdish

Best Frozen Treat Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Runner Up: Two Scoops Creamery

Best Lunch Common Market Runner Up: Rhino Market & Deli

Best Cocktail Menu Dot Dot Dot Runner Up: Haberdish

Best Gourmet/Special Food Store Pasta & Provisions Runner Up: Reid’s Fine Foods

Best Margarita RuRu’s Tacos & Tequila Runner Up: Three Amigos

Best Coffee Shop Central Coffee Co., Not Just Coffee (tie)

Best Hangover Fix Pinky’s Westside Grill Runner Up: Midnight Diner

Best Mexican Cuisine Sabor Latin Street Grill Runner Up: Three Amigos

Best Health Food Store Whole Foods Runner Up: Berrybrook Farm Natural Foods

Best Middle Eastern Cuisine Yafo Kitchen Runner Up: La Shish Kabob

Best Health Practices During Pandemic Camp North End Runner Up: The Artisan’s Palette

Best Mocktail The Cotton Room Runner Up: Bardo

Best Hot Dog JJ’s Red Hots Runner Up: Pinky’s Westside Grill

Best New Brewery (Last Two Years) Devil’s Logic Brewing Runner Up: Edge City Brewery

Best Ice Cream Shop Two Scoops Creamery Runner Up: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Best NoDa Restaurant Haberdish Runner Up: Cabo Fish Taco

Best Delivery Yafo Kitchen Runner Up: Crispy Banh Mi Best Dessert Suarez Bakery Runner Up: Wentworth & Fenn Best Distillery Doc Porter’s Runner Up: Great Wagon Road Distilling Best Doughnuts Duck Donuts Runner Up: Your Mom’s Donuts

FOOD & DRINK READER’S PICKS Best North Charlotte/University Restaurant Leah & Louise Runner Up: Banh Mi Brothers Best Patio NoDa Company Store Runner Up: Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Best Pho Lang Van Vietnamese Runner Up: Pho an Hoa Best Pizza Inizio Pizza Napoletano Runner Up: Benny Pennello’s Best Plaza Midwood Restaurant Soul Gastrolounge Runner Up: Midwood Smokehouse Best Sandwich Common Market Runner Up: Rhino Market & Deli

Best Seafood The Waterman Runner Up: Sea Level NC

Best Tapas Soul Gastrolounge Runner Up: Barcelona Wine Bar

Best Wait Staff/Service Lang Van Runner Up: Diamond Restaurant

Best Soul Food Mert’s Heart and Soul Runner Up: Leah & Louise

Best Thai Thai Taste Runner Up: Deejai Thai

Best West Charlotte/Steele Creek Restaurant Pinky’s Westside Grill Runner Up: Noble Smoke

Best South End Restaurant Futo Buta Runner Up: Hawkers Asian Street Food

Best To-Go Yafo Kitchen Runner Up: Sabor Latin Street Grill

Best Wine Selection Foxcroft Wine Co. Runner Up: Dilworth Tasting Room

Best SouthPark Restaurant The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar Runner Up: Paco’s Tacos and Tequila

Best Uptown Restaurant Mert’s Heart and Soul Runner Up: Chima Steakhouse

Best Wings Seoul Food Meat Company Runner Up: Moosehead Bar and Grill

Best Steakhouse Beef ‘N Bottle Steakhouse Runner Up: Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse

Best Vegan Food Luna’s Living Kitchen Runner Up: Oh My Soul

Best Sushi New Zealand Cafe Runner Up: Ru San’s

Best Vietnamese Cuisine Lang Van Runner Up: Pho an Hoa

Best Taco Cabo Fish Taco Runner Up: Sabor Latin Street Grill

“Best Uptown Restaurant” “Best Soul Food”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS’ PICKS

CRITICS’ PICKS: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

While COVID-19 brought so much of the arts world to a screeching halt — live concerts, theatre productions, art exhibits, etc. — it’s been inspiring to watch how the scene has adapted and continued to create in the absence of live audiences. So many local creatives continued to make amazing work, either despite of or inspired by the shutdowns — and we were proud just to watch from afar.

Best Creative: Hannah Hasan

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Longtime spoken-word poet and local community organizer Hannah Hasan began focusing more of her energy on storytelling as a form of socially conscious art in recent years, launching the Muddy Turtle Talks event series in 2018 to share the stories of Enderly Park residents facing gentrification and displacement. When COVID-19 clamped down on the city, Hasan took Muddy Turtle Talks to Zoom and the pages of Queen City Nerve, unstoppable in her drive to share the stories of Charlotte’s oft-ignored

included alongside an open letter from community leaders to city officials demanding that they find a way to close the $13-million gap between private and public funding that offered the only chance for historic Brookhill to be renewed and still include 162 affordable housing units. City council approved more funding for the project just days after the letter was delivered. On Welcoming Week, Hasan adapted her Muddy Turtle Talks storytelling style for the pages of Queen City Nerve, sharing unique insights from five local immigrants who came to America from a range of different places. Hasan’s work made us feel like a closer community in a time when people weren’t allowed to come together, and we look forward to seeing how she builds on that in 2021.

Best Arts Organization: HUE HOUSE

Late in 2019, local creatives davita galloway and David Butler teamed with Grammy-nominated producer and rapper David “Dae-Lee” Arrington to launch HUE HOUSE, a creative consulting agency that offers funding and resources to Charlotte’s diverse cultural community. In February, the team formed a new partnership with Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) to move their mission forward

HUE HOUSE FOUNDERS DAVITA GALLOWAY, DAVID BUTLER AND DAVID ARRINGTON.

citizenry in a way that only she knows how. In recent months, Hasan has expanded beyond Enderly Park to help tell the stories of others around the city with unique perspectives. With “Roots… A Poem For Brookhill,” she brought her unique poetic talents to the chambers of local government, penning the heartfelt poem to be

PHOTO BY WILL JENKINS

with The Block, a monthly gathering focused on empowering creatives, artists and entrepreneurs of color. We all know what happened then. However, the HUE HOUSE team wasn’t about to just throw their events into a virtual forum and call it a pivot. They still had bigger plans for 2020, and they wouldn’t be

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS’ PICKS slowed by a pandemic. In August, HUE HOUSE launched a new reimagining of The Block, this time as a publication — a Black-run, Blackcentered publication highlighting the work of local and regional Black creatives. Local writer DeAnna Taylor came on as editorin-chief, helping the HUE HOUSE team tell stories around arts, culture, business and lifestyle in the Black community. As Arrington told Queen City Nerve OWL regarding The Block event series in February: “People of color need a voice [and space] in order to thrive. Charlotte doesn’t have that for the arts. As a whole, the creative community is a microcosm of the current community. There has been a lot of research done that reveals how divided our city is when it comes to upward mobility.”

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Best Muralist: Owl

When Mint Museum exhibition designer Hannah Crowell decided to broaden the impact of the pottery show Classic Black to engage people who normally don’t go to museums, she knew where to turn: Charlotte’s exploding street art scene. In particular, when the Mint co-hosted the street mural slam competition Battle Walls with Southern Tiger Collective last summer, Crowell noticed the work of collective artist Owl. “There’s vertical movement [in Owl’s art] that surrounds and swirls around an object, so your eye has a moment to rest before it dances to the next focal point,” Crowell offers. The Mint exhibit Classic Black, which showcases the black basalt sculptures made by Josiah Wedgwood and other Staffordshire potters in late 18th-century England, draws vitality from Owl’s immersive designs. In many ways Owl’s design elements are pieces of a puzzle, drawing positivity and energy from her use of line and color. The acclaimed muralist, who often appears

masked when she’s creating in public, is noted for and filmmaker Marlon Morrison. At an opening reception titled Tarmac on Jan. the “blobs,” that recur in her work, which can be seen in bold murals across Charlotte. The “blobs” are 10, the artists explored themes including racism, line drawings of amoeba-like shapes that spiral in gun violence, sex trafficking and immigration, with overlapping themes like displacement running like threads through some of the projects. Speaking with Queen City Nerve following an artists’ talk last December, Dunlap was prescient as she discussed themes that would become relevant in Charlotte again just months later. “I was thinking back to the Keith Lamont Scott, Justin Carr shootings, and PHOTO BY DANIEL ALVARADO how violently the city responded against successive iterations like fractals. The blobs are like a protesters, and not just with force, but also with a two-dimensional Rorschach test that the eye reads dialogue that was not very democratic,” Dunlap said. “We took the concept of protesting and we turned it as 3-D. “[Owl’s] work is all about the movement of the into riots, and then from riots, we had to call it an eye and changing and morphing a line to create a ‘uprising,’ and I was like, ‘It was protesting.’ The act of protest is associated with activism, so if we can start movement of energy,” Crowell says. to think about art as another form of protest, but not Best Residency: Resident Residency, label the artists as activists, maybe that’s a way of protecting the actual protests.”

McColl Center for Art + Innovation

Last December seems like many years ago, but it was then that local artist Janelle Dunlap teamed with McColl staff, current and former artists-in-residence, and other local institutions involved with the EmcArts New Pathways program to curate the Resident Residency, named such because it consisted of five artists who live and work in Charlotte. The residency centered on Charlotte artists who work in social practice art, a term that refers to artwork that uses social engagement as a primary medium, and included mixed-media artists Dammit Wesley, MyLoan Dinh and PDA ARTWORK BY MEGAN GONZALEZ Helms Jarrell; painter HNin Nie;

Best Indie Exhibit: Crown Station, PDA

Last spring multidisciplinary artist Julio Gonzalez and fiber artist Jillian Mueller gathered a diverse group of artists to explore their serious, funny or heartfelt takes on how each of us handle and process public displays of affection. The result of their call to arms was PDA: An Art Show Exploring Displays of Affection, which went up at Crown Station on Feb. 15, one day after Valentine’s Day. Fourteen artists shared their visions of empathy and tenderness in the public sphere. Contributors included Elisa Marie Sanchez, musician Sweat Transfer, avant-garde theatre troupe XOXO, painter and mixed-media artist Dammit Wesley, spokenword performer de’Angelo Dia, fiber artist Sarah Terry Argabrite and more. Highlights included a series of looped nonlinear actions performed by XOXO, de’Angelo Dia’s movement and spoken-word piece that explored how we use the word love with interchangeable meanings, and a park bench where strangers made micro-connections by sitting together and doing whatever kind of PDA they felt like — something that would be come unfathomable just a month later. “Public displays of affection are important to make people feel seen and loved,” Mueller said. “If we can encourage people to do more of that, then [the show] will have been a success.”

Best Institutional Exhibit: Mint Museum, New Days/New Works

Last September, when Mint Museum Uptown came out of a lockdown designed to stem the spread of COVID-19, the venerable arts venue launched a one-ofa-kind exhibit, a selection of art drawn across all the different collections and departments within the museum. New Days/New Works was a series of interconnected exhibits that spotlighted everything from African textiles to contemporary paintings. “It’s a show that highlights recent gifts to the museum that the public hasn’t had a chance to see before,” Mint Museum Senior Curator of American Art Jonathan Stuhlman told Queen City Nerve. “I think it’s probably the first time in

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS’ PICKS the 14 years that I’ve been at the museum where all the curators worked together on a giant show as opposed to each doing their own.” Encompassing more than 80 works of art, the exhibition juxtaposed color, material, time and place, from the recently acquired “Arco” by Puerto Rican artist Cristina Cordova to Pilar Albarracín’s “Ceiling of Offerings,” a large-scale installation made up of hundreds of colorful flamenco dresses that hung from the ceiling. It all revolved around the strikingly colorful acrylic painting “With Side, With Shoulder” by Brooklyn-based artist Summer Wheat, which spanned three floors and refracted light spilling into the museum atrium like a stained-glass window.

“We may forget the occasion or the weather Best Visiting Art Pop Up: Cool Globes in moments long past, and even facial features Cool Globes: Cool Ideas for a Hotter Planet is can fade in the memory, but the eyes are never a nonprofit organization that curates a traveling forgotten,” Stallings said. public art exhibit created to raise awareness of solutions to climate change. Since 2007, the exhibition has traveled around Best Local Art Pop Up: Tough Ass the United States and the world reaching millions of Crew viewers across the actual globe. When Sunshine Daydreams moved out of its 20Thirty-five of these globes were housed at Camp year home in NoDa and into downtown Mint Hill, a North End at the beginning of this year while some coalition of more than 60 artists known as Tough Ass awaited touches from local artists and then were Crew wasted no time taking over the room while its put out in Uptown between 11th and Trade streets future use remains in limbo. On Sept. 20, the crew along North Tryon Street. launched a pop-up gallery in the space. Deidre and Clay Grubb of Charlotte-based Grubb Just 15 people at a time were allowed in the Properties were behind efforts to bring the globes gallery, where consignment art from Charlotte to the Queen City, according to Megan Scarsella,

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Best Art Show: Bree Stallings, To Be Seen and Celebrated

As a visual artist that grew up with genetic macular degeneration and limited resources, local artist Bree Stallings knows to never take vision and eye health for granted. To Be Seen & Celebrated was a multi-faceted exhibition for which Stallings painted 100 custom paintings of real people’s eyes, then built a master grid installation to be housed at The Metropolitan for 30 days, beginning with an opening reception on Jan. 31, celebrating the people and the stories behind every eye in the exhibit. Viewing the installation (with a feeling of being viewed back), one could connect with any of the eyes on the wall, then look closer for a description of whose eye it was or why a certain person had the painting commissioned. One painting was a gift from a staff member at West Charlotte High School, depicting the eye of his student Je’Naya. Another read, “In Celebration of 51% Sweetheart, 49% Bitch.” The exhibit raised $1,475 for the Brookhill Vision Fund to go toward eye exams and glasses for residents of the Brookhill community.

TOUGH ASS CREW POP-UP PHOTO BY KATE GALINDO

artists hung on walls freshly sprayed by muralists like Stencil Spray, Arko & Owl, Sydney Duarte, Mike Wirth, Backwoods Barbie, Marcher Arrant and more. It’s unclear how long the crew will be showing art in the former head shop, as they are currently subleasing the space from Evening Muse, where owners are deciding between expanding or bringing a new tenant into the space. The gallery did bring back an old-NoDa feel of art-covered walls and indoor space-making for local artists to put their work on display, with every ince of the wall from floor to ceiling covered in art.

executive director of Cool Globes. Scarsella says the exhibit is a way to educate the public on opportunities to contribute that they might not have been aware of prior to coming to the exhibit. The Cool Globes exhibit also works as an opportunity for local artists’ work to be featured on a world stage — figuratively and literally — once the exhibit leaves Charlotte and moves elsewhere, as the globes are never stripped of their artwork. Other partners on the project include Clean Air Carolinas, Arts and Science Council, Sustain

Charlotte, Arts+, McColl Center for Arts + Innovation, Bank of America, Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and Charlotte Center City Partners.

Best Public Art Workshop: Georgie Nakima, Kindred

Kindred, muralist and community organizer Georgie Nakima’s multidisciplinary public art project, was located in west Charlotte’s Biddleville neighborhood at Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Charlotte’s first minority-owned financial institution. The project was designed as a series of workshops, to bring artwork outside of art districts and directly into the communities that can truly use it. The January workshop showcased an informal lecture by Johnathan Shepard about the evolution of the educational system in Charlotte’s Historic West End. The next Kindred event took place at Johnson C. Smith University’s Arts Factory, a renovated building on West Trade Street less than half a mile from Mechanics and Farmers Bank. It featured historian Maarifa Kweli’s lecture on the African-American Diaspora and a face mask demonstration guided by artist Micaila Ayo Thomas. The idea behind the workshop series was to pool local creatives under one umbrella, Nakima said, then connect those artists with historic African-American communities to draw a through line from each neighborhood’s past to its future. Before COVID-19 curtailed the series, building community, breaking down barriers and inspiring neighbors were all on the docket for the Kindred workshops to come. Hopefully, in a post-pandemic landscape, Nakima can pick up, resuming recognition of Charlotte’s black development corridor as an important part of telling a people’s story, while also asking what that means for the people that are already there.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mario Bros., with each new style of sound bringing right angle. new moves that outshined the last. He’s going to break something doing that one A Trinidad and Tobago native whose real name of these days, but until then, those moves make for CRITICS’ PICKS is Ayinde Durante, AniMatriXX spends much of his some beautiful shots. We’ll be keeping an eye on Josh in the coming Best Public Art: Black Lives Matter time in Fayetteville but has been making moves in the local scene for years, hitting events like the year, as he’ll soon be unveiling details about his Mural Breakin’ Convention or just showing his skills on his debut solo exhibit, In the Line of Sight, to be shown On June 9, a group of 17 Charlotte-based artists YouTube channel. at The Light Factory in January. made international headlines by painting “BLACK Keep an eye out for his name on flyers once LIVES MATTER” in a mural across South Tryon Street we’re able to gather again, because videos just don’t Best Skyline Photographer: Myles Gelbach between East 3rd and East 4th streets. do him justice (but they’re cool, too). (@mylesperhour_photography) The project was the result of a partnership A city isn’t a city without an iconic skyline — between the city of Charlotte, Charlotte is Creative, not that the Charlotte skyline is iconic by any means, Brand the Moth and BlkMrkt CLT, with each artist but it is to us Charlotteans. paid $500 for their work. The mural itself represented more than just the art on the street, however. After someone vandalized the mural by driving over it with paint on their wheels shortly after it was finished, the city shut the block down to cars, creating a space for people to come together in Uptown. It quickly became a rallying point for ongoing protests, and after that, a space for arts events like the interactive pop-ups held by Brand the Moth and BlkMrkt throughout September and the Charlotte Art League auction held in the space on Halloween day. The city reopened the street in November, despite cries from the community to keep it closed, but speaking just after the mural was painted in June, Dammit Wesley emphasized that it would leave its mark even if it were washed away. JOSHUA GALLOWAY SHOT PROTEST PHOTOS FOR QUEEN CITY NERVE IN JUNE. “Whatever happens to that PHOTO BY JOSHUA GALLOWAY mural on Tryon, that moment will always mean a lot to those who Myles Gelbach does an incredible job of experienced it,” he said. “It was a cathartic time for Best Photographer: Joshua Galloway Joshua Galloway was one of many photographers documenting our city’s towering titans from every those who were looking for answers, for those who needed to express themselves in some way that that joined Queen City Nerve on the streets to bring angle. Myles’ Instagram account only goes back didn’t result in retaliation from the police. That’s you the best coverage we could of Black Lives Matter through December 2019, but when it comes to the protests occurring throughout the city this summer. year 2020 he has completely knocked it out the park. what art is to the revolution.” On those nights, he showed an amazing knack Each image is worthy of a print to be displayed for mixing his photojournalism and portraiture in your home for all of your guests to envy. One of Best Dancer/Troupe: AniMatriXX skills, even as flash-bang grenades exploded around our favorite images is a post from Sept. 7 with a During a two-minute performance at the We us. nighttime reflective image taken from the rooftop Are Hip Hop Festival on Nov. 7, AniMatriXX pulled One thing about Josh is, he’ll do anything to get of a condo that appears to be in South End. out all the stops. the shot. That doesn’t just mean he’ll run through a Give him a follow and decide for yourself on Moving over a humorous soundtrack that cloud of tear gas to get it, but even when shooting ranged from a Saw theme — allowing him to show portraits, we’ve seen shots of him contorting his the vibrant colors and techniques he applies to off his impressive marionette impersonation — to body into all sorts of different positions to get the enhance his visuals of the pillars that consume the background of our lives here in the Queen City.

Best Hires: Boris “Bluz” Rogers, Blumenthal Performing Arts; Jonell Logan, McColl Center

Boris “Bluz” Rogers, who joined Blumenthal Performing Arts as director of creative engagement in September, is an artist, teacher, mentor and Emmy-winning poet and author. Prior to his leadership role at the newly formed “We Are Hip Hop,” he spearheaded “Slam Charlotte” and “Breakin’ Convention.” On top of that, he’s a kickass DJ, having hosted We Are Hop Hop: The Reveal last month, which featured an old school DJ competition. In short, Bluz is a regional, if not national, treasure, who continues to be an important voice in Charlotte’s cultural community. On Nov. 2, McColl Center for Art + Innovation welcomed Jonell Logan as its new creative director, an equally great move for the museum. Moving to Charlotte in 2013, Logan worked at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture before leaving to start her own consulting company, the 300 Arts Project, which helps cultural organizations become more inclusive. Starting in 2018 Logan served as executive director of The League of Creative Interventionists (LOCI), which identifies people working on projects that can benefit communities throughout the city and then connects them with the funds, mentoring and peer support.

Most Exciting Arts Development: Charlotte Film Society’s Community Cinema

The Manor Theatre may have shuttered its doors, but another set of doors will be opening for film lovers soon. In fact, the Manor’s demise has cleared the deck for a new screening facility for lovers of art house, indie and foreign films. Brad Ritter, who managed The Manor for over 20 years and is also president of the Charlotte Film Society, has been planning for over a decade to launch a nonprofit community movie theater. Jay Morong, a senior lecturer in theater and film at UNC Charlotte and the program director for the Charlotte Film Society, is partnering with Ritter to

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS’ PICKS finally open that theater — a cinema committed to movies, film festivals and cinema education. The Charlotte Film Society’s Community Cinema will open its doors next year at 4237 Raleigh Street just north of NoDa. The three-screen theater will be the linchpin of the Trailhead District, a major redevelopment by the Flywheel Group that will include music venues, restaurants, retail, office space, art galleries and residential units, all just a stone’s throw away from the Lynx Blue Line at Sugar Creek Station. The new theater will feature cult films, host educational lectures and Q&A sessions with filmmakers and provide a venue for dozens of film festivals and screening series that currently have nowhere to screen their films. “A lot of people were very sad that The Manor closed, and a lot of them were very vocal about it,” Morong told Queen City Nerve. “Now is their opportunity to do something and to support their own Manor which will also be nonprofit.”

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Most Exciting Arts Development Outside 485: Cain Center for the Arts

For Cain Center executive director Justin Dionne, the completion of the center will mean more for Lake Norman residents than just a place to go for a show and art. “We want to add and enhance and accentuate the culture of what it means to be here in the Lake Norman area, and here in this Metrolina region of the piedmont,” Dionne told Queen City Nerve. “Sure, on the base level, will this give people less of a commute to get to see an artistic performance? Yeah, that’s the skin deep, if you will. But deeper than that,

though. His catalog is one of the most diverse in the city, and he flexes skills in his sets that few local DJs can these days: cutting, scratching, mixing with finesse, staying true to his turntablist roots. We can’t wait until it’s safe to experience an A-Minor set live again. Until then, we’ll leave his Twitch channel up and keep our private pajama party going.

Best Emerging DJ: DJ Dillon Jam

According to Dillon Jam’s parents, he was creating tunes to the ABC song at 6 months old,

A RENDERING OF THE CAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS IN CORNELIUS COURTESY OF CAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS

our goal is to create a place where people can really before he could talk. He was making beats at the breakfast table at 1. By 8 years old, he received his The town of Cornelius keeps moving closer to enjoy community, they can grow community.” first controller as a Christmas gift, then eventually seeing its new multimillion-dollar venue, gallery graduated to turntables. and educational center come to fruition. The Cain Best DJ: A-Minor A-Minor’s resume is unmatched, and so is his So perhaps it’s no surprise that, at just 14 years Center for the Arts will be the anchor for the northwork ethic. He’s the official DJ for the Hornets, the old, he’s making waves in Charlotte and across North Mecklenburg town’s new arts district, which has University of South Carolina Gamecocks, and the Carolina, where he’s appeared on multiple hip-hop been in the works since 2013. In 2018, the Cain Center board of directors and NBA’s international games. He’s the lead resident for radio stations. At the We Are Hip Hop Festival in November, leadership launched the quiet phase of a $25 million Knocturnal. He’s co-founder of Black Guys in Hats, a DJ Dillon Jam won a fierce DJ battle against DJ campaign for the center, which will be located at the DJ collective throwing ill theme parties. All of these jobs kept his calendar full as fuck Heff, taking home $200, a custom-made Charlotte intersection of Catawba Avenue and Milling Way, next door to the Cornelius Town Hall and near N.C. until they got cancelled in March. Without missing Hornets jersey and bragging rights to close out the a beat, he hustled over to Twitch and kept it moving year. Highway 115. You can catch DJ Dillon Jam ripping up weddings As this paper went to print, the campaign had on the livestream tip four to five nights a week. Plus, with Cool Receptions, but we expect bigger things raised about $17.25 million toward the $25-million he dropped a dope merch line. He’s not the best just because he’s hardworking, as he moves into his high school years. goal.

Best Rapper: Jah-Monte Ogbon

For years, Jah-Monte Ogbon has pushed back whenever we call him the “self-proclaimed” Best Rapper in Charlotte. We couldn’t help it, that’s the only way to make such a bold statement in a journalistic outlet without drawing a ton of WTFs and starting some big debate that overrides whatever we were trying to say in the first place. But this year, we’re ready to make that statement ourselves. It’s not that Jah-Monte hasn’t been this skilled for a long time, but over the last two years, he’s kept his head down and just put out quality work at a pace unlike anything we’d seen from him in the past. Last December, Jah-Monte dropped Infinite Wisdom, his fourth project of 2019, following up on Jewelry Rap, Alkaline Water, and God, Body & Soul, respectively. He began 2020 riding the wave of momentum from those releases, pressing vinyl records for his back catalogue of 2019 projects, seeing each one sell out quickly online and in local shops. Then he kept things moving, dropping singles with his hallmark run-on song titles, including “She Got Her Second baby Daddy Name Tatted On Her Neck But I’m Still in Love,” before dropping the seven-track project Seventy-Fifth & Amsterdam in September, perhaps his most versatile release of them all. Jah-Monte brings his trademark flow to each project, and is at his best when he teams with friend and local powerhouse producer FLLS, but while the two do pair up again in Seventy-Fifth & Amsterdam, the project also sees Jah-Monte exploring different styles, even dipping his toes into the trap genre on “Fuck My Old Plug I Wish You Well Though.” He’s been bouncing around a lot between NYC and CLT this year, so we can only hope we get to see him around the Queen City for years to come. Catch him again at a video premiere at The Corner on Dec. 6, and you can go check out the Lifewave for more info on that.

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Best Emerging Rapper: Too Smoove

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Up-and-coming Charlotte rapper Too Smoove has had a busy fall, filming and releasing three full-production videos in three months between September and November. Our favorite choice for both song and video is “Both On Drugs,” a laid-back stoner love song with visuals that send the viewer into a good trip through Uptown. Too Smoove just busted on the scene, but all her songs are strong, and apparently so is she, as she recently signed with the Carolina Queens, Charlotte’s Independent Women’s Football League team.

and his sound is versatile and unique. After have something you want to share with the world, witnessing the explosive success of ‘Tuff,’ Alamo saw do it. You may not be here tomorrow, because I a clear path to making Jaah SLT a household name.” wasn’t going to be here tomorrow.” All we know is we’re not taking him for granted today. Best Producer: Jah Freedom The most powerful aspect of Jah Freedom’s game is the range. Last December, he dropped Basquiat Vol. 1: SAMO Suite, a mostly instrumental record that explores the binaries of hip-hop and jazz, with each track taking the name of the Basquiat painting that inspired it. He also brought on poets like Aheem from the Bay Area and Charlotte’s own Bluz for vocals here and there. Then in April, he partnered with rapper Kil Ripkin for the hard-hitting EP Self Medicate, a tour de force of live instrumentation with a strong foundation in boom-bap providing the perfect backdrop for Ripkin’s lyrical bombardments.

Best R&B/Soul/Funk: Dexter Jordan

In pop music there are a handful of artist-andproducer collaborations that seem so right that it’s hard to imagine what kind of music would have been produced if there had not been such dream teams. Would the Beatles have made the same worldwide impact if George Martin hadn’t been such a perfect confidant and co-conspirator? Would David Bowie’s multi-faceted art rock be as timeless without Tiny Visconti’s arrangements? Add R&B crooner Dexter Jordan and producer Jason Jet to that short list of sympatico teams. Biggest Buzz: With airy synthesizers and supple beats, Jet clears Jaah SLT a path for Jordan’s luxurious vocals and swarming Jaah SLT was harmonies on break out track “Be Cool.” By keeping working in a Steele the tracks uncluttered, Jet puts the focus where it Creek print factory belongs, on Jordan’s limpid melodies velvety voice, when he first came which has a timber and sustain similar to John across an Instagram Legend’s. video showing Dexter, As proficient as Jet is, all the studio wizardry the titular character would amount to nothing if Jordan wasn’t so from the Dexter’s emotional and distinctive. As a singer and composer, Laboratory cartoon, he draws on gospel, which is subtly filtered through walking along a his experience as a queer Black man in the South. hallway, perfectly on Each of Jordan’s albums are unique and beat with Jaah SLT’s uplifting because they chart transformations. Amid own “Tuff” lyrics, “10, cooling hues, Jordan’s 2019 debut album Blue 11 … 13, I don’t fuck traces a journey from sorrow — the singer mourns with 12 and they don’t the passing of his mother — and self-acceptance. fuck with me.” Follow-up full-length Dexterity, released last From there the clip November, charts a course from acceptance to spread like wildfire, self-love to concern for the environment and and before Jaah knew compassion for our fellow man. DEXTER JORDAN’S ‘DEXTERITY’ it, his music was Throughout Jordan is a smooth and empathic everywhere on the light, a musical shaft of light piercing glowering internet. Then in September, Jah Freedom returned to clouds. It’s been a year since that meme first hit, and the his artist series, dropping Umoja: Sifu Suite Volume one clip from “Tuff” has been featured in hundreds I, an interpretation of local artist Cedric Umoja’s of thousands of TikTok videos. His Spotify streams work that plunges listeners into a sonic atmosphere Best Band: Pullover In Phil Pucci’s musical family tree, Melt begat have held at half a million per month throughout of hip-hop, afro-futuristic, space jazz, funk, future Pullover. Pucci, the former frontman and guitarist for the year, and in February, he signed with Alamo funk, and styles that can’t be labeled. Charlotte garage rockers Serfs, and promoter for the Records, a New York-based record label founded by A near-death experience in 2019 drives Jah’s cutting-edge music festival Reverb Fest from 2014 to former Warner Bros. CEO Todd Moscowitz. newly inextinguishable work ethic, inspiring his 2017, launched Melt as a shoe-gazey side gig from “We came across Jaah and fell in love with new personal mantra: Die empty. Serfs’noise rock. When Serfs disintegrated, Melt became everything he had out,” said Alamo A&Rs Jacob “It’s that there’s no reason for me to hold on to Pucci’s main band. The group’s sole album, Repossession Gilliland and Zeke Hirschberg in a joint email. “He anything that I have,” Edwards says of the expression. blends styles from a variety of musical influences, “If you have an idea or if you have a thought or if you Blues, is a warm, fuzzy and fizzy dollop of punk pop, but anxiety and melancholy still bubble under.

As bassist Caiti Mason, guitarist Nicholas Holman and keyboardist Brooke Weeks joined Pucci and former Serfs drummer Smith, Melt’s music softened and sweetened enough to prompt a name change — something warm and friendly, like Pullover. Released last February, Pullover’s debut Forever plays like a better-adjusted Melt. Happier doesn’t mean boring, though. It’s just that the band is embracing the whole of life, not just the angsty bits, and the result is Pucci’s richest, most satisfying set of songs to date. “Beat Up Car,” a surging bucolic pop gem, rides Pucci and Holman’s ringing guitars to a big swarming chorus that conjures memories of Big Star. The galloping chamber pop of “Dream Away”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS’ PICKS features harpsichord-like keyboard stabs that pay tribute to synth pop. “Ride” beguiles listeners with a cloud layer of strummed guitars rolling over low and rippling post-punk bass. “When I look at the two albums that I put out two years ago, the one with Serfs and the one with Melt, I can hear the anxiety and how upsetting everything felt around that time,” Pucci said. “With Forever, it feels like the opposite of that.”

Best Singer/Songwriter: George Banda Best Country/Folk/Americana: After turning 19, George Banda quit his job in a Southside Watt toxic Arizona copper mine and decided to follow his musical muse. More than a decade later, Banda is a Charlotte folk music fixture, where he can often be seen riding his yellow Harley-Davidson nicknamed Pikachu after the Pokémon character. Boasting degrees in theology and music. These twin areas of study have helped define Banda’s songwriting. In his spare time, he volunteers to work with forgotten, underserved communities beset by homelessness and addiction. His compassion for the afflicted comes through in the subjects he tackles, like the couple coming undone

Southside Watt is a band that began as a bet. Group co-founder Shawn Wilfong, who had never played onstage in his life, bet his banjo-playing father-in-law that he could become a better player in a matter of weeks. What started out as good-natured trash-talking became a passion for playing. After a nerve-shredding onstage debut, the band, comprised of Wilfong on banjo and mandolin, his brother Stephen on lead vocals and guitar, bassist Patrick Faulkner, guitarist Caleb Davis and drummer

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Best New Band: Yes Chef!

Yes Chef! is the brainchild of songwriter and guitarist Leith K. Ali, a veteran of the Charlotte music scene you might recognize from Ol’ Sport and It Looks Sad.. (punctuation intended) Here he’s joined by fellow Charlotte musicians forming a solid rock line-up of bass and drums augmented with brass and woodwinds. The band’s latest EP Drive Safe, released in June, opens dramatically with “Chelsea.” Over grinding guitar and coiling bass, trumpet blares heroically as the track dovetails into Ali’s and bassist KC Marie Roberge’s entwined vocals. Over a tapestry of trilling flutes and ringing guitars, the cautionary lyrics are sung with nerdy earnestness. “The world is burning on the news/I will die in this waiting room,” Ali and Roberge sing as skirling horns and woodwinds lend texture to the pensive and propulsive “Bank Book.” “Doin’ Okay” slows the tempo to a swaggering strut that provides a sharp contrast to the tune’s rainy-day lyrics. “Empty” boasts chugging and chunky guitars which anchor the tune’s triumphant trumpet and fluttering flute. The collection closes with the medley “Wax Wings/So Close,” a stuttering, syncopated reminder that simply enduring life’s indignities can be heroic. Leave it to Yes Chef! to craft the perfect emo oxymoron — a wistful introverted anthem, a fanfare for the everyman.

The band’s 2018 debut EP 8 Track was recorded at Southern rock and soul mecca Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It includes the quicksilver bluegrass of “Head High,” the chugging, black-asa-locomotive stack “Ghost Train,” the rattling, highspirited “Girl From Tampa” and the rolling gospel soul of “Lonesome Drive Blues.” Their most recent EP, EP For Willie, Waylon & Cash, includes the chugging hardscrabble country ramble “Down the Line,” the lilting barstool lament “Been Smokin’,” the honky-tonk swagger of “Tonight I’m Drinkin’” and “Chugger,” which recreates the swooping country swing of Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys.

Best Alt Country: The Wilt

THE WILT PHOTO BY PAUL C. RIVERA

in “She Blames the Whiskey” off his full-length album (Two Diminished), released in February. Banda’s background in music theory and classical guitar can be heard on the album, which ranges from whispery Nick Drake influenced folk to harder-edged hardscrabble country to noise concrete samples set to random texts, and ominous thundering soundtrack snippets that would fit snugly into a classical symphony. Grounded in the daily lives of average people but ready to take off into fractured modernity and flights of fancy, (Two Diminished) is one of the most eclectic — and finest — records of the year.

Dillon Blythe, started getting booked around town. The band still had no name, but that came courtesy of their biggest booster, Wilfong’s childhood friend, the late Sabrina Watt. Watt died tragically young, so the group she loved honored her memory by incorporating her name into their moniker Southside Watt. Wilfong continues to marvel at how his friend’s support changed the course of his life. This philosophical bent comes across in the nuanced playing that draws on the deep grooves of country music, roots rock like the Rolling Stones and the classic blues of Robert Johnson and Son House.

On their 2019 full-length debut Old Fire, The Wilt tweaked the altcountry template. Their rootsy melodies and melancholy lyrics were set to stripped-down arrangements that were perfectly in keeping with alt country’s lo-fi hardscrabble ethos. What was different was the polish of the spare arrangements, which created space for the band’s six-person lineup, without making the songs sound cluttered. Though country music tropes are present — the holy trinity of heartache, barstool philosophy and rambling down the road, The Wilt freshens them up by presenting them with an energetic pop sheen. This is a band that harkens to tradition while keeping an eye on the horizon. Jumping on the Four Finger Records roster, The Wilt contributed to the label’s two Quarantine Sessions compilations last spring. On a cover of labelmate SOLIS’s “Stay Young,” the Wilt ventured further out of the alt-country box, as plangent resonating piano, pointillist guitar and Sage Greer’s yearning free-falling vocals embraced the heartbreak at the core of the original tune. But the Wilt’s swaying, limpid COVID-19 lament “Break Even” may well become the band’s signature tune. On their Facebook page, the band shared their thoughts on the track, its genesis and how it may shine a light on the way forward: “We wrote this song to help us get through one of the most incredibly difficult and strange times we’ve ever been a part of both as individuals and as

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That same month, the band announced they back pop of ’70s bands like Little Feat and the Bob have finished writing a new album that they plan Welch iteration of Fleetwood Mac. Similar to those bands, Late Night Special play on recording later this year. CRITICS’ PICKS jaunty ebullient music that is nonetheless a little a society. We hope that this might help to express Best Blues Rock: Late Night Special unsettling. Beyond the playful hand claps, spectral some of the ways you’re feeling and release some Late Night Special’s 2015 debut album Light of voices can be heard in the distance. It’s like catching anxiety in the same way that it has for us. We’ll get the Moon was a mix of old time rock ‘n’ roll, Southern a glimpse of a ghost in the glare of the noonday sun. through this together.” soul and the raw ramshackle Americana of The Band. But where the debut was good, the band’s latest Best Pirate Punk: King Cackle collection, Halfway to Somewhere, is phenomenal, King Cackle’s protean punk blues sounds so Best Metal: Kairos catapulting past Moon into a higher orbit. elemental, it’s like it’s been unleashed rather than Chris Deitz, lead vocalist with progressive With twanging blue bent notes on dueling written and recorded like normal music. Queen City metal and tech death quintet Kairos. (punctuation guitars, shuffling percussion and joyful vocals, Nerve has described the band’s fuzzed-out guitars, intended) joined the band — comprised of himself, bassist Jackson Owens, drummer Dalton Holland and guitarists Tony Davis and Kevin Pearce — four years ago when he replaced the combo’s original vocalist. At first the music afforded him an outlet for teen angst, Deitz says, but he quickly embraced the genre’s challenging, virtuosic playing and its intricate world-building and storytelling. Kairos., which takes its name from the ancient Greek word for an opportune time and/or place, used to focus on lyrics pertaining to Greek mythology, but the band has moved on to develop their own mythology, telling a longform story that carries over from subsequent releases to their 2018 full-length album Simulgression. “I like to think we’re like the universe,” he says. “Once we create something we start zooming outward like the Big Bang.” The band says their music “blurs PETROV the lines between progressive metal PHOTO CREDIT and its heavier neighbors to take you on an intense journey through the “Disco” captures the freeing spirit of moving to the jackhammer drums and growled vocals, to the result concept story.” of the animatronic Pirates of the Caribbean getting They follow an increasingly heavy and technical music. The propulsive “Rail Road Tracks” rides chugging shitfaced and raising a swampy stomping racket. path that incorporates black beats, growling vocals Their 2018 self-titled debut EP boasted and a copious shredding and arpeggios, all in the locomotive percussion before surging to grinding power chords. Meanwhile, the lyrics ponder all of bludgeoning blues holler “Release the Hounds” service of immersive world-building life’s paths not taken. and the grimy spaghetti western meets sea shanty In April the band released a self-produced Yearning vocals and swarming harmonies “Trolltunga” to “86’d and Out,” a look back at demo for “Unfurling Eyes.” Led by Davis and Pearce’s thread through the bittersweet “Hold On.” The working restaurant gigs for working for too many spiraling vertiginous guitars, the band follows like a gospel-infused soul of “The Sunshine Never Comes” shitty bosses who look at employees as replaceable rampaging Panzer division. plays like a modern-day rejoinder to Bill Withers’ components. The track is accompanied by a stay-at-home Last May, the band followed up their debut Zoom Video that follows Deitz through his morning “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Like much of Halfway to Somewhere, “Sunshine” with the single “Pignose.” Here the swaggering, routine as the phalanx of drums, bass and guitars evokes a nearly forgotten genre, the shuffling laidstaggering quartet adds North Carolina’s obsession thrash away.

with barbeque and twangy sling-blade Southern rock to their sirocco of sound. The lyrics suggest the unholy union of a downhome cookout and Lord of the Flies. In William Goldman’s psychological novel, a group of school kids is cast away on an uninhabited island where they devolve into superstition and brutality. At the climax, they place a severed pig’s head on a stake to placate an imaginary monster, and then hunt one of their own, chanting, “Kill the pig!” “Esse quam videri,” a Latin phrase meaning “To be, rather than to seem,” is the state motto of North Carolina. That’s us, gathered around a fire watching flesh burn.

Best Pop Punk: Petrov

In a sea of male-led and mostly white bands in the pop-punk genre, Petrov stands out in more ways than one. Hands down, Petrov put on some of the best live performances from a local band we’ve seen in recent years (pre-COVID, of course). The easy-going melody paired with distinct lyrics and rich vocals give it that much-needed bite that other pop-punk bands lack. Nothing beats seeing Mary Grace McKusick, Petrov’s vocalist, move around the stage as if she has no choice — as if the music was compelling her to. The energy they bring to the stage pales in comparison to their lyrics. The words feel personal, almost like a diary entry. Petrov’s lyrics are simple enough to understand but powerful enough to make an impact, touching on everything from struggling with self-love to the trendiness and commodification of social justice. In the song “Keepers” off of their newest EP Flower Bed, released in October, Petrov shares a refreshing view on the seductive nature of cancel culture and the power trip that people go on in the name of performative justice. Petrov continues to create music perfect for screaming along to alone in your car, and if 2020 has given us anything, it’s a reason to scream.

Best Emo: heckdang

The members of Charlotte emo indie rock trio heckdang had known each other for years through attending School of Rock Charlotte together during their high school years, but hadn’t written a full

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Best Instrumental Album: Dirty Art Club, Gardens

CRITICS’ PICKS song together until drummer Cole Brooks joined the band in 2019 and helped record their second EP, Never Left Home. This year, the band built on the confidence that comes with a truly collaborative songwriting process, releasing their most polished work yet, Fine, Just Thinking, in August. While Never Left Home was a project about loss — loss of self-identity, loss of relationships and loss of loved ones — Fine, Just Thinking builds on those ideas. “At least from a lyrical perspective, it’s a real continuation of those themes, but I was trying to look at it less from the perspective of just cut-anddry loss and kind of work in some of the nuances of all of those experiences,” says bassist and vocalist Magda Criswell, who along with guitarist Philip Calhoun completes the trio. “For this EP I think the themes have a lot more to do with wanting to care for people and wanting to be cared for. If the last EP was a stage of grief, it would be more just depression, and I feel like this one has a lot more anger and bargaining.” The depression, anger and bargaining on our end came into play when the three-track EP ended.

MASON PARKER

radio signal caught on a icy clear night in the middle of the desert. It’s a transmission from a parallel universe where everything released by Merge in the ’90s went on to be mega-sellers, and people do karaoke nightly to Redd Kross. It’s a better world than ours.

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Best Visual Album: Dylan Gilbert, Best Album: Alright, I’m Doing This I’ll Be the Lakebed I’ll Be the Lakebed, which Queen City Nerve to Myself premiered on Oct. 2, combines each of experimental Built upon the core of married couple Josh singer/songwriter Dylan Gilbert’s 10 new Robbins and Sarah Blumenthal — both active compositions with an accompanying video in a Charlotte music incubators as founders of Self Aware Records — Alright delivers the kind of raw, powerful and catchy-as-hell pop punk that should be all over Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora, but inexplicably isn’t. Like the best melodic indie rock, Alright’s first full-length release I’m Doing This to Myself, which dropped on Aug. 28, spins a whirlwind of noisy corroding guitars and splintering percussion around melodies that are pure bubblegum pop. “Scraps” kicks things off with Blumenthal’s ratcheting guitars and swaggering yet heartfelt vocals, and then surges to a gallop that never lets up for the duration of the LP. Her swooning croon cuts through knotted fuzzed-out guitars and jackhammer drums on “Parallels,” and soars over a blistering squall of noise on “Back Bench.” Every song connects, and each seems to end too soon with questions left unanswered. At times I’m Doing This to Myself feels like a phantom REUBEN VINCENT

In 2020, mainstream Charlotte continues to be clueless about what kind of heat this city packs in terms of producers. But that’s ok, because beat heads worldwide know about Dirty Art Club. We were blessed with two albums from the elusive artist this year, both of which stayed true to his legacy of crafting gorgeous tracks with masterlevel sample curation that manage to simultaneously sound both nostalgic and like that next shit. We’re going with Gardens as the best, just because we’ve had more time with it. And you need time with Gardens. You gotta just push play on PHOTO BY JOSHUA GALLOWAY it and let it be an enhancement to the experience of everyday life. visual record. Sit with it, stroll with it, smoke to it. Give It’s a collaboration between the musician and eight directors that traces Gilbert’s personal journey yourself hours to get lost in the layers of its lush to find balance in today’s fractious world, but does sonic landscape that breezes into your ears before its it in such a way that Gilbert’s vision quest resonates flowers fully unfold in your mind. with viewers and listeners. In a world shot through with racism, unrest, Best Debut: Tecoby Hines, Drip economic stress, rising authoritarianism and climate When you think of a hip-hop EP titled Drip, what change, Gilbert’s comes to a state of acceptance, comes to mind? We may be following stereotypes hope and humility, the hard-won tranquil end point here, but based on the slang of today, the first to the often perilous journey depicted by I’ll Be the assumption we would make involves somebody Lakebed. flexing their fashion sense. Not saying Tecoby isn’t fresh, but he’s far from flashy, and the five-track EP he dropped in February is less “Look at me” and more “Let me take a look at myself.” Hines describes Drip as “an introspective project, dealing with different parts of self habits and acknowledging a need to change and grow in order to move forward,” and we’re just happy he let us in on the process. The name of the EP came from the fact that each song was written while drinking drip coffee in Enderly Coffee between shifts. “Each song was written with drip, hence the name,” he told Queen City Nerve, “sitting in a coffee shop, navigating thoughts without hindrance or interruption.” What came out were five top-tier tracks that serve as the perfect inspirational backdrop for your own navel-gazing journey.

PHOTO BY SAYMA WALEH

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From Nov. 6-8, organizers held We Are Hip Hop: The Reveal outside at Camp North End as a sneak peek at what’s to come, including live performances, DJ battles, dance offs and live painting. With COVID-19 rates continuing to climb, it’s unclear if January’s event will still be held, but as much as we enjoyed the teaser weekend, this has become our top reason to pray for an effective vaccine. Sure, we want to see our families and stuff, too, but mostly… We Are Hip Hop Fest.

CRITICS’ PICKS

Best Worth the Wait: Mason Parker, Quantum Leap

When Mason Parker returned to Charlotte in August 2018, just 14 months after having left for Los Angeles with a lot of hype around his coming record, he had no record and no large following. It seems the experience humbled him, while reminding him what was important in life. He shifted his focus to his children and his fiance, while still making art on the side. He sort of left the rap game — but then again, he sort of didn’t. On April 20, Mason Parker finally dropped his debut album, Quantum Leap, featuring 10 tracks that show how he’s only honed his long-known ability to ride the line between swaggering versedriven tracks and Afrocentric methodology. While the multitalented Mason will continue mutltasking in the coming year, looking for a new distribution deal for his comic book, Quantum Leap proved that the poet/actor/author/rapper hasn’t dropped that last slash from his repertoire just yet.

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Best EP: Reuben Vincent, Boy Meets World

On June 26, 19-year-old Charlotte rapper Reuben Vincent dropped his latest EP, Boy Meets World, an eight-track adventure that gained him national attention and could set him up to be the voice of a generation that labelmate Rapsody has already tagged him as. Each track on the EP shows new growth from Reuben Vincent, who has shown a talent for wordplay and storytelling with his 2016 project Myers Park. With Boy Meets World, however, Vincent highlights a new range of skill, from the fast-paced trap verses of “Expedition” to the nostalgia of “Albemarle Road,” which calls back to an early ’90s hip-hop that existed before he was alive but not-sosubtly inspires much of his music. “Growing up, I didn’t really get to travel that much,” Vincent told Queen City Nerve. “My first time going on a plane was because of music, so Boy Meets World is me finally getting to go and see the world. I’m more open-minded to seeing different perspectives on things, but also, don’t let the world change you, where you come from, who you are, and your perspective on life and what’s your purpose.”

Best National Show: Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers

TYLER CHILDERS AT SPECTRUM CENTER

Best Song: Lute, “GED”

It’s not every day (... or month … or year …) that we get new music from Lute, so when it comes we expect it to be good, and he’s yet to let us down. While folks who attended Dreamvillefest in 2019 got to hear “GED” song performed live first, all the rest of us were stuck trying to figure out why Lute was peddling a new credit card called GED earlier this year. Turns out it was just a teaser campaign for his newest single, “GED (Gettin’ Every Dollar).” The track was the first single off a new album that would have been his first in three years had it dropped this year as scheduled, but we’re still patiently waiting. Until that time comes, we’ve still got “GED” on repeat.

PHOTO BY JEFF HAHNE

Best Local Show: We Are Hip Hop: The Reveal

Scheduled for the Booth Playhouse from Jan. 2124, 2021, the We Are Hip Hop Festival was conceived and organized by a coalition of local artists looking to highlight the intersection of hip-hop, art and culture in the Queen City.

When Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers decamped at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center last March, both were considered the torch bearers for old-school country music. Childers lived up to those expectations offering outstanding storytelling country, but longtime fans may have thought Simpson had gone off the rails. For many fans, it wasn’t a problem. Simpson’s adventures in psychedelic rock have wowed and thrilled plenty of audiences who enjoy both sides of the singer. However, there were numerous others

Best Video: Erick Lottary feat. Cyanca, “Replay”

Fresh off the release of his well-received 2019 project Summer On Central, Erick Lottary returned in February with a new single featuring local vocalist Cyanca. The collaborative record, titled “Replay,” is a light track that features Lottary‘s astute wordplay, while merging a breathy-sung hook that forms an effortless synergy between fire verses and airy vocals. The song was released on Feb. 4, with an accompanying video dropping a week later on Feb. 11. Bringing the song to life, the video is a visual art exhibition that emerges the viewer in a world created by Erick Lottary and Cyanca, as they perform in creatively constructed spaces that reflect the song’s fun vibe. Directed by Brandon Torres, the visuals bring us to a happy place that existed before 2020 turned into something else. Can we go back?

Connect with free virtual arts, science, and history experiences for all ages.

CULTURE

BLOCKS

Find upcoming events at ArtsAndScience.org/CultureBlocks

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS’ PICKS who didn’t quite get it and were seen leaving the show early. After Childers played a solid 75-minute set of outstanding country music, Simpson launched into a feedback-laden setlist drawing heavily from his fourth album Sound & Fury. The tunes traded the plaintive guitar work of Simpson’s breakthrough album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth for full-tilt cheese, sleaze and balls-to-wall shredding. The set was a sharp left turn into scuzzy synth pop, careening boogie rock, disco and funk. For anyone doubting that the concert would be a departure from the sound that garnered Simpson a Best Country Album Grammy, clues abounded before the show. The launch of Sound & Fury was accompanied by a 41-minute anime film on Netflix that was essentially an album-long music video. Simpson’s talents teetered between genres with ease and his stop at the Spectrum Center was a brilliant showcase of his fearless and iconoclastic art. And we have to respect any artist that gives a shout-out to Thirsty Beaver during his set.

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Best Sorta Kinda Reunion: Phil Lomac, Petra’s

Singer/songwriter Phil Lomac has been either performing solo or playing in North Carolina bands since 1993. Instead of focusing his sound into a specific genre, Lomac draws on music he likes and artists he respects — ’80s new wave, the altcountry rock of Wilco and the ’70s Laurel Canyon sound exemplified by singer-songwriters like Neil Young and Jackson Brown. After performing and making music in Charlotte, Asheville and Montreat, Lomac played a different kind of Queen City gig on Jan. 24 at Petra’s, one that illustrated his advocacy for breaking down barriers between music styles and performers. The show was a reunion of sorts, a triple bill of colleagues and fellow regional music veterans whose paths have crossed multiple times over the years. Joining Lomac at the Plaza Midwood venue

was Asheville’s Laura Blackley, who plays rock infused with high lonesome Appalachian blues and bluegrass. Also on the bill, was Marc Higgins and the Chainsaw Bears from Spartanburg, South Carolina, a band that has been likened to a Southern version of ramshackle indie punk godfathers The Replacements. As with all his musical efforts over the past 25 years, Lomac laid down some enjoyable tunes

skull to fuse thereby hampering brain development. So Daniel put his speakers outside his home and played for the neighbors, who became instant fans and asked Daniel if he would come back and play tomorrow. Tomorrow turned into hundreds of days. No two shows have been alike, and the largest audience Daniel reached is not even in his neighborhood. Daniel live-streams the concerts on

THE ERIC BRICE GROUP PERFORMAS AT MIDDLE C JAZZ. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

Facebook to virtual viewers, about 700 per show. Daniel’s shows raised about $5,000 for the Craniofacial Children Foundation, an organization created by Sonny’s surgeon, which provides surgeries like the one Sonny had to children in developing countries. In the meantime, Daniel continues to play Best Livestream Performance: Josh as long as the weather allows. He’s brought joy to countless music lovers, because when he was Daniel, Quarantine Sessions deprived of venues, he turned his home into a Soon after social distancing and stay-at-home concert hall. orders swept through Charlotte, Josh Daniel was trying to figure out how to keep on making music Best Quarantine Project: Four Finger while paying the bills. The family’s financial picture was complicated by Records, Quarantine Sessions the fact that Daniel’s son Sonny had to have a major Four Finger Records co-founders Leonardo operation on his skull. Sonny was born with Apert Solis and Jeremy Smith have released two syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause the compilations recorded remotely in homes around

at Petra’s, but a message was enmeshed with the enjoyment. “I always hope that people take away that the lyrics have some depth and meaning, that I put some time and effort into them,” Lomac said before the show. “The lyrics are the backbone of the songs.”

Charlotte, sent to Solis for mixing, then put out as complete packages sounding like perfect in-studio performances. COVID-19 survival mode is what led to Quarantine Sessions Vol. 1, in which the members of five Four Finger bands recorded new music from their homes and let Solis work his magic through file sharing. Solis mixed the tracks, Daniel Hodges mastered them, and Smith made sure they reached the ears of the people. On May 1, they released Quarantine Sessions Vol. 2, a compilation of cover songs in which six Four Finger bands covered singles originally done by one of their labelmates. The decisions for who covered whom were made at random with a spinning wheel and live-streamed on the internet, resulting in a genrebending blend of sounds that Smith and Solis hoped would not only get a few bills paid for the out-of-work musicians on the team, but help each band take the next step in their respective evolutions. “It’s an organic cross-promotional tool,” Solis said of Vol. 2. “When you start covering other people’s music you start learning about your own sound even more, so it’s going to push these bands into a completely different sonic landscape, and I think that’s such an incredible tool to have.”

Best Venue: Middle C Jazz

As of this writing, Middle C Jazz in Uptown Charlotte remains the only music venue open in the pandemic. Larry Farber, a music industry veteran who started booking acts in 1973 with talent agency Hit Attractions, had originally opened Middle C Jazz last November. With a strategic Uptown location at 300 S. Brevard St., proximity to the light rail line and an on-site restaurant, the music club was a sound business venture. With the club’s successful launch last year, Charlotte finally had its top-shelf jazz venue, one named after the middle note on a piano’s keyboard, one that hit the sweet spot for Farber’s lifelong dream. Then in March, as the coronavirus surged through communities, the country began to close for business. After being open for only four months, Farber was forced to put shutters on his dream. In May, Gov. Roy Cooper loosened restrictions with Phase 2 of his reopening plan. Because they

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

musical get together turned into a kind of brand. But Best Nonfiction Book: it never became an event with a planned itinerary Rachael Brooks, Beads — it remained what it will still be when the jam A difficult but important read, Beads shares CRITICS’ PICKS session returns — a group of people getting Raleigh author Rachael Brooks’ terrifying yet hopeful were a restaurant as well as a sit-down club, Middle together to have a good time. journey from rape victim to resilient survivor. She C Jazz was allowed to open again with limited speaks to the challenges that seating capacity, a privilege not afforded any other Best Wishes: Reason|Define sexual assault victims face and the live music venues in town. A little over a year ago, we were calling range of emotions they experience They’ve been open ever since with limited Reason|Define hard rock with a bright future. The throughout the recovery process. seating guidelines and other safety measures. band, comprised of vocalist Paolina Massaro, bassist Her story shows how the assault Staff are taking patrons’ temperatures, removing Caitlin Rutkowski, guitarists Savannah Ruff and is only the first violation, as Brooks almost two-thirds of the club’s chairs and tables to Shelby McVicker, and drummer Sydney McVicker describes the many injustices she ensure proper distancing, and putting up protective were upending the status quo in the rock ‘n’ roll boys’ experienced within the justice Plexiglas in the venue’s entryway. In the bathroom, club with their dynamic hard-charging rock. system in the years to come. they only use every other sink and toilet. With their energetic 2017 debut album Far From Though the club can’t break even with the Strangers, and the 2019 follow-up, In Memory…, it Best Fiction Book: seating restrictions, Farber is happy to open looked like the quintet would be the next big thing to the doors and keep them open. One reason for break out of Charlotte. But then the announcement Megan Miranda, The Girl reopening, says Farber, is that the club wanted to came last month on the band’s website. From Widow Hills retain a pulse in the city’s admittedly scaled-back New York Times-bestselling “All good things must come to and end,” the music and nightlife scene. “We wanted to give message said. “Over the past 7 years we have author Megan Miranda ramps up Charlotte a place to hear live music again,” he says. played shows in more cities, met more people and the tension as protagonist Arden touched more lives that we could ever imagine. We Maynor’s childhood past catches up to her. She was just 6 years Best Jam Session: old when she was swept away ClannDarragh while sleepwalking during a Prior to the pandemic, you terrifying rainstorm. Against could walk into Tyber Creek Irish all odds, she was found alive, Pub in South End on the last clinging to a storm drain. Fame followed, with Sunday of any given month, and fans and creeps and stalkers, and every year, the hear the instruments of a faranniversary brought them and the media attention away land wafting down from the back. Arden changed her name and disappeared second floor, where Charlottefrom the public eye, but just before the twentieth based traditional Celtic band anniversary of her rescue, she begins sleepwalking ClannDarragh hosted its monthly again, and one night she wakes with the corpse of Irish music sessions, inviting any a man she knows from her previous life at her feet. and all nearby residents to grab Arden becomes both murder suspect and victim on their flutes, fiddles and tin whistles the run in this latest psychological suspense thriller to join. by Megan Miranda, whose pages seem to turn At January’s event, a group themselves. of around 20 people were still going strong three hours after Best Poetry Collection: Dannye the start time of 6 p.m. They MEGAN MIRANDA played ClannDarragh songs and Romine Powell, In The Sunroom PHOTO BY MAGEN MARIE improvised jams before wrapping with Raymond Carver with “The Parting Glass,” a In this collection, Dannye Romine Powell have grown, changed, learned and loved together. traditional Scottish song dating back to the 1600s However, it is time for us to go our separate ways addresses the many struggles of life, starting with that had everyone on the top floor of the bar singing her fictional conversation with Raymond Carver, one and explore other avenues.” along, no instruments needed. We respect the difficult decision reached by of American’s greatest writers, in which she asks him The vibe was similar to a bluegrass jam session, Massaro, Rutkowski, Ruff and the McVicker sisters. how he managed to “grab at happiness” in the face where anybody can step up and flex their musical We will miss the band and the magic it exerted of tragedy and admits she’d like to “feel the wind in muscle — or lack thereof — without fear of being over its audiences, and we look forward to hearing my hair…down to the roots” and “wrap my arms judged. about the amazing things these young women will around the world and sing. But the words get stuck As more and more musicians found out about in my throat, Ray. They get stuck.” achieve in the future. the informal sessions, and flocked to sit in the

Powell writes about her alcoholic son, addiction, longing, divorce, lost love, marriage and grief. Patricia Hooper, author of Wild Persistence, calls the book“a treasure”and Joseph Bathanti, North Carolina Poet Laureate and author of The 13th Sunday after Pentecost says In the Sunroom with Raymond Carver

DANNYE ROMINE POWELL PHOTO COURTESY OF DRP

underscores Dannye Romine Powell’s “abiding reputation as a poet of breathtaking candor and precision, the consummate craftswoman, who painstakingly parses syllables into words as if sifting for gold.”

Best Art Project Turned Book: Arial Robinson, The Modern Day Black Alphabet

When the Mecklenburg County stay-at-home order came down, 19-year-old NC A&T student and North Mecklenburg High School grad Arial Robinson knew she’d be in Charlotte a while longer, so she decided to get to work on a new project. She went online to her bookmarked pages for inspiration and found a photo series she had discovered last February titled The Black ABCs. Created by two public school teachers in Chicago in 1970 with the help of the Society for Visual Education, The Black ABCs was a set of flash cards and posters that were eventually used around the country by Black teachers who needed a more representative learning tool. As that project hit its 50th anniversary this year, Robinson released her own updated version called The Modern Day Black Alphabet, a children’s book

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Spades podcast in July 2019, dropping two episodes a month. The guys enjoy introducing their audience to the people, places and things they should know, highlighting hidden gems in the crown of the Queen City. Jack of All Spades builds community by steeping information in hip-hop culture and relating much of the content to music in general. The result helps show Black and brown youth that they can do something positive too. “We are highlighting the positives, and hopefully a young person will listen and want to do this too,” said Spellmon. “Or, they get information where they can advance themselves.”

CRITICS’ PICKS with photos and illustrations that she created during her time quarantined at her family’s Charlotte home. Robinson told Queen City Nerve that social media inspired her to take a more serious look at her own experience as a Black American and eventually to begin work on The Modern Day Black Alphabet. “Now that I’ve gotten older and I’ve started to realize how much Black representation lacks in lots of different media platforms, I realized when I was growing up I didn’t really see a brown girl in this space, or I didn’t see anybody talk about it.” She saw a problem and she fixed it. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

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Best Film: Among Mountain Crags

With Among Mountain Crags, sisters Erin and Kyle Frederick have together created a film that is as surprising and dark as it is lovely. Set in a nondescript town in Appalachia in an indecipherable era, this film is the result of a yearslong conceptualization, a crew of just a handful and a minimal budget raised through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Protagonist Coralie Whitt, played by Erin, is a teacher in her small mountain town. The handful of school children she teaches seem to have little respect for her, revealing with snide remarks heavyweighing family secrets. When a mysterious stranger played by Hunter Hutcheson comes through town, Coralie is drawn to him, eventually deciding to leave with him on foot to begin their lives together. The two decide to leave town via mountain trails, carrying next to nothing. As they meander through the mountains, the stranger’s true nature slowly begins to show, resulting in a sinister shift from what the film initially leads you to believe is a tale of growth, redemption and love. With scant dialog and a dreamy, painterly milieu, the story tells itself, guided by a haunting soundtrack. The resulting mood gives the viewer a chance to become entranced alongside protagonist Coralie, until the terrifying reality sinks in that women are taught to follow men before their own instincts.

Best Performing Arts Event: Joyride at Camp North End

ERIN FREDERICK IN ‘AMONG MOUNTAIN CRAGS’

Best Pandemic Pivot: Children’s Theatre of Charlotte

interaction while maintaining the safety of all audiences and artists. For even more accessibility in such an uncertain environment, these performances When COVID restrictions meant that theaters were streamed for free and were available to the could no longer hold shows in person, Children’s public for four full days. Theater Charlotte (CTC) pivoted their programming to offer free streaming of pre-recorded versions of Best Arts Podcast: Jack of All Spades The Invisible Boy and Journey to OZ. Inspired by a kickball game that brought By using professionally recorded footage of past together a wide range of interesting folks that they productions bookended by live Zoom discussions with actors, writers, and production crew, CTC all knew, three friends — David Spellmon, Ken was able to capture the excitement of real time Wabibi and Lloyd Whitfield — launched Jack of All

‘JACK OF ALL SPADES’ COHOSTS DAVID SPELLMON, LLOYD WHITFIELD AND KEN WABIBI.

PHOTO BY BIG BRUH GOOCH

On the evenings of June 6 and 7, audience members cruised through Camp North End’s sprawling warren of streets, encountering dance pieces, poetry readings, live music, theatre performances and films projected on warehouse walls — all from the comfort and safety of their cars. Performances were designed to take full advantage of the car-bound audience and Camp North End’s geography. Musicians JM Askew and Casey Malone performed a composition to play from stereos in two cars. One CD with half the music emanated from the left car, and another CD was played from the car on the right. Experimental theatre troupe XOXO created a series of looped solo performances that were scattered throughout the maze-like grounds of the campus. Sculptor and designer Matthew Steele projected an animated film onto a large wall. The screening was accompanied by an original score composed by Ben Geller, principal violist of the Charlotte Symphony. Utilizing a follow-spot that cast dancers’ giant shadows on a brick wall, Eric Mullis and Joy Davis performed a duet from Mullis’ evening-length dance theatre piece “The Land of Nod.” Renee Cloud contributed text pieces drawn from her Shiny Language Project, which included handembroidered 16-inch sequined letters that spelled out comments collected from the internet. The two evenings of drive-by art were capped by poetry readings and music by free jazz duo Ghost Trees. “The arts have always been an outlet for our pain, processing, and celebration,” said contributor de’Angelo Dia. “COVID can’t stop creativity.” INFO@QCNERVE.COM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT READERS’ PICKS

READERS’ PICKS: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Best Drag Performer Riley Malicious Runner Up: Onya Nerves

Best National Show Of The Past 12 Months Cirque De Soleil Ovo Runner Up: Iron Maiden

Best Street Artist Osiris Rain Runner Up: Arko & Owl

Best Exhibit Goodyear Arts, Making Arrangements Runner Up: Bree Stallings, To Be Seen and Celebrated

Best New Band Pluto Gang

Best Tattoo Artist Elisa Sanchez Runner Up: Dallas Davis

Best Experimental Musician/Band Dylan Gilbert Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers Runner Up: Ghost Trees through a two-month nomination process followed by a two-month voting process. The nominations Best Improv Troupe were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff Now Are The Foxes at all — save for removing ourselves from a few Runner Up: Robot Johnson categories to proactively dispel any notions of favoritism. In other words, if you disagree with these Best Indie Rock Band ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us. Junior Astronomers Best Actor Jermaine Gamble Runner Up: Jonathan Pritchard Best Actress LeShea Nicole Runner Up: Keya Hamilton Best Art Gallery Goodyear Arts Runner Up: Petra’s Best Blues/Jazz/Soul Band Quentin Talley & the Soul Providers Runner Up: Ghost Trees Best Comedian Don Garrett Runner Up: Brian Mitchell Best Concert Venue Neighborhood Theatre Runner Up: Snug Harbor

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Best Country/Folk Band Sinners & Saints Runner Up: Kelsey Ryan Best Display Of Public Art Black Lives Matter Mural Runner Up: Camp North End Best DJ DJ Smitty Runner Up: DJ Red

Runner Up: Pullover Best Live Performer(s) Dylan Gilbert Runner Up: Hipgnostic Best Livestream Performance The Flamingo Revue, Lockdown Throwdown Runner Up: One Voice Chorus of Charlotte Best Local Album Hungry Girl, ‘Rip Currents’ Runner Up: Dylan Gilbert, ‘I’ll Be the Lakebed’ Best Local Show Of The Past 12 Months LadyfestCLT 2020 Runner Up: Pullover Album Release at Snug Harbor Best Movie Theater The Manor Runner Up: Cinemark Movie Bistro Best Muralist Bree Stallings Runner Up: Matt Moore (Puck McGruff) Best Museum Mint Museum Runner Up: Harvey B. Gantt Center Best Music Festival (in state) MerleFest Runner Up: Hi Lites Fest at Goodyear Arts Best Music Festival (out of state) Austin City Limits Runner Up: Bonnaroo

Best Open Mic Night The Evening Muse Runner Up: Shannon Lee Open Mic-Jam Best Performing Artist(s) The Flamingo Revue Runner Up: Onya Nerves Best Photographer Bobby Kerns Runner Up: Alvin C. Jacobs Jr., Logan Cyrus (tie) Best Place To Hear Country Music Thirsty Beaver Saloon Runner Up: Coyote Joe’s Best Place To Hear Jazz Petra’s Runner Up: Middle C Jazz Best Place To Hear Spoken Word The Evening Muse Runner Up: Petra’s Best Place To See Comedy The Comedy Zone Runner Up: Petra’s Best Producer Justin Aswell Runner Up: Frankie Dynamite Best R&B Singer Anthony Hamilton Runner Up: Quentin Talley Best Rapper Elevator Jay Runner Up: Wiggi Best Singer/Songwriter Dylan Gilbert Runner Up: Ian Pasquini Best Solo Performer Dylan Gilbert Runner Up: Lisa De Novo

Best Theatre Company Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte Runner Up: Brand New Sheriff Productions Best Theatre Show (Local) Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, The Odd Couple Runner Up: Three Bone Theatre, ‘Protective Custody: PRISONER 34042’ (tie) Best Theatre Show (National) Hamilton Runner Up: Come From Away Best Visual Artist Elizabeth Palmisano Runner Up: Marcus Kiser

DYLAN GILBERT PHOTO BY AMY HERMAN

NIGHTLIFE

CRITICS’ PICKS: NIGHTLIFE

We got about two-and-a-half months of winter nightlife this year before everything stopped. For that reason, you may find this category a bit lacking. Hell, some of these establishments we’re honoring out of pure nostalgia for our last trips in February — here’s looking to you Coyote Joe’s and Surf Inn. We can’t wait to come back, but for now, we’ll pay homage to some of the after-dark staples we were able to patronize at some point this year.

Best New Nightlife Spot: Stroke

Indoor minigolf? Genius. A first of its kind in the area, Stroke jumped off popularly in the beginning of this year. They have also come back pretty well since being allowed to, with proper safety measures in place. If you have been there you know the space is plenty big enough for social distancing. The bar area is eclectic with a mid-century modern feel to it that is simply pleasing to be in. The space started out serving a full menu but recently announced that they would close their kitchen. The course offers a level of difficulty that you can find at any outdoor minigolf course, but with less obstacles. It still makes for a great hour-long activity that only costs you $10 before going to relax in the lounge-y bar area. This is the best new nightlife spot because it offers more than loud-ass music, drinks and the same arcade games you can find anywhere. It feels like a swanky, down-to-earth, miniature country club. A lot of work went into making this place the destination that it is and the design and opportunity for a different experience that they offer set this spot apart.

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Best Place to Bar Hop: NoDa

South End may be a bit more trendy for the younger COVID risk-takers crowds, but the more popular place for the more traditional barhoppers is NoDa. The notorious arts-turned-bar district offers the historical, the artistic, the eclectic, and the strange all within a walkable strip of North Davidson Street. In a year when outdoor drinking was not only necessary but critical to your health, NoDa has plenty of opportunity for that — even after losing the popular Solstice patio. Once Billy Jack’s hit NoDa,

this was an immediate go-to stop. Bar hopping can require a beer and a shot every once in a while, a quick bite of food, a change of scenery, whatever it may be, you can find it all there, along with wellspaced outdoor tables, strict capacity limits and temperature checks at the entrance. The newly opened Roy’s Kitchen & Patio offers a taste of the islands and a spacious back patio. There’s also outdoor seating at Heist Brewery, Haberdish, and Wooden Robot. By this point you may need a bite to eat and if you’re lucky, Cabo Fish Taco, a coveted favorite, won’t be slammed. If it is, don’t worry, you can still fill up on one of the best cheesesteaks in Charlotte while still getting boozy at JackBeagle’s on the back patio. And we didn’t even mention one of the best pations in the neighborhood because, well, here’s a whole new category for it...

Best Rebuild: NoDa Company Store

Last year’s Best Place to Day Drink honoree has always been cool because of its dedication to patio drinking. So one might think that once they were allowed to reopen following the first Mecklenburg County shutdown, they would do so and leave it at that, right? Wrong. The team at Company Store put their heads together to stop folks from putting their groups together. They replaced the smaller tables and chairs and brought in the big stuff, centering the patio with immovable picnic tables and installing benches around gas fireplaces on the edges, making for cozy corners that don’t allow for mingling with folks outside the group you came with. Pandemic or not, it was a great renovation and made Company Store that much more the place to be after its reopening on June 7.

Best Fun and Games: Pinhouse

We had no idea what duckpin bowling was a few years ago. We barely understand it now. All we know is that it’s somehow harder than regular bowling, and it’s that differing factor that makes Pinhouse not just another self-serve bar. This two-level bar has tons of taps, a back patio with yard games, live DJs upstairs, tons of TVs for sports, and of course the aforementioned duckpin that’ll have you cursing in frustration when you can’t figure out why you suck at it. Pinhouse improves on every element of its sister concept Hoppin’ in South End, and proves self-serve doesn’t have to be lame.

NIGHTLIFE

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of them. Nor should you, from the “chandelier” of glassware hanging above the centerpiece of CRITICS’ PICKS an inside bar and curated cocktail menu to the appetizers and the panoramic views of the skyline, everything about every detail put into this Uptown Best Bartender: Josh Hebert destination force you to feel like you’re preparing for Josh Hebert is not only a fabulous magician a night of indulgence. mixologist, but also a pretty awesome human. He So don your very best and get ready for a night created such a welcoming atmosphere at Zeppelin. on the town. There’s something comforting about visiting a spot and knowing you will see a familiar face behind the bar. Even if you intentionally slide in to grab a beverage for outdoor seating, Josh always made it a point to find time and step away for a quick catch up convo. When COVID hit, all dreams of creatively crafted drinks came to a halt for patrons and bartenders. While he attempted to fight for a law allowing the sale of to-go cocktails from shut-down bars, no such luck was had. While Zeppelin’s future looks anything but promising, Josh can now be located at Lincoln Street Kitchen & Cocktails! Though we miss the “Coke and Peanuts” concoction of tequila, peanut molé, Mexican Coca-Cola reduction, and bourbon-barrel-aged salt, there are many more tricks up HATTIE’S TAP & TAVERN Josh’s sleeve to indulge in. Right now at Lincoln Street, Josh’s favorite Best Hotel Bar: Cordial at AC South drink is the clarified milk punch. It’s pineapple, Park Hotel matcha green tea, lemon, orange, warming spices, Cordial is nestled into the eighth floor of the and patron tequila. It starts as a green liquid but AC South Park hotel. Upon entry, you’ll notice two he clarifies it over whole milk to make it a clear separate patios. While both have stellar views, the yellowish color. It’s a true test of patience and his preferred side is likely the one with fire pits and a favorite thing to do at the moment! clear shot of the city in the distance. Do not worry,

Best Bar to Get Dressed Up For: Merchant & Trade Swanky. Sexy. Upscale. Maybe even bourgeois. Those are the words that come to mind the moment you enter Merchant & Trade on the 19th floor of Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel. Not to mention, the website explicitly outlines a dress code that opens with, “Dress to impress…” You may get away with dressing down at other spots boasting a $14 cocktail, but this isn’t one

they offer to relocate you if the seating situation allows while you’re there. Nothing like getting the full experience. With plenty of local beer on tap, they also offer a tasty range of cocktails. “It’s French” with Grand Marnier, grapefruit, and sparkling rosé and “Rye Negroni” with coffee liqueur were top choices. It can be difficult to have great cocktails and food, but not at Cordial. The charcuterie board for two or four, caribbean jerk wings with cilantro-lime ranch, and pulled chicken + avocado flatbread all hit the

spot. The location can seem set off to itself, but it is actually near Paco’s Tacos. Cordial is the first rooftop bar offered in SouthPark. Enjoy the spacious, chill vibes before everyone catches on.

Best Comeback: Hattie’s Tap & Tavern

Throughout the COVID-19 shutdown, bar owners like Jackie DeLoach at Hattie’s Tap & Tavern were handcuffed as far as options. When it became clear that to-go cocktails would not be legalized

Best North/South Dynamic: Wooden Robot Brewery

Honestly, either Wooden Robot location is ideal for day drinking. The amount of space and variety/ amount of beers on tap sets you up for a lengthy day of steady drinking. While the NoDa spot has a large rooftop, the OG South End Wooden Robot offers food consistently through Twisted Eats onsite. Having food, two patio options (when both available), and close-by bars to jump to might be a little more ideal. Start light with the popular Good Morning Vietnam Coffee Vanilla Blonde Ale (or they currently offer a Cinnamon Roll and Goodnight Vietnam Coffee Porter option). Switch it up with the Cherry Cobbler or Rasperry Sour Ale. What He’s Having IPA is always a good choice, or if you really want to get there, the Godless Killing Machine Imperial Stout at 12% will do it. The staff staying the same certainly helps the vibe along with the tunes always making it hard to not do a little jig in your seat.

Best Dog Bar: Skiptown

I adopted my pitbull/boxer mix Gracie in May. I was always worried that a dog would impede my busy social and professional life. Where would she stay when I was on business trips? Who would walk her if a happy hour beer turned into five? That’s why I bought a Founding Membership for Skiptown the day it was announced. They have everything PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN a dog owner needs: walking, boarding, grooming, and of course, a dog bar. Their requirements for vaccinations are more stringent in North Carolina even temporarily, she took to than any other dog bar in the city, and the South End selling to-go beer from her spot, only to be told by a crowd always makes for fun people-watching. -DB misinformed agent that even that was illegal. DeLoach held car washes and benefit concerts to stay afloat, but it was barely enough to keep the Best Patio: Dilworth Tasting Room Dilworth Tasting Room has a patio that is rather doors open. Once Phase 3 finally rolled around and easy to obsess over. As soon as you head out back, Hattie’s was allowed to reopen, DeLoach made damn take note of the LOVE sign to grab a quick photo sure her bar wouldn’t be the scene of any outbreak that gave regulators a reason to shut her back down. upon entry/exit. There’s also a flowing wine mural She set up a socially distanced line to get to the by Darion Fleming that would make a nice backdrop. bar and only allowed a few people inside at a time, With the feel of a secret garden, the patio is spread while her staff fervently enforced the mask mandate out extremely well with seating. Cross all your fingers and limbs that your on the back patio. Things looked grim there for necessary patio reservation gets you as close to a while, and now it looks like they’re going in the wrong direction again, but if another shutdown the koi fish pond as possible. Apologize in advance occurs, we feel pretty secure in saying it won’t be for spacing out from the conversation because you weren’t aware how mesmerizing koi fish are. It feels because of Hattie’s. like being in the mix with nature sitting among

NIGHTLIFE CRITICS’ PICKS beautiful greenery covered in twinkle lights, which everyone loves. The food, cocktails, and vibes are all present and lively at Dilworth Tasting Room. If you can’t catch a seat at a table out back, there’s an additional bar out back to take advantage of.

Best Hidden Gem: Surf Inn

That which shall not be named due to its sacred nature, this divey bar is sure to top any Best Hidden Gem list. Not just because of the wildly unique experience one will have at adventurer’s first kiss, but largely due to the fact that when you arrive, you will be confused as shit where the bar entrance even is. There are very few places in the Charlotte nightlife scene that give pause, surprise, intrigue, desire, and excitement all at once. This bar, however, easily achieves all that at once. It’s one of the oldest existing bars in Charlotte and a “regulars” hangout in the purest of forms. When you get ready to walk

priced drinks under the guise of “carefully curated cocktails.” Others, like Whiskey Warehouse, lean toward the subtle views of the skyline, 360-degree views, prime viewing for sports games, and hightop tables in a come-as-you-are, laid-back atmosphere. Whether you’re visiting Whiskey during the day or night, there’s something about the rooftop patio that sucks you in from the moment you sit down. You never plan to stay for “just one,” because that quickly turns into three and five while the same logic may not follow when you’re eating dinner downstairs.

Best Dive Bar: Smokey Joe’s

There isn’t a single dive bar list in Charlotte that should exist without Smokey Joe’s Cafe at the top. Nestled at the corner of Briar Creek and Monroe roads, it doesn’t look like much on the outside (as is the case with most dive bars). But on the inside, you’ll find a cozy, yet rough-around-the-edges watering hole to indulge in wetting your whistle. A “regulars” spot, Smokey Joe’s can be intimidating at first for some, but for others who embrace it in all of its weirdness of the bargoers, bartenders, and scattered antique mall aesthetic, it’s home. Live music, stiff pours, pool, darts, ping pong tables atop sand on the ground, ring toss, fire pits, inebriated patrons included and all are necessary to complete the recipe for the perfect dive.

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Best Weekly Event: Knocturnal

Now in it’s 8th year, Knocturnal has weathered some major storms and it’s still Knoc(k)ing — online, for now. And that’s cool. It’s developed a new following on Twitch, with people joining the party from places like L.A., Miami, London and Pakistan. Of course, that’s not the same as the live ass-shaking, mic-rocking, b-boying Charlotte hip-hop fiasco it’s known to be, but we’ll certainly accept dope DJ sets from A-Minor and others every Monday night for the time being. We appreciate how host and organizer, David “Shadow” Rea put it: “People who are trying to throw live events right now are crazy. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN STROKE I can’t do that because I love our people and I take protecting them seriously. Until life’s back to through the door, take a deep breath and set your normal, join the thousand or so people rocking with inhibitions aside, because once you cross over, us on Twitch each week.” there’s no going back. But the truth is, if you’re cut out for this hidden gem, you won’t want to go back. Best Place To Spend a Sober

Best Rooftop Patio:WhiskeyWarehouse

Night: Home

And that’s your best bet. Or for a drunk night for There are a multitude of rooftops in the Queen that matter. Enough said. City. Some offer breathtaking, up close and personal views of the skyline. Some come with highINFO@QCNERVE.COM

NIGHTLIFE READERS’ PICKS

READERS’ PICKS: NIGHTLIFE

Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers through a two-month nomination process followed by a two-month voting process. The nominations were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff at all — save for removing ourselves from a few categories to proactively dispel any notions of favoritism. In other words, if you disagree with these ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us. Best Annual Party Abari Game Bar Block Party Runner Up: St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl Best Arcade Bar Abari Game Bar Runner Up: Pins Mechanical Best Bar To Make A New Friend Snug Harbor Runner Up: Hattie’s Tap & Tavern Best Bar To People-Watch Abari Game Bar Runner Up: Workman’s Friend Best Bartender Chris Burns, Snug Harbor Runner Up: Stefan Huebner, Dot Dot Dot Best Bowling Alley Ten Park Lanes Runner Up: AMF University Lanes

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Best Cigar Bar The Jailhouse, Belmont Runner Up: Tailored Smoke Best Club DJ That Guy Smitty Runner Up: DJ Spider Best Cocktail Bar Dot Dot Dot Runner Up: Idlewild

Best Dance Club Snug Harbor Runner Up: Petra’s Best Dive Bar Snug Harbor Runner Up: Thirsty Beaver Best Dog Bar Hattie’s Tap & Tavern Runner Up: Lucky Dog Bark & Brew Best Hookah Bar The Peace Pipe Runner Up: Crave Dessert Bar Best Karaoke Snug Harbor Runner Up: Jeff ’s Bucket Shop Best LGBTQ-Freindly Bar Petra’s Runner Up: Snug Harbor Best Mixologist Stefan Huebner Runner Up: Brian DuBois Best Neighborhood Bar Snug Harbor Runner Up: Hattie’s Tap & Tavern Best Place For a First Date Abari Game Bar Runner Up: Haberdish Best Place To Grab a Quick Drink Snug Harbor Runner Up: Hattie’s Tap & Tavern Best Pool Hall Elizabeth Billiards Runner Up: Midwood Country Club Best Singles Bar Abari Game Bar Runner Up: Dandelion Market Best Sports Bar Dilworth Neighborhood Grille Runner Up: Steamers Sports Pub Best Strip Club Uptown Cabaret Runner Up: The Men’s Club

IS BAD NEWS Best Trivia Event Mindless Minutia Trivia Runner Up: Heist Brewery Best Trivia Host Jacob Gresham Runner Up: Kaila Dehart Best Weekly Nightlife Event Le Bang, Snug Harbor Runner Up: Mindless Minutia Trivia Best Wine Bar Dilworth Tasting Room, The Bohemian (tie) Runner Up: Foxcroft Wine Co.

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LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU

BY LINDA THISTLE

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. ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

TRIVIA TEST BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

1. TELEVISION: What kind of pet did Robert Blake have on the 1970s series “Baretta”? 2. MOVIES: Which 2002 movie tagline was, “With great power comes great responsibility”? 3. GEOGRAPHY: Which Balkan nation’s capital is Sophia? 4. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What day of the week did the ancient Romans refer to as “dies Saturni”? 5. LANGUAGE: What is the word that stands for “N” in the NATO phonetic alphabet? 6. U.S. STATES: Which state features a body of water named Lake Lanier? 7. HISTORY: When did World War II begin? 8. MEDICINE: What is trepanning? 9. U.S. PRESIDENTS: How many days did William Henry Harrison serve as president of the United States? 10. ANATOMY: What is the largest part of the human brain?

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Like many announcers’ private side comments 8 Glistening 14 Give a cue to 20 Sounded like a frog 21 Durbin of old Hollywood 22 Worrier’s cry 23 Deeper level of longing? 25 Walk like a little ‘un 26 Coll. website suffix 27 Slandered really badly 28 “Uh-uh” 30 Legal claim 31 White water whereabouts 35 Give it a go 36 Place to bathe on the grass outside a house? 38 “Marvy!” 40 They cause actions 42 Really boring chairs, desks and tables? 47 Two-grid vacuum tube 52 Cry to a matador 53 Manning of the Giants 54 Far-off 56 Of charged particles 57 Extreme type 59 Lysol target 61 What 1066 is famous as? 64 Territory split in 1889 66 Pertaining to 68 Bad, to Jules 69 Viral malady 70 “Allow me to provide a leavening agent, if nothing else”? 76 Blvds. and aves. 78 China’s Long March leader 79 Aquatic bird

80 -- Leone 83 “Pray that I find some cool gross stuff!”? 88 Isle of Man man, e.g. 90 Scout unit 91 -- pittance (hardly any) 92 Garage job 94 Atop, to bards 96 Short snooze 97 Bit of voice mail 100 Hankerings to take pictures of small and distant objects? 103 Places for milk products 105 Bored feeling 106 Measure of how much a ship swerves off course? 110 2000-15 TV series 112 Facet 116 Horror film lab aide 117 With 108-Down, deteriorate 118 Pre-entree dishes 121 Lanai wreath 122 Join the club 124 Chatter that’s engaging? 129 Entertainer Uggams 130 Give kudos 131 Arms depot 132 Abides 133 Breadwinner 134 What vets provide DOWN 1 Earthy color 2 Artist Kahlo 3 Mist over 4 -- -jongg 5 Mamie’s man 6 Plunk lead-in 7 Haeagen-Dazs rival 8 Storied fireman Red

9 Microbe-ridden 10 Byway 11 Camelot wife 12 Raggedy -13 -- opus 14 Road hazard 15 Sorority “P” 16 In a curious way 17 Word before circus or blitz 18 More ashen 19 Latest thing 24 Singer John 29 Be next to 32 Small hotel 33 Conquers 34 Writer Bellow 36 Connect with 37 Match well 39 Duo + one 40 Tally a total 41 1982 Disney cyberfilm 42 “-- better believe it!” 43 Penne -- vodka 44 Sloppy smooches 45 Wry twisting 46 -- Haute 48 Acuff of song 49 Like a swap 50 Radio tuner 51 Hose color 55 Otter’s kin 58 “Bosh!” 60 Go extinct 62 Bub 63 “ ‘Tis so sad” 65 “You lookin’ --?” 67 Nosh 71 Stable stock 72 Seamless transition

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PG.18 PUZZLE ANSWERS

73 Von -- family (“The Sound of Music” clan) 74 -- oxide (anesthetic) 75 The, to Hans 76 Emulated a fish 77 1 p.m. is one 81 Horse color 82 iPad downloads 84 Oct.’s 744 85 Union general George 86 Darling type 87 Bodily joint 89 Aquatic bird 93 Lofty trains 95 Tall volcano in Sicily 98 Groups of geese 99 Dubliner’s land 101 Model Klum 102 Dog’s bark 104 Key in anew 106 Give in (to) 107 Nixon veep Spiro 108 See 117-Across 109 Dryly comical 110 In the vicinity 111 Not as risky 113 Kagan of justice 114 Romero of “Batman” 115 Work’s name 118 Lasting mark 119 Related (to) 120 Take a pic of 123 -- Abner 125 Legendary coach Parseghian 126 Three, in Bari 127 D.C. winter hrs. 128 Remote button abbr.

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

THE SEEKER SENSUAL HEALING

Tapping into your source energy

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BY KATIE GRANT

If I mention the term intuitive healer, would it sound familiar to you or a bit unconventional? For the unfamiliar, this type of healer is someone who listens to our unspoken needs by connecting with a source energy. No, not a source of energy, a source energy. Never heard of that either? I’ll explain. Holly Hughes, an energy healer based in Matthews, describes source energy as an external source — God, goddess, the divine, universe, etc. These sources of higher power vary and may resonate differently with individuals, Hughes explains. No two people, their experiences or beliefs are identical, so it’s important to keep this in mind as one wades gradually into the world of healing practices. Intuitive healers listen deeply to receive guidance from these external sources about what we may need to remove blockages, whether mental, emotional, physical or spiritual for optimal healing. I booked my first healing appointment with Holly seeking answers to my many elusive, existential questions. But perhaps I am also looking to diversify perspectives that traditional talk therapy doesn’t fulfill. Holly specializes in relationship difficulties, selfsabotaging behavior, and transition uncertainties along with past trauma, anger and pain. In my initial email communication with her I misstepped by assuming areas of my life I need help with. She course-corrected by explaining she would intuitively know areas of struggle when we met in person, and to let her do the work, to which I said, “Yes ma’am!” Joining Holly in her space on a Saturday afternoon felt like meeting up with a friend; she was warm-hearted and inviting. We cozily sat across from one another for a general meet and greet. She allowed me to record our session and admitted she may not remember everything she said due to calling in guidance from an external source. Sadly, that source is for her own use. I didn’t get to meet my guides that day. Maybe I’ll save that topic for our next session. A key takeaway from my hour-long healing session, from my hastily taken notes, involved how to protect myself as an empath. According to psychalive.org: “Empaths are highly sensitive individuals, who have a keen ability to sense what people around them are thinking and feeling. Psychologists may use the term

empath to describe a person that experiences a great deal of empathy, often to the point of taking on the pain of others at their own expense. If being an empath sounds exhausting, I can assure you it is. Side effects of being an empath include having a big heart, which leads to absorbing others’ emotions and attracting negative energy. Holly broke it down for me: Because I have such a considerate nature I can easily be taken advantage of. People gravitate toward empaths because of their approachability, but this doesn’t mean I have to hold their baggage or become a human doormat. During our session I learned that I need to approach situations “with more teeth.” This means to speak up and be heard, in my personal and professional lives. But this also means I need to let go of the fear of offending anyone. Basically, fuck everyone else; I’m working on a new me. As Joe Rogan stated, “There’s a direct correlation between positive energy and positive results.” If I can set boundaries in a positive manner, my personal growth will be nurtured and respected by people meant to be in my life. Relationships will shift in tandem with my energy. I view this as a potentially painful process because growth

hurts! Walking toward the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow sometimes means walking away from people and habits I’ve outgrown. I’m ready to let that shit go, so see ya! After our talk, I laid on what looked like a massage table for the energy healing portion of our session. I should also mention this was my favorite part, simply because it was so relaxing. Below the table sat an amethyst pyramid, supposedly a power stone meant to open the spiritual and psychic centers. To the lay person like myself, it’s just really pretty. Here Holly guided me through a meditation practice to help close my crown chakra, important for blocking extra or potentially harmful energies. Remember, I’m setting boundaries, and closing certain chakras can lead to a sense of protection and inner calm. If you’re dealing with relationship dilemmas, looking to get to the root of personal issues, life transitions, or self-forgiveness, why not explore your options with an intuitive healer? Just be prepared for the price tag if your insurance doesn’t cover alternative therapies. Healers like Holly may not be able to “fix” you, but they can provide a sense of restoration by reconnecting us with our inner self: our core values, belief systems, and personal intentions. I view it as a form of counseling or life coaching — tools for resolving personal, social, or psychological road bumps. And if you’re like me, you may even suffer from a nice, unhealthy mix of all of the above. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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By Lucie Winborne • Adult mayflies have no functional mouth. Because of this, they die of malnutrition. This is an evolutionary occurrence that happens so aging mayflies don’t pass on genetic defects to the next generation. • Steven Spielberg, who executive-produced the film “Gremlins,” requested the effects team make Gizmo’s fur orange and white to match his beagle, Chauncey. • If you do a Google search on the word “askew,” the resulting content will tilt slightly to the right. • St. Lucia is the only country in the world named after a woman. Originally called the Island of the Iguanas by early Carib settlers, the name was later changed after French seamen were shipwrecked there on Dec. 13, the feast day of St. Lucy. • The color of Facebook is blue because Mark Zuckerberg is red-green colorblind. • Ever noticed how some mass-produced ballpoint pens, such as the Bic Cristal, have a hole in the cap? No? Well, in case you someday do, now you’ll know why — it’s not just to prevent leaks, but choking as well. Lots of folks like to chew on pen lids, and in the event they accidentally swallow the cap, the hole ensures it won’t completely block their airway. • After an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City in 1985, nearly all newborn babies survived a collapsed hospital for seven days without nourishment, water, warmth or human contact. • Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black underwear while on the job in case they split their pants. ••• Thought for the Day: “Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” — Og Mandino © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

LIFESTYLE

HOROSCOPE DECEMBER 2 - DECEMBER 8

DECEMBER 9 - DECEMBER 15

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Don’t feel sheepish LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Open up your ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You might feel that LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Your sense

about looking to spend more time with that special eyes and see some welcome surprises you’ve missed you have all the answers right now. But it might be of fair play is strong this week, which can cause a person during the upcoming holidays. Do it because or overlooked for too long. What you find can lead to wise to listen to other ideas before you decide to problem with a longtime relationship. But in the it’s the right thing to do. other favorable changes. close the lid on other possibilities. end, you’ll know what decision to make.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Never mind letting SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) What you TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Bovines give and SCORPIO

(October 23 to November 21) You misunderstandings repair themselves. Consider expect to be potentially troublesome might simply expect loyalty, so it might not be easy to reconcile might not know all the facts behind an unwelcome speaking up while the healing process can be be especially challenging and well worth your with someone you feel let you down. Why not ask a development, so keep that Scorpion temper in check shorter and sweeter and leave fewer scars. efforts to check out. Good luck! neutral party to set up a clear-the-air meeting? and resist lashing out at anyone.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Romance is easily SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Anticipating the SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) awakened in the Geminian heart, especially around friendship might not seem as trustworthy as you’d holidays with family and friends fuels your must-do This is a good time to reinforce relationships — the happy holiday season. So go ahead and make like. OK. Ask your questions, get your answers and Gemini energies. But try to pace yourself so you’ll be family, friends, colleagues — that might have been those plans with that special someone. settle the matter once and for all. up for whatever comes along later. overlooked in recent years. CANCER

(June 21 to July 22) Moon Children CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A CANCER (June 21 to July 22) More background CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Family can glow with their own inner light as the holiday family situation moves into a new area because of information might come through regarding a situations continue to thrive. Business associations season magic takes hold. It’s a very special time for (or, maybe, thanks to) some decisions you might decision you expect to make. Be sure to check the also improve. Some holiday plans might have to be Cancers and Libras together. Enjoy. have felt you could not avoid making. source carefully before you move. shifted. Be flexible.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) It’s a good time for you AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) You could LEO (July 23 to August 22) The strong, nurturing AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Avoid

fabulous Felines to take pleasure in your special be cutting it very close if you hope to make those nature of the Lion comes through this week as you any influence of negative energy in this week’s gift for, well, taking pleasure! Look for this holiday holiday plan changes in time to avoid problems. Get reach out to family and friends in need of your warm aspect by not allowing small problems to grow into season to give you every reason to purr. a friend or family member to help. and loving support. large ones. Work them out immediately.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) This is a good PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Friends show VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A relationship PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A friend might

time to let others who are in your life get a little how important you are to them. Keep these precious that has almost totally unraveled could be close to need advice on how to deal with a challenge to his closer to you. You’ll both find out what you’ve been relationships thriving. They affect much that will being restored with more effort on your part to be or her moral values. And who better than you to give missing for far too long. happen to the fabulous Fish in the new year. more patient and less judgmental. the honest answer? Good luck.

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BORN THIS WEEK: Time spent at home alone nurtures your mystic self. Spending your time with others nurtures them.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a sense of adventure that inspires others to follow your lead.

2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PG.19 PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE LOSING OUT Come with me

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a lesbian and my girlfriend is bi. I’ve read your column and listened to your podcast for a long time, Dan, and I always thought I’d be fine with having a partner ask me about being monogamish. Then my girlfriend of about a year and a half told me she wants to see what other women are like. She says the thought of me sleeping with other people turns her on but the prospect of her sleeping with other people only makes me nervous. She came out later and I’m the only woman she’s been with. I understand that, as a woman, I’ll never be able to give her what she might get from a man sexually and that sometimes she’ll want that, so there’s also that. We’ve talked about it and it would have to be a Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell agreement. I would also get to step outside the relationship, the other people would have to know we’re in a relationship, and there couldn’t be any “dates.” On top of all that, we’re long distance for now. She says she loves me and I believe her, and she says she doesn’t want to lose me. But she also says she’s been dealing with these urges for a while and needs to address them. I don’t want to lose her. Do you have any advice?

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FRETTING SITUATION

ENDLESSLY

ABOUT

RELATIONSHIP

I understand your fears. People in committed nonmonogamous relationships have been known to catch feelings for their outside sexual partners. And while that doesn’t always doom the primary relationship, FEARS, catching feelings for someone else inevitably complicates things. And while a non-monogamous couple can make rules that forbid the catching of feelings, feelings aren’t easily ruled. But people in closed relationships have been known to catch feelings for people they aren’t sleeping with, i.e. coworkers, friends, friends-of-friends, partners of friends, siblings of partners, partners of siblings, etc. So the risk that a partner might catch feelings for someone else isn’t eliminated when two people make a monogamous commitment — and yet sane, stable, functional people in monogamous relationships manage to get through the

day without being nervous wrecks, because they trust their partners are committed to them. And even if their partners should develop a crush on someone else … which they almost inevitably will … they trust that their partners aren’t going to leave them … which they still might. By which I mean to say, there’s risk in every relationship and it’s trust that helps us manage our fears about those risks. So if you trust your girlfriend to honor the terms you’ve agreed to — DADT, fucks are okay, dates are not, the other women know she’s taken — and you TRIVIA ANSWERS: 4. Saturday (Saturn’s Day) 8. Making holes in the skull to relieve pressure trust she’s telling the truth when she says she loves you 1. A cockatoo named Fred 5. November 9. 32 and doesn’t want to lose you, FEARS, then you should 2. “Spider-Man” 6. Georgia 10. Cerebrum choose to believe her. 3. Bulgaria 7. Sept. 1, 1939 Just like a person in a monogamous relationship chooses to believe their partner when they say they won’t fuck anyone else (even though they might) and won’t If the not knowing hurts more than losing his I turn to you, DS, to do something about this. leave them for anyone else (even though they could), you friendship would — if not knowing whether you had a To come out loudly and proudly for coming, loudly can choose to believe your girlfriend will honor the rules shot with him and blew it — then you should tell him and proudly. This isn’t just about spelling. It’s you’ve laid out. how you feel (or felt) and express regret for missing the about losing the meaning of the word: It signifies obvious signs and disappearing on him. an arrival. I’m at a bit of a loss. I met a guy that I really And as painful as it might be hear that he wouldn’t CANADIAN OPPOSES MANGLED ENGLISH like at a nudist resort of all places. I didn’t realize P.S. You owe me one, Dan. I was raised in want to be with you even if he were single — and that’s at the time just how much I was falling for him. Winnipeg, whose inhabitants, Winnipeggers, the worst-case scenario — you will get over it and get He was trying to be more in the beginning but refer to their home affectionately as “The ‘Peg.” over him. Best-case scenario, HRNTHP, he had no idea you I missed some very obvious signs. Hindsight is You’ve turned any reference to my hometown into were into him, he’s not serious about the new girlfriend, 20/20. I’m incredibly guarded after growing up a source for snickers amongst the same sort of and he’d rather date you. Less-than-best-case scenario, in an emotionally abusive household and am childish people who use “cum.” The least you can he might be willing to date you if 1. things don’t work still dealing with some trauma after being raped do, in recompense, is to restore the simple dignity out with his new girlfriend and 2. you’re still single at that a few years ago. By the time I realized how I felt of, “come.” point. about him, he surprised me by telling me he had a In the meantime, don’t pass on any other girlfriend.I was trying to arrange a time to see him opportunities that come your way and be courteous, I’m on your side, COME. I’ve been fighting a after I disappeared for a bit to face some demons polite, and non-toxic when you run into them together lonely battle against “cum,” “cumming,” and (shudder) from the past. at kinky events. “cummed” for as long as I’ve been writing this column. I I wanted to tell him how I felt in person. Before confess to having sinned a few weeks ago when I used the I got that chance, he already had a girlfriend. He term “cumblebrag.” But in my defense, that was obviously I’m writing to beg you — to implore you — to and I run in the same kinky circles and I ran into a pun and — for the record — my one-time use of make some sort of desperate, last-ditch attempt them at an event. I actually got a horrible sinking “cum” in the service of a joke should not be construed to hold back the tide of linguistic confusion over feeling in my stomach that I didn’t expect. I never as an endorsement of “cum.” (The eye stumbles over the word, “come.” told him how I felt about him. I’m happy that he “comeblebrag,” so it wouldn’t have worked to use “come.”) Yes, that is the word, readers of Savage Love. is happy with her but it hurts, nonetheless. He As I’ve written before, we don’t have alternate It’s “come,” it’s not “cum.” The past tense is “came,” matters enough to me that I would be content spellings for other words that have both sexual and nonnot “cummed.” (Yes, Dan, people are now saying keeping him in my life even if it’s just as a friend. sexual meanings. Seeing as we don’t “suk dik” or “eet My question is should I tell him how I feel and and typing “cummed.”) pussee,” there’s no earthly reason why we should “cum” In the past I’ve been content to merely risk losing him altogether or do I let him be happy on someone else or be “cummed” upon ourselves. grumble cantankerously. The final straw came with his girlfriend and not tell him that I fell hard P.S. Sorry about that, Winnipeggers. over the last several months when, while watching for him? a lot of international TV and movies, I noticed I know he might not reciprocate my feelings. mail@savagelove.net; Follow Dan on Twitter @ That’s okay if he doesn’t, but the not knowing I — to my horror — that the people responsible FakeDanSavage; On the Lovecast, Dan chats with Amy for the subtitles are using “cum.” Yes, the semithink hurts more than the truth would. Chan of “Breakup Bootcamp.” www.savagelovecast.com literate usage of free-online-porn posters has now HOPELESS ROMANTIC NAILING THE HOPELESS PART polluted the entire planet’s comprehension of this simple English word.

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