5 minute read
LIFEWAVE
We’re kind of opening, kind of not, so not all of these are virtual events as we were highlighting at the beginning of the lockdown, but plenty are. COVID is still going strong, so party at your own risk.
GHOST-NOTE
Headed by Snarky Puppy’s multi-Grammy winning percussion duo of Robert Searight and Nate Werth, Ghost-Note is a soul-infused explosion of funk, hiphop, Afrobeat and psychedelia, featuring musicians who have played with Prince, Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar and more. Jazz-inspired turntablist DJ Logic and The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, which serves an intoxicating cocktail of jazz organist Jimmy Smith, the soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and a sprinkle of Stax Records, fill out the bill. More: $40-$50; April 7 & April 8, 6 p.m.; Heist Brewery, 1030 Woodward Ave.; tinyurl.com/ GhostNoteHeist
Jane Austin’s 19th-century novel of manners gets a lively livestreamed adaptation by Jon Jory, founder of the Humana Festival of New American Plays. In this production, directed by Paula Baldwin, the prospects of the newly impoverished Dashwood family hinges on sisters Elinor and Marianne, the personifications of common sense and emotional sensibility respectively. Elinor’s romance with shy Edward Ferrars is hampered by his engagement to someone else, while Marianne vacillates between the dashing but duplicitous John Willoughby and the respectable Colonel Brandon. Seven performances on CPCC’s Halton Auditorium stage will be filmed without a live audience. More: $12.94; Starts April 9, 7:30 p.m.; online; cpcc. edu/events/sense-and-sensibility/
ALASDAIR FRASER & NATALIE HAAS
With the 2004 album Fire & Grace, Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser first collaborated with American cellist Natalie Haas. The pair has since entwined the robust skirl of Fraser’s old world fiddle with the rich lowing tones of Haas’ new world cello on a series of albums including the 2007 collection In the Moment, which is featured in this concert. The weave of styles between the two players is ancient and modern, with Fraser crunching his bow to accentuate each percussive note within rapid-fire clusters, and Hass shape-shifting from arching melody lines to staccato sawing. More: $10-$50; April 10, 8 p.m.; online; maxxmusic.com
CLASSIC BLACK CINEMA: ‘IT WON’T RUB OFF, BABY’
Also known as Sweet Love, Bitter, this 1967 drama, inspired by the life of jazz musician Charlie Parker, marks the first film performance by activist and comedian Dick Gregory. When a legendary jazz saxophonist with a heroin habit meets a downand-out hip white college professor with a drinking problem in a pawn shop, a tentative friendship blossoms between the two men. Shot in gritty documentary-style black and white, the film examines injustice and police violence in a way that is just as relevant today as it was in the turbulent 1960s. More: Free; April 11; online; ganttcenter.org
GREG JARRELL: JAZZ & SPIRITUALITY TODAY
JazzArts Charlotte explores jazz, spirituality, and the society we live in. Music director Greg Jarrell, vocalist Dawn Anthony and Ministers W. Benjamin Boswell and Matthew Caine of Myers Park Baptist Church join Curtis Davenport to explore these interconnections. Noting that the jazz tradition grew up from the church, and developed its voice in the reconstruction era, Jarrell discusses the way in which music can facilitate dialogue and become a catalyst for change. “Justice, spirituality and race have always been part of American life,” says Jarrell. The interactive event streams on YouTube Live and Facebook Live. More: Free; April 13, 8 p.m.; online; thejazzarts.org
ROBERT EARL KEEN
MaxxMusic’s Cruise-in Concerts features country music maverick Robert Earl Keen in the first of a series of drive-in shows in Historic Rural Hill. Keen’s career can be succinctly summed up with the lyrics of his signature song “The Road Goes on Forever,” in which he sings, “The road goes on forever/And the party never ends.” Making a splash with his selffinanced debut album No Kinda Dancer in 1984, Keen balances finely observed, sensitive sketches of people on the perimeter of society with raucous hell-raising country rockers with a soupçon of the barstool laureate. More: $200-350 per car; April 14, 7 p.m.; Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville; maxxmusic.com
HEROES DEBATE NIGHT
For this Nerdy Night In, hosted by LeJuane Bowens, two teams compete in a superhero debate featuring such world-shaking questions as: Who would be better at giving dating advice, Batman or Black Widow? Who would win a tennis match between Wolverine and Wonder Woman? A team of nerds, a corps of comedians and a platoon of poets – featuring Boris “Bluz” Rogers – will battle in a debate competition judged by the Queen City Podcast Network’s Nerdskool Podcast team, while Harvard grad physicist Zyg Furmaniuk examines the chemistry in silver age comics. It’s nerd nirvana! More: Free, Donations encouraged; April 15, 7:30 p.m.; online; blumenthalarts.org
In Theatre Charlotte’s Covered Tracks, socially distanced groups are led through an immersive outdoor murder investigation where groups of six to eight fledgling sleuths will meet the suspects, gather clues and solve the murder. Mystery fans can choose one of three locations to unravel the case: Camp North End, Duke Mansion or the VanLandingham Estate. In the scenario, set in 1937, a railroad magnate has been murdered by one of his fellow high-society passengers. More: $150 and up per group; Starts April 16, 6:30 p.m.; locations vary; theatrecharlotte.org
INDIE FEST: LITTLE STRANGER & HUMAN RESOURCHES
Every Friday night in April, the Indie Fest Spring Series features outdoor socially distanced concerts spotlighting local and regional bands. A quirky alternative hip-hop duo born in Philadelphia and transplanted to Charleston, South Carolina, Little Stranger couples John Shields’ singer-songwriter chops with Kevin Shields’ confrontational delivery. The two Shields (no relation) till a groove similar to the Gorillaz but with a loose reggae beat. Charleston’s Human Resources crafts rocking alternative pop laced with sugary synths, stuttering guitars and fluttering falsettos. More: Sold out; April 16, 6 p.m.; Lenny Boy Brewing, 3000 S. Tryon St.; discoverlennyboy.com
HOMEGROWN TOMATO FESTIVAL
The 100 Gardens Homegrown Tomato Festival is going virtual, allowing the event to expand with national speakers and guests. The festival’s first part, “Before Those Maters’ Are Planted,” offers a virtual greenhouse tour and presentations by speakers including AppHarvest on bringing the first crop of indoor-grown tomatoes to grocers, Brie Arthur on growing a greener world through the foodscape revolution, Greg and Subrina Collier on likening their Camp North End restaurant Leah & Louise to a modern juke joint, TikTok’s favorite guitarplaying septuagenarian Funky Geezer performing “Homegrown Tomato” and more. More: $18; April 17, 12 p.m.; online; homegrowntomato.org/
CYANCA YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ORCHESTRA: CYANCA & A LIGHT DIVIDED
Charlotte New Music’s Elizabeth Kowalski found most music livestreams a little boring, so she decided to do something about it. The first of five visually stunning collaborations between Charlottearea artists showcases two songs featuring R&B and soul singer Cyanca and Jaycee Clark from pop-metal outfit A Light Divided. The tunes are combined with orchestral scoring by composer and Your Neighborhood Orchestra founder Kowalski, choreography by aerialist Satya Jvala and professional mermaid Danielle Houston and videography directed by Brian Twitty. More: Free; April 18, 1 p.m.; online; charlottenewmusic.org
