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NEWS & OPINION
4. From the Roots by Annie Keough Retracing the history of Black agriculture in Mecklenburg County
ARTS & CULTURE
6. The Archivist by Ryan Pitkin Cheryse Terry serves as Black history’s protector in west Charlotte
8. Soundwave
9. From Behind the Curtain by Pat Moran
Tim Scott Jr. is an uncelebrated but critical force in Charlotte’s music scene
10. Lifeline: Ten Cool Things To Do in Two Weeks
11. Riding Sky High by Dezanii Lewis Airlines announcement just the latest step up for KT Winery
MUSIC FOOD & DRINK LIFESTYLE
12. Horoscope
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14. Aerin It Out by Aerin Spruill
15. Savage Love
FROM THE ROOTS
Retracing the history of Black agriculture in Mecklenburg County
BY ANNIE KEOUGH
Every Black person in the United States is most likely two or three generations away from somebody’s farm, according to John W. Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation farmer and founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA).
“Whether we wanted to be or not, that’s where our roots are, that’s where our history is,” he said.
After the Civil War, Black folks exiting the bondage of slavery were finally able to imagine a future living on the lands they cultivated, but the ongoing journey to realize those dreams has been hard-fought.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), an agency created to aid farmers, has a long and painful history of racial discrimination and broken promises to Black farmers.
In his 40-year career, Boyd has worked with and fought for Black farmers experiencing discriminatory practices at the hands of the USDA. In 1995, he launched the NBFA, the largest nonprofit organization of its kind in the United States, primarily representing Black American farmers on a mission for land retention, civil rights advocacy and access to public and private loans.
People should know the rich history of Black farmers, Boyd emphasized, but it remains an aspect of American history too often ignored and untaught.
Scheduled for Feb. 22, the Charlotte Museum of History’s eighth annual African American Heritage Festival will dive deep into the history of Black farmers in Mecklenburg County and the greater Charlotte area to bring that lesson home.
Following a theme of “Black Country,” this year’s festival will center the Black experience in rural
Mecklenburg County over time through guest speakers, panels, performances and other community-focused events.
Terri Wright, museum president and CEO, said that she and her staff members realized the dire lack of well-documented stories covering the theme during the research process leading up to this year’s festival.
Just because the stories are yet to be unearthed, however, doesn’t mean they’re not there, White said.
Boyd will serve as the keynote speaker for this year’s festival, laying out the history of Black farmers — their struggles and hard-won achievements. Most recently, that includes the historic $2.2 billion payout the NBFA secured in 2024 for Black farmers who experienced discrimination in farm lending from the USDA.
“Some of the payouts have been helpful, but it’s really small victories of what we really need to turn the corner in this country,” he said.
According to Boyd, there is a dire need for a new generation of Black farmers to keep the legacy alive in this country.
Although Mecklenburg County’s history surrounding Black farmers is still being researched, its future in revitalizing a lost legacy will remain.
This land is their land
“Land is absolutely everything,” Boyd’s grandfather told him when he was growing up. “It’s family, it’s clean drinking water, it’s timber to build your houses and food to put on your table.”
When that land gets taken away, as has happened to generations of Black family farmers in this country, it
doesn’t come back, he said.
The way Black people have been historically treated in this country has for the most part been done under established law, Boyd pointed out, which is what folks are referring to when they reference “systemic” racism.
Slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow segregation and other racist systems put in place to disenfranchise Black folks made Black land theft a legal crime.
On Jan. 16, 1865, Union General William T. Sherman issued the Special Field Order No. 15, which confiscated roughly 400,000 acres of land stretching from Charleston, South Carolina, to the Saint John’s River in Florida. The order redistributed the land in 40-acre segments to newly freed Black families.
According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Sherman’s land distribution order served two purposes: It punished the Confederate farmers for their role in starting the Civil War by confiscating their land while simultaneously solving “a major new American problem: What to do with a new class of free Southern laborers.”
Months later, however, those Black families were forced off of their new land after President Andrew Johnson canceled the order in fall 1865, returning the properties to their white owners. The revocation of land was the start of a continued fight to keep Black people from inhabiting and gaining the rights to their own land.
After President Johnson overturned the order, Black families immediately began the long fight to obtain their rightful land back. By the dawn of the 20th century, there were about 1 million Black farmers that owned nearly 20 million acres of land in the Unites States, Boyd said.
Now, Black farmers account for 1% of all producers and own roughly 3.5 million acres of land.
A large part of that significant shrinking can be majorly attributed to The Great Migration, in which around 6 million African Americans uprooted their lives in the rural South for the promise of higher wages, safety from racial violence and educational opportunities in the north and west, which took place roughly between the 1910s and 1970s.
While Boyd understands that Black families were simply doing what each believed was best for them at the given time of their respective move, he can’t help but
ponder what was lost.
“[The Great Migration] hurt the Blacks that left the farm looking for what we thought was a better way of life when we really should have paid more attention to the land that we already had,” he insisted.
The land they had, however, was under attack by white farmers and a legal system that allowed them to exploit Black farmers.
“We had those two battles,” Boyd said. “Blacks looking for something better, and then whites using the laws to … steal the land from … Blacks.”
A number of methods were used to steal Black land and re-sell it for pennies on the dollar to white farmers, Boyd said. White developers would increase property taxes on Black-owned land and exploit improperly documented ownership — a consequence of Black people’s lack of legal access — to use loopholes permitting the forced removal of Black families off their land.
The USDA wasn’t any better.
While Ronald Reagan was in office in the late 1980s, he quietly gutted the USDA’s Civil Right Office in the name of budget cuts, denying countless farmers of color the right to resolve discriminatory practice complaints by the USDA.
Boyd said newly returning President Donald Trump’s policy director Stephen Miller is using the same playbook.
In 2021, Miller orchestrated a lawsuit against the USDA for reverse discrimination toward white farmers to block $4 billion in debt relief for Black, Native American and other farmers of color, plus $1 billion in settlements from discrimination lawsuits.
Miller’s efforts led to two judges issuing a temporary injunction blocking the debt relief, but in the end, the funding was approved.
“And that’s the difference between me and my style of leadership and what they did,” Boyd said. “I never sued white farmers and say that they shouldn’t get any money. I’ve never done that in my 42-year career. What I have said is, ‘If they get it and they get it on time, we want the same. We shouldn’t be excluded based on race.’”
While Boyd doesn’t want to underscore the significance of returning billions of dollars owed to Black and other farmers of color, what those farmers really need is their
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE MUSEUM OF HISTORY
JOHN W. BOYD JR.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG LIBRARY
SHARECROPPING TENANTS IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY CIRCA 1900.
NEWS & OPINION FEATURE
land back, he stated.
Discriminatory lending practices within the USDA have left farmers of color without the assistance they need to keep their farms afloat. While white farmers have received beneficial loans and debt relief, Black farmers’ homes and land were foreclosed on.
According to an NPR analysis of 2022 USDA data, the department granted direct loans to only 35% of Black farmers who applied compared to 72% of white farmer applicants.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to fix for four decades,” Boyd said. “At this point in my career, the victory is not complete without the land.”
around Siloam School in what is now University City as well as its new location on the museum’s property in east Charlotte when the area was mainly dairy farmland.
He detailed his and his friends’ efforts to build a rudimentary runway for the airport, which led White to ask why and how he would have been working on the airport over on the west side of the county.
“This man looked at us like we were the dumbest people on Earth and said, ‘Well, how else would they get the milk from the farm to the rest of the state? There was an airport up the street.’”
It took some digging, but White’s team found records of a small municipal airport right up the road from where the museum stands today.
It got White thinking; within the lifetimes of folks living in Mecklenburg County, the area went from rural
How modern systems are working to revitalize Black farmers’ legacies
The Charlotte Museum of History has historically been known as a colonial history museum, but about a decade ago the board decided to diversify its programming while still celebrating “all things 1700s.”
What started as a couple of programs during Black History Month morphed into the African American Heritage Festival, drawing in crowds of over 1,000 visitors to explore stories of Black history and aspects of Black culture in a rapidly changing city.
The museum’s most recent festivals have been focused on fundraising for the Siloam School Project, but that eight-year fundraising effort has now secured its funds, programming and tours for Mecklenburg County’s oldest standing African American schoolhouse.
White, who is the first Black president and CEO in the museum’s history, asked herself what the museum could turn its attention to for the next festival.
While collecting oral history for the Siloam project, White had met a man named Luther Reynolds, whom she calls Mr. Luther.
Well into his nineties, Reynolds lived in the area
farmland to the metropolis we are today. She devised the “Black Country” theme to explore how urbanization and city expansion has impacted the local farmers that once thrived on dairy and tobacco farming.
Despite the lack of physical documentation, oral histories from longtime residents like Reynolds are integral to putting the pieces together.
White said community elders in their mid-to-late 90s who lived through the changes often don’t believe their story is one worth sharing or that no one cares what it was like back then.
“But that’s exactly the kind of story we want to hear about,” she said.
Two-thirds of the state of North Carolina is still considered rural. While we still rely on agriculture and people who are connected to the earth, Mecklenburg has seen unique growth compared to other North Carolina counties.
“We’re trying to research and learn what is it that we have lost while gaining in these other areas,” White said. “There really isn’t a lot of hard, documented narratives that speak to specifically Mecklenburg County, but we know that they’re out there.”
Any documents or stories they find will be incorporated
into the day-of festival programming. The information will be filtered through the performances, lectures and mini workshops throughout the day.
The next generation
While rural farmers of color continue to work to fight for their rightful land and funding, a new wave of urban farmers have been advocating for Black farmers and urban farming in Mecklenburg County.
Cheri Jzar of Deep Roots CPS Farm, a family-operated, Black-run urban farming business in northwest Charlotte, created the Growers Network to form a coalition of Mecklenburg County farmers to inform one another about resources and opportunities available to local farmers.
The coalition invites elected officials and other leaders to join them in workshops or other events to better understand the families and businesses their decisions impact.
Several urban farmers and co-ops will be at the African American Heritage Festival selling produce and other items from their farms, giving people the opportunity to support and purchase directly from Black farmers, White said.
While the next generation of local urban farmers work to serve their community, Boyd encourages them to get involved early in their careers to see how government regulations affect them and their livelihood.
He also sees a need for strong policy thinkers who fight for what they believe in. That’s the key to change, he said. There’s only so much individuals can do without the
support of the government organizations meant to serve them. Boyd wants to see the USDA take steps to not only retroactively compensate and treat farmers of color fairly but make farming practices and lending programs equitable moving forward.
He said he would like to see the US Secretary of Agriculture formally state that the USDA is open for business for all people, including Black, Native American and Hispanic farmers. Since Jan. 20, Gary Washington, a Black man, has been acting as the secretary of agriculture, but only until Trump’s pick, a conservative white woman named Brooke Rollins, is confirmed by Congress.
As planting season approaches, Boyd said he is interested in seeing how the changes the Trump administration puts in place will affect North Carolina farmers, particularly his recent implementation of tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada.
NBFA notifies all of its 141,000 members of any policy changes that may affect them and any government programs that could help.
“This country is still government-driven, i.e. they still regulate all the programs,” Boyd said. “Everything is still running regulated by the government, and if we’re going to be a part of the agriculture fabric in this country, we’re going to have to learn how to get reintegrated with it, whether we like it or not. That’s the bottom line here.”
The African American Heritage Festival is scheduled for Feb. 22 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Drive. Admission is free. AKEOUGH@QCNERVE.COM
PHOTO COURTESY OF CM LIBRARY ROBINSON-SPANGLER CAROLINA ROOM A LOCAL FARMING COUPLE, DATE UNKNOWN.
THE ARCHIVIST
Cheryse Terry serves as Black history’s protector in west Charlotte
BY RYAN PITKIN
The art on the walls downstairs in Cheryse Terry’s splitlevel west Charlotte home is enough in itself to make a visit worthwhile. What sits between the four walls is the true treasure, however: an archive of historical Black ephemera that would likely take months just to catalogue and organize.
Over the decade it’s taken for Terry to build this archive of newspapers, publications, physical media, photographs, tchotchkes and trinkets, she has become one with the collection, it seems. Any mention of a given moment in Black history might send her to the shelves to dig out a specific memento that’s connected to it.
For Terry, who in 2022 opened the book-and-coffee shop Archive CLT on Beatties Ford Road to much renown, the annals tucked away among the shelves and drawers that we’re perusing on this Saturday evening to kick off Black History Month in 2025 are the real project. The coffee was just a way to get you to sit down and listen.
“Archive, the cafe, the vibe, it’s just a tip of the iceberg to get people to come and then have to deal with and listen to the work that I actually wanted to do, the 501c3 that I’m starting: Archive Historic Preservation Society,” she explains.
Among the art hanging over my head while we talk is a small but eye-catching cross-stitching that depicts the character Hippolyta from HBO’s Lovecraft Country. The text stretching above Hippolyta’s voluminous afro reads “NAME YOURSELF,” referencing a quote from the character in which she searches for “a world where I can name myself anything.”
Twenty years ago, living life as a pregnant teen growing up in west Charlotte, Terry may have been written off by many as just another stereotype who wouldn’t go far in life. But drawing on the strength of her own mother, she has shattered such labels, naming herself and pursuing a path most impactful for her family and community.
Terry’s work in preserving and digitizing Black history earned her recognition as an Emergent City Champion by the Knight Foundation in 2024 and has led to partnerships with Johnson C. Smith University as well as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to help strengthen each institution’s own archive of Black history — local and beyond.
Sitting among the trove of curios in her home, Terry spoke about how the death of her mother affected her, the importance of digitization in an age of AI, and the real archive from which Archive CLT was born.
Queen City Nerve: I noticed in your bio on the Archive CLT website, it doesn’t start with “Cheryse Terry, archivist” or “business owner.” It’s just the first five words, “Cheryse Terry is a mother…” Is that indicative of how you view your duties, with motherhood as the first job, passion and priority?
Cheryse Terry: Yes. That was the first real identity because I became a mother at 15. So I would like to think before I knew myself, which I really don’t think I all the way know myself now, but I would like to think before I even got any grasp on who I was and who I wanted to be, I was a mother first. That has been my longest journey and the most researched and the most loved and the most tumultuous at times and the most rewarding for sure.
around with me at the age of 14 and pregnant and tell me, “Okay, you made a mistake. The result of the mistake is the child, not the child being the mistake. You hold your head up high, you’re going to graduate from high school, you’re going to be okay. You ain’t better than nobody. Nobody’s better than you.” That’s what she raised me to be. She gave me the confidence I needed to instill that to
still great.” Having that over your shoulder, having that cheerleader all the time, having a love so gigantic … And then me being a mother of three at the time when my mom died, and all my children being small. I’m raising girls, and so who mothers the mother? I was 24. Even now, I was telling my girls in the car the other night, and I’m like, “Girls, I get overwhelmed. You got to understand, I’m still grieving after all these years … I don’t have a mom. When you all stressing me out, there’s nobody for me to call and be like, ‘Mom, did I do this to you?’ I just have to take everything with me.” So it’s unimaginable to know that I’m still even living and breathing without having that type of unconditional love, that cheer, that comfort, that support system after a decade ... I think that’s when a lot of my growth stopped, mentally, because I still have to carry every day the loss. And so part of my collection and part of my homage to her is not letting the things of her generation, the things that informed her, die.
It was just the next year, if I’m not mistaken, that the house that you grew up in burned. Looking back 10 years later, how did that inspire your archival work?
Your own mother, Yvonne Burton, passed away in 2014. What were some of the most critical lessons you took from her that you carry on as a mother yourself?
To love unconditionally, because I couldn’t imagine that having a pregnant 14-year-old as your child is the most ideal thing, especially after she adopted me at two days old. I was raised in a church, and so she was really big in the church. She had a leadership role. To proudly walk
my girls. Even though she’s been gone a decade, I’m able to carry that and hear that voice constantly.
How did her passing affect the way that you move through life and the work that you do now?
I think people don’t really come into themselves until a loss like that — until the loss of their parents, if their parents meant that much to them. Because my entire life, like I said, 14 and pregnant, she gave me the confidence, “Screw everybody who says something about you. You’re
Along with the death of my mother, it totally was the icing on the cake for the work that I know that I was meant to do … If you think it’s just a sensationalized story of, “Oh, her mom died and her house burned down,” then look at California. It’s very close to us now. It’s a part of our current news that we can see the impact of somebody losing their home and losing everything they had. I think about Asheville [after Hurricane Helene]. So now with me digitizing family archives, which is part of my work that I’m doing next, we have the technology to preserve our things.
Think about when we go home for Christmas or we’re looking at old pictures, are we scanning it? One flood, one fire, your grandma has kept this for 70 years in the family. So it’s up to us now to use our technology to make sure it’s preserved. They did the work by capturing it and
PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN
TERRY FOUND THIS CHAIR AT THE SLEEPY POET AND JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO BUY IT.
PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN
CHERYSE TERRY ADMIRES HER COPY OF THE FIRST ISSUE OF VIBE MAGAZINE.
documenting it. It’s up to us to preserve it. Now, getting that messaging out because of the house fire is very vital to the work that I’m doing.
I think we all are archivists in our own way. There’s things that we see that mean something to us. But I don’t think that Black people consider enough that our personal history makes up a larger history. [She points to two black-and-white photos taped to the wall, one of Ken Koontz in the parking lot of WBTV Studios, where he was the station’s first Black reporter, and another of famed poet, writer and activist Nikki Giovanni posing with students at Johnson C. Smith University] Like behind you, those pictures of Ken and Nikki. She just passed away, but that is a picture of her at Johnson C Smith. Collecting those things tells our larger story.
The archivist role is having the discernment and having the foresight to know what needs to be collected from where we’re going, what our children need to inherit and know about our future. With AI entering our lives now, you’ve seen Martin Luther King with a hoodie on and all these things. We’re not going to know what’s real and what’s fake. It’s important for us to hold on to physical things that are dated and have provenance.
What’s an experience since opening Archive CLT that has stuck with you in regards to sharing this passion for archival preservation?
I hired a black girl from rural white America that had never heard of Jet magazine, and that informed so much. That’s the reason for the civil rights movement. Jet magazine, September 15, 1955, is when they printed the Emmett Till story and you sent that all over the country and people were outraged. How could this Chicago kid be lynched like this? He just went there for the summer. For her, as a Black girl, not to know this, it’s like, no, this work needs to continue. My mother is the inspiration behind me making sure that the legacy of our publications and the work that we’ve done thus far don’t die with Gen Z and so on.
BY GRANT BALDWIN
How would you define what you look for when you’re collecting? There are print periodicals here, then there are little tchotchkes like figurines and whatnot, and there’s everything in between it seems like. How do you narrow down what you’re looking for, if you do at all?
See, when I began collecting, and you can hear this from any collector, they’ll say once they have an interest, anything that resembles it or had anything to do with it broadly, you just got it. But after doing that for so long and then opening a store named Archive and then being on the Today Show, naturally everybody that sees you do the thing, oh, honey, I had so much mail from all over the country. Like, “Oh, this young girl is interested. Let me send this to her.”
A lady came from New Jersey and gave me 1,300 Jet magazines. I have people in the community now that know I’m doing the work, and their kids are minimalists now so they don’t want to take it. They know that I have appreciation for it.
Now, when I look for stuff, if somebody calls, “I want to make a donation,” I get that call all the time. If they say there’s some Essence magazines from 2013, those are accessible on eBay. I don’t turn away anything, but I’ll sell them super discounted at Archive or reach out to artists who do collage work. I can make sure that, because the person who donated them has really good intentions, I can match them with somebody who can make great use of them. But I always filter through things now.
Do you have any white whales that you’re still searching for?
That Jet magazine I just told you about from Sept. 15, 1955, that’s a Holy Grail for me. I’m on eBay. I got it in my search every night. I’m always on the auction sites. I’m always looking for specific things to add to my collection. I got a list of Holy Grails, and that’s one. I have the second ever Ebony Magazine, December 1945. Obviously, I would love the first cover ever. I’m constantly looking for things that I don’t have. If they’re super rare that speaks to what I want to carry.
Visit qcnerve.com for the full Q&A, including Terry’s two biggest creative inspirations and a list of her five most treasured items in the archive.
RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM
PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN
CHERYSE TERRY SITS AMONG A SMALL SAMPLING OF HER COLLECTION.
PHOTO
PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN A PRIZED POSSESSION.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Jack Kays w/ Games We Play (Amos’ Southend) blankstate. w/ Oolong, Kerosene Heights, Jockey, Rosary (The Milestone)
The Eras Taylor Swift Dance Party (Amos’ Southend) Level Up (Blackbox Theater)
Zack Fox (The Fillmore)
Hot & Fresh with J. Overcash & Friends (Salud Cerveceria)
Shrek Rave (The Underground)
COVER BANDS
Marshall Choloff: The Purple Xperience (Prince tribute) (Knight Theater)
The Soundwave is Queen City Nerve’s comprehensive guide to live music happening in Charlotte every night of the week. This list is pulled together by our editorial team every other week from combing through Charlotte music venue calendars and separated by genre. None of these listings are paid advertisements. We understand that many non-traditional music venues offer live music like coffee shops, breweries, art galleries, community events and more.
This list may not have every event listed. To have a venue included in the editorial compilation of this list, please send an email to info@qcnerve.com with the subject “Soundwave.”
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Grindhouse w/ Karmachain (Evening Muse)
Hiram w/ Aaron Boyd & W.D. Miller, Tom Budz (Petra’s) Illiterate Light w/ Once Below Joy (Snug Harbor)
Marissa Missing w/ Louis Delgra, Nick Prestia (Starlight on 22nd)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Alex Lambert w/ Harper O’Neill (Neighborhood Theatre)
Dugi B (Primal Brewery)
Joy Oladokun (The Underground)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Bingo Loco (Blackbox Theater)
Sidequest feat. DJ RPG & Friends (The Milestone)
The Dancing Fleas w/ The Wilder Flower (The Rooster) JAZZ/BLUES
Arturo Sandoval (Middle C Jazz)
MIXED-GENRE/EXPERIMENTAL/FESTIVAL
Love Notes: A Valentine’s Concert (Booth Playhouse)
CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL
Opera Carolina: Carmen (Belk Theater)
LATIN/WORLD/K-POP
aespa (Spectrum Center)
COVER BANDS
Excitable (Def Leppard tribute) (Amos’ Southend)
The New York Bee Gees (Knight Theater) Kids in America w/ Riverstone Duo (Goldie’s)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9
CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL
Opera Carolina: Carmen (Belk Theater) CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL/RELIGIOUS
Jennifer Knapp w/ Flamy Grant (Evening Muse)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Aim High w/ Water Culture, Dovecage, Escape From Salem (The Milestone)
The Get Up Kids (The Underground) JAZZ/BLUES
The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) OPEN MIC
Find Your Muse Open Mic feat. Ben Balmer (Evening Muse)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill)*
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Almost Monday w/ Adrian Lyles (Amos’ Southend) CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL/RELIGIOUS
Hulvey (The Underground) OPEN MIC
Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin J’s (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Feyleux w/ True Lilith, IIOIOIOII, Tenderlash (The Milestone) Overturn w/ Marked For Death, Split In Two, Gurthworm (Snug Harbor)
Adrian Crutchfield (Stage Door Theater) FUNK/JAM BANDS
Rockstead w/ Tali Roots (Evening Muse)
SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Warped Band (Amos’ Southend)
Justin West w/ Square Roots (Goldie’s) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Brendan James w/ Brian Mackey (Evening Muse)
Two Friends (The Fillmore)
CG5 (Neighborhood Theatre) COVER BANDS
Lost Highways (The Rooster)
KARMA! (Chappell Roan tribute) w/ Deore, Probably Will (Snug Harbor)
Who’s Bad (MJ tribute) (The Underground)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
No Anger Control w/ Survival Tactics, Backwash, Megazillion (Evening Muse)
Venus Invictus w/ Grindhouse, Leaving Echoes, Shadows Prevail (The Rooster)
Lucid Dreams w/ GoGo Pilot, Trick Threat (Starlight on 22nd)
TAUK w/ Sam Fribush Organ Trio (Visulite Theatre)
POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Dance Circle Day Party (Blackbox Theater)
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Ovens Auditorium) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
Dylan Marlowe (The Underground) CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL
Charlotte Symphony: Elgar’s Enigma Variations (Belk Theater)
CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL/RELIGIOUS
Thomas Austin w/ Tymain Robbins, Monty (Evening Muse) JAZZ/BLUES
Noel Freidline & Maria Howell (Middle C Jazz)
Adrian Crutchfield (Stage Door Theater) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Digital Noir feat. DJ Spider & DJP (The Milestone)
Maggie Miles w/ Recess Party, Willa Mae (Snug Harbor) FUNK/JAM BANDS
U-Phonik w/ Kyle Cummings Duo (Goldie’s) LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE Night in Rio (Neighborhood Theatre)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Sister Wife Sex Strike w/ Doom Scroll, Saint Logic, Landon Byrd (The Milestone)
Moon Rocker w/ Connor Kelly & the Time Warp (Neighborhood Theatre)
JAZZ/BLUES
Noel Freidline & Maria Howell (Middle C Jazz) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B
Kash Doll (The Fillmore) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ
Levity (Blackbox Theater)
Soul Sundays feat. Guy Nowchild (Starlight on 22nd)* SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC
Elijah Ray & Friends: Acoustic Showcase (The Rooster) LATIN/WORLD/K-POP
Banda MS (Spectrum Center)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Psyclon Nine w/ Ventana, HeathenSun (The Rooster) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Levity (Blackbox Theater)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18
ROCK/PUNK/METAL
Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill)*
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers (Neighborhood Theatre)
Tall Juan w/ Boy A/C (Snug Harbor) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA
Drew & Ellie Holcomb (Knight Theater) OPEN MIC
Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin J’s (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)*
*WEEKLY EVENTS THAT MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING
FROM BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Tim
Scott Jr. is an
uncelebrated but critical force in Charlotte’s music scene
BY PAT MORAN
At the top of Tim Scott Jr.’s New Year’s resolutions list this year was one item: learning to take credit for his accomplishments.
There’s plenty to claim; Scott’s achievements within the music scene are so numerous they were hard to compile in the process of putting this article together.
The Buffalo, New York, native has toured extensively, notably as drummer for Grammy Award-winning hip-hop and neo-soul group The Foreign Exchange.
In a 2020 YouTube video of Scott’s jazz trio The Tim Scott Jr. Group performing at Crown Station, the drummer and percussionist’s in-the-pocket hi-hats hiss and flow like a cascading waterfall as he plays with power, precision and a sense of swing.
But there is much more to Scott than the talent he showcases onstage.
Scott has produced events like Charlotte rapper Lute’s first headlining gig at the Neighborhood Theatre in August 2024, hip-hop group Ghost Note’s show-stopping set at Charlotte SHOUT! in April 2024, and shows for nationally known artists as diverse as Missy Elliott, Gladys Knight and Norah Jones.
As musical director, Scott helped Quentin Talley shape the seasonal Soulful Noel celebration. He also lends his talent and expertise to Blumenthal Arts’ annual Black Notes Project festival.
Scott co-owns entertainment company Stand Out Saints, which specializes in artist marketing, consulting, tour direction, management, and staffing, alongside his wife, Kenya.
“Tim is an unsung hero in the city of Charlotte who has contributed, advocated for and innovated programs, careers, communities, and culture within the city, opening up doors and connecting many of the artists we admire locally today,” said Mariah Scott, Tim’s sister who is also an event organizer, curator, host and cultural producer based in Charlotte, known in local creative circles as Peculiar Hippie.
“I feel that my brother is owed acknowledgment and appreciation for his contributions to the city,” she continued. “He’s put in the work, which spans across genres, class or age. He truly has a heart for the people and has proved that in his service.”
Like the dominant member of a wolf pack, Scott has preferred leading from the back — but that changes this year.
“In 2025 I’m going … to stand up in front of my work and take the flowers that people try to give me,” Scott offers.“It’s time to come out of the shadows.”
From troublemaker to touring musician
Today Scott is a husband, father of four and an inspired artist who has made the study of music his life’s work, but when he first moved to Charlotte from Buffalo, he got off to a rocky start.
One day, Scott’s father, Timothy Scott Sr., a church minister of music who also toured and performed with gospel acts, announced that the family was moving to the Queen City. Although he was drawn to the drums at an early age, the younger Scott wanted to stay in Buffalo to study math and science.
Attending Northwest School of the Arts in 2000, the 12-year-old Scott decided to act out so he’d get sent back to Buffalo. Older classmates Adrian Crutchfield and Harvey Cummings II, both now accomplished saxophonists, had other ideas.
“They both pushed me into a corner,” Scott remembers. “Adrian lectured me about how my behavior at Northwest was going to leave me forgotten.”
The prospect of making an impact convinced Scott to check out the band room where his older classmates played.
“It changed my life forever,” Scott says.
He also credits the school’s music director, Michael Washington, with recognizing his leadership qualities.
“He was the first person to make me start honing skills like knowing the right people to call, listening to what they could do, and analyzing what situations best fit their skill sets,” Scott says.
At age 16, Scott embarked on his first tour with Northwest classmate and jazz saxophonist Ryan Saranich.
After graduating from Northwest, Scott attended North Carolina Central University in Durham, where he proved to be a deft hand at networking. Restlessly curious, he kept his eyes and ears open around industry legends like Christopher Reid (aka Kid of Kid ‘n Play) who taught a hip-hop appreciation class.
In 2009, Saranich invited Scott to attend the Grammys. After the ceremony, Scott noticed that celebrities and musicians were still working the room and “on the clock” at the post-awards parties.
“The people who were chilling and enjoying themselves were the executives,” Scott says. “It got me thinking … maybe that’s where I need to go. I was mentally preparing myself [for] something bigger than just the stage.”
Back at NC Central, Scott assembled a band for NC R&B singer-songwriter Carlitta Durand and toured with her. At a Cat’s Cradle show in Carrboro, the band opened for The
Foreign Exchange, the innovative hip-hop collective led by American rapper Phonte and Dutch record producer Nicolay.
Impressed with their opener’s set, Phonte and Nicolay asked Scott and Durand to join The Foreign Exchange. Scott says the four years he toured with the band was like his graduate school.
“I was surrounded by musical knowledge,” Scott notes. “I was watching, listening and paying attention.”
In 2012, former classmate Harvey Cummings II asked Scott to play and tour with Charlotte ensemble the Sol Fusion Band. Sol Fusion’s co-founder and owner Chris McClure, who is also a managing partner at talent booking agency EastCoast Entertainment, saw potential in Scott and took the drummer under his wing.
“[McClure] said, ‘You don’t think like a musician; you think like a business person,’” Scott remembers.
Balancing the roles of businessman and husband
After producing live EastCoast shows for The Steve Miller Band, Scott was hired by McClure as EastCoast’s assistant production coordinator. In that position, Scott produced 12 concerts a year — four in Charlotte, four in Charleston and four in Nashville.
In 2017, Sol Exchange was booked to perform at Center City Partners’ (CCCP) Vision Awards ceremony in Charlotte. Scott saw that the awards show’s producers were having difficulties communicating cues to the band during its live performance. He offered to step in with a head set and relay those cues from the floor.
Impressed with Scott’s professionalism and expertise, CCCP’s Chief Creative Officer Robert Krumbine offered Scott a position as the organization’s artist in residence. In that role, Scott spearheaded programs like the nonprofit civic and economic development initiative Music Everywhere.
After the residency ended, Scott went on to be event production coordinator for CCCP.
Nowadays Scott continues to work with partners like CCCP, EastCoast Entertainment, Middle C Jazz and others as a contractor.
the city’s hip-hop community, because I feel like the hiphop community here is so underserved,” Scott says of the long-anticipated show.
Stand Out Saints also works with artists like DJ Fannie Mae and her Sainted Trap Choir, Dennis Reed Jr., LeRoy (formerly known as WELL$), and more. Scott also owns and operates TiMar Entertainment, an artist management, event production, consulting and mentorship business.
Looking back at 2024, Scott says it was a “full-circle” year that saw him reunited with old friends, including gigs with former classmate Adrian Crutchfield, and helping put together the 10th-anniversary Charlie Brown Christmas concert at his alma mater Northwest School of the Arts.
In the meantime, Scott met Kenya Dannenberg, then known professionally as Kenya St. Clair. The couple first connected as business partners before marrying in January 2022 in Washington, D.C.
“She had already established herself as a force in the mainstream hip-hop and R&B fields,” says Scott, noting that Kenya has worked with artists including DJ Oreo and Chance the Rapper.
Stand Out Saints was originally Kenya’s company, but now the couple are partners in the full service production, concert tour, management and media business. In fact, Lute’s first headlining show was planned and produced by the husband-and-wife team.
“I wanted to do something great for Charlotte and for
Looking ahead to 2025, Scott says plans are being laid for SHOUT!, as well as more touring for the self-described road warrior.
“I’m excited about being here in Charlotte and getting to do some amazing things for the city’s music community,” Scott says.
Scott is particularly stoked that he gets to do most of those things with the person he calls his best friend in the entire world, his wife Kenya.
“None of this would be possible without her,” Scott says. “I’m impressed with her every day.”
Above all, 2025 is the year when the master musician and consummate music industry leader will proudly tell people about the work he does and why he does it. The timing couldn’t be better.
PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM
TIM SCOTT JR.
PHOTO BY KAREN POOLE
MARY J. BLIGE W/ NE-YO, MARIO
Mary J. Blige has been promoting her Lifetime movie
Mary J. Blige’s Family Affair, inspired by her hit 2001 song of the same name, while a 10-year-old concert clip of her and Taylor Swift dueting on the same tune has resurfaced on Instagram, but this diva doesn’t even need all the extra publicity. Everything she’s released — from the groundbreaking hip-hop/ soul fusion on 1992’s What’s the 411? to the superb storytelling on 2024’s Gratitude — confirms her status as a national treasure. Grammy-winning soulpop singer Ne-Yo and R&B artist Mario complete the bill for this stop on Mary’s For My Fans tour.
More: $81 and up; Feb. 6, 7 p.m.; Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St.; spectrumcentercharlotte.com
‘MARY
JANE’
In playwright Amy Herzog’s powerful Mary Jane, a devoted mother teeters between the mundane and the unfathomable realities of caring for Alex, her chronically ill young son, in the process building a community of women from many walks of life. Though her writing is elliptical — the audience never sees Alex — Herzog, who lost her own daughter in 2023, deftly avoids ableist tropes like centering the drama on the mother’s suffering. The result is a drama the New Yorker calls, “Herzog’s most satisfying work to date because it has verisimilitude that many contemporary realistic plays don’t.”
More: $15-35; Feb. 7-23, times vary; Arts Factory @ JCSU, 1545 W. Trade St.; threebonetheatre.com
BO’S BOUGIE BRUNCH
Bojangles and Merchant & Trade present a unique brunch that celebrates uniquely North Carolinian flavors. Featuring Bojangles’ staples, the menu includes Dirty Rice Arancini with sage sausage; the Big Bo Board with Carolina Twinkies and fry-
UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE QUEEN CITY
seasoned chicken skins; and the Bo, Bubbles, and Bumps with Bojangles fried chicken, Polanco Siberian Reserve caviar, and Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. There will also be Moët Hennessy selections and special cocktails like the Uniquely Southern, which includes Cheerwine; or the Gotta Wanna Needa Getta Hava, a North Carolina spin on the classic Kentucky mint julep with Bojangles’ sweet tea and Southern Star double-rye whiskey. Proceeds benefit The Bojangles Foundation. The 100 presale tickets sold out rather quickly, with all remaining tickets to be sold at the door on the day of the event. More: $1 for entry plus food costs; Feb. 8, 1 p.m.; Merchant & Trade, 303 S. Church St.; tinyurl.com/BosBougieBrunch
JOY OLADOKUN
A Black, queer woman who is the child of Nigerian immigrants, Joy Oladokun is an unlikely musical “everyman.” Yet, Oladokun’s third album, Observations From a Crowded Room, connects with audiences through honest songs that couple emo intensity, communal call-and-response choruses, and lyrics that embrace both the grandeur and goofiness of so-called ordinary lives. “What happened to the good old days/ When you could take a hit/ Of that good shit/ And feel your troubles fade away?” she asks on the fun, funky and gospelstomping “Drugs.” Maybe it’s time to retool the concept of the “every(wo)man.”
More: $33.75; Feb 8, 8 p.m.; The Underground, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com
MATT MATHEWS
Matt Mathews is a multi-tasker. When he’s not bringing his Boujee on a Budget tour to the stage, convincing audience members to share their deepest darkest secrets or informing tobaccospitting straight men that they’re not attractive, the Alabama-born gay comic runs a professional boudoir photography studio, participates in barrel races at rodeos, and does farm chores in his bathrobe. All in a day’s work for a talented photographerturned-social-media-sensation-turned-stand-up comic. One thing’s clear: Mathews was born to be an entertainer. On one YT video taken during his 2023 tour, he does a damn impressive rendition of a Spanish-language Selena song, finishing with, “I don’t know what the fuck I just sang, but I know the lyrics!”
“Expect the unexpected,” says Caroline Calouche & Company’s website about Rouge, the troupe’s signature cirque and dance cabaret show. For Calouche, who launched her namesake company in 2006, the unexpected has always been part of the game. “Rouge is a show that if you’ve seen it once, it’s never the same show twice,” Calouche told Queen City Nerve in 2023. Apparatus like silks, hoops and chairs get a workout in Rouge, but the human body in motion — engaging in daring aerial acts, gravity-defying acrobatics and poetic dance — is at the center of this mesmerizing and captivating show.
More: $30-45; Feb. 14-15, times vary; Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org
IMPORTEXPO
Launched in 2010, ImportExpo has become a leading automotive brand producing industry car shows and motorsports events in the US and Canada. Promising dope cars, good vibes and a family-friendly event for all ages, ImportExpo partners with Hickory automotive store Team Tensei to produce this year’s event in which automotive industry companies showcase their products and services. Expo attendees can learn about the latest automotive technology, see displays that showcase innovations in the automotive industry, connect with other car enthusiasts and industry professionals, and see some vehicles they likely have never seen before. You can even bring your own car to show off.
More: $25-35; Feb. 15, 5 p.m.; Park Expo & Conference Center, 800 Briar Creek Road; importexpo.net
KASH DOLL
Contrary to social media rumors, Detroit rapper and actress Arkeshia Knight is still performing and making music as Kash Doll, though the name will soon change. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t evolved over the course of her decade-long career. The confident, take-no-shit persona Knight solidified with tracks like the minimalist “Ice Me Out” — “I ain’t gotta get naked for no tennis bracelet...” — has expanded on her 2024 LP The Last Doll. The eclectic collection draws on trap, rap, house and melodic pop to touch on motherhood, empowerment and ambition. Maybe Knight has experienced too much to be content to call herself a doll, which is why her current tour will mark the end of her journey as Kash Doll and the beginning of her transition to Kash. More: $68-79; Feb 17, 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com
PSYCLON NINE W/ VENTANA, HEATHEN SUN
Abrupt stabs of KMFDM guitars; lacerating beats; and breathy, growling Nosferatu vocals propel “I Choose Violence,” an insidious slab of industrial metal from LA’s Psyclon Nine that refuses to relieve the disquiet it conjures. Cleveland, Ohio’s Ventana till a similar patch of blasted heath, shooting a video for abrasive single “Feast or Famine” in a local slaughterhouse. On tracks like “Deal with the Devil,” NC nu-metal ninjas Heathen Sun set rap-style cadences to brontosaurus grooves and coruscating guitars that recall San Francisco post-punk noisemakers Chrome. More: $22; Feb. 17, 6:30 p.m.; The Rooster, 334 W. Main Ave., Gastonia; theroostergastonia.com
SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS W/ MODERN MOXIE
After 10 years, The Disarmers are calling it quits with a farewell tour. Led by genderqueer singersongwriter River Shook, the Chatham County-based Disarmers perfected a mix of rock and outlaw country while calling out corporate Nashvegas country and became North Carolina legends in the process. Over the years, Queen City Nerve has lavished indie-rock foursome Modern Moxie with praise, all of it well earned. Like The Disarmers, Modern Moxie is a tight, inventive band led by a charismatic singer-songwriter, which makes this show feel like a passing of the torch.
More: $23-27; Feb 18, 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com
‘ROUGE’
Photo by Peter Zay
RIDING SKY HIGH
Airlines announcement just the latest step up for KT Winery
BY DEZANII LEWIS
If you’ve ever woken up with a wine hangover, you know just how cruel the vino can be on the morning after. There are a number of reasons wine hangovers have earned this reputation — congeners like tannins, histamine and sulfites are prime suspects. Then there’s that staple of the American diet: sugar.
Wine doesn’t necessarily have more sugar than beer or spirits, but it can mix with the aforementioned ingredients to worsen that infamous wine hangover.
The team at KT Winery, a Black-, Asian-, and womenowned wine company launched in Charlotte, is pushing back on this bad reputation. With its two brands, Mom Juice and KT Signature, KT Winery is showing that you don’t need all those extra ingredients to make a good wine.
All of KT Winery’s wines are low-sugar, gluten-free and vegetarian. But that’s just the start, says co-founder Kristin Taylor.
“They’re always made with less than nine ingredients versus the 74 ingredients that [other brands] don’t have to disclose to consumers,” she explained. “That can be things like formaldehyde or hydrogen peroxide, which no one would expect would ever be in their wine, but commonly are … I think we firmly fall into the ‘better for you’ category.”
Living in Charlotte at the time, Taylor founded KT Winery in 2020 with business partner Macie Mincey. Having since moved to Denver, Colorado, Taylor continues to connect with Mincey, a Charlotte native who remains in the Queen City, remotely.
Upon originally meeting in Charlotte, the duo bonded over a shared mission to serve the modern, healthconscious wine drinker while addressing the lack of diversity in the wine industry. From there, the idea for their wine was conceived.
Taylor said the process behind KT Winery’s recipes came about as a sort of happy accident; they stuck to common-sense ingredients and had no idea other brands weren’t doing the same.
“I’ll be real, because we didn’t inherit this, right? We created this,” she said. “We didn’t know what [other companies] were putting in their wine. We didn’t know that the reason we feel icky sometimes in having wine made in the US is because there’s no regulation or controls around those types of things.
“We didn’t know that people were doing it, so we just didn’t do it,” she continued. “And we made the wine clean because, as far as I know, wine should be made of grape juice, sugar, basic things.”
Inspired by fellow entrepreneurs
Wine and food have long been a passion of Taylor’s, who credits her mother with passing those interests down to her.
KT Winery is not Taylor’s first venture into winemaking, as she had first helped with the launch of The Guilty Grape, a Black-owned wine company founded by sisters Nichelle and Nicole Nichols.
It was in that process that she also had the opportunity to learn from the McBride sisters, who created the Truvée wine collection.
The clean approach has paid off, gaining recognition from the James Beard Foundation while seeing success in stores across the country.
Building on the popularity of its more informal Mom Juice brand, five years into the business KT Winery products are sold in more than 500 locations online; at select retailers such as Target, Total Wine, and Safeway; and at various bars and restaurants throughout the US.
In January, American Airlines announced that it would begin serving KT Winery’s Signature Collection, considered an elevated wine-tasting experience from its affordable store brands, on its long-haul, international flights.
The announcement was an unexpected next step in an expansion that has come rather quickly for the two entrepreneurs.
“It’s just been the most beautiful journey,” Taylor said.
a really organic way. We’re not puppet-mastering things. We’re really listening to what women say.”
The difference between KT Signature and Mom Juice is fairly simple: KT Signature is more prestigious, having been served at the James Beard Foundations 30 under 30 dinner in 2022. Mom Juice is a bit more casual. Taylor has an even better explanation for it, though.
“I think KT Signature is the rich auntie wine,” she said. “And then Mom Juice — we make wine for the girlies, regardless if you have a kid or not.”
KT Signature takes to the sky
When the pair released KT Signature, it took off quickly. They had a “baby launch” at Kimpton Hotel in Uptown Charlotte in May 2022, the same year Taylor moved west. What they had in stock quickly sold out, which was a pleasant surprise for the entrepreneurs, who weren’t sure just how they’d follow up on the success of Mom Juice.
“It’s been fun to be able to grow this family of brands together,” Taylor said.
As 2025 started, Taylor and Mincey were contemplating which direction to take the KT Signature brand in. That’s when the announcement came from American Airlines that the brand would be added to its international flight menu.
The announcement offered the opportunity for new audiences to experience “what we call ‘affordable luxury in a glass,’” stated Mincey in announcing the new partnership. “As a mom of four, I love that busy moms get to experience premium wines like those in Mom Juice and Signature Collection in a welcoming community where they are seen and known.”
The pair worked with Julia Coney, a well-known wine and travel journalist whom Taylor referred to as the “OG Black sommelier in the world,” throughout the selection process for American Airlines.
Far from letting the journey overwhelm them, Taylor called every step of the ride a dream, with the two “pinching” themselves at every turn.
These experiences helped her see a path for herself in what’s long been known as a white industry.
“I got to see people like the McBride sisters and The Guilty Grape, women of color really succeeding,” she recalled. “I felt the passion to start a wine company.”
With this desire already in mind, Taylor went on a blind business lunch date with Mincey. The two bonded over their shared interest and frustrations with the lack of diversity in the industry.
It didn’t take long for the Mom Juice idea to form out of that meeting.
“The name Mom Juice really comes from being with other women in the community, sharing a glass of wine at Girls Night,” Taylor said. “And that was the phrase we said. We started having kids, and people started to go, ‘Oh, no, that’s your mom juice.’ All of this has happened in
With Mom Juice having built a solid consumer base, the culmination of the KT Signature brand being selected for service on American Airlines flights has established a trustworthiness that may not have previously been apparent within the business and industry aspect of the brand.
“The more you can show up and you provide and actually do what you say you can do, it really changes the opportunity to present it because people know they can trust you now, and they believe that you can deliver when they give you big opportunities,” Taylor said. “It’s been really validating from a business perspective.”
With new doors being opened to them, the duo have nowhere else to go but up. One thing is certain: they’re going to stick to what works for them and their consumers — clean wine without all the added ingredients.
“Let’s be honest, no one has time for headaches,” Taylor said.
DLEWIS@QCNERVE.COM
KRISTIN TAYLOR (LEFT) AND MACIE MINCEY OF KT WINERY
PHOTO COURTESY OF KT WINERY
HOROSCOPE
FEB.
5 - FEB. 11 FEB. 12 - FEB. 18
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) All that flattery and fawning shouldn’t affect any decision you have to make. Keep your focus on the facts and ignore all the hyperbole, especially if it gets uncomfortably personal.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your Bovine instincts are on the mark about a “favor” that you’re being asked to do. Agree to nothing unless you get a full explanation, which you would check out first, of course.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A somewhat-unsettled recent period should give way to a smoother time going through the week. Use this quieter time to catch up on matters that you might have had to let slide.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Feeling a little confused is understandable with all those mixed messages. Take time to list the questions you have. Then present them and insist on answers that make sense.
LEO (July 23 to August 22) Cupid can be very helpful for Lions seeking a love connection. The chubby cherub also brings warm and fuzzy feelings to paired Leos and Leonas who already share a special love line.
VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Travel is favored this week, whether you’ll be globe-trotting or taking a trip to a nearby getaway. You might be surprised (or maybe not) by the person who wants to be your traveling companion.
LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Getting advice on your next business-related move is a good idea but only if your advisers are trustworthy. Get references you can check out before you make any decisions.
SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Getting a boost in your self-esteem is one benefit that comes with a job well-done. There are other plusses as well, including being noticed by all the right people. Good luck!
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Make time to deal with family matters, especially where they concern your elderly kinfolk. Being there for them from the start can help resolve problems sooner rather than later.
CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Getting a project started can often be difficult, but the good news is that you won’t want for lack of assistance from colleagues who would like to work with you. So, let them!
AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A lot of workrelated issues might be raised this week, and you need to be prepared for whatever comes along. Things should be easier when it comes to matters in your private life.
PISCES (February 19 to March 20) What might appear to be a very much unwanted change in your life right now could turn out to be a very welcome event after all. Give yourself a chance to see where it might take you.
BORN THIS WEEK: You exercise your strong leadership qualities well, which is why people believe in you and feel reassured by you.
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A long-forgotten promise is recalled. It’s not too late to follow up on it. You might find a pleasant surprise waiting. Meanwhile, see a doctor about a pesky health problem.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) The best way to get over a personal disappointment is to get out, meet old friends, and make new ones! One of those new friends could very well become a special person in your life.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A chance to invest comes with some strings attached that could cause economic problems later on. Be careful. Cupid favors romantic possibilities with a loving Libra or a passionate Pisces.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A simple problem threatens to turn into a legal showdown unless it’s cleared up soon. Wishing it away won’t help. In addition, a telephone call could lead to a change in travel plans.
LEO (July 23 to August 22) A close friend who suddenly becomes remote is in need of your warm reassurance. Give it generously. Meanwhile, a misunderstanding on the job creates the potential for future problems. Settle it quickly.
VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Career advancement involves the need for added training. The investment of your time and effort will pay off. In other news, some stormy personal situations begin to calm down.
LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Scale back on your grandiose schemes for a while. Neither the time nor the circumstances are right to make the huge financial investment needed to see the matter through. A Gemini has romance on the mind.
SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) You could soon face a fascinating dilemma: Do you continue seeing a very special person who is currently in your life or renew a relationship with another person who will suddenly return from your past?
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Financial problems need your attention. It’s a good idea to cut back on unnecessary expenses until these money matters are under control. Then go out and have a great time!
CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) What you may now see as a good reason to end a relationship could turn out to be based more on supposition than substance. Don’t make any rash decisions.
AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Change is the watchword for this week. Some Aquarians will be moving to new places while others will be taking new career paths. Steer clear of a family dispute.
PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Be prepared for a romantic disappointment to become a fading memory with the arrival of a new love -- possibly a Gemini. Meanwhile, talk to someone you trust about developing your idea into a marketable product.
BORN THIS WEEK: You have a high regard for loyalty. You give it freely, and you expect it to be returned. You never flinch from making a decision, even if it involves much agitation and soul-searching.
LIFESTYLE PUZZLES
SUDOKU
BY LINDA THISTLE
TRIVIA TEST
BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ
1. TELEVISION: What is the name of the spaceship on the TV drama “Firefly”?
2. GEOGRAPHY: What is the only tropical rainforest in the United States?
3. LITERATURE: What is the title of author Oscar Wilde’s only complete novel?
4. MOVIES: What is the name of the killer in the movie “Silence of the Lambs”?
5. SCIENCE: What are the three branches of science?
6. AD SLOGANS: Which fast-food chain’s slogan is, “What you crave”?
7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: How many NFL teams are named after animals (including birds)?
8. U.S. STATES: In which state is the U.S. Naval Academy located?
CROSSWORD
PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.
9. ASTRONOMY: How many constellations are visible from Earth?
10. ART: What is the Japanese art of arranging flowers called?
Cümulo and the growing market for cannabis-infused beverages
BY AERIN SPRUILL
If you’ve kept up with my nightlife diary here in the Queen City, you probably guffawed when I wrote about my experience as a lush entertaining a *Wa-kinda* sober lifestyle laced with cannabis-infused alternatives.
To my naysayers, I say, “The cards of FOMO, small-talkphobia, and a palate for debauchery were stacked against me but, ‘We did it, Joe!‘”
Two weeks into Dry-Ish January — aka Moist January, or “Dry Mouth January” by boo’s hair stylist — I had settled into peak “high” snobiety: sinking into the couch in oversized sweats, eating my weight in pizza, streaming nonstop movies and TV, and redecorating.
By the time I started paying to play Merge Hotel on my phone, it was clear, I was perfectly content in my self-imposed exile. Be “2020 outside” in 2025? You a lie. But then bae hit me with a nostalgic switch-up: Hattie’s Tap and Tavern. Yes, I called to confirm they had some liquid “green” courage before forfeiting my solitude for a potentially disruptive social experience … sober.
While it had been awhile since our last meeting, I always remember Hattie’s parking lot was deceivingly small, especially when you’re the one looking for a spot. Sometimes that meant it was good and busy, which still read “approachable dive” — social interactions at medium rare and “minding your Ps and Qs” on full blast.
Other times it meant perfectly spaced bite-sized parties tying one on, but also driving it after.
But this particular Thursday, as we pulled into the only spot I could discern, I glanced over to see someone checking IDs — a sure sign that whatever lay beyond the door was anything but laid back.
I hesitated for a moment, frozen like an awkward deer in the headlights of the entryway. The sensory overload that was off-key karaoke, tumbling laughter, and loud music spilled into the lot tempting me with a good time … back at home.
*Cue Jordin Sparks’ TikTok-famous “heel click” intro to “One Step at a Time” as she turns on her heel, not looking back. And just like that, she lived happily ever after.* Snap back to reality, oh there goes bae’s gravity as he shoots me a similarly bewildered look but making more decisive advances toward the entrance.
To my surprise, the majority of the perceived mayhem was contained at the front of the room, clustered around the stage. This left us a cozy refuge in the back, where
the twinkling console game screens offer the perfect backdrop; the only wild card was a loud speaker blasting music, and the bar is just a hop, skip and a jump away.
Austin Eastciders, Strongbow, and … plant-based bevvies. “Gangs all here!” Accepting my anxiety has a flair for the dramatic, I let myself relax, only to be swept up by the theatrical showmanship of an observably shy Benny Blanco type sporting a curly fro, a vintage-looking Chevron jacket, and a scarf tied around his neck.
He launched into David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” complete with floor routine and a solid voice that, as far as I could tell, seemingly and effortlessly mimicked Roth’s ability to balance parody and pure stage presence.
For the entire six-minute 1985 hit, everyone in the room was pulled into his orbit like a late-night Vegas lounge act no one expected but everyone suddenly needed. Or were we all just on the sauce?
I looked over at bae, unamused and unbothered by the Broadway performance I was witnessing, but fixated on the bright lights of his laptop, on which he was burning
the late-night oil. I looked down at the can of Resident Culture’s Cümulo, a hemp-derived craft sparkling water, as if it was to blame for my being extra. After all, I’d opted for the heavyweight option.
Cümulo comes in three flavors and four concentration levels of natural hemp-derived Delta-9 THC and CBD: 2.5mg THC/5mg CBD; 5mg THC/10mg CBD; 10mg THC/20mg CBD; and one big boy that packs a punch with 30 mg CMD/60 mg CBD. Each selection includes 200 mg of L-Theanine, a calming amino acid. I got five (milligrams) on it!
Just when my paranoia began its “long-term health effects of cannabis drinks” spiral, I noticed a QR code on the can that read, “LAB TESTED SCAN FOR RESULTS,” which led to a Google Drive folder where you can view the Certificate of Analysis for each batch. A win for transparency.
Boo and I tried Cümulo for the first time on a much overdue return to Resident Culture’s Plaza Midwood location in search of alcohol-free alternatives. Little did I know we’d be trying the very first cannabis-infused drink to hit North Carolina, or that it was brewed in house, or that it was released in 2023! No wonder the branding felt effortless, ethereal and educational all at once.
Two years later and I’m seeing Cümulo everywhere — behind the bars of laidback hangs like Hattie’s, in bottle shops like Sip City and Common Market, alongside other NA sips to wet your whistle at cocktail bars.
My only words of advice: Proceed with caution, do your research, recognize like all cannabis creations and THC alternatives aren’t cheap ($8-$13 per can at most places).
And, last but absolutely not least, do NOT drink more than 30mg in one sitting if it’s your first time giving them a try. INFO@QCNERVE.COM
SAVAGE LOVE QUICKIES
Life’s not fair
BY DAN SAVAGE
It turns me on when my husband fucks other men. It pisses him off when I do. His proposed “fix” is he gets to fuck other men (because I like it) but I don’t get to fuck other men (because he hates it). This hardly seems fair.
If things being unfair turned you on — if the idea of being in a one-sided open relationship made your cock hard — you might be able to make this work. But unfairness doesn’t turn you on, so you can’t make this work. I don’t mean you can’t make your marriage work, I mean your husband’s proposed “fix” won’t work because you aren’t a cuck. So, your options are a mutual agreement to close your relationship (no one gets to fuck other men) or agreeing to a one-sided DADT relationship (he doesn’t hide fucking other men from you, you hide fucking other men from him). Your husband getting the fuck over himself is also an option.
How do I get my libido back after my house burned down in the LA fires?
“You don’t get your libido back — at least not yet,” said Claire Perelman, a certified sex therapist who lives and works in California. “You sit in the grief, you let it wash over you. When you’re ready, you turn towards pleasure and comfort, however you find it — naked cuddling, drawing yourself a bath, sensual touch. You can even invite grief into your bedroom: a threesome with you, your partner, and despair. Acknowledging the pain is the first step in moving through it.”
Follow Claire Perelman on Instagram and Threads @ sexclarified.
Tips or tricks for orgasms on SSRIs?
Throw absolutely everything you’ve got at it — genital stim, nipple stim, anal stim, brain stim (aka dirty talk) inert toys, vibrating toys — and enjoy the ride/ getting ridden whether you have an orgasm or not. If you feel yourself getting close, push a little. If you don’t feel like you’re gonna get there, appreciate the pleasure you created and experienced instead of succumbing to frustration over the orgasm you didn’t have this time but might next time. (Also, talk to your doc about adjusting your medications.)
What’s the craziest sex you’ve ever had?
Bent over in an East German guard tower on November 12, 1989, looking down through the orange-tinted
mirrored glass windows at the delirious crowd of Berliners tearing The Wall apart with their bare hands.
How can I have sex when my 18-year-old stepdaughter is home? It makes my boyfriend uneasy!
Instead of going without when your stepdaughter is around why not go and get in your car or go lock yourself in the bathroom of a sleazy bar or go climb into an abandoned East German guard tower and have sex there? Then instead of resenting your boyfriend’s daughter for preventing you from having sex, you’ll be grateful to this kid — secretly grateful — for all the exciting, crazy, adventurous sex you’re having all over town with her dad.
What’s the best way to let a new partner know I’m inexperienced in the bedroom?
You can show ‘em or you can tell ‘em. And since there’s nothing more deflating than the look on someone’s face as they slowly realize you don’t know what you’re doing, telling is by far the better choice. Remember: Low expectations are easily exceeded.
My boyfriend expressed interest in butt stuff while drunk but denied it when sober. Should I drop it?
Make sure there’s always beer in the fridge and trust that your boyfriend will bring up butt stuff when he’s ready/drunk.
Do you need to disclose that you slept with someone that used to have HPV? No.
Do guys come fast on purpose if they’re not attracted to the person they’re having sex with?
I get at least one letter a day from a woman — and it’s always a woman — who’s worried that her boyfriend isn’t attracted to her because he couldn’t get hard or he took a boner pill or he takes too long to come. Maybe instead of adding something to the long list of things women who fuck dudes feel insecure about, we should encourage women to assume that guys who wanna fuck them are attracted to them.
Wife and I have been poly for about four months now. She doesn’t want to meet my new partner. Help!
Help for Wife: You’re under no obligation to meet your husband’s new partner — and that goes double if you’re poly under duress. (I’m making assumptions here, I realize, and if this doesn’t apply in your case, please disregard.) You don’t have to make nice with your husband’s new partner to alleviate the guilt he feels about the “open or over” ultimatum he issued. When you’re ready to meet your husband’s new partner, you can. If you’re never ready to meet her, you don’t have to.
Help for Husband: If your new partner is giving you grief because she hasn’t met your wife yet, your new partner — consciously or subconsciously — is trying to sabotage your marriage.
Help for New Partner: If you’re demanding to meet with your new partner’s wife before she’s ready, you need to drop it. If your new partner is trying to force this meeting on his wife, you need to drop him.
I’m a cishet 40-year-old single woman who dates using apps. I am overweight, and I have full-body photos on my dating app profiles that show this. However, so many people only look at the first photo, which is of my face. I had a guy come over for a hookup the other day, and two minutes into sex, he stopped because he wasn’t into it, implying my weight was an issue. This bruised my ego, and I’m hoping to prevent it from happening again. How do I smoothly ascertain whether someone knows I’m overweight on a dating app before agreeing to meet up?
“Just wanted to make sure you looked at all my pictures and not just my face pic before we meet up.”
Should doxyPEP be taken after condomless oral sex?
Do we need to qualify oral sex with “condomless” since no one has ever used a condom during oral sex — except me but only that one time? Anyway, doxyPEP is a medication taken after sex that offers significant protection against chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and other bacterial STIs, all of which can be spread through oral sex. So, doxyPEP is recommended — for gay and bi men — after oral. And given how things are going in this country (the CDC’s information page on doxyPEP is “being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders”), gay and bi men might wanna stock up on doxyPEP while we can.
Do you think that medical professionals posting memes/photos of “foreign objects in the rectum” is kink shaming?
If losing a light bulb in your ass and winding up in the ER is your kink, the medical professionals who have to fish out that light bulb have every right to kink shame your ass.
I’m a semi-hot, well-preserved straight woman aged 70, married, and I went out and found an exquisite lover. I’ve been lonely in my marriage longer than I can remember. My lover is in a similar
situation. I feel like I live between two worlds. I’ve always admired and learned from your caring common sense, and I’d like to know if you might recommend therapy to help me figure out how to live from here on.
“Like this letter writer, I came alive in the throes of an affair,” said author and essayist Rebecca Woolf. “So, while I think therapy might benefit her, it sounds like this affair has been more therapeutic than anything else could possibly be. So, to the letter writer I would say this: Your pleasure, your vitality, your life force matters — as does its relationship to your loneliness, so if you choose to work with a therapist to help you navigate this moment, please make sure you find someone who will validate your exploration as well as your departure from the loneliness you have felt in your marriage. Sending you love, validation, and solidarity.”
Follow Rebecca Woolf on Instagram and Threads @ RebeccaWooolf and subscribe to The Braid, Woolf’s newsletter, at rebeccawoolf.substack.com.
Vanilla straight 25-year-old cis woman here whose boyfriend of almost six months just confessed that he’s into being peed on. I think that’s disgusting and I’m not doing it for him and I don’t want anyone else peeing on him either. He’s agreed to give this up for me. Will that work?
Your boyfriend did not confess — kinks are not sins and consensual kink is not a crime — he disclosed his kinks before things got too serious, which was the right thing to do. If you’re repulsed by his kink and require monogamy, choosing to be with you means your boyfriend won’t get to act on his kink. But if being with you means being made to feel terrible about himself — if you’re going to heap disgust and shame on him — your boyfriend is eventually gonna choose being single (and not being made to feel terrible about himself all the time) over being with you.
P.S. We don’t choose our kinks, our kinks choose us — and after a pitcher of beer, piss is just hot water.
Do cis men — gay or not — ever use a Hitachistyle “wand” vibrator on the prostate or is it too intense?
I’ve seen them do it with my very own eyes.
If my boyfriend’s husband isn’t my type, should I feel okay declining a threesome request?
If your boyfriend and his husband were “we only play together” types, you would’ve had a threesome with them already. If fucking boyfriend’s husband wasn’t a requirement at the start, I don’t think you’re obligated to start fucking your boyfriend’s husband now.
What’s the best way to prepare for rimming or being rimmed?
Emotionally? Let go of anal hangups. Physically? “Let’s go and take a shower.”
