On Saturday, two great events will be going down in NoDa. Beer, art, live performances, all with a few minutes walk from each other? FTW!
Some serious ass-kicking is coming to Charlotte ... that is, when the event known as Rock & Rumble blasts into town. The jaw-breaking fun pops off in The Fillmore (over at the N.C. Music Factory) and promises to showcase a number of bouts and a variety of pugilistic performances -- from professional boxing to MMA (you know, mixed martial arts). On top of all that, there will be DJs, aerial artists, dancers and more. For more information, visit www.rocknrumble.com or call 704-987-0612. $35 and up. 7 p.m. The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.
The top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, May 13, as chosen from the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Diverse Thursdays at Dharma Lounge
• Half-Off Thursdays at Village Tavern
• Alive After Five at EpiCentre
• Pat McGee Band at Visulite Theatre
• Sutra Thursdays & AA5 Afterparty at Suite
The top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, May 12, as chosen from the folks at Creative Loafing.
• "Around the World" dessert/beer pairings at Crave Dessert Bar
• Charlotte Young Professionals monthly meeting
• Norah Jones at Ovens Auditorium
• PURE Hula at Halo — Hawaiian party
• Comet Grill's Two Year Anniversary (1/2 off drinks for everyone)
Free? We love free.
From the press release:
Charlotte, NC (May 10, 2010) – As the NRA descends on Charlotte this week for its annual meetings, two of uptown’s most popular destinations are welcoming Association members and area music enthusiasts by hosting a pair of free concerts.The tunes begin Thursday night, May 13, as Whisky River and 103.7 WSOC welcome national recording artist Trent Tomlinson to the Queen City. Tomlinson’s 2006 album Country is my Rock spawned the hits "One Wing in the Fire" and "Just Might Have Her Radio On." His follow-up EP, A Guy Like Me, was released in January.
The following night, local favorites Evelynn Rose bring their blues-inspired southern rock to the Bud Light Sound Stage at Pavilion. The four-man band recently completed a USO Tour performing for troops stationed in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
“I cannot and will never be able to express what a wonderful experience that was,” said Jimmy Jack, drummer for Evelynn Rose. “The fact that we were able to travel across the world to bring a little piece of America to our troops was a gratifying experience.”
In addition, the Charlotte-based rockers are supporters of the NRA (guitarist Chris Black is a member) and look forward to performing just a couple blocks from the meeting Friday night.
More information about Pavilion can be found at www.pavilionatepicentre.com.
To read more about Evelynn Rose's experience overseas, check out this story we ran in Creative Loafing in December.
The top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, May 11, as chosen from the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School with Big Mamma D at Story Slam Charlotte
• Trivia at Lebowski's
• Tune-Up Tuesday at Whisky River
• The Koffin Kats, The Go-Devils at The Milestone
• SIN at On the Roxx Southend
The top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, May 10, as chosen from the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Big D and the Kids Table at Tremont Music Hall
• Beer Dinner at Dandelion Market
• Service Industry Night at Black Bear Saloon
• Monday Funday at Dixie's Tavern
• Bill Hanna's Vintage Dance Band at Grand Central Events
For a while now I’ve felt that Ballantyne is morphing into a mini-Uptown. Last year saw the arrival of Cosmos Café, and this year Libretto’s, the famed pizzeria adjoined to Strike City, has opened shop there, too. But as of yesterday, they added another popular Uptown feature — their own Alive After Five. Ready to unwind after a long day of job hunting, I couldn’t imagine anything better than relaxing to live music ... and honestly, I wanted to know what five o’clock was like in my mini-Uptown.
Within moments of arriving, I already noticed a big difference. Ballantyne caters to a much younger crowd, and no, I don’t mean the 18 and up crowd — I’m talking ages 1-10. When I worked in the EpiCentre, I noticed families were common during the day, but as far as Alive after Five goes, it was rare to see children running around. The Ballantyne event had a mix of every crowd, but the most popular group there was families. As you walked through, children were playing with beach balls and stopping to talk to the Maggie Moo’s mascot. And while I had expected an event reminiscent of what I saw Uptown, it was nice to see moms and dads playing games and laughing with their kids.
Alongside the children, there were some young professionals from the area, but an even greater majority were couples, married and unmarried, out to enjoy the warm weather, a cold beer and some live music.
And the music was perfect for mellowing out. The stage was located toward the back of the shopping complex, close to the Harris Teeter and the Big Daddy’s Burger Bar — which, if you’d rather avoid the crowds of Alive After Five, has an incredible patio for listening to the music.
The entertainment was provided by Coconut Groove, who played a mixture of Jimmy Buffett classics, such as "Margaritaville," and classic rock hits like "Layla" by Eric Clapton. The music really fit the Ballantyne location. With the cool breeze, the clear blue skies, and the relaxing sounds of Coconut Groove, it felt as though stepping through the Alive After Five gates erased any remains of a hectic outside — too bad it was still there after the event was over.
For Ballantyne, the official Alive After Five party was held at the Fox and Hound, versus the buck-wild Whisky River of Uptown. In fact, as soon as you enter the gates, the Fox and Hound girls handed out a flyer for ½ off Appetizers, $3 16oz BL Aluminum bottles, and $2 all draft beers- munchies and beer specials? Can’t beat that, right?
Overall, Ballantyne’s Alive After Five offers a different atmosphere than you would expect from Uptown. In the city, Alive After Five is the kick-off for a crazy night on the town. But Ballantyne hosts an event that brings friends and families together, and also provides for a quick stop between work and home. But whether you revive yourself with the crazy antics of Uptown or the quiet, mellow crowd at Ballantyne, the arrival of a new Alive After Five shows that, uptown or down south, there’s always a five o’clock party somewhere.
The top five nightlife-related events going down tonight, May 7, as chosen from the folks at Creative Loafing.
• First Fridays at Cosmos
• Art, Beats + Lyrics at Centerstage@NoDa
• Social Flockers' Cinco de Quako at Dixie's Tavern
• A Get-Together for the Troops at Neighborhood Theatre
Hip-hop gets the star treatment as Art, Beats + Lyrics pumps back into Charlotte Friday night.
This is the third year that the traveling celebration of beat-and-rhyme-flavored visual art and culture has stopped through the Queen City. So, if you attended the event last year, expect to partake in the same type of engrossing paintings, graffiti, photography, dance performances, DJs and live music (and more) as before. And yes, once again, creations by artists like Dwayne "Dubelyoo" Wright (AB+L's co-producer), Goldi, Charlotte's own God City and many, many more will be adorning walls.
"We've just got a cool template that we're working with," says AB+L founder Jabari Graham. "As they say: If ain't broke, don't try to fix it. We still get the cool vibe from the people and the atmosphere. We just keep it moving."
But as things stay the same, they also change. AB+L is rotating in a new crop of visual art makers and rolling out a number of brand-new, never-before-seen pieces for your ass. The event (which is again sponsored by Gentleman Jack) will also be rocked by music spun by the Q.C.'s lauded DJ Fraser and some surprise live performances that Graham doesn't want to divulge. ("I don't want to put it out there yet," he says evasively.) Oh, and the venue is changed for 2010; instead of the Blake Hotel (the 2009 location), the fun is moving back to Centerstage @ NoDa, which is where AB+L set up shop for its first year. Explaining why they chose to return to NoDa, Graham says: "The venue is tight, parking was great, the people over there were accommodating for us, and it was in a good artsy area. It was cool."
For more info about and to register for Art, Beats + Lyrics, visit www.gentlemanjackabl.com.
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