Cover Story
Will 2017 Be Charlotte Singer-Songwriter LeAnna Eden’s Big Breakthrough?
LeAnna Eden arrived in Charlotte from Milwaukee three years ago, in a relationship that went south and a car that broke down. In a word, she was stuck. But Eden didn’t waste a lot of time spinning her wheels. “I had to sell the car,” the 26-year-old singer-songwriter says. “That was my only transportation and…
The Founder: Decency Trumped
THE FOUNDER *** (out of four) DIRECTED BY John Lee Hancock STARS Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman (For a look at the Best & Worst Films of 2016, go here). Harvey Weinstein, the controversial studio head who’s so skilled at manipulating Oscar voters that he could probably score a Best Actor nomination for that untalented imbecile…
xXx: Return of Xander Cage: No logic required
XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE **1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY D.J. Caruso STARS Ben Affleck, Zoe Saldana Hardcore porn for action junkies, xXx: Return of Xander Cage should also get a rise out of more casual viewers burned out on Oscar bait and looking for a mindless time at the movies. It’s as ridiculous…
LISTEN: ‘Eyes Closed in Prayer’ Documentary on Love, Hate, and the Charleston Church Shooting Premieres Tonight on WFAE
Documentary looks at racial violence, hatred, and the Charleston Emanuel AME Church massacre through the prism of Charlotte residents connected to the tragedy.
The Accountant, The Girl on the Train, Revenge of the Blood Beast among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) THE ACCOUNTANT (2016). Ben Affleck, the strong and silent type when it comes to performances, scores again in this vein as the autistic Chris Wolff, who has directed his abilities as a math…
Weekly Horoscope (Jan. 12 – 18)
For All Signs Mars, the ancient god of war, is in a challenging position to Saturn (the teacher, the rules). Events of this week may harken back to August of 2016, just over 5 months ago. Mars represents going after something or someone we want. It wants to take action without hesitation. Given its arrangement…
Will the QC in 2K17 fight to keep up with a changing climate?
This past weekend I only had one item on my to-do list: check out The Dock, a prohibition-style speakeasy accessed through the loading dock of Charlotte Marriott Center City. The new-ish secret spot was closed last weekend due to weather, so I talked it up all week in anticipation of Saturday — the only day…
LeAnna Eden Event Showcases New Charlotte Artists
LeAnna Eden’s eyes light up when she talks about the artists she’s lined up for her first ‘Session: A Listening Party,’ at Petra’s on Jan. 30. One of Eden’s big missions in Charlotte is to offer a platform for artists who come from neighborhoods far away from the buzz of the front patio at Common…
LeAnna Eden Talks About “The Protest Song”
Le Anna Eden writes all kinds of songs, but at the heart of all her work is justice, best exemplified in the powerful video for her recent track “The Protest Song.” The clip opens on several young black men standing at a graffiti-covered wall. “Don’t give up, so many reasons to cry,” Eden sings. “We…
Josh Vereen of 7th District Waited Patiently for the Right Spot and Got It
Myrtle Beach-native Josh Vereen and his two silent business partners always dreamed of opening a restaraunt in Charlotte specializing in the bold flavors of the Low Country, but when the bid for their ideal location on Church Street was denied, it looked like that dream would come to a halt. Enter realtor Rodney Faulkner, who…
Modern Primitives Play “‘R&B’ — With Some Noisy Guitar Stuff Over the Top”
“People been fed so much bullshit for so fuckin’ long that when they get some real shit, it hits ’em like a goddamn shot of dope.” That’s what Gastonia-born Travis Phillips said in 2012 about the rock ‘n’ roll that Charlotte’s best-kept secret, Modern Primitives, cranks out like raw meat from a grinder. Five years…
Donna Scott Presents Political Satire on Inauguration Day
It starts off like a bad joke,” Donna Scott says. “A conservative lobbyist and a liberal blogger get locked in a hotel room by a beauty queen.” Scott, founder and director of Donna Scott Productions, is revealing a tantalizing teaser of her theater company’s free reading of playwright Lauren Gunderson’s The Taming on Friday, Jan.…
Brian Heffron Has Kept Charlotteans Laughing for Decades, They Just Don’t Know It
Brian Heffron is surrounded by legends, and that’s the way he likes it. The founder of Heffron Talent International and owner of The Comedy Zone Charlotte has built a comedy empire over the last 25 years with his impressive network of connections and friendships in the industry. The network is on display in his AvidXchange…
The Blotter: Think Before You Shoot
Self Protection A police officer was shocked to almost witness a man shoot his wife to death in Cornelius last week, and the man was probably even more shocked to learn what had happened. The man had apparently pulled his motorcycle into an alley in front of his house when he saw a car pull…
Metropolitan Boutique Revamping in 2017
The new year calls for new beginnings, and that’s exactly what’s in store — literally — for Jackie Rodney’s Charlotte boutique formerly known as Lotus. On Saturday, Jan. 21, Rodney will launch a rebranding of her store that includes a new maternally inspired name, Criv, and the unveiling of in-shop renovations in the Metropolitan location.…
CMS to Consider Adopting Renewable Energy Transition as Policy
With a Thursday morning vote held on Jan. 12, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools took a step closer to implementing a major solar initiative expected to save millions of dollars in operating costs. Creative Loafing first reported on the Repower Our Schools coalition in August 2015, at which time the group was in the early stages of trying…
Optimism in a Growing and Diverse Tech Ecosystem
It is easy to divide and analyze the landscape of Charlotte’s technology and entrepreneurship community for all that it is not. For Northerners and/or Westerners like myself hailing from tech meccas like Seattle, San Francisco and New York, finding ourselves in the land of Cheerwine and Bojangles’ biscuits paints the picture of a market not…
