Cover Story
Meet Charlotte’s Next Superstars
As you peruse all the categories in the 2017 Best of Charlotte (by clicking on to the section buttons above), keep this in mind: There’s a reason we chose Game of Thrones as our theme. It’s because we see a culturally diverse world in moral conflict, with millennials reaching for the helm of leadership and…
Charlotte’s First Black Alternative Music Festival Rocked Camp North End
Bla/Alt rocks CLT
The Snowman: Brain freeze
THE SNOWMAN *1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Tomas Alfredson STARS Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson The advance promotional material for The Snowman, the new film based on the international bestselling novel by Jo Nesbø, states that a serial killer in Norway strikes “on the first snow of winter” and the detectives on the case have…
Only the Brave offers a lukewarm experience
ONLY THE BRAVE **1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Joseph Kosinki STARS Josh Brolin, Miles Teller A true-life tale of heroism is the inspiration for Only the Brave, a competent if conventional drama that centers on a team of elite Arizona firefighters known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots. As is often the case with these…
Muslim in Charlotte: Ihsan Al-Zouabi
Last year, CL contributor Lara Americo debuted her photo series “Trans & Queer in the Workplace” in Creative Loafing between August and December. The series was eventually picked up by Huffington Post and served as the basis for Americo’s Chrysalis exhibit at C3 Lab. This year, Americo is highlighting another marginalized and misunderstood population, the…
Girls Trip, Phenomena, Miyazaki films among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) GIRLS TRIP (2017). With a $115 million gross, Girls Trip proved to be one of the few summer hits that wasn’t a sequel and/or didn’t involve superheroes. Preferable to the rough Rough…
Halsey leaps into headliner status
Singer fits the superstar bill at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
Bar Hopping for the ADHD Generation
Think of the first thing you ask or say when you meet someone new and want to get to know them. You’re sitting at your favorite counter waiting for a libation and you see someone walk in the room. You make eyes at one of your friends and they laugh knowing exactly what you’re thinking.…
Readers’ Picks: Consumer Culture
Best New Store CLTCH Best Clothing Store Silverfly Best Local Consignment Shop Buffalo Exchange Best Place to Buy Vintage Sleepy Poet Best Gift Shop Paper Skyscraper Best Shoe Store Black Sheep Skate Shop Best Jewelry Store Custom Jewelry Lab Best Local Fashion Designer STZ Best Vet Long Animal Hospital Best Pet Store Four Dogs Pet…
Critics’ Picks: Consumer Culture
These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes. The year started with Black Sheep’s exclusive release of the amazing “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” Nike collab, and we knew from then on we’d be curing our Trump blues with some retail therapy. Here’s where we spent the most… Best Place to Get Tatted Up…
Readers’ Picks: After Dark
Best Neighborhood Bar Snug Harbor Best Dive Bar Thirsty Beaver Saloon Best New Nightspot Kandy Bar Best Weekly Nightlife Event Snug Harbor, Le Bang Best Beer Selection Salud Beer Shop Best Cocktail Selection Soul Gastrolounge Best Place to Turn Up Snug Harbor Best Craft Tap Selection Flight Best Club DJ Justin Aswell Best Hookah Bar…
Critics’ Picks: After Dark
Whether you’re spending your Saturday day drinking on a patio in Plaza Midwood or you got the club goin’ up on a Tuesday in Uptown, we all need to let our hair down sometimes. Here’s to the bars and hangout spots where we think we had some of the best times of the past year,…
Readers’ Picks: City Life
Best Podcast Margarita Confessionals Best Area to Live Plaza Midwood Best Apartment Complex Skyhouse Uptown Best Church Mission Gathering Church Best Hotel Omni Best Festival Festival in the Park Best Free Event #CLTStartUpSocial Best New Thing Camp North End Best Place to Take Visitors U.S. National Whitewater Center Best Place to Take Your Republican Parents…
Readers’ Picks: Food and Drink
Best New Restaurant Haberdish Best Late-Night Eatery Midnight Diner Best Hangover-Friendly Eatery The Diamond Best Farm-To-Table Restaurant Heirloom Best Restaurant in South End Futo Buta Best Restaurant in NoDa Crepe Cellar Best Restaurant in Plaza Midwood Soul Gastrolounge Best Restaurant in SouthPark Cowfish Best Restaurant in Uptown Sea Level NC Best Wait Staff/Service Crepe Cellar…
Readers’ Picks: Arts and Entertainment
Best Museum Mint Museum Best Art Gallery Twenty-Two Best Exhibit K(no)w Justice, K(no)w Peace Best Display of Public Art McColl Center Best Visual Artist Hannah Coggins Best Performing Artist(s) Satarah Best Theater Company Children’s Theatre of Charlotte Best Actress Dani Burke Best Actor Ryan Stamey Best Theater Show of Past 12 Months ‘American Idiot’ Best…
Critic’s Picks: Arts and Entertainment
The arts is what’s kept us hanging around for the last 30 years, and we’re proud to bring you the best in music, theater and visual arts coverage week in and week out. There are always the standouts, however, and if you’re not familiar with the folks listed in this section, then get acquainted, you…
Critics’ Picks: Food and Drink
Get your arguing pants on, foodies. Here’s the topic we always take the most heat for, so just cool your jets already and hopefully you’ll learn about some spots you haven’t checked out yet. Here’s our favorites in Charlotte’s culinary world… Best Pastry Shop – La Piccola Gabbia Tucked away back behind the new Common…
Millennials Get Medieval on Your Asses
Millennials get a bad rap. Maybe that’s because so many loudmouthed Baby Boomers and GenXers, fearful of losing their positions of power to younger people, are still out there in large numbers, stalking social media like rabid dogs, gnashing their teeth and complaining about how all millennials are “arrogant,” “entitled,” “rude,” “lazy,” “disrespectful of their…
Critics’ Picks: City Life
It’s been a rough year in Charlotte, and the television will have you believing there’s only bad news happening out there. Well, that’s hogwash. The following is our tip of the cap to those fighting for good in our fine city, and a reminder of what we should and shouldn’t be paying attention to. Local…
