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hi Happy weekend.
As you may have heard, Rhiannon Giddens is bringing Biscuits & Banjos, a new festival with an old story, to Durham city center in April.
The three-day festival will reunite The Carolina Chocolate Drops – CCD member Dom Flemons teased the reunion recently (!) with a photo of INDIThe newly formed group’s 2005 cover story, as well as artists such as Taj Mahal, Leila McCalla, Risi Palmer and more. Programming for the biscuit portion of the festival so far promises “biscuit baking by a celebrity chef.”
Downtown Durham doesn’t boast a strong festival culture like Raleigh, which has Hopscotch and Dreamville and is struggling in that gap — Moogfest and Art of Cool didn’t last, Full Frame went on a multi-year hiatus (though it’s back this year and will be back next April!), and other festival endeavors were downright shady.
Biscuits & Banjos, however, has star power, strong support from the city and venues like DPAC, and Rhiannon Giddens, who writes in the press release that Durham has a “vibrant community, incredible arts scene and history that aligns with the festival’s mission to uplift and honor black culture.”
By the way, the election is eleven days away (as if anyone could forget!). We have a comprehensive reader voting package here, including endorsements, candidate questionnaires and lots of reports. Stay tuned for our live blog on election night and please don’t forget to vote.
Photo of Rhiannon Giddens from the archives. Photo by Justin Cook.
elsewhere in the culture section
A conversation with Durham journalist Bill Adair about his new book about lying in politics (and yes, why Republicans are doing it more now) and with North Carolina author Elizabeth Lindsay Rogers about her new collection of essays on “place, power, and performance culture “.
Finally, the news break you’ve all been waiting for: an announcement from Durham Parks and Recreation’s annual Haunted Clown Walk along the Eno.
ICYMI: Kamala Harris mural in Durham.
out and around in the triangle
Last week, Justin Laidlaw wrote about artist Cheryl Roland’s Nasher exhibition, which reflects on wrongful imprisonment. Now there’s another good reason to visit the museum: an Ernie Barnes painting, Two Shots, is on display, “a unique picture of a pool hall that makes multiple references to Durham in posters on the wall.”
Barnes, as you may recall, is the Durham artist behind “Sugar Shack,” the iconic dance hall painting that sold for a record $15.3 million in 2022 (“I stole it—I would have paid a lot more,” the buyer said to times after the sale. “For some parts of America, it’s better known than the Mona Lisa.”)
Merge Records was inducted into the NC Music Hall of Fame. A big benefit for WNC will be held on Sunday featuring the Old Crowe Medicine Show, Fancy Gap, BJ Barham and more.
Food highlights: Akatun, the new Durham cafe by day and restaurant by night from Oscar Diaz, has opened and is “inspired by the water-filled caves around Tulum Mexico,” according to this review from News and Observer. Raleigh has a new Italian restaurant and ramen bar, and its newest bar, divey Stella, opens tomorrow.
Several fall art events: Festifall Arts Markets are taking place in Chapel Hill the next two weekends, and Carrboro restaurants and bars are raising funds for the new ArtsCenter through Artstober. Raleigh’s First Friday event next week celebrates a vibrant new mural by Mary Carter Taub.
out and about the world
To be honest, all I’ve been reading lately is worrying international and election news. But here are some links: Laura Marling’s new record is wonderful. Hurricane Helen: The Sorrow of the Seed Saver and The Ballad of Jim. That long A New Yorker diving into the world of a rare book dealer is a classic. Memory of Gary Indiana. One of my favorite Rhiannon Giddens songs.
— Sarah Edwards —
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