Charlie Parr, Ryan Gustafson & Phil Cook to play special 'fingerpickers' show

Minnesota bluesman Charlie Parr will join local singer-songwriters and guitarists Ryan Gustafson and Phil Cook for a special fingerpickers show in a few weeks in the Triangle. The three musicians will play "round robin" style, meaning that they will be on stage at the same time and take turns playing songs.

The show will happen at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw on Friday, October 10. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketfly for $8.

Check out a clip of Parr and Cook performing the song "Just Like Today" together in Cleveland in 2010 below.

TRKfest 2012 lineup announced, Des Ark, Hammer & more

It wouldn't be summer in the Triangle without Trekky Records' big annual party, TRKfest. Weather permitting, this year's festival will return to Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro on Saturday, July 21 (last year's event was moved to the Haw River Ballroom due to rain).

This year's lineup features a few performances you won't find anywhere else. First is Lost Skulls, a Misfits cover band featuring Ari Picker of Lost in the Trees, Stu McLamb of The Love Language, Nathan Toben of The Toddlers and TJ Maiani of Gross Ghost. They're supposed to be performing in Danzig style, so that will be something to see.

TRKfest announces 2011 lineup, Bowerbirds, Mount Moriah & more

The annual music festival TRKfest, put on by local label Trekky Records, is set to return for it's fourth year on Saturday, August 13. It will be down at Piedmont Biofuels it Pittsboro and as always, feature a slew of local bands.

The initial lineup features Bowerbirds, Mount Moriah, Midtown Dickens, Hammer No More the Fingers, Embarrassing Fruits, Ryan Gustafson, Yardwork, Brice Randall Bickford, Butterflies and Vibrant Green. More bands are still to be announced, and we'll keep you posted as they're added.

Hopscotch Day 2: Ryan Gustafson & Schooner

Hopscotch delivered once again with local musician Ryan Gustafson, who played at The Pour House on Friday night. The former Boxbomb frontman and Durham native played an excellent set that was a great kick-off to another night of music in the capitol city.

As Gustafson took the stage, The Pour House had a decent crowd but still wasn't quite full. That changed within about fifteen minutes, as the club went from decently full to almost packed. The crowd was pretty laid back for the duration of Gustafson's set, but remained fairly enthusiastic as he and his band cranked out some solid southern rock-tinged tunes.

Max Indian brings power pop to Duke Gardens

All photos by Kevin Norris

It was another sticky summer evening on Wednesday, but that didn't keep local band Max Indian from lighting up Duke Gardens with their fantastic pop tunes.

The band, led by Carter Gaj and backed by members of the Drug Horse gang not only played Gaj's fantastic originals including "Free as the Wind," "Oughtaghettacamra" and "Whatever Goes Up," but hit some great covers including Squeeze's "Up the Junction" and The Traveling Wilburys' "Not Alone Anymore."

Locally Grown music & movies series announces line-up

The Locally Grown Rooftop Music and Movies series in Chapel Hill is returning for another season of free music and movies. The event is held every Thursday on top of the Wallace parking deck at 150 E. Franklin St., behind Jack Sprat Cafe and other businesses on Franklin Street.

This year, there will be three concerts and six movies, all kicking off on Thursday, with Southern Culture On the Skids and The Moaners on Thursday, June 24. Other bands performing throughout the summer are The Old Ceremony, Ryan Gustafson, Lost in The Trees and The Physics of Meaning.

Check out the full schedule including the movies below. Check out photos of The Love Language and Lost in The Trees from last year's series here.

TRKfest 2010 announced with Megafaun, Hammer No More the Fingers and more

With summer on it's way, it's about time for the annual TRKfest, put on by the folks at Trekky Records. This is the event's third year and it is at the usual location, Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro. It will take place on Saturday, June 26 and if it happens to rain on that date, the event will be on Sunday, June 27.

This year's line-up includes Megafaun, Hammer No More the Fingers, Mount Moriah and more. Check out the current line-up below, though there will be more performers added later.

Drughorse Collective to launch 3-way EP in Chapel Hill

The group of local bands and musicians that call themselves the Drughorse Collective are gearing up for their first group release. The EP will feature six songs, two new tunes from each band, Max Indian, Ryan Gustafson and The Light Pines. We'll keep you posted on the details as we have them.

We do know that the EP will launch with a show at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on Friday, March 26. Tickets for the show are just $7 and are available now via etix.com. Not a bad deal at all.

The three bands are playing a number of shows together soon. Check out those dates below.