Carolina Chocolate Drops releasing 'Leaving Eden' in February

North Carolina's own Carolina Chocolate Drops are set to release the follow-up to their Grammy winning 2010 album Genuine Negro Jig next month.

The new album produced by Buddy Miller is titled Leaving Eden and will be out on February 28 on Nonesuch Records. It will feature 15 songs with the usual mix of traditional tunes, covers and originals. Check out the full track list below (the songwriters are in parenthesis).

The band will be on tour in 2012 which includes a show at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill on Friday, February 3 with Luminescent Orchestrii.Tickets are on sale HERE for $29 to $69.

This week's Local Band Local Beer: Airstrip & Lake and Hennepin

The year is upon us and the free Local Band Local Beers shows at Tir Na Nog in Raleigh keep on rolling.

This week's show, on January 5, features two local bands with familiar members, Airstrip and Lake & Hennepin. Airstrip is the new project of Matthew Park, formerly of Veelee. Lake & Hennepin features Reese McHenry of The Dirty Little Heaters.

Stream or download the songs "Middle of the Night" and "Magician's Assistant" by Airstrip below.

As always, the music starts at about 10 p.m. and the show is 21 and up.

Tool announces winter tour, coming to Charlotte

Heavy prog rock mainstays Tool are hitting the road again this winter and will make their way to North Carolina.

While the band won't be playing the Triangle, they'll stop at the Bojangles Coliseum on Saturday, February 4. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 7 via Ticketmaster for $40 to $65.

The band have reportedly been working on their fifth album for quite a while, but it has yet to surface. Check out the music video for the song "Schism" from their 2001 album Lateralus below.

Cursive announces tour with Cymbals Eat Guitars, coming to Raleigh

Nebraskan band Cursive are gearing up to release their seventh studio album I Am Gemini on February 21 via Saddle Creek Records. A lot of touring will follow the release, including a spring tour with Cymbals Eat Guitars and Conduits.

The tour will stop at Kings Barcade in Raleigh on Saturday, April 7. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, January 6 via Etix for $15.

Stream or download the song "The Sun and the Moon" from I Am Gemini below. You can also stream Cymbals Eat Guitars' latest album Lenses Alien in it's entirety below.

Experience Hendrix Tour announces spring dates, coming to Greensboro

For those who may have missed the all-star tribute to Jimi Hendrix, dubbed Experience Hendrix, when it came to the Durham Performing Arts Center in 2010, never fear, because they're hitting the road again in the spring.

The tour will stop at the War Memorial Auditorium in Greensboro on Wednesday, March 7. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster for $39 to $75.

The new tour features and number of performers featured on the 2010 tour as well as some new faces. The Greensboro lineup includes Billy Cox (of The Band of Gypsies and Jimi Hendrix Experience), Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dweezil Zappa, Brad Whitford (of Aerosmith), The Slide Brothers, Chris Layton (of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble) and Mato of Indigenous.