World Music in Durham
This report was written by Angel Romero.
Durham is the fourth largest city in North Carolina and is the most diverse of all the cities that form a metropolitan area in North Carolina known as the Triangle. It is also home of the famous Research Triangle Park, a research center with numerous high tech and biomedical companies. In 2007, Forbes Magazine named Durham as 8th best place to live and work.
Durham is in the process of revitalizing its downtown area and has a serious long term cultural development program, which includes a new performing arts center that will be completed in 2008. With its renovated tobacco buildings, two major universities (Duke University and NCCU), and the Research Triangle Park, Durham is an important cultural center in the New South.
The larger region is known as the Piedmont. Piedmont blues is the most characteristic type of roots music in the area. There are also numerous bluegrass bands attracted by Durham's Sugar Hill Records.
Many well known musicians have made Durham their home, including jazz musicians Branford Marsalis and Neenah Freelon, Malian kora master Mamadou Diabate, blues musician John Dee Holeman, and many more.
Record stores
Music Explorium/Electric Violin Shop, in Durham, sells primarily musical instruments, but it also carries a decent selection of world music. 5314 Hwy 55, Suite 102, Durham. Phone: +1 (919) 484-9090.
Gone are many of the great independent record stores. Nevertheless, Offbeat Music has a good selection of world music titles. The store is located on the courtyard of the historical Brightleaf Square Mall. Brightleaf Square Mall, Durham, NC 27701. Phone: +1-919-688-7022.
For used CDs, LPs and books, Nice Price Books is a great place. They carry world, reggae and other genres. It is located at 811 Broad Street in Durham, Phone: (919) 416-1066. They also have stores in nearby Carrboro and Raleigh.
For Latin music, Valencia Records, on Guess Road (Durham), carries a great selection. You can also go to the Buckhorn Flea Market (farmer's market and flea market), in Orange County, near the Alamance County border. It is also known by the local Hispanic population as La Pulga. Many booths are owned by Hispanics and some sell Mexican grupero music, as well as norteño, corridos, and reggaeton. Follow Interstates 40 West/85 South and get off at exit 157. The entrance is about 200 meters south of the stop sign. Open Saturdays and Sundays, 6 am - 6 pm. Address: Buckhorn Market 508 Buckhorn Rd., Mebane.
Live music
Friends of World Music, Pine Cone and the Triangle Folk Music Society sponsor or co-sponsor world music and traditional American music concerts at various venues, including several in Durham.
Duke University has an excellent world music series called Living Traditions. It features renowned international music and dance artists.
The African-American Hayti Heritage Center, in Durham, programs jazz, Gospel, blues and world music.
American Tobacco Amphitheatre presents bluegrass, folk and other styles at the beautiful American Tobacco Historic District located on Blackwell Street in the heart of Downtown Durham.
West Village features the Warehouse Blues Series. West Village is off Morgan Street - near Tosca's restaurant in downtown Durham.
Brightleaf Square Courtyard.
Festivals
An important blues festival is held annually in September in Durham, the Bull Durham Blues Festival. E-mail: info@hayti.org
A Taste of Durham combines great fod with music. The festival is held at the end of May and it usually includes roots music acts, including world music.
Festival for the Eno is an annual festival featuring folk, blues, world music and other types of roots music, as well as arts and crafts. It is a fundraiser to buy land to protect and expand the Eno River park. It is normally held during the 4th of July holidays. E-mail: festival@enoriver.org
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival is held annually in October in Silk Hope, North Carolina (Chatham County, south of Chapel Hill). The event includes American roots music and world music.
The Durham Music and Dance Festival is held in March. It includes blues, jazz, Latin, world music, Zydeco and other styles. It is normally held in an downtown Durham, in the Durham Armory. Phone: (919) 245-0822.
The Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival is a free, family event showcasing local and regional musical talent and celebrating Durham's cultural diversity. Festival-goers enjoy hip-hop, jazz, blues, Latin, Caribbean, R&B, and gospel music, in addition to hands-on children's activities, a community resource area, a Bimbé crafts bazaar, and an eclectic mix of food. E-mail: Shaunda.Darden@durhamnc.gov.
Centerfest is an annual arts festival in downtown Durham. It presents concerts, which sometimes include bluegrass, Latin and world music. E-mail: centerfest@durhamarts.org
Radio
- WXDU 88.7 FM, in Durham, doesn't have a powerful signal, but it offers more variety than most of the other public and college stations, including world music, traditional music and blues programming.
- WNCU 90.7 FM, in Durham, is primarily a jazz station. It has a blues show on Mondays. On weekends you can listen to Gospel, reggae and Latin music.
- WSHA 88.9 FM, In Raleigh, plays jazz, blues, African music, Gospel, reggae, R&B and Latin music.
- WXYC, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student-run radio, doesn't have a format. World music can be heard at times, combined with anything else.
- The WUNC 91.5 FM public radio station in Chapel Hill can be heard in nearly half of the state. It broadcasts the syndicated Celtic music show The Thistle and Shamrock and has a locally produced show called Back Porch Music during Friday evenings and weekends. It used to include world music, but later it removed it and now plays primarily American and English folk, bluegrass, Celtic music and Nordic (European) music.
Instruments
Music Explorium/Electric Violin Shop, in Durham, sells a wide selection of musical instruments, including electric violins, African drums, African and Latin percussion, wind instruments, etc. 5314 Hwy 55, Suite 102, Durham. Phone: +1 (919) 484-9090.
Instrument Makers
Gadow Guitars makes handcrafted electric guitar and basses. Address: 718 Ninth Street, Durham, NC 27712, USA. Phone: + 1(919) 286-9909. E-mail:
john at gadowguitars.com.
Mailing list for world music
There is an e-mail list available for people in the Triangle and nearby areas that are interested in upcoming world and Latin music shows. To subscribe send an email to skorch@skorch.com with the following information:
- subject "subscribe"
- your name and email address
- how you heard of the World Music Email List (in this case: World Music Central)
- to which list you wish to subscribe (any world music, or Latin American only, or Celtic/English Only).
Publications
Independent Weekly is the local alternative newspaper and entertainment guide. It merged with the Spectator, which was the rival publication.
Dance
- Flamenco fans can take dance classes at Carlota Santana's school, which recently opened its second office in Bahama, Durham County. Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, 105 Vista del Rio Drive, P.O. Box 151. Bahama, NC 27503-0151, Phone: +1 919 479-9940.
- For salsa music, there is the Montas International Lounge, a private gathering place for its members and their guests, in Durham at the Research Triangle Park.
- Tangophilia provides Argentine tango classes. Phone: (919) 423-7681.
- La Maraka, on Hillsborough Road offers salsa, R&B and Mexican music.
Schools/Music Education
Film festivals
Durham is the home of two important film festivals: Full Frame Film Festival, which focuses of documentaries. E-mail info@fullframefestival.org; and the Black Diaspora Film Festival. E-mail info@hayti.org.
Housing
Durham has many options. If you like to live in bohemian neighborhoods, near local stores, bike lanes, some sidewalks, artists, professors, and people from various cultures, there are some great neighborhoods. The most coveted are Watts-Hillandale, Trinity Park, Northgate Park and Old West Durham, all near Duke University. Unfortunately, prices have gone up and homes are not as affordable as they used to be. Two similar neighborhoods located next to the above are still affordable: Colonial Village (where World Music Central is located) and Old North Durham. Most of these neighborhoods are near the Greenway, a bike path that crosses the city north to south.
Downtown is experiencing a revitalization and there will be many condos available. Because of the prices advertised, they will only be within reach of people with deep pockets.
If you like suburban-style living and relying on cars to go anywhere, Woodcroft is a great place, although not cheap, with many trails and bike lanes.
Bicycling
Durham has built a large network of bike trails. The most famous is the American Tobacco Trail, which runs up to interstate I-40. There is an approved budget to build a bridge to connect with the other side. eventually, it will connect with trails in Wake and Chatham countries. The Greenway is a bike trail cuts through North and Central Durham, ending in downtown.
The Durham Bike Co-op (DBC) is a collective bicycle workspace that seeks to act as a hub for positive community development and interaction through bicycle skills-sharing. The Durham Bike Co-op is located at 723 N. Mangum St., which is located in Durham's historic Little Five Points neighborhood.
Nearby cities
World Music Central has guides to other nearby cities in the same metropolitan area, such as Raleigh, Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Cary.
Fair trade stores:
One World Market is Durham's only non-profit store devoted exclusively to the mission of fair trade. 8111 Ninth St., Durham.
Durham sites:
Last Updated 03/19/2007 06:51AM; 6,124 Hits 
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