World Music Guide to Chapel Hill, North Carolina

This report was written by Angel Romero.

Chapel Hill is a trendy college town, with many popular restaurants and music clubs. In recent years, however, the influx of high income homeowners has driven many artists and small business owners to neighboring locations like Carrboro, Pittsboro, Mebane and Durham. That has affected the world music scene. The best venues are now in Carrboro, Durham and Raleigh.

Record stores

For used CDs, LPs and books, Nice Price Books is a great place. They carry world, reggae and other genres. It has a store at 100 Boyd St in neighboring Carrboro, Phone: (919) 929-6222.

For music in Spanish you can go to the nearby 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 Reggaetón. Follow Interstates 40 West/85 South and get off at exit 157. The entrance is 200 meters south of the stop sign. Open Saturdays and Sundays, 6 am - 6 pm. Address: Buckhorn Market 508 Buckhorn Rd., Mebane.

For South Asian (Indian and Pakistani) music, there are two stores in nearby Cary. One is Palika Bazaar, in Chatham Square (Cary). Address: 746 E Chatham St. (near the intersection of Maynard Road), Cary, NC 27511. Phone: (919) 463-0338. There is also Indian Music World located at 1423 S.E. Maynard Road (next to Patel Brothers), Cary, NC 27511. Phone: (919) 388-5789.

Live music

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has an annual performing arts season that includes world music, classical and jazz. Phone: (919) 843-3333.

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, ranging from the North Carolina Museums of Art and History in Raleigh to several of the local universities and the Skylight Exchange book store in Chapel Hill.

Dance clubs with world sounds

Masala Beat Club at Talullas. DJ Marco spins bhangra, bollywood, hiphop, dancehall, Asian electronic and reggaeton with a desi twist at North Carolina's longest running Indian club party. Every month at Talulla's Bollywood videos on bigscreen overhead while you dance. Address: 456 W. Franklin St.  Chapel Hill, NC. Phone: 919.933.1177. More information at www.talullas.com and www.myspace.com/masalabeatclub.

Festivals

The annual Carrboro Music Festival is usually held in September, featuring a wide range of musical styles at over twenty indoor and outdoor stages all over Carrboro.

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.

Radio

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 it only plays American and English folk, bluegrass, Celtic music and Nordic (European) music.

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.

Mailing list

There is an e-mail list available for people in the Chapel Hill-Durham-Raleigh area 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.

Check out the guides for nearby cities in the same metro area: Carrboro, Cary, Durham, and Raleigh.

Last Updated 07/09/2006 06:52AM; 3,196 Hits