© Center for the Study of the American South
Music on the Porch 2011-12
Posted 06/15/2011
Music on the Porch is an outdoor music series held four or five times a year at the Center for the Study of the American South. This series brings talented, knowledgeable, and eclectic musicians from around the region together to play and engage in discussion about sense of place, the creative process, and how the rich culture of the South influences music and musicians, with specific attention given to the thriving North Carolina music community. We are pleased to be able to present artists that encompass the breadth of tradition, what southern music was, what it is and what it is evolving into.
All concerts take place at the Center's office, the Love House and Hutchins Forum, which is located at 410 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill. Performances usually take place on Thursday evenings (except for the July 26th event) from 5 - 7 pm and all are free and open to the public. There is limited seating on the porch, but lots of lawn. Bring a blanket, picnic and enjoy an early evening of wonderful music.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Craft of Song in the South with Jonathan Byrd, Caitlin Cary and Matt Douglas
Jonathan Byrd, a seventh generation North Carolinian, recently released "Cackalack." It was recorded live on a sunny afternoon in Toronto, Ontario with no headphones, no listenbacks, no separation, and no overdubs. Having recently made WFMT Midnight Special host Rich Warren's "50 Most Significant Songwriters of the Past 50 Years", Jonathan approached Cackalack with the most ordinary of materials: Chicken wire. Concrete. Roofing tacks. The Outer Banks, where wild ponies still run. And 95 South, a great river of humanity that brings us rolling back south from a hard tour. Cackalack is non-fiction, in other words. Taking us to real, everyday places. Being, rather than seeming.
Caitlin Cary has played the violin and written songs since she was little, but fell into music as a life when she joined the seminal alt.country band Whiskeytown as a student at N.C. State. Since then she has made No Depression Magazine’s top 20 of the decade list with Begonias, an album of duets with Thad Cockrell and released four acclaimed solo albums. Most recently, she release an EP with her newest project, The Small Ponds.
Matt Douglas's graduated as a contemporary music performance major from NYU and then headed to Hungary on a Fulbright scholarship as a student of folk music traditions. It was there that he first picked up a guitar and began to write songs, which led to the formation of innovative pop ensemble The Proclivities. Douglas has also lends his talents to the recordings of artists such as Josh Ritter, Erin McKeown, Mark Erelli, and Laura Cortese.
Moderated by Steve Gardner.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Scorch the Porch with Ryan Cavanaugh and Rex McGee
Ryan Cavanaugh has spent the last 4 years touring the international jazz scene with Bill Evan's Soulgrass. Cavanaugh was a champion of the Merlefest, Rockygrass, and Renofest banjo contests and in '07 released his bluegrass cd "Songs For the New Frontier" and played on 8 tracks of Bill Evans's record "The Other Side of Something". His latest cd is entitled, "Ryan Cavanaugh and No Man's Land." 
Rex McGee has appeared at Cape Breton Celtic Colours festival and the Johnny Keenan banjo festival in Longford, Ireland. He has played Merlefest with the Larry Keel Experience, and performed at Duke University with acclaimed Irish musicians - piper Todd Denman, accordionist Brian O'Connor and fiddler Grainne Murphy. He plays out very infrequently so we are very pleased to have him join us. Rex is also a graduate of The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Moderated by Peter Holsapple.
