‘Sense of discovery’: Local music venues celebrate diverse genres

Featuring a wide variety of genres — from folk to EDM — the Triangle is an ideal place to discover local artists, established touring groups and everything in between. 

Chapel Hill has been a hub of the folk music scene since the 1960s, and more recently has contributed to the indie and rock scene with groups like The Old Ceremony, Mipso and Ben Folds Five. 

Cat’s Cradle has been quintessential to the growth of the music scene in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. About a mile walk from campus, this venue — which opened in 1969 — has hosted an array of artists such as Nirvana, John Mayer, Iggy Pop and Public Enemy. 

In addition to Cat’s Cradle, venues such as Local 506 and The Cave have emerged in Chapel Hill, focusing on new genres and local artists and providing students with affordable concert options. 

Local 506 is a rock-focused music venue and bar that also has hip-hop and country shows. Rob Walsh, a co-owner and production manager, said that when guests enter the dimly-lit space, they are met with flags and murals of some of his favorite records. 

Since opening in 1992, the venue has hosted many local artists, including UNC student bands. This year they will host several festivals including Jaws Fest starting this Saturday, Hazefest in August and a Horrorfest in October. 

Beyond Chapel Hill, the city of Durham has many notable venues, some being Motorco Music Hall, The Fruit and the newly opened Missy Lanes Assembly Room.

Motorco, which opened in 2009, is a restaurant, bar and performance space located downtown. The venue predominantly books international indie-rock and alternative acts, but has hosted a wide range of shows, including comedy acts and spoken word. 

“I really think that we've done a great job of bringing shows to the area that 20 years ago wouldn't have come through,” Josh Wittman, one of the partners of the venue, said.

He said that Motorco is a thriving music stop for touring artists that draws in audiences from across North Carolina. 

In the coming months, Motorco is excited to be hosting many artists including Murder by Death, Babe Haven, Yellow Days, Mystery Skulls and the punk-rock band, Upchuck.

The youngest showroom in Durham, Missy Lanes Assembly Room, opened in January of this year. The jazz bar is an up and coming space, and it draws from Durham’s rich history of Black and African American diaspora music, Cicely Mitchell, the co-owner and namesake of Missy Lane’s, said.

“I do believe that all the pieces for a thriving jazz community have been here,” she said. “We're the advocates of the music.”

With an intimate setting and jam sessions on Thursday nights, Mitchell said that they bring a New York jazz club vibe to Durham, while also showcasing new, genre-blending artists.

“We try to give a wider spectrum of jazz and really push the boundaries of what people's concept of jazz music might be,” she said.

Since January, they have featured artists like Grammy-winning trumpeter Keyon Harold and The Cosby Show star, Malcolm Jamal Warner.

Located two blocks away from Missy Lane’s, The Fruit is a gritty venue with a theater, gallery warehouse space and techno basement. This basement will soon become an LGBTQ+ bar.

“We cultivate a sense of discovery by having things going on in multiple rooms at a time and allowing people to move within the space,” Sable Sanborn, the booking agent for The Fruit, said.

This summer, it will host frequent EDM concerts, including Gabriel and Dresden on June 8 and Shay De Castro on June 15. 

“[We] try to encourage people to find something new,” Sanborn said. “We like to think of frequent Fruit patrons as people who are very open-minded and like to be challenged by art and music.”

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