Story by Hal Goodtree. Photos by Brooke Meyer.

Cary, NC – Last week, the B-52s headlined a Band Together benefit at Booth Amphitheatre that raised $552,000 for charity.

Band Together at Booth Amphitheatre

From Band Together:

Nearly 4,000 music lovers came together for good music, good times and a good cause at Band Together NC’s annual charity concert on May 12 at Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre. Iconic cosmic rockers The-B-52s, also known as the World’s Greatest Party Band, headlined this year’s event which raised $552,000 for Urban Ministries of Wake County. All proceeds from the May 12 event go to fund Urban Ministry’s Open Door Clinic, which aims to provide physician visits, prescriptions and lab work for many of Wake County’s uninsured residents battling poverty.

This year marked record highs for the annual event, which featured headliner The B-52s along with regional favorites Southern Culture on the Skids and BIG Something, winner of Band Together’s 2012 Last Band Standing competition. Event highlights from this year included:

• $552,000 raised in 2012 – most money ever raised for a nonprofit partner
• Almost 4,000 attendees
• More than 190 sponsors
• Nearly $25,000 raised through a special silent auction, “wine grab,” autographed guitar raffle and text-to-donate option
• Almost 1,300 VIP attendees, who were treated to premier stage-front viewing, an artists’ village with live painting, a photo booth to capture the evening’s festivities, mobile device text-to-give and online silent auction bidding and a host of other VIP attractions.

Open Door Clinic

The $552,000 raised from this event will help Urban Ministries of Wake County’s Open Door Clinic treat an additional 420 new patients over the next two years, providing all physician visits, lab work and prescriptions. In 2011, the Open Door Clinic provided 7,000 medical visits and filled 52,000 prescriptions to Wake County residents in need.

The Clinic helps keep people healthy, working and better able to support their families. Their services keep patients out of emergency rooms and costly inpatient stays, which can save the community more than $6 million a year.

“In Band Together’s 10 years, we have been able to raise more than $2 million dollars for Triangle-area nonprofits,” said Matt Strickland, executive director of Band Together. “We are grateful for the generosity of businesses and individuals in the Triangle. Without their support, this year’s record-setting sum would not be possible.”

B-52s Rock Cary

Booth Amphitheatre in Cary may be the perfect place to see a concert. It certainly felt that way on Saturday, with perfect weather and an enthusiastic crowd.

The B-52s played for about an hour and a half, rocking the crowd with a set list of favorites:

1. Mesopatamia
2. Private Idaho
3. Lava
4. Give Me Back My Man
5. Funplex
6. Roam
7. 52 Girls
8. Love in the Year 3000
9. Too Much to Think About
10. Hot Corner
11. Whammy Kiss
12. Love Shack
13. Planet Claire (encore)
14. Party Out of Bounds (encore)
15. Rock Lobster (encore)

The B-52s released their first single in 1978. 34 years later, they still had it for their show in Cary.

Sparkling harmonies, call-and-response vocals and tight, danceable tunes – they put on a great show. It was a big sing-along, with the crowd on its collective feet for the entire show.

Fred Schneider still fronts the band, strutting and camping across the stage, engaging the audience and effortlessly blending with the smooth harmonies of Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson.

Keith Strickland, originally the drummer, now handles lead guitar for the band, backed by a small combo of bass, drums and keyboards. For a smallish ensemble, they still generate their signature big wall of sound.

A tongue-in-cheek homage to the Sixties still rings through in the music and the stage show – Kate wore fringe and Cindy sported leopard.

Fred continues to be a force of nature, but Kate’s vocal range and stage presence was the most riveting aspect of the show. Her solos on Roam and 52 Girls fired up the crowd. Her vocalese on Planet Claire and Party Out of Bounds still evokes chills with it’s cosmic inflections. At 64 years of age, Kate is still at her peak as a performer, looking and sounding 20 years younger. Maybe it was the red wig.

Cindy carried the vocals for one of her signature tunes, Give me Back My Man. Her husky voice still has magic and blends easily with Kate to create the iconic B-52s sound.

Southern Culture on the Skids

Southern Culture on the Skids warmed up for the B-52s, playing a long set of their ironic southern rock.

They were a good match for the B-52s, sharing Southerness, humor and songs rooted in strong hooks.

Warm-up bands have a hard task, but the crowd at Booth contained a large contingent of SCOTS fans.

Big Something

The first band on stage was BIG Something, winner of the Band Together talent contest.

Their eclectic funk-rock reminded me of The Dave Matthews Band. Although they were an unknown act to most of the crowd, their performance drew an enthusiastic response and a big ovation when their set was over.

Faces in the Crowd

Half of the fun at Booth Amphitheatre is the crowd. All photos by Brooke Meyer.

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Music coverage on CaryCitizen is sponsored in part by Booth Amphitheatre.

Lindsey Chester edits the CaryCitizen Calendar of Events.

Cary, NC – This week, it’s a music explosion on the CaryCitizen Calendar with the Craig Wollard Band, Cary Concert Singers, Red June at Sertoma and the B-52′s at Booth Amphitheatre. Plus National Train Day. Just another ho-hum weekend in Cary, NC.

May Music-palooza in Cary

We can’t remember a weekend with so many different musical events on the Calendar.

The Craig Wollard Band will bring their beach music sound to the Promenade at Waverly Place on Friday night from 7-10 PM.

Also Friday night, the Concert Singers of Cary and the Cary Children’s Choir will perform in two separate shows in Cary.

The Cary Town Band is playing a free show at Sertoma on Friday night and the Town of Cary has organized polka music downtown for Yankovic Day.

And that’s just Friday.

Saturday, Red June kicks off the summer Pinecone Music Series at Sertoma Amphitheatre. Expect bluegrass and Carolina roots music from this Asheville ensemble.

But it’s safe to say the big party of the weekend will be at Booth Amphitheatre for the Band Together NC Benefit Show headlined by the B-52′s. As they say in Love Shack, “folks lining up outside just to get down.” Tickets are still available.

More details about all these events on the Calendar.

National Train Day

Don’t forget: National Train Day is Saturday morning, 10 AM at the Amtrak Station downtown. Giveaways, entertainment, history and more.

More on the Calendar

29 events this weekend in Cary on the Calendar. Check it out for yourself.

Video: Love Shack

You can also see this video on YouTube.

Cary, NC – Cary is a musical town, home to several adult groups, from Vocal Motion and the Concert Singers of Cary to talented youth groups including the Cary Children’s Choir and Children’s Youth Chorale. This is the time of year to catch a performance.

Concert Singers Perform at the Cary Arts Center

Triangle residents don’t have to travel very far to listen to songs from around the globe. The Concert Singers of Cary will present an evening of world music on May 11^th at 8:00 pm at the Cary Arts Center. The concert is entitled Earthsongs, featuring vocal music from African, African American, India, American Indian, Latin American, South American, Chinese, Japanese, Celtic, and Slavic traditions along with selected instruments of those traditions. Nearly every song is in a different language, proving once again that music is a universal language.

Under the direction of Lawrence Speakman, The Concert Singers of Cary is a 150 voice volunteer choral organization of accomplished vocal musicians.

“This concert has a special meaning to us all,” said Speakman, “because the ability to communicate with people of various cultures is more important than ever. Music is one way to do that, and we celebrate this in the Earthsongs performance.”

Event Info For Concert Singers

Concert Singers of Cary
Earthsongs
Friday May 11, at 8pm

Cary Arts Center
101 Dry Av.
Cary NC
Cost: $15 for adults and $5.00 for children 12 and under

Tickets available at the Cary Arts Center box office, online or at the door.

Cary Children’s Concert Choir 12th Anniversary Concert

The Cary Children’s Concert Choir will celebrate its 12th year by presenting a free concert featuring entitled “Together We Sing: Hope Peace and Unity” on Friday, May 11th at 7:00 p.m. at the Greenwood Forest Baptist Church (at the corner of Kildaire Farm and Maynard Roads in Cary).

Cary Children’s Concert Choir and Cary Youth Chorale’s May concert will include upbeat and contemplative selections exploring the themes of hope, peace, and unity. In this tenth year after 9/11, the choirs have sung about conflict and remembrance.

A program of the Concert Singers of Cary, the youth choral program will also feature its middle school aged chorus (Cary Youth Chorale) for grades 6 – 9. The evening will feature both choirs performing separately and together.

Interested in learning more about this youth group? The staff of C4 is passionate about one thing – offering the best experience possible for our community’s young musicians so that they develop a love of music that will last long after they are grown. C4 offers two semesters per year and is open to children in grades three through six. C4 performs a major concert per semester and several smaller performances as well.

The Cary Children’s Concert Choir is led by Director Roberta Thomason. Ms. Thomason has over 30 years experience as a music educator and choral director. She is an honors graduate of Furman University, with a degree in music education and choral certification at both elementary and secondary levels.

Event Info for Children’s Choir

Cary Children’s Concert Choir
12th Anniversary Show
Friday May 11, 2012
7 PM – 8:30 PM

Greenwood Forest Baptist Church
110 Southeast Maynard Road
Cary, NC 27511

The cost for this show is free.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC- Environmental Art gets life size at Cary’s 19th annual Spring Daze Festival in Bond Park Sat. April 28th from 9 am-5 pm. Environmental sculptor Michael Roy Layne is putting the finishing touches on his “Stoneleaf and Fairy Circle” installation down at the boat house which debuts at the opening of the festival with a lakeside procession.

Stoneleaf and Fairy Circle

The sculpture includes several larger than life fabric mushrooms and smooth rocks that festival goers may help install. Most of the sculpture will remain permanently at the Boat House area, the fabric pieces may be brought out as colorful additions for special events. Layne works with areas that pose an environmental concern (here: drainage and run-off) and creates art that assists in solving the problem, while also enhancing the surroundings.

Earth Day Celebration

Spring Daze traditionally occurs at Bond Park and the outdoor theme ties in with the Town’s annual celebration of Earth Day (which this year occurred the week prior). Environmental themes will be seen throughout the event. In the Story Teller area at Buehler Shelter, hear all about composting.

Hop aboard the Town’s hybrid trash truck. Check out the WakeMed Cary Fitness Trail and get your fitness passport stamped.

Vote for your favorite Heart Healthy concessionaire. Food trucks serving up the healthiest fare will be awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize ceramic pieces made by Cary Art Center’s Ceramicist Andi Dees.

Art of Course!

There will be over 180 artist booths to visit throughout the park. The Children’s Village returns again to the Lazy Daze Playground area at the center of the park. Many fun child friendly activities are planned including make and take “Bond Park Fish”, “Spring Daze Kites” and contact paper mosaics. Volunteers will help children with their creations which are free to the public.

The Artist Demonstration area has enlarged this year and includes the Cary Clay Cooperative, Fine Arts League of Cary and the Gifted Hands of Cary Embroiderers Guild. The Cary Jaycees will be announcing the winners of their annual photo contest over by the Boat House.

For the map of all things Spring Daze click here

Ride For Free

Worried about parking? With tight quarters and plenty of visitors parking and maneuvering your car can get tricky in Bond Park. The Town is operating C-Tran on a normal schedule – riders to the festival can ride for free. There is also a FREE shuttle that leaves from Downtown Cary (at 101 Wilkenson Avenue beside Town Hall) to take festival goers straight to Bond Park. Shuttles will run every 15-20 minutes between 8:30am- 5:30pm

OR Walk: With the new Greenway connectors linking up the Black Creek Greenway and White Oak Creek Greenway many subdivision dwellers can make it to the park without driving their cars, or even walking on a street. I’m spoiled, I live in a subdivision that backs onto the White Oak Greenway. For years I have biked or walked to the Spring Daze Festival.

We’ll Be There Too

Look for Hal Goodtree (CaryCitizen Publisher) and his band, A Fifth of Blues at the stage near the ballfields. They play twice, first at 10:15 am and again around 1:00 pm. He may need a cold drink! Stop by and say “Hey.”

I will be over in Cultural Arts Row with the Non-Profit groups early from 8-10am passing our info about the upcoming Downtown Cary Children’s Museum that we’d like to see built. Stop by and grab some info, or make a donation if you can!

See you at Spring Daze!

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Community coverage on CaryCitizen is sponsored in part by Studio 180 Salon in Downtown Cary.

Lindsey Chester edits the CaryCitizen Calendar of Events. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – April in Cary is a splendid thing, with scores of events on the Cary Citizen Calendar. This week, we’re highlighting strawberries, grapes and the blues.

Strawberry Season – Get Your Taste

Supermarkets tend to sell strawberries all year. But strawberry season in North Carolina is right now.

And when it comes to fresh, local and delicious, you must try the Pick-Your-Own strawberry field right off Davis Drive at Salem Church Road. It’s called DJs Berry Patch.

It’s as much an experience as it is shopping for food. When we were there last weekend, it seemed like everyone had a camera or a cell phone. The field is pretty vast, and everybody came out carrying buckets of berries, the faces of the children smeared red. Some of the adults, too.

Don’t like to pick your own? DJ’s has ready-picked strawberries along with a fine assortment of fruits and vegetables. DJ’s is open 7 days a week.

Strawberry Picking
Saturday 8 AM – 7 PM
Sunday 12 PM – 7 PM

DJ’s Berry Patch
1223 Salem Church Road
just off Davis Drive
Map

The New Napa – Here in Cary This Weekend

Two years ago, we talked about the New Napa, a community of wineries growing up right here in North Carolina. NC has become one of the fastest growing and best respected wine regions in the entire U.S.

And it’s not just your mother-in-law’s scuppernong and muscadine anymore – it’s Cabernets and Merlots, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. We’re talking vintage wines, barrel blends and bubbly beverages to tantalize any winer-lover’s palette. People pay good money for this wines across the country.

Saturday, you can sample all the best NC’s New Napa has to offer at the Great Grapes Festival at Booth Amphitheatre. 220 wines, 24 wineries, food, entertainment, wine seminars and kids activities headline a full day of fun on the shores of Regency Lake in Cary.

It’s a great opportunity to taste the some of the best wines in the U.S., grown right here at home.

Great Grapes Festival
Saturday, April 21, 2012
11 AM – 7 PM
Booth Amphitheatre
Cary, NC
More Info & Tickets

Saturday Night – A Fifth of Blues

And now, a shameless plug for Hal’s band, A Fifth of Blues. They will be appearing Saturday night at Rally Point in Cary, the second stop on their ten-week Spring tour.

A Fifth of Blues brings the fun back to roadhouse music with Etta James, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf. Put on your dancing shoes and straighten out your wig because it’s going to be a party on the patio this Saturday night at Rally Point.

A Fifth of Blues
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Rally Point
1837 N. Harrison Ave., Cary, NC
Music starts at 8 PM

More Weekend Events in Cary

The Calendar is packed with fun things to do in Cary this weekend, including original theater, live jazz, poetry, a table tennis tournament, two games for the Cary Invasion and much more.

Visit the CaryCitizen Calendar of Events for all your weekend entertainment needs.

Story from staff reports. Photo by King of Monks, design by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Here’s an interesting art contest: All Things in Fours. Cary Visual Art (CVA) is running the contest and the winning entries will be exhibited at the Cross Currents Music Festival this sumer in Cary.

All Things in Fours

As part of the Cross Currents Music Festival, the Lipkind Quartet will be performing on August 4. A quartet, of course is four musicians. The Lipkind Quartet is one of Europe’s leading new ensembles.

The art contest picks up on this theme of fours. Your work could be four musicians/artists, four movements, four colors or any other configuration of four, according to CVA. Conceivably, four of anything.

The blending of art and music also makes sense in the context of a Cross Currents Festival – a mashup of different artistic perspectives and genres.

Application

To apply, visit Cary Visual Art.

Deadline

The deadline for applications has been extended to May 18, 2012.

Visit the application page for more information.

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Downtown Community coverage on CaryCitizen is sponsored in part by Studio 180 Salon in Chocolate Smiles Village on W. Chatham Street.

Cary, NC – Banjo-picking legend Earl Scruggs died yesterday at the age of 88. He was a favorite son of North Carolina and forever changed the music we call bluegrass.

Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs was born in Shelby, North Carolina. He rose to prominence as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys after 1945.

In 1948, Scruggs left the band to start his own outfit with guitarist Lester Flatt. First called the Foggy Mountain Boys, it later  came to be called Flatt & Scruggs.

Scruggs pioneered a three-finger style of banjo picking, now known as Scruggs style, that is a foundation sound of bluegrass.

Perhaps Scruggs best known performance was for television, not radio or records. In 1962, along with Lester Flatt and Jerry Scoggins, Scruggs recorded the theme song for the TV series Beverly Hillbillies. It became an instant hit on the country charts and an instant classic across the world.

Scruggs won a Grammy in 1969, another in 2002 and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2008.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

In this video, Flatt & Scruggs perform Foggy Mountain Breakdown from 1965 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.

You can also see this video on YouTube. With thanks to the Grand Ole Opry.

Cary, NC – The concert season continues to take shape at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary with the addition of “ABBA – The Concert” on Saturday, August 11, 2012. Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 30.

ABBA

For a decade beginning in 1972, ABBA topped the pop charts, selling over 375 million records worldwide. It’s safe to say they are the biggest band to ever come out of Sweden, maybe the biggest band ever from a non-English speaking country. The band’s name is an acronym of its members: Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni. ABBA was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Bigest hits in the U.S. include Waterloo, Dancing Queen and S.O.S. 

Dancing Queen

If you can’t see the video here, you go view it on YouTube.

Show Details

ABBA
Booth Amphitheatre
Cary, NC
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Tickets on Sale This Friday

Tickets for ABBA go on sale this Friday, March 30, 2012 at noon.

For more information, visit BoothAmphitheatre.com.

Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Cary musician Michael Pelz-Sherman works as a programmer but has a PhD in Music. Now he wants to make a jazz album and you can help.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is an online platform where projects get funded and people can be patrons of the arts for just a few dollars.

Projects on Kickstarter run the gamut of human interests, but many are related to the arts.

Now you can help a dad in Cary fund his jazz record project.

Help Fund A Jazz Record

Kickstarter builds funding in any amount. You can give $1 or $1000. Mike’s offering some nice premiums (like a piano lesson) for different levels of funding.

Visit Dr. Mike’s Kickstarter project.

Here’s Michael’s Kickstarter video explaining his project. Give generously and be a patron of the arts!

Cary, NC – Booth Amphitheatre has announced that the B-52s wil headline the line-up for Band Together NC, a benefit on Saturday May 12. 

B-52s Coming to Cary

The B-52s might be America’s most popular party band, with hits including “Rock Lobster,” “Love Shack” and “Private Idaho.”

Complex harmonies, witty lyrics, catchy tunes and a good beat – the B-52s put on a great show.

BTW – What’s B-52s? Why, slang for a big ole’ bouffant hairdo, of course!

Southern Culture on the Skids

Also appearing on the bill is Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS). From the website:

Long the bards of downward mobility, Southern Culture on the Skids have always embodied a sleazy, raucous, good-natured, good-time take on the culture of the South.

Since 1983, when they formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, SCOTS have played their unique hybrid of Americana, surf, R&B, rockabilly, and swamp pop (the band describes their sound as “toe sucking geek rock – kinda weird, but it feels good when you’re doing it”), all the while driving fans into ecstatic, sweat-drenched paroxysms of joy.

Big Something

The opening act is Greensboro band Big Something, winner of Last Band Standing.

Big Something has been compared to Widespread Panic, Springsteen and Rush – hard driving rock with a jazzy edge. The synth, guitar and sax are upfront with a strong beat and drawling lyrics.

Band Together

Band Together raises money for select Triangle non-profits including Urban Ministries, Special Olympics, NC Food Bank and the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Since 2001, they have raised more than $1,478,000.

Event Details

Band Together featuring The B-52s
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Booth Amphitheatre
Cary NC

Get tickets