The Grammy Awards are this Sunday, Feb. 8. Because the award show itself is insufferable, you can turn to the Playground for our LIVE BLOG of the 51st iteration of the “biggest night in music.” We will guide you through M.I.A.’s performances and the fashion. Tune into the blog starting at approximately 8 p.m. As always, snark guaranteed.
Every year, the (Raleigh) News & Observer publishes its “Great Eight,” highlighting eight local acts to pay attention to in the coming year. This year’s list crosses many genre and ages, listing:
The site includes video, music and info about all the artists. To see it, click here.
Duke’s Campus Concert Series has been garnering some press of late, so we should have posted this calendar a while ago. It’s a mix of campus and local bands but it’s a good way to check out the local sound. All concerts begin at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Armadillo Grill at Duke’s Bryan Center, unless otherwise noted.
Feb. 6 — Rat Jackson, Vodak, the Dirty Little Heathers
Feb. 13 — Fujiyama Roll, Pistil, Virgo 9
Feb. 20 — The Huguenots, the Accident That led me to the world
Feb. 27 — All Your Science, Fictional Detectives, Electric Funeral, David Eisenband
March 21 — Duke/UNC Battle of the Bands (At the Duke Coffeehouse)
March 27 — CCS and Small Town Records Release Party: Panda Force, Luego, Tauri Wind, Wigg Report (At Alivia’s on W. Main Street)
April 2 — Paleface, the Never, Lost in the Trees (at Von Der Heyn Pavilion in Perkins Library)
April 3 – Springternational: Panda Force, Sea Cow, the Fustics (on Bryan Center Plaza)
April 10 — Grappling Hook, Jason Adamo, Magic Babies
April 17 — Beloved Binge, the ExMonkies, Pink Flag, the Tender Fruit
5.4 “The Little Prince”
When’s the next time they get to be this happy? Courtesy tvsquad.com.
At the risk of angering my three devoted readers into hurling wrathful cyber-tomatoes at me, I must admit that I have always been fairly immune to Sawyer’s sardonic bad boy charms. But holy macaroon, I think I was converted somehow during last night’s episode. That almost tangibly raw yearning in the ex-con’s broody gaze as he watched Kate help Claire give birth was so gut-wrenchingly romantic that I found myself wishing I had a Sawyer of my own. (Dibs on this one if Kate and Jack are meant to be after all—doubtful, because he also kind of belongs to me.)
Ahem, so anyway.
That’s the name of a new song from Kurrell Rice aka Toon. And it pretty much describes his disposition on life, despite a history of struggles. He finally started coming into his own between the ages of 18 and 19, he said. Even then though, when he first met his producer and good friend John Harmon, he still had some ground to cover before becoming the artist he is now.
“Honestly, my first opinion of him was—I thought he was corny,” Harmon said. “I like seeing the jokey side of stuff, too, but I also wanted to see the other side. It’s not all jokes. It’s how you portray yourself. That’s what I wanted to see come from him. And over time, that’s what I’ve seen.”
Rice is scheduled to be playing at this year’s LDOC, but when and on what stage have yet to be fully determined. He’s also headlining a show at the MarVell Entertainment Center in downtown Durham, April 1st. Rice believes it’s his live performances that will really help him win over more fans in the future.
“His performances are freaking awesome,” Harmon said. “He just entertains. He jumps on bars, he gets in people’s faces…. The energy—you feel whatever song he’s singing at the time.”
You can check out Toon’s music here. There’s a couple mixtape remixes over some Kanye West beats as well as a rap song over the driving rock song “Seven Nation Army.” It’s this eclectic mix of musical interests and inspirations that make Rice confident he can appeal to a variety of people.
“People should listen to me because anybody can listen to me,” Rice said. “My music comes from both sides of the fence. I don’t make ‘hood music. I don’t make suburban music. I make great music.”
–Matthew Iles
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