Tagged: Music

Country legend Vince Gill plays the Durham Performing Arts Center this Sunday night. After nearly 20 records, 14 Grammys and a truckload of Country Music Association Awards, he's back playing bluegrass again. And Gill tells WUNC's Eric Hodge it feels right to be doing it in North Carolina.

The dB's are back. This week, the legendary band releases Falling off the Sky. It's their first studio album in more than 30 years. The dBs began life in the late 70s in New York after growing up in Winston Salem. After several critically acclaimed records, members of the band went their separate ways -- but the music they recorded continued to influence fellow musicians.

Musician Doc Watson died on Tuesday. The 89 year old guitarist from Deep Gap, North Carolina, had been in a Winston-Salem hospital recovering from a fall and other ailments. Watson was an iconic North Carolina musician, he broke new ground in bluegrass, country and gospel. His legacy has fueled a generation of musicians.

Doc Watson: In the summer of 1934, papa made my first musical instrument, a little five string fretless banjo and he played me a tune on it.

Long before Durham, NC boasted a vibrant indie music scene, the Bull City was home to a thriving soul music community. In the 1960s and 1970s, Durham musicians combined blues, R&B, and gospel styles to help create and foster a unique new sound. Bull City Soul Revival is a collaborative effort of musicians, scholars, and Durhamites to stage a comeback of soul music.