Durham called folk rocker Nancy Middleton back home after 11 years in Nashville.
She was born and raised in the Bull City, the punctuation mark at the end of a line of four older siblings. Her music career began in the Triangle and met great success. With her Americana blues-y sound that attracted crowds of all kinds, Musician magazine named her one of the best unsigned bands in the 90s. That led to a write-up in Billboard Magazine, which gave her the confidence to move to Nashville. She played legendary venues like The Bluebird Cafe, singing nearly all original songs. Middleton met her husband in Nashville, and they moved back to Durham in 2007 to raise their two kids.
Now, she balances her career as a beloved local musician with being a teacher’s assistant in a first grade classroom and volunteering with Kidznotes, an organization dedicated to teaching music to children. Host Anita Rao talks with Middleton about the evolution of her music career, and she performs some songs from the years in the studio. Middleton recently formed a trio The Goodloves with local artists Glenn Jones and Emma Davis. The Goodloves will perform in the 10th Annual Newtonanny Christmas Show at the Blue Note Grill in Durham on Dec. 22 and again at the Blue Note Grill on Jan. 3 at 9 p.m.
