Regulars within Raleigh's live music scene know about one of its most beloved traditions. Now, a broader audience will learn about it through a new documentary that premieres on PBS North Carolina on August 21.
The Great Cover Up, which started in 1999, is an annual event held at Kings in downtown Raleigh. It features an eclectic lineup of local musicians dressing up and performing cover sets of more famous artists.
It's all very hush hush - and that's the point. Audience members don't know what they're about to see, or even know the lineup, until the curtain drops and host and Great Cover Up co-founder Paul Siler announces the bands for the night. The surprise is part of the fun.
What started off as a two-night fundraiser for Hurricane Floyd relief has grown into a six-night event that continues to raise money for various local charities.
"The first year we did a Saturday and Sunday and we had (bands cover) The Wipers, Devo, The Cramps, Grand Funk Railroad, Violent Femmes, Black Sabbath, and Lynyrd Skynyrd," Siler said. "It felt like a success but it wasn't sold out."
Kings was originally located at 424 South McDowell Street. In 2007 the club shut down until 2010 when it re-opened in its current location at 14 W Martin Street. During that time the Great Cover Up went on hiatus, though Siler said other clubs approached him about moving it to their space.
Word about the event started to spread, and once Kings re-opened The Great Cover Up came back strong. "When we started back up in 2010 it was definitely more popular than ever," Siler said. "Then in the mid 2010s it took on a life of its own. There would be a line down the block every night and we extended it to five and then six nights. This past year we had 54 bands, which was nine bands a night."
At its heart, the event has always been about supporting the community. "A big part of The Cover Up is the charity part," Siler said. "The bands work really hard to prepare for this, but everybody does it for free. All the money goes to a different charity every year."
Over the years the event has raised money for the Wake County SPCA, InterAct, and Kidznotes among others.
"I think The Great Cover Up is an example of how our music community is good at stepping up," said co-producer and co-director Jedidiah Gant. "It's also a reflection of how people in this scene can easily move around and adapt to playing with other people that they might not play with all the time."
The Great Cover Up premieres on PBS North Carolina on August 21 at 9:30 p.m. Following the premiere, there will also be a screening and Q&A with live music at Raleigh's Rialto Theatre on August 27. Finally, the film will also be screened at The City of Raleigh Museum on September 6 as part of the Hopscotch Music Festival's lineup of day parties. That screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers moderated by Nick Neptune.
