![]() Music! 12:30 - Village Band · 1:15 - L in Japanese · 2:00 - Bo Lozoff & Friends · 2:45 - Shannon O'Connor · 3:30 - Great Big Gone · 4:15 - Lo K Shun · 5:00 - Too Much Fun · 5:45 - Saludos Compay · 6:30 - Stormfront ![]() The Village Band was organized in 1974 by Dan Margoni, a music instructor in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system, as a place where the parents of his students could play their instruments. No auditions were required and anyone with an interest in music was welcome. The experience level of the membership ranged from near professional to people who hadn't played since high school but wanted to practice again. The Village Band continues this tradition, welcoming amateur musicians from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Raleigh, and Cary. The members’ backgrounds are as varied as their ages – doctors, pilots, software engineers, lawyers, and retirees aged 20-something to 80-plus. Blended thusly, this 50-piece ensemble opens Carrboro Day with spectacular flair. 1:15 - L in Japanese L in Japanese, real name Peter Joe-L Daye, is a Hip-Hop artist originally from the small town of Murfreesboro, NC. Now based in Carrboro, he produces his own rap beats and often works as a DJ. In 2003, L in Japanese made a 3-year move to Paris, France, for the purpose of developing further as a master of Hip-Hop music. There he performed live Hip-Hop shows and collaborated with well known French and American artists. L in Japanese returned to this area in late ’05 to pick up where he left off and take his movement to a new level – like the Carrboro Day stage! Here he finds no lack of like-minded people and places to showcase his talent. 2:00 - Bo Lozoff & Friends Bo Lozoff has been writing and performing his songs for almost forty years during his career as director of Human Kindness Foundation. Three of the songs on Bo's recent CD, "Whatever It Takes," won awards in the Billboard World Song Contest of 2004, and two others won awards from the NC Songwriter's Coop Competition for 2004. His 2006 release, "Eyes So Soft," is a powerful live performance of songs written during his life on the road, speaking and performing across the country. The reviews and awards are already coming in for cuts from this new album, including one of his tunes having been selected for a compilation CD and another named a finalist in the international "We Are Listening" songwriting contest. Bo's life-changing work with prisoners around the world has drawn fans as diverse as the Dalai Lama, Mister Rogers, and Outlaw Biker Magazine. His first book, "We're All Doing Time," was hailed by Village Voice as "one of the ten books everyone in the world should read." Utne Reader named Bo "one of America's 100 spiritual visionaries." We’re honored to feature Bo Lozoff on the Carrboro Day stage. 2:45 - Shannon O’Connor Shannon O'Connor's music has been described variously as "Gutsy,” “Sultry Americana," "No-holds-barred honesty," “Beguiling," and "Carolina's own Gretchen Wilson." Take your pick. O'Connor’s new Varrga Records Release, Low In Paradise, is an album full of songs that best fit the category of "Single Mom Country Blues." "This is a collection of love songs," she explains. "Some are written to my daughter. Some are about old flames and some are imaginary. But I think they are all true. Music has been a saving grace for me. I don't get out much, so I'm up close to my reality. When I go out and play, I see and feel that I'm drawing people into my world. And when you write with your heart, you're probably going to find someone else who shares what you're feeling." 3:30 - Great Big Gone
Great Big Gone is a new arrangement of a familiar tune. All five members were most recently part of the recently disbanded Brown Mountain Lights, and Great Big Gone’s music continues with the same twangy, roots, Americana mix. Janet Place is the principal vocalist, very aptly backed up on harmony vocals by Greg Bower (lead guitar) and Miner Gleason (fiddle). The group is rounded out by Bryan Sodemann on drums and Steve Webster on Bass. No Depression magazine said, “Janet Place's voice, reminiscent of a huskier Patsy Cline ... drips with country hard luck and hard-won wisdom." The Independent praises the group’s “… rich harmonies, back porch-styled strumming and picking, all tempered with their deep sensibility of the common ground between old time music, straight country and melodic pop.”
4:15 - Lo-K-Shunn In an era when musical styles are hard to pin down, it’s great to know that there are artists who cling to the essence of solid music. The Lo-K-shun Band has been together for more than 10 years, with experienced members who have performed throughout the region and nationally for 25 years. Lo-k-shun has opened for such acts as The Drifters, Betty Wright, and The Temptations, and several members played at one of President Clinton’s inaugural balls. Lo-K-shun’s music spans the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80's with Motown, Soul, R&B, Beach, and Country. Their back-up singers’ Supremes medley has a reputation of its own. 5:00 - Too Much Fun Too Much Fun returns to the Carrboro Day stage with a full set of “genuine danceability” – swing and jump blues. This band has been playing at swing dances, festivals, and local clubs for more going on two decades. They mix original songwriting with neat new spins on old favorites. You know most of these guys. Say hello to young Austin McCall (Rex’s boy) on drums and Dr. Bobby Schopler with his vest full of alphabetically filed blues harps. 5:45 - Saludos Compay Saludos Compay takes the audience on a musical tour that features traditional, contemporary, and original music from Latin America and the Caribbean. This amazingly versatile trio gets people moving. Lead vocalist/guitarist Pablo Valencia, from Chile, sings a wide range of styles. He is as much at ease with a reflective bolero as with an upbeat salsa. The group performs a number of Valencia’s acclaimed original compositions, such as the romantic Cancion Para Dos, the rumba Bello Amor, and the very upbeat salsa song Entumido. On keyboards, Erich Lieth adds spice to the strong Latin rhythms with improvisational piano solos and bass. Chuck Nolan, lead percussionist, intricately weaves the rhythm patterns, be it for a subtle bossa nova or a danceable cumbia. 6:30 - Storm Front (Blues/rock)
Storm Front plays original Carolina blues, most of which was written in Carrboro and about Carrboro and some of its more colorful characters! The band has been based here for more than ten years. Each member has played with other bands from Washington, D.C., to Poland. Storm Front’s eclectic range of music includes blues, Southern rock, jazz, and rockabilly. With a powerful name and Joy Storm’s great big voice, this is the perfect way to bring Carrboro Day to rollicking close. Storm Front's CD is called “Way Overdue." A perennial Carrboro Day favorite. E-mail: jpreslar@email.unc.edu. Website: http://stormfrontlive.com.
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