You’re invited to University Place this Thursday evening for the final installment of Chapel Hill’s Tracks Music Series!
Hosted by the Town of Chapel Hill, the Tracks Music Series has featured many of the local bands and musicians spotlighted in the town’s Tracks Music Library. Launched last year, the Tracks Music Library is a free streaming service with music from more than 100 Triangle-area artists.
The Tracks Music Series has been organized by Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture – following a recent public survey that found residents wanting “more opportunities to hear live, local music,” according to Arts & Culture director Susan Brown.
This Thursday, September 30, the series wraps up with an evening of jazz, featuring Katharine Whalen’s Jazz Squad and Dreamroot!
A founding member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Katharine Whalen has been a seminal figure in the Chapel Hill music scene for nearly three decades – and the Jazz Squad has been around for most of those years. Earlier this year, Katharine Whalen’s Jazz Squad released its first album since 1999: “To Hide A Heart That’s Blue,” a collection of Billie Holiday covers pulled from her collaboration with pianist Teddy Wilson in the mid-1930s. Today, the Jazz Squad features Whalen along with pianist Robert Griffin, trombonist Danny Grewen, and guitarist Austin Riopel.
A five-piece musical collective based in Durham, Dreamroot released its debut album “Phases” in May of last year, shortly after the onset of the pandemic. Since then, the band has played at the DC Jazz Festival and performed a show at the North Carolina Museum of Art that aired on PBS. The band consists of drummer Theous Jones, saxophonist/vocalist Serena Wiley, bassist Ittai Korman, trumpeter Lynn Grissett, and keyboardist Joe MacPhail.
Preview Dreamroot’s performance by listening to “Phases” on The Tracks Music Library.
Thursday’s concert will take place from 6-8 p.m. on the southeast corner of the University Place parking lot, near the former Southern Season. 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck will serve as MC. Attendees should bring their own chairs. Beer, wine, and ice cream will be available for sale; everyone’s encouraged to pack a picnic or order takeout from a nearby restaurant. Masks are strongly encouraged.
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