The latest wave of COVID-19 is disrupting scheduled events all over the world – but in Chapel Hill on Saturday, local leaders stepped up to welcome a rock music icon in spite of a last-minute cancellation.
Tommy Stinson is best known as the longtime bassist for two legendary bands, the Replacements and Guns ‘n Roses. (He got his start with the Replacements when he was just 12 years old.) He’s on a solo tour now ahead of a forthcoming album – along with Diane Gentile of Diane and the Gentlemen, who also have a new album due out soon.
Stinson, Gentile, Aaron Keck, and Franklin Motors owner Michael Benson at 97.9 The Hill studios.
The tour kicked off in Washington, DC last week and was scheduled to stop in Chapel Hill on Saturday with a show at Schoolkids Records – but COVID-related staffing issues forced Schoolkids to call off the show earlier in the week.
Stinson and Gentile said they expected they’d have to bypass Chapel Hill altogether – but instead, they wound up playing not one, but two shows in town.
With an assist from the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, Franklin Motors Beer Garden welcomed Stinson and Gentile for an impromptu show on Saturday afternoon, with dozens in attendance.
Gentile and Stinson playing at Franklin Motors.
And later that evening, Stinson and Gentile stopped by University Place and played live on the air at 97.9 The Hill studios. (Gentile also announced the name of her new album: it’s going to be called Knockdown Dream.)
Tommy Stinson playing at 97.9 The Hill studios. (Photos by Michael Benson.)
Listen to Diane Gentile and Tommy Stinson’s on-air performance below:
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