Each month, Our State senior editor — and resident soundtrack maker — Mark Kemp, a former music editor of Rolling Stone, curates a one-of-a-kind Spotify playlist featuring North Carolina songs and musicians.
Reading and music: They go together like biscuits and gravy. So, naturally, for the April launch of the Our State Book Club, we’ve compiled the perfect reading soundtrack, featuring all North Carolina artists performing ambient, folk, and jazz music with a bare minimum of vocals.
As you’re turning the pages of books curated by Fayetteville-born New York Times best-selling novelist Wiley Cash, enjoy the soothing sounds of artists like guitarist and lap-steel player Daniel Bachman of Chapel Hill; Durham multi-instrumentalist Nathan Bowles; Charlotte-born experimental singer and cellist Kelsey Lu and Asheville-born experimental harpist Mary Lattimore; as well as the late jazz legends John Coltrane of Hamlet and High Point and Lou Donaldson of Badin.
This playlist is intended to be either background music for reading or foreground music for contemplation. It’s both calming and challenging, its sounds of nature (birdsongs and the rustling of leaves) juxtaposed against fusions of acoustic and electronic instrumentation. Represented here are some of the finest, most adventurous musicians that North Carolina has to offer. Relax and enjoy.
Tucked into a historic neighborhood, a backyard in Forsyth County holds hundreds of Southern wildflowers collected by one wild flower woman.
John Champlin has traveled across the state — and the nation — in search of hard-to-find spots that serve an unforgettable hot dog. After 11 years, what he’s discovered goes way beyond the bun.
In the early 20th century, textile mill owners sponsored baseball teams, providing entertainment for their employees and nurturing a passion for the game that’s been handed down through generations of North Carolinians.
Our writer reflects on where his love of vinyl began, and how the snap, crackle, and pop of a needle sliding across a turntable will always satisfy his soul.
