The Rant

Friends of the Rant | Indie Fest performers Jive Talk & Tuatha Dea

Gordon talks with Carolina Indie Fest performers Jive Talk (Nashville synth-driven alt rock) and Tuatha Dea (progressive rock from Asheville mixing Celtic and Appalachian sounds), completing the Friends of the Rant podcast's Spring 2024 artist interview series. Tune in to get familiar with these bands, and come out on May 10 and 11 to Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford.

Friends of the Rant | Indie Fest bands Julia and Blue Cactus

On the Friends of the Rant podcast, Gordon interviews Indie Fest performers Julia, an "intergalactic funk" band from Raleigh, and Chapel Hill's Blue Cactus, who play a strain of Americana that brings together country, psychedelia and 70s pop.
Julia plays Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, and Blue Cactus plays at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, May 10.

Friends of the Rant | Indie Fest performers Chris McGinnis and Paleface

On this week’s Friends of the Rant podcast, Gordon interviews Asheville’s Chris McGinnis, whose music has been described as “Appalachian absurdity for the 21st Century,” as well as Paleface, whose career in the music industry goes back to the 1980s and who tours full time with his partner and drummer Mo. Both are slated to perform at Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford on May 10 and 11.

Friends of The Rant | Indie Fest bands Culper Ring and Gooseberry Jam

On the Friends of the Rant podcast, Gordon interviews Indie Fest performers the Culper Ring, a self proclaimed “dad punk” band from Dallas, Texas with a knack for big hooks and shimmering production, as well as Greensboro’s the Gooseberry Jam, who present a “Southern fried taste of soul set to a backdrop of raw rock and roll.” 
The Culper Ring plays Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford on Saturday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m., and the Gooseberry Jam headlines Friday night, May 10, at 8:45 p.m.

Friends of The Rant | Katie Basden and Newspaper Taxis

Carolina Indie Fest returns to Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford on May 10 and 11, and the Friends of the Rant podcast is back to interview the performers. This week, we talk with Nashville-based Durham native Katie Basden, who melds a diverse array of influences into a soulful take on southern Americana, and Raleigh’s Newspaper Taxis, a rock act who bring to mind a mix of British Invasion hooks, post punk energy, and power pop vibes.

Friends of The Rant | Kara Grainger and Farewell Friend

The final entry in the fall 2023 Carolina Indie Fest/Friends of the Rant podcast series features Australia-born and Nashville-based blues rocker Kara Grainger and Farewell Friend, a Greensboro-based Farewell Friend, an indie–folk-rock band “known for their unique instrumentation and poetic songwriting.”
Farewell Friend takes the Carolina Indie Fest stage behind Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. Grainger follows Farewell Friend at 6:45 p.m.

Friends of The Rant | Gooseberry Jam and Jeremiah McKinley

The Friends of the Rant podcast is joined this week by two Carolina Indie Fest acts, Gooseberry Jam and Jeremiah McKinley, both hailing from the Triad area.
Gooseberry Jam, who bring “a Southern fried taste of soul, set to a backdrop of raw rock and roll,” play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29. Jeremiah McKinley, “a band of two brothers telling stories through a mix of folk and newer rock and roll” kick the festival off at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Friends of The Rant | Heat Preacher and Shirlette Ammons

This week, Friends of the Rant is joined by Chapel Hill band Heat Preacher, who combine alternative rock, soul, and indie sounds to create their own brand of modern pop rock music, as well as Durham's Shirlette Ammons, a poet and storyteller who uses a wide variety of genres as tools for her work.
Heat Preacher plays Carolina Indie Fest on Friday, Sept. 29 at 6:15, and Ammons takes the stage Saturday, Sept. 30 at 4:15 p.m."