Live music in Chapel Hill, NC

Carrboro Open Mic welcomes musicians, poets, comedians, storytellers, and fans of live local art. Whether you are new to the stage or a seasoned performer, it offers a supportive place to share your voice and connect with the community. The event is hosted by John Pardue, who sets a warm and welcoming tone for newcomers and regulars. Expect an inclusive atmosphere, a friendly audience, and plenty of creative energy, and choose to take the mic or simply enjoy the show. Sign-ups are in order of arrival, with 10 minute slots, and performances follow after sign-ups. Drink specials include $2 off drafts and $3 off well drinks. This gathering is rooted in respect, creativity, and community, and both participants and audience members are encouraged to cheer one another on. Support for nearby neighbors, including Steel String Brewery which also hosts an open mic, is welcomed.

Margaret Glaspy brings The I Am Both Tour to Cat’s Cradle, featuring Anna Tivel. The New York-based singer and songwriter presents material from I Am Both, an album shaped by stepping away from social media and returning to pen-and-typewriter writing. The songs range from character portraits to frank self-examination and clear-eyed observations of the world, all rooted in an embrace of complexity. Produced by Grammy-winning Joe Henry and recorded live over three days at Reservoir Studios with Jay Bellerose, Patrick Warren, and Ross Gallagher, the record captures the spark of first takes. Expect folk-leaning indie rock guided by Glaspy’s direct vocals and expressive guitar work, including the opener Michigan, which imagines leaving the city after a breakup.

Local 506 in Chapel Hill hosts a night presented by andmoreagain featuring Hot Flash Heat Wave with support from High. and The Wallabies. Hot Flash Heat Wave began as a high school garage project in Davis, California, later regrouped in San Francisco, built momentum in the Bay Area, and reached a global audience when the Gutter Girl video appeared on Reddit’s front page. Since then the band has released three records and an EP. The Wallabies are a five-piece indie alternative rock group from Chapel Hill with deep DIY roots in the college scene, blending influences from pop to metal for guitar-driven songs. They released three self-recorded singles in the fall of 2025 and are recording a debut EP slated for 2026. Advance tickets are $20, and the day-of price is $25. Tickets are on sale now.

Each Wednesday night, Speakeasy takes on a living room feel for live music. Wednesday Sessions is a free weekly series highlighting local singer songwriters with original material, stripped back sets, and the stories behind them. Expect an intimate atmosphere, a rotating lineup of performers, and an attentive crowd. There is no cover charge, just a relaxed setting and plenty of songs to enjoy.

Durham’s own Ally J brings live music to a rooftop setting alongside specials on food and drinks. Expect $6 glasses of rosé and bubbly and a $14 Girl Dinner with a tray that includes guac and chips, flavored popcorn, pickled veggies, and local cheeses. City views and craft cocktails set the scene, and there is no cover charge.

Son Little brings the Cityfolk Tour 2026 to the Cat’s Cradle Back Room with Kam Franklin, presenting a live show that reveals his songs with raw energy, expressive detail, and constant evolution. Performing solo or with a band, he moves from deep, rhythmic grooves to intimate, stripped-down passages, weaving in moments that feel spontaneous yet emotionally exact. Over the past decade he has forged a sound that draws from soul, blues, folk, hip hop, and R&B without settling into a single lane, pulling listeners into music rich with texture and vulnerability, delivered with a balance of grit and grace. After a run across the UK and Europe supporting Larkin Poe, he returns with new music from CITYFOLK, released in March 2026, including the singles “in orbit” and “be better,” offering a clear glimpse of what is taking shape onstage.

Presented by andmoreagain, this concert at Stanczyks in Durham, NC features Jenny Owen Youngs and Northcote with Julia Barfield. Jenny Owen Youngs returns with Avalanche on Yep Roc, an album that reflects on loss, resilience, and growth. It was produced by Josh Kaufman and created with collaborators including S. Carey, Madi Diaz, Peter Silberman of The Antlers, and Christian Lee Hutson, weaving bright pop sensibilities into spacious, dreamlike arrangements that wrestle with regret and redemption. Northcote joins the bill, adding another compelling voice to the night. Opening the show, Athens, Georgia singer-songwriter Julia Barfield brings folk and Americana roots shaped by her North Georgia upbringing. Her 2025 debut EP, Keep to Me, offers a southern-leaning collection that balances heartache and hope with plainspoken honesty and a warm, assured delivery. Admission is $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the show.

An evening in the Cat's Cradle Back Room features Damien Jurado with St. Yuma, plus Adam Voith reading from his novel Recommended If You Like. Jurado arrives well into a 25 year run as a recording artist, following Reggae Film Star, his 18th full length and the second on his Maraqopa Records label. The album drifts between dreamlike fragments and candid snapshots, blending cosmic themes with the personal. Created with multi-instrumentalist Josh Gordon and engineer Alex Bush at Sonikwire in Irvine, California, it layers strings, melodic bass, and bright piano, touching romantic AM pop, 60s psychedelia, driving rock and roll, Latin shuffles, and left-of-the-dial ambience around his unmistakable voice. Scenes play out like moments captured on a film set, with performers, camera crews, and audiences appearing alongside everyday wanderers in stores and parking lots. The set of songs stretches from the opener Roger to titles like What Happened To The Class Of '65? and The Day Of The Robot, underscoring a cinematic thread in his work. The bill pairs that storytelling spirit with a set from St. Yuma and a reading by Voith, blending live music and literature in one room.

Step up to the mic at a welcoming karaoke night where every voice is celebrated. Expect playful showstoppers, off-the-cuff crooning, and a relaxed atmosphere that cheers on shower singers and seasoned performers alike. Empress leads with powerhouse vocals and commanding stage presence, setting the vibe rather than simply running the list. Grab a drink and settle in for a lively party that keeps the energy up from the first song to the finale.

andmoreagain brings a night at Stanczyks Music Bar in Durham featuring Upon Your Dead Body with When the Sun Sets and Letters to Part. Upon Your Dead Body delivers an emotive, theatrical take on South Texas emo, blending spoken word passages, melodic intensity, Midwest emo textures, and math rock rhythms, with influences that include La Dispute, Coheed and Cambria, Say Anything, Hail the Sun, and The Used. Letters to Part offers an ambient-leaning alternative sound shaped by shoegaze, emo, post-hardcore, and indie, with a catalog that includes the 2017 album A Human Curse, the 2020 EP Mad’ouk, a 2023 live set recorded at Red Lion Audio, the 2023 single Breathe, and the 2025 EP Bloom accompanied by videos for The Weight I Let Go and With Your Heart. When the Sun Sets rounds out the bill. Advance admission is $18, and day-of entry is $22, with tickets currently available.

Bebe Stockwell performs in the Cat's Cradle Back Room with Gabrielle Hope. A Boston native, Stockwell crafts folk-driven songs through a candid Gen-Z lens, a practice she began as a kid while taking piano, drum, and guitar lessons in Beacon Hill. She continued writing and recording at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University. Her 2022 breakthrough single Love Me Back, created with GRAMMY-winning producer M-Phazes, has earned more than 7 million streams on Spotify and set the stage for follow-up tracks like Robbie, Frosty, and Helium. She has shared bills with Claire Rosinkranz, Stephen Sanchez, Rachel Chinouriri, and M. Ward, and has appeared at Newport Folk Festival and Boston Calling. In 2024 she signed with Columbia Records, and in May 2025 she released her debut EP, Driving Backwards.

Sufi Roots & Rhythms turns Boxyard RTP into a journey through groove-centered Sufi and Hindustani traditions alongside the resonant tones of the Senegalese kora, spotlighting artists based in North Carolina. The program features the Diali Cissokho Trio. The trio unites three globally recognized musicians whose collaboration draws on deep cultural foundations and West African rhythms and instruments to bridge cultures. Their shared commitment to music’s ability to connect people shapes an experience that feels both grounded and expansive. Diali Cissokho, a Senegalese kora virtuoso and percussionist, descends from a long Manding griot lineage, stewards of history and storytelling. Will Ridenour, a Greensboro-based kora player and percussionist, embraced West African music after a formative encounter with traditional dance. Atiba Rorie, a percussionist and founder of the multi-genre group Africa Unplugged, has trained with masters including Bradley, Simmons, Babatunde Olatunji, and Chief Bey. Together they offer a cross-cultural performance that uses the universal language of music to foster connection and inspiration. Attendance implies consent to be photographed or recorded, and Boxyard RTP may use photos, video, or audio featuring attendees in any medium for any purpose.

Word Jazz brings Actors Improv’s blend of unscripted theater and music back to Sharp Nine. Drawing on Ken Nordine’s landmark 1957 album, the performance unfolds through scenes sparked by improvised monologues and the live sound of a five-piece band, with on-the-spot songs woven into the mix and audience suggestions setting everything in motion. The quintet features Ricky Bloomfield on reeds, Rob Ladd on drums, Robbie Link on bass, Glenn Mehrbach on piano, and Scott Sawyer on guitar. Actors Improv, recognized as the South’s longest-running improv company, anchors the collaboration.

Sawyer Hill takes the stage at Cat’s Cradle with a sound shaped by a teenage start sneaking into bars and a rise sparked by the breakout single “Look at the Time.” With more than 130 million streams and video views close to a quarter of a billion, he has carried his music across the United States and Europe, including sellouts at LA’s Troubadour and NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, along with an extensive run supporting Yungblud. His new album, Everybody’s Home, Nobody’s Happy, reflects both the perspective earned on the road and a surprising pull toward home that surfaced each time he left Arkansas. To refine its voice, he collaborated in Los Angeles with Mike Crossey, Chris Greatti, and Ryan Linville, whose credits include The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Poppy, Yungblud, Olivia Rodrigo, and Dermot Kennedy. Hill aims to be the steady presence he once found in his own heroes, speaking to loners and doubters, and to the Southern kid who is told to keep quiet about feelings.

A welcoming karaoke night led by Empress, a dynamic vocalist with commanding stage presence who sets the vibe from the first song. Expect everything from show-stopping numbers to delightfully off-key renditions, all celebrated in a no-pressure atmosphere. The format embraces shower singers, seasoned pros, and enthusiastic non-singers alike. Enjoy a drink, cheer on the mic-takers, and watch the room build into a lively party.