Tonight is for hip-hop lovers, symphony novices and bar games

Tonight is a music lover's feast and nightmare. So many great shows tonight, all in one night from jazzy fusion to symphony to hardcore hip-hop. Find your pleasure. See you in the streets. Let's get this party started.

Don't Forget

Ticket Giveaway! Sip + Play Charlotte is giving away VIP passes to the Gravediggers Ball. Enter here.

Cool Concept - The Neighborhood Living Room opened yesterday and continues through Sunday. Tonight’s events include a Dilworth Artisan Station Gallery Crawl and live music. The concept is to bring the family neighborhood outside so go chill, enjoy live entertainment, drink coffee or whatever (Rated G) that you would do in your living room at home. 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. through Sunday. Dilworth Artisan Station, 118 East Kingston Ave. Details.

Solo Dynamo - Bassist Derrick Hodge brings the heat on his solo debut album “Live Today” which features contributions from the Robert Glasper Experiment and Common among others. Hodge is known for his work with Maxwell, Jill Scott and Glasper. Dynamo opens. 8 p.m. Chop Shop, 399 E. 35th St.$22.


 

 
Don't Miss

Got Game? - Show your bar game skills at the featuring flip cup, cornhole, beer pong, mini basketball and a mystery event for qualifying teams!  10 per team of two. Includes one drink. Team check-in is 7 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Games begin at 8 p.m. Prohibition, 200 N Tryon St.

Favorite Hip-Hop Event - Art, Beats and Lyrics returns in its 11th year. This year will feature visual pieces by Dubelyoo, Carla Aaron Lopez, Miya Bailey and Matthew Curran, among many others. The event will also include appearances from hip-hop duo, 8Ball & MJG. 7 p.m. The Filmore, 820 Hamilton St. Ste. B2. Details.

OktoberFest Symphony Style - The Charlotte Symphony presents KnightSounds for symphony novices each Friday night. This month’s Oktoberfest theme features beer tastings, a roaming accordionists, and a live “oompa” band in the lobby after the show. The symphony will perform works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his son, W. F. Bach, plus Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, and selections from Brahms and Wagner. Local breweries, including NoDa Brewing Company and Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, will provide beer samplings, and the FestzeltMusik Oktoberfest Band will keep the party going after the concert.
7:30 p.m., Knight Theater, 430 S Tryon St. $29 includes a drink voucher. Drinks are permitted in the theater!

Holla: sipandplayclt@gmail.com

Charlotte Symphony Made This Newbie Feel Welcome

Listening to classical music isn't how I typically spend my Friday nights, but I couldn't resist an invitation to experience the Charlotte Symphony's KnightSounds. It's a more casual production for novices. I was like drinking in the symphony via a juice box rather than a full glass.

Friday's performance was "A Waltz To Remember." Roger Kalia conducted, Katherine Polit sang soprano and dancers from the Metropolitan Ballroom performed. The symphony played a variety of polkas and waltzes by Johann Strauss Jr.

I know this because Kalia explained each song to the audience throughout the performance. He even gave us a bit of history about the origins of the particular piece. I was surprised by the number of selections that sounded vaguely to familiar to me. I swear one of them reminded me of "We Are Santa's Elves."

If you're looking for a non-threatening introduction to the symphony, KnightSounds is for you. Kalia graciously explained the selections. Brief skits were interspersed throughout the show. The event finished with a dessert and champagne reception, in which Kalia offered a toast. The next one is A Night in New York, April 17-18. It will feature a free live outdoor plazacast showcasing the concert inside, as well as screens inside the theater showing various angles of the conductor and musicians. It's going to have rock concert style production. It sounds fun.







Holla: sipandplayclt@gmail.com