Durham-based rapper Professor Toon performs songs off his new album, Take Notes, during WKNC's 13 Double Barrel Benefit held at Cat's Cradle Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. His combination of heavy-hitting lyrics and explosive onstage presence was a favorite among attendees. " />
Sorena Dadgar
Durham-based rapper Professor Toon performs songs off his new album, Take Notes, during WKNC's 13 Double Barrel Benefit held at Cat's Cradle Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. His combination of heavy-hitting lyrics and explosive onstage presence was a favorite among attendees.
88.1 WKNC’s 14th annual Double Barrel Benefit offers sounds any music junkie can get excited about, from electronic to country to indie rock music. The two-day benefit concert will begin at Kings on Friday at 8 p.m. with headliner DJ Paypal, who has been producing footwork tracks since 2011. The concert will resume Saturday at 8 p.m. with rising country group Sarah Shook & the Disarmers.
As far as diversity goes, this year’s Double Barrel lineup exceeds expectations. This year’s benefit will not only boast music from a wide variety of genres, as it has in the past, but will feature strong gender variation with headliner Sarah Shook & the Disarmers’ country spice and Infinity Crush’s galactic, goosebumps-inducing vocals.
The North Carolina-born producer, DJ Paypal, known for covering his face in order to preserve anonymity, first dove into the world of footwork while living in Raleigh. He now lives in Berlin, but has travelled internationally as an artist, having performed in countries such as Germany, Hungary, Scotland and others.
Local hip-hop artists Ace Henderson and ZenSoFly will open for DJ Paypal along with mystical sounding electronica group, Sand Pact.
The show will continue Saturday night with headliner Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, a country band with unfiltered lyrics about widely accessible topics. The Chapel Hill-based group recently signed with Bloodshot Records, and is set to release “Sidelong” on April 28.
The band, which was named in Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know,” stemmed from the collaboration of Shook and guitarist Eric Peterson. After Peterson and Shook’s prior band, Sarah Shook & the Devil, broke up, the two continued to jam on their own. Shortly after, John Howie Jr. joined the duo on drums, along with Aaron Oliva on upright bass and Phil Sullivan on pedal steel.
“We’re a country band for sure, but there’s an awful lot of punk rock, and outlaw country sort of fleshing out the sum of our sound,” Shook said. “There’s a lot of musical sneer and grit between the five of us during a live show, but don’t let that fool you; we’re a bunch of damn nerds in real life.”
The country group has played shows from Texas to New York to Atlanta this past fall and winter, followed by more performances this past January in North and South Carolina. Shook notes that there’s nothing like playing a sold-out show in the Triangle, where people get excited about their music.
“Playing WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit was a no-brainer for us — it’s a flat-out kickass college radio station and their DJs have always been super good to us,” Shook said. “I feel like we’re finally getting to return a long overdue back scratch.”
Opening for Sarah Shook & the Disarmers is Astro Cowboy, which will add a dose of rock to the night’s lineup. Also opening are See Gulls and indie duo Infinity Crush.
Characterized by a romantic, mystical sound, indie duo Infinity Crush consists of UNC-Wilmington graduate student Caroline White and close friend Derrick Brandon, who is based in Philadelphia. The two instantly hit it off, collaborating on recent album, “Warmth Equation.”
“I’ve always been writing songs, and it was a natural progression of people coming in and out of working on them with me,” White said. “Derrick is the only one who has been permanent.”
White recently played at Gravity Records, which is, as White notes, pretty out of the way for UNCW students, and was pleased with the turnout. White also recently performed in Brooklyn, which she says is an opportunity smaller southern bands don’t come across too often.
Even after playing in the bustling music scene that is Brooklyn, White still thoroughly enjoys the more personal experience of playing music in the South. After moving from Maryland to North Carolina, White fully immersed herself in the music scene that Wilmington had to offer, and found the South offers a more intimate connection between the artist and audience.
“I love meeting and talking to people,” White said. “Here where there’s not many shows, people get really excited and come out more. In Maryland, Philly and New York, people take it for granted that they have music at their disposal. I think people really come to the shows and actually pay attention and listen.”
Double Barrel Benefit tickets are available for pre-order at $12 and are $14 at the door. A bundle package for both nights is available at $20. Tickets can be purchased here.