Event Archive
July 2023
Music in the Gardens: Christian Lopez
Hailed as an “Americana wunderkind” by Rolling Stone when he burst onto the music scene in 2017, Christian Lopez is now a prolific and mature artist, set to release his …
June 2023
Music in the Gardens: Melissa Carper
Nebraska-born vocalist-bassist Melissa Carper started her music career at age 12 in her family band. Now, after a nearly four-decade career, Carper has suddenly found herself thrust onto the national …
Music in the Gardens: XOXOK
Softly powerful vocals layered over captivating and skillful guitar playing are the defining characteristics of XOXOK’s “atmospheric soul music” – an expansive blend of soul and jazz. This soulscape is …
Music in the Gardens: Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience
Back by popular demand, two-time Grammy Award winner Terrance Simien returns to Music in the Gardens to lead his 5-piece Zydeco Experience band in an exhilarating celebration of zydeco music, …
Music in the Gardens: Rebekah Todd
Rebekah Todd’s “Cosmic Soul Rock” is an eclectic blend of blues, folk, rock, and soul music guaranteed to get the 2023 Music in the Gardens series off to an unforgettable …
August 2022
Music in the Gardens: Weston Estate with Kate Rhudy
Weston Estate may call itself “your aunty’s favorite boy band,” but the original, homespun alt-pop sound of this Cary-based group isn’t anything you’ll hear from the Backstreet Boys or BTS. …
July 2022
Music in the Gardens: Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience
Featuring a pre-show Zydeco dance lesson by Zach Wolf Two-time Grammy Award winner Terrance Simien leads his 5-piece Zydeco Experience band in an exhilarating celebration of zydeco music, Louisiana tradition, …
Music in the Gardens: Hank, Pattie and the Current with The Brother Boys
Bluegrass visionaries Hank Smith (banjo) and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw’s (fiddle) innovative twist on traditional bluegrass music is a soulful brew flavored with classical, Motown, jazz, and pop sounds. Joined by …
Music in the Gardens: IAMDYNAMITE
MUSIC IN THE GARDENS LOCATION UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, tonight’s event featuring IAMDYNAMITE will take place at 7 PM at Motorco Music Hall in Downtown Durham. Existing reservations will …
Music in the Gardens: Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
“Y’allternative,” “cowpunk,” “alt-country” – critics can’t settle on a way to describe Sarah Shook’s boundary-pushing take on country traditions, but they ultimately all agree – it’s great music. Hailing from …
August 2020
Music in Your Gardens:
Rissi Palmer
We’re proud to present Rissi Palmer as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding …
Music in Your Gardens:
Young Bull
We’re proud to present Young Bull as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding area …
Music in Your Gardens:
Kamara Thomas
We’re proud to present Kamara Thomas as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding area …
July 2020
Music in Your Gardens:
Joe Troop
We’re proud to present Joe Troop as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding area …
Music in Your Gardens:
H.C. McEntire
We’re proud to present H.C. McEntire as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding …
Music in Your Gardens:
Shirlette Ammons
We’re proud to present Shirlette Ammons as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding area …
Music in Your Gardens:
Skylar Gudasz
We’re proud to present Skylar Gudasz as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the surrounding …
Music in Your Gardens:
Hiss Golden Messenger
We’re proud to present Hiss Golden Messenger as a part of Music in Your Gardens, a free eight-week online concert series showcasing nationally renowned artists who call Durham and the …
Music in the Gardens: Cedric Burnside
Part of an outstanding multi-generational musical birthright that includes his father Calvin Jackson and genre-pioneering grandfather R. L. Burnside, Cedric Burnside literally grew up in the blues. Living in his …
Music in the Gardens: Jake Xerxes Fussell & Band
The son of a prominent folklorist, Jake Xerxes Fussell learned the music of his home region firsthand at his father’s side, building up a vast knowledge base about the sounds …
June 2019
Music in the Gardens: Bedouine
Drawing on as well as contributing to a rich folk music tradition, Azniv Korkejian brings a diasporic knowingness to the rich and rewarding songs recorded under her Bedouine moniker. Though …
Music in the Gardens: Joan Shelley with Nathan Salsburg
First cultivating a national profile with 2014’s exemplary Electric Ursa, Joan Shelley continues to lure listeners into her musical world. Imbued with secrets and tells, the Kentucky singer’s songcraft culls …
Music in the Gardens: H.C. McEntire
Due to the threat of rain, Duke Performances’ presentation of H.C. McEntire at Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, June 12 has been re-scheduled to Thursday, June 13 at 7 …
July 2018
Music in the Gardens: Las Cafeteras
East Los Angeles band, Las Cafeteras, play Duke Performances Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, July 25.
Music in the Gardens: Anna & Elizabeth
Appalachian balladeers Anna & Elizabeth play Duke Performances Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, July 18.
Music in the Gardens: Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba
Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba make the hometown release for their new album, ‘Routes’, at Duke Performances Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, July 11.
June 2018
Music in the Gardens: The Sadies
Roots-rock luminaries The Sadies play Duke Performances Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, June 27.
Music in the Gardens: Lydia Loveless
Ohio-reared, North Carolina-based singer/songwriter Lydia Loveless plays Duke Performances Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, June 20.
Music in the Gardens: Dori Freeman
Galax, Virginia native singer/songwriter Dori Freeman kicks-off Duke Performances Music in the Gardens on Wednesday, June 13.
July 2017
Music in the Gardens: Caleb Caudle
Winston-Salem singer, songwriter, and bandleader Caleb Caudle spent years shaping and sharpening his approach to country music before arriving, last year, at a triumph called Carolina Ghost.
Music in the Gardens: River Whyless
Asheville’s River Whyless has emerged from the mountain city’s bustling scene as one of the state’s most instantly likable bands.
Music in the Gardens: Kelsey Waldon
Kelsey Waldon sings it like she means it. The western Kentucky native doles out tough realizations about heartbreak and cheating, hard luck and lying (and battling back against it all) in a delightful monotone that says she’s seen and lived it all one too many times.
Music in the Gardens: Birds of Chicago
You’ve been warned: Birds of Chicago have been known to inspire romantic jealousy.
June 2017
Music in the Gardens: Loamlands
Loamlands’ leader Kym Register runs The Pinhook, the spiritual center of Durham’s music scene.
Music in the Gardens: Robbie Fulks
Even the stylistically broad label “alt-country” has been too slim to contain Robbie Fulks, “a wordier, more musically elastic, American Nick Lowe,” according to The New York Times. A graduate …
Music in the Gardens: Robert Finley
Robert Finley is a legend waiting to be shared. At the age of eleven, in Louisiana, he used his shoe-buying allowance to snag his first guitar, and it, in turn, ensnared him in a lifelong love affair.
Music in the Gardens: Flock of Dimes
“If You See Me, Say Yes” is Jenn Wasner’s her solo debut as Flock of Dimes and her first full-length since relocating to Durham.
July 2016
Music in the Gardens: Black Twig Pickers
ALERT: Moving Black Twig Pickers at Music in the Gardens Indoors to Motorco Music Hall. Heavy lightning & thunderstorms are forecast for tonight at showtime. As a result, we have …
Music in the Gardens: Jonathan Byrd & the Pickup Cowboys
“This rootsy North Carolinian may be the most buzzed-about new songwriter in folkdom,” wrote The Boston Globe about Carrboro’s Jonathan Byrd. “He displays John Prine’s gift for stark little songs that …
Music in the Gardens: William Tyler & Jake Xerxes Fussell
William Tyler is the guitarist every musician wants in their band: he’s played with everyone from Lambchop to Silver Jews to Hiss Golden Messenger. He’s also released two singular instrumental …
Music in the Gardens: Mount Moriah
Following cancellation due to rain on Wednesday, June 29, Duke Performances’ presentation of Mount Moriah has been re-scheduled for Thursday, July 7 at 7 PM. All ticket holders will be …
Music in the Gardens: Sierra Hull
Bluegrass mandolinist and singer Sierra Hull’s breakout album Weighted Mind went right to the top of Billboard’s bluegrass charts at the start of this year. The Chicago Tribune praised Hull’s “crystalline …
June 2016
Music in the Gardens: Skylar Gudasz
Please note: Since heavy lightning and thunderstorms are anticipated for Wednesday, June 15 (80% probability), we have moved the concert with Skylar Gudasz out of the Duke Gardens and over to Motorco Music …
Music in the Gardens: Leyla McCalla
After a stint in the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, singer and cellist Leyla McCalla has developed a sound all her own on two acclaimed solo records: her Langston Hughes tribute …
Music in the Gardens: No BS! Brass Band
The No BS! Brass Band draws from all over the American brass tradition. One minute, they sound like a New Orleans second line, the next like Mingus-style free jazz, the …
July 2015
Music in the Gardens
Music Maker Revue: Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen & Big Ron Hunter
Music Maker Relief Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Hillsborough, NC, dedicated to helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of the blues gain recognition and meet their day-to-day …
Music in the Gardens
Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba
Kaira Ba’s music is inspired both by West African griot culture and the tradition of dance bands that emerged from that part of the world in 1970s (see: The Rail …
Music in the Gardens
Music Maker Revue: Boo Hanks, John Dee Holeman, Ironing Board Sam & Williette Hinton
Note: John Dee Holeman, previously scheduled to perform, will miss this concert for medical reasons. A full recovery is anticipated. Piedmont Blues guitarist Lightnin’ Wells will fill in for Holeman. More info …