The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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  • The BlahqLyst, a hip-hop duo of Tarboro High School students, will perform at Saturday evening's "Share the Dream Talent Show'" on the Tarboro campus of Edgecombe Community College. (CourtesyPhoto)

    The Blahqlyst.jpg

  • Guitarist Jamie Johnson (left) and singer Katie Williamson will perform at the "Share the Dream" talent show Saturday evening on the Tarboro campus of Edgecombe Community College. (CourtesyPhoto)

    Jamie Johnson & Katie Williamson.jpg

  • Love and Theft, the American Country Music award-nominated duo, will grace the stage of the Keihin Auditorium on Edgecombe Community College's campus at 8 p.m. (CourtesyPhoto)

    Love and Theft.jpg
February 15, 2013

Busy weekend slated locally

The Daily Southerner MIRANDA BAINES

ROCKY MOUNT — The local music scene in Edgecombe County this weekend offers something for folks of all musical tastes, from country western to hip-hop and gospel.  History buffs have an opportunity to attend a black history program or visit the local veterans’ military museum for a glimpse into the past.



Country Music Concert

At 8 tonight, the American Country Music (ACM) award-nominated duo, Love and Theft, will take the stage at the Keihin Auditorium on the Tarboro campus of Edgecombe Community College (ECC).

“Their single, ‘Angel Eyes,’ was number one on the country charts back in August 2012,” said Eric Greene, director of cultural arts for ECC. “We’re going to have bonafide hit makers in Tarboro and we’re hoping the public will come out and support them.”

Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson are celebrating their nomination for ACM’s vocal duo of the year, which was announced Wednesday.

Audiences at tonight’s concert can expect to hear hits from Love and Theft’s self-titled 2012 album, including “Angel Eyes” and “Running Out of Air,” a song that Gunderson described in an August 2012 interview with Country Music Television as “an Eagles-meets-Maroon 5 kind of vibe.” The album is the duo’s first since joining RCA Nashville, the home to many of their musical inspirations.

Chase Rice, a contemporary country musician born and raised in western North Carolina, is the opening act for Love and Theft.

“Most people would remember him as the runner-up on ‘Survivor: Nicaragua,” Greene said. Rice was the linebacker for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill football team before an injury took him off he field. In the country music world, Rice is best known for his 2012 album “Dirt Road Communion.”  

This is not the first time Love and Theft has graced the campus of ECC. The group was the opening act for ECC’s 2008 sellout Taylor Swift concert. The groups are in good company, with Jason Michael Carroll, The Lost Trailers, country singer and dancer Julianne Hough, and Jimmy Wayne and Chuck Wicks, who have also performed at ECC.

“We’ve had a really good selection of country artists that we could afford,” Greene stated. Tickets for Friday’s concert are $30 for the general public and $25 for students and seniors. Tickets are available through the ECC Box Office, and online at www.etix.com. Tickets will also be available at the door. For more information, contact Greene at 823-5166, ext. 187.



“Share the Dream” Talent Show

Edgecombe Community College students will showcase their talents in a “Share the Dream Talent Show” Saturday evening at the college’s Tarboro campus. The show will begin at 6 p.m. in the Keihin Auditorium.

“We are hoping that the community will fill up every seat to support these talented artists,” says the show’s creator and director Jacquie Jeffers.

The talent show is a fundraiser for a new club, “Making Intelligent Ladies Academically Noble.”

Nikeya Cherry will open the show with Rihanna’s popular single “Diamonds.”

The varied performances by ECC students will include the punk rock band Tempest, guitarist Jamie Johnson and songstress Katie Williamson, a martial arts group, guitarist Isaac Best, mime by Bernard Sharpe, modern dance Timiya Murphy, Salt and Peppa on the Side gospel duo Christian Lamm and Noya Pitt.

Tarboro High School students also will be represented in the show, with performances by hip-hop group The BlahqLyst (Black List) and the drama club.

“We’re two young men that were blessed to have a true God-given talent along with a real passion for music and a sound we believe a whole lot of people need to hear,” say the two artists that comprise The BlahqLyst, K.Freshh, 17, and Trace, 15. “We are influenced by so many styles such as jazz, soul, funk, electronic music, alternative and even new jack swing…The message in our music is to progress minds. If it lacks purpose, then it’s not the Blahqlyst.”

The BlahqLyst’s new album “Welcome to Universe City” will debut Saturday and will be available at the concert.

The talent show will also feature professional performers, including R&B artist K Shontell, and spoken word artists Sean Ingram and Africa “Testimony” Anderson.

Everett Silver, contemporary gospel singer/ songwriter and host of WNCR’s “It’s All That and

Tri County Talk Live!” will emcee at the show. The president and CEO of Revils Entertainment Group, Silver has performed for the Bobby Jones Diamond Awards, the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the Dove Awards, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the 1988 presidential election debate.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets to the show are $5 and will be available at the door.

Attendees will have a chance to win door prizes, including coupons to Highway 55 and Wendy’s, college logo teddy bears, a car wash and a two-hour limousine ride.



The Phoenix Historical Society will host its annual black history program at 11 a.m. Saturday in the auditorium of the Edgecombe County administrative building at 201 St. Andrew St. in Tarboro. Historian David Cecelski will talk about his new book, “The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War.” The Society is recognizing the 150th anniversary of the African Brigade of the Union Army that was organized in New Bern in May 1863, consisting of refugees from enslavement in North Carolina who took up arms to fight for freedom. Galloway played a major role in organizing the African Brigade in New Bern and was the undisputed leader among African Americans in North Carolina during the Civil War and Reconstruction.



Edgecombe County Veterans’ Military Museum will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday. The museum is located at 106 W. Church St. in downtown Tarboro.

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