The Mountain Goats to headline 'Rock for Roe' benefit

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, local musicians led by John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) will hold a benefit show for NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina in Durham later this month.

The event will take place at The Pinhook on Saturday, January 20, and will feature Darnielle, possibly joined by members of Midtown Dickens, playing a requests set.

Amy Ray to host songwriter event with Heather McEntire, Phil Cook & M.C. Taylor

Singer-songwriter Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls will host a special "Writers in the Round" event in Durham in January with some of the best local writers of the Triangle.

The event will be at the Casbah in Durham on Thursday, January 31 and will feature Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah, Phil Cook of Megafaun and M.C. Taylor, aka Hiss Golden Messenger. Tickets are on sale now via Etix for $15.

It

Triangle Music's 2012 readers' poll results

This is one our favorite posts of the year. We get to tally up the results of our annual readers' poll and share them with you wonderful people.

Japandroids' Celebration Rock came out the clear winner this year in the top album category. Local folk band Bowerbirds came out on top in the top song category with "Tuck the Darkness In" (their album The Clearing also came in at number three on the

Hiss Golden Messenger to play free in-store Saturday

After playing The Pinhook in Durham tonight, November 16, celebrating the release of Lord I Love the Rain, Hiss Golden Messenger will head to Raleigh for a free in-store performance at Schoolkids Records on Saturday.

The in-store will start at 2 p.m. and will even have an opener, Plowman from Columbia, SC. Speaking about this event and the previous night's show, Hiss Golden Messenger says "And

Mutemath, Hiss Golden Messenger to play in-stores this fall

Schoolkids Records on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh will host two big in-store performances this fall that they have just announced.

First, alt-rockers Mutemath will stop by the store at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 9, to play a few songs before heading to the Lincoln Theatre for a show later that night.

Then, local rising star M.C. Taylor, aka Hiss Golden Messenger, will stop by the store at 2

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: The Weather Station, Hiss Golden Messenger

Photo by Michael Graham

The Fletcher Opera Theater was full of fantastic folks music on Friday night. Canadian singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman, aka The Weather Station, and Hiss Golden Messenger featuring Brad and Phil Cook of Megafaun and guitarist William Tyler, stunned crowds with their sets.

Check out photos of The Weather Station and Hiss Golden Messenger below.



Photo by Michael

New music video from Hiss Golden Messenger - "Blue Country Music"

Hiss Golden Messenger maybe prepping a new album (check out a performance of a new song HERE), but the 2011 album Poor Moon has just been re-released on CD by the Tompkins Square Label.

A new music video for "Blue Country Mystic" has just been released which you can enjoy below. Also download or stream the song "Westering" from the album below as well.

Hiss Golden Messenger will play the

Video: Hiss Golden Messenger performs "Red Rose Nantahala" with Phil & Brad Cook

The Independent recently started the Simple Music Video Series, a series of performances filmed around the Triangle. The first two featured Frank Fairfield and John Howie Jr. and the Rosewood Bluff which you can check out HERE.

The third is a performance of a new song by Michael Taylor, aka Hiss Golden Messenger, featuring Phil and Brad Cook of Megafaun. It was filmed earlier this month at the

Record Store Day 2012 is coming with tons of exclusive releases

Record Store Day is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year and has continued to grow larger every year. This year's big day is Saturday, April 21, and the massive list of exclusive releases has just been announced, which features quite a few local acts and others with local ties.

There will be exclusives from Bowerbirds, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Hiss Golden Messenger and Ryan Adams, as