Coming up next....is our new original music series, Shaped by Sound! 🎶
Premiering February 6, Shaped by Sound weaves a visually stunning live studio performance by an NC artist or band with an intimate conversation about their creative journey. The series will be accompanied by a video podcast interview with each artist and a host of digital extras.
Our Season 1 artist lineup includes:
Iron & Wine (@ironandwinetour )
Sluice (@sluice.ig )
Superchunk
Nnenna Freelon (@nnennafreelon )
Sonny Miles (@sonnyformiles )
Alice Gerrard (@alice.gerrad )
Mipso (@mispomusic )
Blue Cactus (@blu.cactus )
Shirlette Ammons (@shirletteammons )
Town Mountain (@townmountain )
Blue Footed Boobies (@bluefootedboobies )
Fancy Gap (@fancygapofficial )
Reuben Vincent (@reubenvincent )
Stay tuned for more as we count down to the premiere, including a special premiere party invite and exclusive behind-the-scenes. You can start watching Shaped by Sound on February 6 at 9:30 PM on PBS NC and streaming on the PBS app and YouTube.
Made possible through support from Come Hear NC, a program of the N.C. Music Office within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
#PBSNC #ShapedBySoundPBS #NorthCarolina #NCMusic
🎶 Exciting news for North Carolina music! 🎶 Governor Roy Cooper @nc_governor has announced the establishment of the North Carolina Music Office within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. This new office will boost music-based programming, attract industry investments, and celebrate our state’s rich musical heritage. It joins a select group of states with official music offices, like Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
“North Carolina’s vibrant music industry is a key part of our state’s creative economy,” said Gov. Cooper. The office will collaborate with various partners to support and expand our music scene, driving economic growth and creating jobs across the state.
#ComeHearNC #MakeMusicDay #MakeMusicDayNC
Al Strong speaks on the trust needed to keep a song grooving 🎺
New Shaped by Sound episodes premiere Thursdays on PBS NC and the free PBS app!
Made possible through support from Come Hear NC, a program of the N.C. Arts Council within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
#ShapedBySound @alstrongmusic
Durham-based jazz musician Al Strong reflects on the influence of home, community and artistic guidance on his creative development. Through a magnetic performance and intimate conversation, he examines the cultural and personal forces that shaped his sound and his calling as an educator and artist.
New Shaped by Sound episodes premiere Thursdays on PBS NC and the free PBS app!
Made possible through support from Come Hear NC, a program of the N.C. Arts Council within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
#PBSNC #ShapedBySound
It’s Arts Day 2026 and we’re out here advocating for the arts in North Carolina! Did you know? Nationally, $151.7 billion dollars is generated from the non-profit arts and culture industry. Get the word out: support our arts!
Join us in welcoming Isaac Klein to the North Carolina Arts Council as our new theater and literature director. Isaac brings extensive national experience as a theater director, lyricist, writer, and performer, including assistant director roles in the Broadway revivals of "Gypsy" (2007) and "West Side Story" (2009). Most recently, he served as a digital producer for PBS North Carolina, where he worked on a team that created several programs, including Shaped by Sound—a PBS NC original series supported by the Come Hear NC Music Office (CHNCMO), a program of the North Carolina Arts Council.
Isaac is also a published author and the creator and host of the podcast "VANITY: Stories Behind the Plates." He earned his master’s degree in media and communication from UNC–Chapel Hill and his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama from the UNC School of the Arts, where he has returned as a guest artist and teacher. Outside of work, he has competed in New York City’s Punderdome, where he is a twelve-time champion.
Welcome Isaac!
Join us on Wednesday, May 13, at 3 PM for a screening of We Lift Each Other at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources auditorium in Raleigh. This powerful documentary highlights the transformative work of Raleigh-based Black Box Dance Theatre with veterans across North Carolina.
Featured in a national anthology produced by Arts Impact Collaborative, the film showcases the profound impact of the arts in communities across America.
Space is limited—please RSVP using link in bio to reserve your seat.
@nc.dncr@artsnorthcarolina@blackboxdance@comehearnc@nc.dmva@artsimpactcollaborative@uncsa
#BBDT #BlackBoxDanceTheatre #WeLiftEachOther #HealingArts #VeteransDance
We are in the midst of Teacher Appreciation Week! Every North Carolinian musician, great or small, has at least one music teacher to thank for setting them on their path. Though we tend to think of musicians as geniuses born fully formed, even giants needed guidance and inspiration as young apprentices. To name just a few examples, Nina Simone had Muriel Mazzanovich (“Miss Mazzy,”) in Tryon, who taught her Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert starting at 5 years of age; John Coltrane had Grayce Yokely, High Point band director, and Warren Steele, community band leader, to harness his early musical passion; harpist Mary Lattimore’s mother Leila, harpist for the Asheville Symphony passed down her knowledge to Mary in their family home in Asheville.
In addition, many of North Carolina’s musical greats were/are fantastic music teachers themselves. Roberta Flack was a talented elementary music teacher before hitting it big, taking her first gig in Farmville; Morgantown’s William Duckworth, a brilliant composer, was also an innovative music educator, and created interactive internet music and instructional texts; producer 9th Wonder has broken down the aesthetics of sampling and hip-hop history at NC Central and Duke.
Image 1: Mary & Leila Lattimore in performance; Image 2: 9th Wonder mural; Image 3: William Duckworth; Image 4: Roberta Flack mural; Image 5: early Nina Simone ("Eunice Waymon") flyer for piano recital at Miss Mazzy's house in Tryon
#NCLearningHappensHere @nc.dncr@ncartscouncil ncpublicschools
North Carolina’s rich natural history is Wild & Wonderful. From North Carolina State Parks and trails to museums, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources offers opportunities to travel and enjoy the outdoors this May. Whether you're a longtime Tar Heel or on your first visit to North Carolina, put on this nature-themed playlist of NC musicians and touch grass today! 🔗 Link in bio!
1. Max Roach & Clifford Brown: "Joy Spring" (Pasquotank County)
2. Charlie Poole: "Mountain Reel" (Franklinville, Eden)
3. William Duckworth: "The Time Curve Preludes: III" (Morganton)
4. Roberta Flack: "River" (Black Mountain)
5. Maceo Parker: "Grazing in the Grass" (Kinston)
6. Lou Donaldson: "The Squirrel" (Badin)
7. John Coltrane: "Nature Boy" (High Point)
8. Nina Simone: "Lilac Wine" (Tryon)
9. Randy Travis: "Deeper Than the Holler" (Marshville)
10. Hiss Golden Messenger: "Pittsboro Farewell" (Durham)
11. Jake Xerxes Fussell & James Elkington: "The Magic Boots" (Durham)
12. The Doc Watson Family: "Muddy Roads" (Deep Gap)
13. Nathan Bowles: "Elk River Blues" (Durham)
14. Flatt & Scruggs: "Flint Hill Special" (Cleveland County)
15. Joe Thomson & Odell Thompson: "Hook and Line" (Hillsborough)
16. Billy Strayhorn & Duke Ellington: "Cottontail" (Hillsborough)
17. The Blue Sky Boys: "Black Mountain Blues" (Hickory)
18. Thelonious Monk: "Rhythm-a-Ning" (Rocky Mount)
19. Object Hours: "Solved by Walking" (Carrboro)
20. John Jacob Niles: "I Wonder as I Wander" (song “born” in Murphy)
@nc.dncr@ncartscouncil
MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger reflects on what he's trying to communicate with his new album, and what joy looks like as a self-described "lone wolf."
New Shaped by Sound episodes premiere Thursdays on PBS NC and the free PBS app!
Made possible through support from Come Hear NC, a program of the N.C. Arts Council within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
#PBSNC #ShapedBySound
Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor shares the inspirations behind his powerful blend of Americana, soul and roots music. Through an intimate performance and conversation, he explores how personal transformation, place and spiritual searching shaped his signature sound.
New Shaped by Sound episodes premiere Thursdays on PBS NC and the free PBS app!
Made possible through support from Come Hear NC, a program of the N.C. Arts Council within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
#ShapedBySound
