NoDa- Charlotte's Alternate Music Scene

This is The Neighborhood Theatre, located on 36th Street in the heart of Charlotte's "NoDa" district. That's North of Davidson Street for all you out of town folk. A former local movie house, it has become a center for alternative music and some older acts, such as Leon Russell, Johnny Winters, Doc Watson and The Allman Brothers Band, just to name a few.

This 600 seat venue is about the largest place that I go to hear and see music. Tickets range from $20 to $35 depending on the act, and compared to the $65 or more being paid for the "top 40" type acts at the larger venues, is quite a score.

The inside of this non descript theatre is also a versatile place, seats can be removed or set up as shown in this photo, which is from the Neighborhood Theatre website.

Across the street from Neighborhood Theatre is an even smaller venue, The Evening Muse. With about 12 rows of seats in front of the raised dais, which is something like 12" above the floor, this is the penultimate place to see and hear some very good acts. My favorites are Will Kimbrough, Michelle Malone, and Darden Smith.

When filled to standing room only, the Muse holds almost 100 people. This is artistic intimacy at it's finest. They also hold open mic nights and an annual "Tosca Music Party", which allows local artists to showcase their talents.

The sound is superb, and when there is no act booked it doubles as a recording studio. With the brick walls bouncing back the sound, it is a unique and intimate place for recording. The owner, Joe Kuhlmann, is a musician as well as a sound engineer. In addition to that, he loves music and thrives on the alternate music that one is exposed to within his club. New sounds are the norm for this venue and the music never ceases to surprise me.

This photo of Darden Smith gives you an idea of how up front and personal the performances are at The Muse. Mr. Smith, as well as others, frequently step off the dais and away from the Mike. This photo was taken by Sue from her seat 18 inches from Mr. Smith. The sound of the guitar and vocal without mikes is so natural and pleasant. It actually becomes a personal experience.

So, this is where we go to hear music and watch people. It's a real loss to the communities when areas like this are overtaken by developers. They come in, and buy it all up, then sell it back at 5 times the former rate. And when all is said and done, the ambiance and flavor of the area are gone. So far, here in Charlotte, we are lucky. We still have our NoDa.