Queen City Nerve - March 24, 2021

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9; MARCH 24 - APRIL 6, 2021; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

AS IT DEVELOPS Charlotte comprehensive plan delayed as discussions continue

By Ryan Pitkin

Arts: Stone House Art Gallery highlights homework pg. 6 Music: Arsena Schroeder opens up pg. 8

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS& OPINION 6 ARTS 8 MUSIC 10 FOOD& DRINK LIFESTYLE

4 AS IT DEVELOPS BY RYAN PITKIN Charlotte’s comprehensive plan delayed as discussions continue

PUBLISHER

JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS jl afra n co i s @ q cn er ve.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RYAN PITKIN rpi tk i n @ q cn e r ve. c om

ART DIRECTOR

JAYME JOHNSON jjo h n s o n @ q cn e r ve.com

STAFF WRITER

PAT MORAN pm o ra n @ q cn er ve . com

DIGITAL EDITOR LEA BEKELE l be ke l e @ q cn er ve . com

AD SALES EXECUTIVE RENN WILSON r wi l s o n @ q cn e r ve . com

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER JESSICA RAGLAND jragl a n d @ q cn e r ve.com

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TO PLACE AN ADVERTISEMENT EMAIL INFO@QCNERVE.COM Q UE E N CIT Y N ERVE WELC O M E S SU BM I S SI ONS O F A LL K IN D S . PLE A S E S EN D SU BMI S SI ONS O R STO RY PITC H E S TO IN FO @ QC NE RV E .C OM .

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HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS BY LIZ LOGAN Kilee Price turns childhood home garage into Stone House Art Gallery

UNPLUGGED AND EMPOWERED BY PAT MORAN Arsena Schroeder opens up with intimate concert series

A SECOND WIND BY LEA BEKELE Hall Family Farm starts over across the Carolina border

12 AERIN IT OUT BY AERIN SPRUILL 12 HOROSCOPE 13 PUZZLES 14 LIFEWAVE 15 SAVAGE LOVE

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THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN, LEA BEKELE, GRANT BALDWIN, LIZ LOGAN, ANDREA ORR, AERIN SPRUILL AND DAN SAVAGE.

AS IT DEVELOPS Charlotte comprehensive plan delayed as discussions continue

By Ryan Pitkin

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Arts: Stone House Art Gallery highlights homework pg. 6 Music: Arsena Schroeder opens up pg. 8

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

inclusionary zoning aspect, were simply not within As the March 1 meeting dragged on, District 6 Over two years, the city held numerous outreach the city’s current authority to implement. council rep Tariq Bokhari told Jaiyeoba, “I hope this events ranging from town hall meetings to doorEgleston set the tone that evening by stating is crystal clear to you that there is no path where we to-door canvassing to hosting game nights with a directly that there was “very little chance” he can get this done in the next 60 days.” custom-built board game that allowed players to would be ready to approve the plan by April, as Before the meeting wrapped, Mayor Vi Lyles help create a plan for Charlotte themselves. was originally scheduled. Others voiced similar pleaded with council members to get on the same According to Jaiyeoba, planning staff heard sentiments. page regarding the plan, as doing nothing was not from more than 6,500 voices in half a million Charlotte’s new Republican Ed Driggs followed Egleston, stating an option. interactions through more than 40 methods of comprehensive plan hits his belief that “a single-family neighborhood is an “People are going to come here no matter what. engagement during the feedback process, which delay as discussion continues American tradition,” despite his acknowledgment We may not build a quadplex or a duplex on any street is still in effect through listening sessions and the that they have been blamed as a key source of and just keep them where they are but the people ongoing comment process on the 2040 Plan website

BY RYAN PITKIN housing discrimination throughout American gotta live somewhere,” Lyles warned. “I would not (cltfuture2040.com). history. Democrat Matt Newton spoke next, stating say pump the brakes, I would say figure out how the Rebekah Whilden, who works in land use, It was not long after Charlotte Assistant City he was worried that parts of his district in east council can come to a consensus around policy.” transportation, and environmental issues, has Manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba finished his participated in the creation of presentation to Charlotte City Council comprehensive plans in Clarke at its March 1 strategy session that County, Nevada, where Las Vegas is it started to become clear just how located; and in Washington D.C. much an uphill battle he was facing Though she was not directly in getting approval for the Charlotte involved in creating Charlotte’s Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan, plan, she is married to Sam Spencer, which will certainly become the chair of the Charlotte Mecklenburg defining aspect of his role as the Planning Commission, and had a city’s director of planning, design and front row seat to the process. She development. has been an outspoken proponent of As soon as the topic was opened the plan since last October, which is up for discussion, Jaiyeoba faced a when she first read the draft plan in volley of apprehensive questions full. Following the March 1 meeting, from council, many of them Whilden created a petition calling centered on the proposed Unified on city council to approve the plan Development Ordinance (UDO), a rather than push back the vote. separate but vital document that will “This is the most outreach help direct the way the 2040 Plan that I have ever seen a planning is implemented in terms of zoning department do,” Whilden told Queen decisions.

City Nerve. “I think that this speaks In his presentation, Jaieyoba a lot to the Leading on Opportunity described how the UDO will replace Task Force report that says we need the current single-family zoning MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS ARE INTERSPERSED AMONG SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES IN WESLEY HEIGHTS. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN to start listening to our residents definition with a place type labeled in every part of the city, and that is Neighborhood 1, one of 10 place types included in Charlotte did not have the infrastructure needed to Three weeks later, Lyles would be forced to what the planning department set out to do and I the plan. Neighborhood 1 will allow for duplexes support even a slight increase in density. pump the brakes, as she informed Charlotte City think that they have done. Now, do I think that they and triplexes in neighborhoods currently zoned In response, at-large representative Braxton Council with a March 21 memorandum that the plan could have done more outreach? Yes, and that is part exclusively for single-family homes. It will also Winston defended the plan, stating that any for an April vote would be pushed back, but would of what the comment process is, is to truly hear from allow for quadplexes along arterial roads currently misunderstanding by council was the fault of need to happen no later than June 30, 2021, the end everyone.” zoned for single-family housing, but only if the council, as a draft of the plan had been public since of the city’s fiscal year. development is seen as beneficial to the community, October.

Opposition from different angles such as affordable or workforce housing.

“This conversation reinforces that a lot of people A plan comes together While some developers and real estate This aspect of the 2040 Plan, known as want change but they don’t want to be part of The Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan professionals have decried the inclusionary inclusionary zoning, is seen as a way to diversify the change,” Winston said, implying that council has been in the works since late 2018, when city zoning aspect of the 2040 Plan, other community housing throughout Charlotte and allow for more of members were getting cold feet as developers and staff was tasked with using community engagement organizations have spoken out against it for wholly the “missing middle housing,” helping to put a dent others in the real estate industry pressured them not to put together a cohesive vision for how Charlotte separate reasons. in the city’s affordable housing crisis. to support inclusionary zoning. Later, some council will approach its rapid growth in an equitable and Shortly after the March 1 meeting, the Larken Egleston went first on March 1, stating members made allegations that their colleagues inclusive manner. There has not been such a plan Housing Justice Coalition joined with residents that while he’s all for aspirational goals, some pieces hadn’t even read the plan in full yet. implemented in our city since 1975. in neighborhoods such as Howie Acres, a quickly of the 230-page comprehensive plan, including the

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AS IT DEVELOPS

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

the potential to create opportunities for affordable housing in some places, it was far from guaranteed as an obstacle to gentrification. He cited a 754-squaregentrifying neighborhood in north Charlotte; the foot duplex unit in his former community of Plaza Far West Charlotte Community Coalition, which Shamrock that in 2017 was listed at $60,000 and is represents residents in unincorporated parts of west currently listed on Zillow at $264,000.

Mecklenburg County that still fall under Charlotte

“One of the things I’ve always loved about Charlotte is that when you fly into the city, you would never guess that we’re a metropolitan area of over 2 million people because of our canopy cover, because of the way we have these gorgeous neighborhoods with wide streets,” Blumenthal said. “We’re not getting rid of that. It’s not like we’re going to come build apartment blocks everywhere, and frankly it’s not like quads and triplexes or duplexes are really going to tarnish the quality of these neighborhoods.”

In pointing out that any middle housing developments will still be dictated by the market under the plan as proposed, which is rather inevitable without any concrete plans for community benefits agreements or zones of some sort, Blumenthal affirmed the concerns of those community organizations who stand against the plan.

“The fact that these developments would still be dictated by market forces does mean that these neighborhoods may not become as accessible as they should be,” Blumenthal admitted. “But I also think that it will increase accessibility by and large.

You’re not going to jump from the bottom to the top, and vice versa, but I think that it will increase the ability to transition and scale up your quality of life. It may not be as rapid and dramatic as some people hope, but it will happen.”

More than 100 people signed up to speak at a March 22 public hearing about the plan, and for three hours the council heard from residents who spoke out on an array of issues, both in support of and against the 2040 Plan.

Planning staff and council members will continue to hold weekly listening sessions in the coming months so that all concerns can be considered in the edits made to the 2040 Plan draft before it goes in front of council for a vote.

At the end of thae March 22 meeting, Mayor Lyles said she and Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt had already been meeting with every Charlotte City Council member to discuss ways in which they could move the plan forward without any further obstacles.

“The council has the most difficult work to determine how all of these positions go into the best interest of this fast-growing city,” Lyles said, asking for all sides to prepare for compromise. “I ask everybody who’s watching this to work with finding what you want to see. We know what everybody’s against, we know where the opposition and the hot spots are, but I think now is the time to pivot to what you want to see … There’s some times in a history of a process that you have to say that this is what I can live with, too.”

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DRAFT WILL NOT INVITE MORE APARTMENT COMPLEXES TO LOOM OVER SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES, DESPITE SOME HAVING PORTRAYED IT AS SUCH.

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PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

zoning jurisdiction; Clanton Park in west Charlotte; and others to create the Charlotte Community Benefits Coalition (CCBC).

The group held a press conference on March 12 to call for a halt to the 2040 Plan process until certain demands could be met. Those demands included more transparency as to who have been considered key stakeholders in the process and what field they work in, the creation of an anti-displacement stakeholder group to oversee the creation of a final 2040 Plan draft, and a more dedicated commitment to community benefit zones in the plan, which would create teams of localized community leaders that are able to draw up agreements with developers about how they are allowed to build in their respective communities.

One CCBC member who preferred to only be identified as Jason said he and his fellow organizers were concerned that the 2040 Plan and the adjoining UDO’s new approach to zoning would simply streamline the process for developers. He pointed out that, while inclusionary zoning had

“If a developer comes into a neighborhood that residents don’t like … if something came through and they’re charging $350-400,000 for a 12,000-square-foot unit and your neighborhood doesn’t want it, what is going to stop that from happening? Where’s the community input?” Jason asked.

While community benefits agreements are mentioned multiple times in the 2040 Plan draft as something to be explored, it remains a broad goal, as the city doesn’t currently have the authority to implement them locally and would have to seek that authority from the North Carolina General Assembly.

‘It will happen’

Local real estate broker Andrew Blumenthal, also a member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission, said he has gone against the feelings of many others in his profession to support the plan because it prioritizes what’s important to him: promoting smart density through urban infill and a mix of housing types in neighborhoods.

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ARTS FEATURE

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Kilee Price turns childhood home garage into Stone House Art Gallery

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BY LIZ LOGAN

The approach to Stone House Art Gallery (SHAG) is highly industrial in one direction — lumber, trucking, an emptied-out auto auction site — with the commercialized outcomes of suburbia in the other.

SHAG’s location, just outside Coulwood West in northwest Charlotte, is best known as home to farm-focused restaurant Heirloom’s original location — before they announced a move to Belmont — and its close proximity to both Historic Latta Plantation and US National Whitewater Center. In other words, the emergence of this unsuspecting gallery comes out of a dire nowhere relative to Charlotte’s Uptown-centric art scene.

A 1940’s stone house with a brightly painted teal door sits just off Mount Holly Road’s industrial setting, the driveway lined with fresh mulch and colorful metal animal figures. Behind a black metal gate is Weezy, the all-bark Great Pyrenees, and a cat aptly named Speckles, who meet me at the gate as Kilee Price ushers me into the backyard of her childhood home, bought by her parents in 1986 from the original owner. There is an intimacy in the way she maneuvers in the space, a nonchalant apology for her barking dog, who is too muddy to go inside — an ease in navigating the space she’s known her entire life. Her familiarity is warm and comforting and I, too, feel at home.

We make our way to a small, stone building at the back edge of the driveway, where two glass-paned doors open into Spawning Point, a collaborative exhibit by Detroit-based artist Clare Gatto and Cleveland-based artist Kara Gut.

Up until a few years ago, this 11-by-9-foot building (the original owner’s garage) still resembled the machine shop where Price’s dad once worked to restore antique Fords. After building a larger garage in the adjacent lot where he now works toward his dreams of post-retirement restoration, the shop stood empty until its 2018 transformation into Price’s art studio.

Price had known this house as her home until attending Columbus College for Art & Design in Ohio, where she obtained a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts.

She then attended Cranbook Academy of Art in Michigan, where she earned a master’s degree in print media. Entering the program as an oil painter,

“It can be [unique] but what I’ve found is that people resonate with my work because it takes them to their childhood,” Price says.

She works in screen grabs and memes, mocking internet culture while knowing she herself has been molded by it and that now, her artist-run gallery is driven by it.

After becoming a Goodyear Arts resident in 2019 and taking advantage of the community of collective studio space (and forgoing the commute to her parents’ house from her NoDa apartment), Price looked for a way to best use the redesigned studio, which she says is a “perfectly photographical space.”

KILEE PRICE OUTSIDE OF STONE HOUSE ART GALLERY. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

the academy’s push for artists to work outside their realm afforded Price the opportunity to study printing, “breaking it down to what it is at its core.”

This newfound medium paired with her background in painting evolved into work that involved investigation into internet culture, about how much your surroundings dictate your life, especially on the internet. Price explores themes of capitalism and subliminal cues, how “likes” and “shares” become a non-monetary measurement of value and how that affects a person’s worth and identity.

Price plays on nostalgic references to her childhood, nostalgia itself being a concept which she says is not necessarily unique.

“The studio is a white cube, it’s blank. There are white walls with three windows, two doors. It’s the perfect vessel for showing work however you want.

Because it’s so blank,” she says, “it can become more than a painting on a wall, transforming the space into an immersive experience.”

The decision for the studio’s gallery transformation stemmed from her grad school experience curating pop-up shows. Moving back to Charlotte in 2018, Price became an art instructor at both UNC Charlotte and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC), all the while ruminating on the idea of curation at her childhood home. It took an RCCC colleague bringing up this idea for Price to realize it was a plausible concept.

Though it was a slow-rolling start, this conversation pushed Price to begin brainstorming, to develop a mission statement and conceptualize the potential of her studio. Price began re-imagining this domestic space into a specially-curated art experience, centering on what this means for global art and DIY culture.

How could she take her education, experience and art and translate it into a new type of space that inspires other artists and curators to expand their curatorial vernacular?

Her teaching experience started with instructing her students on the basics — color mixing, composition, things Price says you forget you know when you’ve been doing art a while.

“Art becomes intuitive when you have the tools put in front of you,” she continues, and part of the tools is knowing how to take your art into the world.

Price worked with her students (and, more recently, the students of her exhibit’s contributing artists Gut and Gatto) on how to compile a proposal and artist statement for a show. It was this teaching she applied when putting out an artist call in May 2020 via Instagram and her newly-launched website.

She reached out to art departments at the colleges and universities at which she’d attended and taught. She asked her artist friends to share the call, the goal being to pull in artists from outside the region.

Price had a good idea of what she was looking for: a detailed proposal of how an artist’s work would exist in the space, one-to-two person shows, artists who hadn’t yet made a name for themselves. The goal was to show 12 different artists throughout 2021 with each artist’s show on display for three weeks, with a week in between to transition to the next show.

In October, just before ramping up the 2021 season, Price put out a call for artists for a December show. Around this time, USPS funding had been threatened with massive budget cuts and Price was interested in showcasing mail-based art. She rented a post office box for a month and asked artists to send in work for SHAG’s inaugural exhibit, Pen Pal. The concrete floor was filled with electric blue carpet sourced from an old warehouse, the white

ARTS FEATURE

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walls lined with delicate wooden shelving, meant to invoke the nostalgic feel of the post office.

These shelves were then lined with the works of 36 artists, making SHAG into an immersive experience reminiscent of childhood trips to retrieve mail.

As the time came to display these shows, Price had conversations with her parents about the potential of strangers slogging around their property, viewing art just behind their house.

“My parents have always been supportive of anything I’ve wanted to do. They’ve always encouraged me to follow my passion and they’ve provided literal space for me to do that,” Price says.

As they discussed what art openings might look like, though, Price’s parents had a few logistical concerns. “They asked ‘What does it look like if Kilee invites a bunch of her friends to drink beer and talk about art in the yard? Where are they going to park or go to the bathroom? What about the dog?’”

The family collectively decided to show the art by appointment. As an artist and someone who follows galleries and artist-run spaces online, Price knew most of the interaction happened via Instagram and that would be the reality of her gallery.

Because the Charlotte art scene is relatively

small and SHAG is out of the way for most art enthusiasts (though just 15 minutes from Uptown), the exhibits are designed to be internet-friendly so viewers can get the satisfaction of viewing an art show via online modalities. Still, Price says, “You get the best out of art by going.”

Price realizes this is just the way it is these days, especially in a pandemic.

“In my life, just as a millennial, there is a crossover between focusing on physical work and digital and internet-influenced working. Growing up in ‘internet time’, this is just how things naturally happened,” she says.

Spawning Point, the gallery’s fourth exhibit, photographs exceptionally well, making the transition to the digital world seamless. The gallery’s three small windows and overhead LED lights are covered with pink film, creating an Electric Ladyland feel, while collaborative rock sculptures litter the floor and two chiffon sheets printed with 3-D scans of Gatto’s skin meshed into amorphous textures are suspended in the center of the room. The work is meant to invoke the inquiry of perception versus reality, the juxtaposition of live waterfall footage beneath stock imagery creating the conundrum we face in this internet-centric world: What is real?

Price received over 30 applications for her show and narrowed it down to those who were the most

specific and detailed in their proposals. January’s exhibit, Legacy, was created by the gallery’s only Charlotte-based artists, d’Angelo Dia and Julio Gonzalez. The exhibit examined what “makes heritage and how it’s applied to the present,” per the work’s description. As local artists, the two were able to install their exhibit, something the remaining artists will only help with from afar.

Price hopes to extend access to art from beyond Charlotte, giving residents an opportunity to explore nationwide art within their own city. For some, the decision to target out-of-town artists may strike a nerve — Charlotte is seeking to make a name for itself and expand its own scene, even fighting for funding to do that very thing. But for Price, the decision to focus on outside artists was an intentional one.

“I wanted to broaden Charlotte’s experience with art while giving little-known artists space to share their work,” Price says. Her Goodyear Arts residency and work at both the Mint and Bechtler museums have allowed her the opportunity to be involved with local artists and shows. She thus sees this approach as an enhancement to the community, not a hindrance.

While Gatto and Gut traveled to Charlotte to install their show, the remaining artists will ship their work to Price with detailed instructions on

installation, giving her curation a hands-on quality.

While many galleries are extending shows to account for the lag of attendance during a pandemic, Price is true to her timeline.

The quick turnaround of new artists is meant to generate curiosity while embodying the permanence of an exhibit’s digital existence.

“I think Charlotte can benefit from this being different than what the McColl Center or the Mint would pick up,” Price says. “I’m trying to give a voice to new artists who haven’t been seen in Charlotte before and that differ from what our artists are currently creating. I want to show Charlotte what’s out there. This is a way to bring something to the table that hasn’t existed before now.”

Price serves as not only curator and installer but guide as people set appointments to view the exhibits. As with me, Price leads guests through the gate, giving a history of both the quartz rock home in which she grew up and the garage-turned-gallery that now houses art from around the country.

She gives a brief description of the show and allows viewers space to explore the exhibit which generally makes the conversation unique to each experience, all from the comfort of home.

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MUSIC FEATURE

As her interest in finance waned, her passion for and thinking, ‘If this is what it’s like, I can see myself a chance to unwind, to really unplug from the chaos of life,” Schroeder says. “I want everyone to leave music grew. The seed was planted late in freshman doing that.’” year when a classmate asked Schroeder to sing on Schroeder was also entranced with India Arie — refreshed.” his mixtape. She composed a verse for the song, how Arie infused her sound with her spirituality, and the folk elements she incorporated into her vocals.

From high finance to musical marking her first brush with songwriting.

In sophomore year, Schroeder bought a guitar and “These two in the beginning made me think I inspiration taught herself to play so she could accompany herself. had a space in the music world.”

Love of music came relatively late to Schroeder, By that time Schroeder decided to pursue music, In 2012 Schroeder released her first recording. because until college, her priorities lay elsewhere. never expecting it to be a full-time job.

She graduated The EP Abundantly consisted of four songs Schroeder Arsena Schroeder opens up Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was raised by a with degrees in sociology and communications, the wrote during her college days and was produced by with intimate concert series single mother. Money was often tight, and Schroeder’s first member of her family to earn an undergraduate fellow Pfeiffer alumni Brandon Snow. At the time, childhood was punctuated by periods of homelessness. degree. Fresh out of college, Schroeder started Schroeder considered herself a Christian artist who

BY PAT MORAN “Being an only child made me want to step up and playing the local and regional scenes. sang Christian-inspired music. help out,” Schroeder remembers. She was constantly “Starting out my inspiration was anybody who “Without a doubt my music is dipped, bathed, At 17, Arsena Schroeder was catapulted into the finding ways to bring in money to pay the bills. looked like me,” Schroeder offers, “and anybody who and soaked in my faith,” Schroeder told Breedlove fast-paced world of high finance. By her sophomore Schroeder believes this resilience in the face of year at Pfeiffer University, she had served five hardship fostered the entrepreneurial spirit she later created music that wasn’t the typical music that Music in a 2013 interview. (She subsequently signed women who looked like me created.” an endorsement deal with Breedlove guitars that internships with finance companies, including a concluded a few years ago.) Today, Schroeder stint on Capitol Hill. Schroeder was at the seat of no longer wishes to box her music into the America’s economic power, with a lucrative career Christian category. She’s grown in her spiritual laid out before her, but something wasn’t right. journey, she offers, and therefore finds the “I was bored out of my mind,” Schroeder says. label too rigid.

“A lot of what I learned has helped me be successful, “I have a wider range of beliefs,” she says. but at the time it wasn’t relevant to me.”

“Now that I’m older, I don’t enjoy the traditions Today Schroeder is grateful that she took a and oppression that come with that.”

180-degree turn in her career track, abandoning That said, Schroeder maintains there is a her high-profile scholarship programs to distinct inspirational element in her music, embrace making and promoting music. As a fueled in part by her songwriting process, which singer and songwriter, she’s earned acclaim she describes as an open diary. Schroeder, who for her warm soulful pop, hushed confessional teaches songwriting, acknowledges there are songs that radiate strength and compassion. many approaches to the craft, but the one that As an entrepreneur, Schroeder launched works for her is processing or sharing her life Dear Soul Music Company, which draws on her experience in song. It’s as if the artist opens the business training to help independent artists listener’s heart by opening their own. like herself to self-promote effectively while “Any song you hear [of mine], you’re pretty maintaining a sane work/life balance. As a much hearing all my business.” promoter, Schroeder founded the Unplugged + Live Concert Series, which brings musicians Celebrity scrutiny and fans together in stress-free settings that ARSENA SCHROEDER. PHOTO BY ANDREA ORR With the full support of her husband foster listening and communication.

Stephen, whom she met in college and married It’s in her role as promoter that Schroeder embraced. In 1996, Schroeder and her mother moved One daunting hurdle for the young musician soon after graduation, Schroeder toured up and presents the Unplugged + Live: Virtual Music Festival to Charlotte, where Schroeder proved an exceptional was that she sang with quiet passion, a style she down the East Coast in support of Abundantly. In in partnership with live entertainment promotion student. She attended high school at the Phillip O. says wasn’t popular in Black culture or in Schroeder’s 2014, she released her first full length album, For company Jazz N Soul Music. The concert series, Berry Academy of Technology in west Charlotte, where community at the time. She also liked to accompany My Artist Child. For the debut collection, Schroeder sponsored by the Arts & Science Council (ASC) Culture she studied biotechnology. When it came time to expanded her instrumental prowess to keyboards Blocks program, features two shows, one on April 9 and attend Pfeiffer College in Misenheimer, North Carolina, herself with picked and strummed guitar.

“I love the sound of acoustic guitar,” she says. “It and the guitalele — half-guitar, half-ukulele. the other on June 11, streaming live from Jazz N Soul Schroeder made her first career pivot. She qualified for a “It’s a vintage instrument,” she says, “Half the Music’s south Charlotte performance venue The Cube. number of scholarships, including the Gates Millennium is my first love.” Finally, Schroeder found inspiration in two contemporary artists.

More that a decade strings are steel and half the strings are [nylon]. It Schroeder hosts and performs in the April 9 Scholars Program, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Unplugged + Live Festival, which boasts live full and Ronald McDonald House Charities, totaling a half after it was released, Schroeder discovered Lauryn creates a really cool Hawaiian sound.”

A single from the album, “Manna,” drew band performances by two Charlotte acts, R&B million dollars. She decided to follow the scholarship Hill’s live acoustic EP MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 and was transfixed.

Listening to Hill’s voice, guitar and attention, as did a shimmering cover of Bob Marley’s vocalist and songwriter Tamra Simone and soul opportunities for a full-ride studying finance. vulnerable storytelling, Schroeder felt she too could “Turn You Lights Down Low.” In 2016 and 2017, jazz fusion band Menastree, along with video “I thought it was perfect — business, finance,” be a singer-songwriter, one who drew on folk, soul Schroeder followed For My Artist Child with a pair submissions by other artists.

Schroeder recalls. “I wanted to make sure that I and personal narratives. “I remember listening to it of EPs, Anchor Down Below and Quest, for which “From Unplugged + Live I hope that people get could provide for myself.”

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UNPLUGGED AND EMPOWERED

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MUSIC FEATURE

Still, the audiences grew and the gigs expanded from private homes into coffee shops and eventually local music venues.

Audio from shows was recorded and put up on YouTube, and demand grew for Unplugged + Live. Audiences were drawn to the laid-back listening room environment, which made for a more authentic experience where performers tell stories that foster conversations between musicians and listeners.

“It removes the pressure from the performer,” says Schroeder. “For the audience, it’s a taste of what goes into the creative process. They can engage with the artist and ask questions.”

In time the Unplugged + Live shows outgrew mere audio on YouTube dissemination and became the live-streaming events they are today.

Charlotte songwriter Tera Jackson contributed lyrics.

Back in the Queen City between tours, Schroeder played a set accompanying herself on keyboards at Common Market in Plaza Midwood. A talent buyer for Charlotte’s NBA team – then called the Bobcats – noticed Schroeder, moving his seat closer to hear her singing better.

“He said he could see me playing in the arena with the lights low,” Schroeder remembers. “He kept describing the whole scene.” A year later, the scene became reality after Schroeder passed an audition at the arena. She played a gala concert for the team after they were renamed the Hornets, at Time Warner (soon to be Spectrum) Arena. Her performance received a standing ovation from team owner Michael Jordan.

At another gig, Schroeder once again came under celebrity scrutiny. Singer and former American Idol star Fantasia Barrino arrived unannounced and sat right behind Schroeder as she performed her set.

“Thankfully, I never realized she was there while I was singing,” Schroeder recalls. “That would have terrified me.”

After the show Fantasia and her family asked if they could exchange contact information and keep in touch with Schroeder.

They’ve done so ever since.

As Schroeder continued to tour the East Coast, she got in the habit of booking a house show in every town where she was scheduled to play a traditional concert or club gig. The obvious advantages of house concerts were that they gave Schroeder a captive audience while providing her with a place to stay the night, but soon other benefits from performing SCHROEDER PERFORMS. in an intimate setting emerged.

“It’s a low-pressure environment, where An open diary people are coming to engage with the songwriter In 2017, with the concert series gathering and the music,” Schroeder maintains. She found momentum, Schroeder launched the Dear Soul she preferred house shows over venues where Music Company, LLC to provide resources for her performers contended with audiences who treated fellow independent artists. Remembering that their music like aural wallpaper. there had been no one to advise her along the Coming off the road, Schroeder decided to promote way when she was trying to navigate the music the positive audience-to-performer connection of industry, Schroeder draws on her finance, business house shows in her hometown. In 2013 she launched and entrepreneurship background to provide Unplugged + Live as a house-concert series in Charlotte. resources for other artists so that they can develop She started setting up shows featuring independent professionally. musicians in homes and intimate spaces, but it quickly “We can change how artists approach this got to the point where she could not fit everyone into industry,” Schroeder offers. “They don’t need a living rooms. Schroeder started asking concertgoers if huge label to back them … if they learn the they could reciprocate and hold shows in their homes.

business and … how to succeed.” At first Schroeder supplemented her income by offering one-on-one consultations to artists, but she rapidly advanced to offering workshops on songwriting, branding and music production. This summer Dear Soul Music will host a youth recording arts camp.

“I used to wish that I had someone to sit me down and help me, so I now try to give that,” Schroeder says. Between her community outreach efforts through Unplugged + Live and Dear Soul Music, Schroeder has been awarded countless grants and funding opportunities through ASC including the regional Artists Grant (2015), Creative Renewal Fellowship (2019), ASC Cultural Vision Grant (2020) and numerous Culture Blocks Award from 2018 through today.

In the meantime, Schroeder continues to pursue

with Curt Keys, her accompanist for unplugged live-streams to record those full band versions of the songs. They were released as the Unplugged: Remixed & Remastered EP in fall 2020.

In her most recent video, released in December 2020, Schroeder celebrates her 30th birthday with family in a warm, confident rendition of “So Much to Give,” a song from the Unplugged EP. Another song, “Open Your Eyes,” was featured March 16 on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s TV show Delilah, which is set and shot in Charlotte. On a personal note, Schroeder recently celebrated her 10-year anniversary with husband Stephen.

The biggest change between the Unplugged + Live: Virtual Music Festival on April 9 and past unplugged live-streams is that this time the festival won’t really be unplugged. Unplugged + Live’s normally stripped back acoustic performances will be replaced with full band electric performances. Schroeder started practicing electric guitar in earnest once the pandemic was underway, and says she’s been getting serious with her D’Angelico guitar.

Schroeder is particularly excited to see Tamra Simone perform at The Cube’s stage, which Schroeder fondly calls “the band cave.” Simone has performed acoustically for Schroeder’s streaming concert series before, but this will be the first time she’ll be backed by a band.

“Tamra’s upbeat and high energy,” Schroeder says. “Even acoustic she had a lot of crowd interaction. If she’s like that with one musician accompanying her, imagine what she’ll be like with a full band.”

Schroeder says Menastree will bring a horn section and plenty of surprises to the band cave. “They pull from a number of genres, so PHOTO BY ANDREA ORR I’m excited to see them in person live.”

Despite the technological advances in her muse. In 2018, Schroeder released her second Unplugged + Live, which has seen small home album Sleeptalking, a collection that delves into concerts grow into an elaborate livestreamed dreams, rest, and restlessness. With songs that festival, Schroeder believes the heart of the share how Schroeder has grown through recent experience remains the same. life experiences, it’s clear that the songwriter is still “What I love about this series is I believe that composing an open diary. the original foundation is still there,” she says. The On a creative renewal fellowship through the artists are in a safe environment where they can be ASC in 2019, Schroeder traveled to Prague to work themselves, and the audience feels they’re getting a with a new set of musicians. She says the sabbatical unique experience. sparked her creativity, and gave her a chance “My hope is to implement a positive experience to write some new material. Though Schroeder that’s not gimmicky or just showmanship. It really is released acoustic versions of that material in 2019, a celebration of independent artists who are going she yearned to record the songs again with a full at it and fighting the good fight.” band. The following year, Schroeder collaborated PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

Charlotte, more specifically to Providence Road West, seeking a better life. He used part of his net worth — $1,000, which at the time was considered a substantial fortune — to buy land sitting in the spot where Ballantyne Country Club is located today.

Hall Family Farm starts J.K. grew to be the landlord of a small community of tenant farmers. He provided the over across the Carolina mules, equipment, housing, seed, and land and the border tenants provided hard manual labor to grow cotton, building the property to 600 acres.

BY LEA BEKELE Leitner Shurley Hall, Kevin’s grandfather, was born in 1914, making him the youngest of J.K.’s For Kevin Hall and his family, the gradual 11 children. Gifted a small plot of land to build a transition from Charlotte’s mild winters into the home on the property, Leitner cared for a garden of sporadically sunny days of spring marks the beginning watermelons, cantaloupe, okra, squash, and peas. of strawberry picking season at the Hall Family Farm.

Rather than operating a typical farm like his father, Before the farm closed in 2019, cooler weather meant Leitner grew just enough for his family. the promise of pumpkin picking, hayrides, the fall Kevin’s uncle, Tim Hall, was the only one of his festival and maple doughnuts that people were father’s siblings to take willing to drive across town for. an interest in working the Since its opening season farm. He studied agriculture in 2008, the Hall Family Farm at NC State and eventually was known for being a familybecame an agronomist friendly gathering place that for the North Carolina gained popularity each year, even Department of Agriculture. as developers snatched up the Hall’s father grew up property around them. Boasting playing on the farm, and a little over 30 acres nestled continued to work there into just outside of the Ballantyne his adult life, but eventually neighborhood, the property was moved to Virginia where in the Hall family for generations he raised Kevin and his until they sold it to Novant Health siblings. Kevin’s uncle and in 2019 — its most recent grandparents continued to caretaker being Kevin Hall, the run the farm. great-grandson of John Kister Hall.

“I’m not a farmer by In the 11 years from 2008 to 2019, Kevin along with his wife THE HALL FAMILY MOVED FROM A 30-ACRE FARM TO THIS 250-ACRE PROPERTY IN LANCASTER, SC. education,” Kevin shared.

“I’m actually a mechanical Laura and children saw the farm Hall and his family are now just waiting on engineer, so I got into farming sort of as a hobby.” evolve through many seasons of strawberry picking Growing up, Hall’s parents encouraged him and fall festivities, which they now plan to resume at the strawberries to come out of dormancy, which to attend university and focus on his academic typically happens 30-40 days after the first flowers the farm’s new location in Lancaster, South Carolina.

Growing up in Virginia, Kevin Hall never planned to bloom. Like everything else this year, things are interests. While attending Virginia Tech, Kevin and follow in the footsteps of the Hall patriarchs, a legacy running a little behind schedule, but they hope to Laura studied mechanical and electrical engineering, respectively, until moving to Wilmington for work. that began with his great-grandfather and continued open to the public in late April.

Back in Charlotte, the Ballantyne neighborhood with his grandfather’s siblings, who were eventually was introduced in 1994 and most of the farm followed by his uncle, Tim Hall, an agronomist for the Four generations of farming North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

With one growing cotton, another utilizing the was sold in the process to make way for the new Hall turned to his uncle and the agricultural space to build a home and personal garden, and the development.

After the birth of their first child Sabrina in department at North Carolina State University to more recent addition of the irrigation system giving 2000, Kevin moved his family back to Charlotte as start his unconventional education. the historic farm a modern advantage, it seems like he searched for work, while his wife chose to stay “Between the internet and … the resources each Hall generation had a different relationship at home with their firstborn. In the meantime, they available in North Carolina, I learned how to do it,” with the Hall Family Farm over the years.

Hall shared.

Shortly after the Civil War, John Kister Hall, managed rental properties and constructed homes The first year was so successful, the pair realized often referred to as J.K. Hall, moved his wife and alongside Hall’s brother. “[My uncle] had talked to me in the early 2000s what they had in front of them was no longer a two roosters from Indian Land, South Carolina to

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A SECOND WIND

hobby but a career. Lack of experience didn’t stop Hall, as the farm grew in popularity each year.

“I’m happy to be out on my own working and my wife works with me so we don’t have to deal with the normal work environment,” Hall says. “We’re fortunate to be doing what we do.”

On the vast 250-acre Lancaster property, a couple of miles down the road from the original, the family hopes to bring back the child-friendly play areas, the hayride and other activities they previously didn’t have space or resources to accomplish.

The new farm is over eight times the size of the original location, giving visitors space to socially distance. Part of the land is dedicated to a lake that one day can act as a swimming hole or place to kayak.

“We’ve got long-term plans to maybe open that up for people to canoe on or kayak, but we’re not ready for that quite yet,” Hall says.

about how that farm site would be great for youpick strawberries and I actually knew nothing about it,” Hall shared with Queen City Nerve.

As the recession began to take hold in 2006, the Halls were pushed to take a shot at running the family farm. Kevin knew nothing of farming outside of the tidbits of information he’d learned over the years from watching his uncle during sporadic visits to the farm.

Before eventually taking over and transforming the Hall Family Farm in 2007, his only experience involving you-pick strawberries was taking his children picking a handful of times on farms in Fort Mill.

Kevin committed to teaching himself about farming in North Carolina, one of the top five states to grow strawberries in the country, and the regionally popular plastic irrigation system that he eventually introduced to the farm.

Continuing the generations of tradition, Hall shared that his kids have been known to help out around the farm, joking that, “They do whatever I tell them to do.”

Turning over a new leaf

As developers purchased all of the properties around the Hall Family Farm, they knew the sale of the farm was becoming inevitable. It was no longer a question of if but when, and to whom. The passing of Hall’s grandfather in 2011 finalized what the family already knew was true.

“We knew that, from the very beginning, we would not be able to stay,” Hall recalled.

The land was split as an inheritance amongst Kevin’s father and five aunts and uncles, many of whom were scattered across the country. With only two of them having any interest in the farm, it became apparent that the only way to fairly deal with the inheritance was to sell the whole thing.

The farm stayed open season after season, all the while, though Kevin and his family knew they had to find a new property if they wanted to continue farming strawberries. Hall and his wife didn’t own the land and couldn’t afford to buy it outright so their next steps were clear.

“We started looking for land even way back then. The economy was terrible in 2011,” Hall said.

“The family wasn’t selling because there were no buyers out there.”

Having yet to sell the original farm, Hall and his wife pulled together whatever funds they could by selling other properties they owned. During their hunt for a new location, the couple realized that the closer they looked to Ballantyne, the higher the price of land was.

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FOOD & DRINK FEATURE Trying to stay in the area proved harder since each mile they moved further away from their dream location, the price of land per acre decreased by nearly $100,000. All the money they had saved up until that point still couldn’t meet the costs needed to keep them in Charlotte.

The search for a new property finally came to an end in 2015 when they found land right across the state border in Lancaster. With that purchase came other problems. Tracing the history of their latest purchase, Hall found that the last time the land there had been farmed was in the early 1980s. It was overgrown and needed years of manual labor, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in farming equipment to undo the effects of neglect.

“It took a long time to get it back to where you can grow anything,” Hall explains.

For the past five years, the Hall family has spent over $1 million, often working seven days a week.

They first cleared the forest that had grown during the land’s dormant years, then prepped it to be farmed. The spring and fall seasons were set aside for growing strawberries and pumpkins back at the original Charlotte location and every moment in between was spent working on the new property.

Hall finally sold the original farm in 2019 to Novant Health, freeing his family and everyone that lent a helping hand to focus on the future ahead.

Hall’s friends who farm in the area had a good year last year despite the pandemic. Strawberry season was just opening up in spring right as things were getting worse. The industry found a way to pivot by offering visits by appointment and postponing crowded events.

The Hall Family Farm has seen the family through generations of weddings, graduations, the loss of loved ones and the birth of the current generation, the youngest of which is about to graduate high school.

“Based on my first posting on Facebook the other night, I think people are ready to get back to strawberries,” Hall shared. “We’ve been working on the new property since January of 2016. It’s been five full years that we’ve been working on it. We’re ready to open.”

As the family patiently awaits the day when they can open the new location in Lancaster, they look forward to starting the latest chapter of a legacy over a century in the making.

LBEKELE@QCNERVE.COM

EXTRA EXTRA read all about it.

March is Paper & Cardboard recycling month!

Learn more at

www.WipeOutWaste.com

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

AERIN IT OUT THE NEW NORMAL

A recovering introvert escapes quarantine

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BY AERIN SPRUILL

The other day I was heading out with the boyfriend and he ever so “gently” alluded to the fact that every middle-aged man in the bar knew my name (an exaggeration).

For a second, I was confused, then defensive because no one can hold a candle to bae, then curious as to how I’d managed to even meet new acquaintances in the first place.

I’ve always been a “no new friends” type of person, especially when it came to men. Anyone who’s in my inner circle will report the same.

Blame it on astrology (I’m a Taurus) or the fact that I’m an only child; I think the truth lies somewhere in between extreme loyalty/trust among those closest to me and a complete distrust of strangers/lack of faith in humanity.

On most occasions, a stranger is met with little more than an eye roll and resigned silence after they’ve attempted to drum up a conversation with me. But these days, apparently, Aerin’s been a whole new mood. The culprit? I blame quarantine.

For a year, we were forced to retreat to our homes with only the comforts of Tiger King, TikTok, Houseparty and (for the lucky ones) the company of at least one other human being to keep us sane. All the while, terrified to even look at a stranger for fear of contracting COVID-19.

Fast forward to 2021 and here we are on the heels of quarantine, free from the bondage of house arrest, trying to relearn how to actually interact with other humans in social settings. And let me tell you, friendliness and conversations shared with strangers are running amok.

If you thought it was weird before to find yourself sitting on a bench in the women’s restroom for an hour swapping compliments like “Your eyebrows are perfect” with a Sharon who you’ve never spoken to before even though you’ve been petting her dog in passing for two years — think again.

Now you can be totally minding your business touching up your makeup and River from outside of where you live back home has reached around you to wash her hands and convinced you that you’re gorgeous just the way you are, that you don’t need to shower everyday anymore and that the “No Shave November”

shins you’re sporting are actually the most retro thing you could ever do as you exchange numbers.

There’s no slow burn interactions that lead up to a casual conversation about the stench of tater tots and chicken wings one day and the “I feel like I see you here all the time” conversation the next, followed a month later by actually learning the person’s name even though you still haven’t talked for more than 10 minutes at a time.

Nope, now Average Joe sits down next to you at the bar teetering on the edge of six feet and within five minutes, he’s saying, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I’m from New York, Bills Mafia, the pizza sucks here. I’ve been living in Charlotte for three weeks and was wondering where I should go to meet people my own age.”

At any other time in my life I’d have fired back with some version of, “But you are eavesdropping, good for you, and I don’t know but also don’t talk down to me like I’m a child,” as I grabbed my purse and made my way to the opposite side of the room.

And yet, the next thing I know, I’m three beers and two shots deep analyzing this man’s divorce, looking at pictures of his kids, and Googling, “Where people 40 and up meet in Charlotte, NC.” A week later, I’m introducing him to my close friends like I’ve known the kid for years and it dawns on me, I don’t know his name and have no shame about it whatsoever.

It’s quite comical to witness the post-quarantine social experience evolve (or devolve depending on how you look at it), especially when you take into consideration that we were also dealing with a pandemic of racial injustice and political warfare simultaneous to the one against COVID-19.

You’d think the combination of physical and mental isolation combined with social unrest would harden us as we start to tune back into the regularly scheduled program.

Tell that to Samantha, who just sat down across from me and took a shot of whiskey straight, repositioned her mask, walked over and plopped down. She sighed deeply before saying, “I know you don’t know me, but there’s a lot of creepy guys in here, wanna ditch this place and go to Uptown Cabaret with me and my girlfriends?”

A year ago, this invitation would’ve straight-up terrified me. But post-quarantine, this is par for the course.

Oh Samantha, I’m not that adventurous on this lovely Tuesday, I thought to myself as I laughed hysterically and shook my head. Maybe I’ll get there.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

HOROSCOPE

MAR 24 - MAR 30

MAR 31 - APR 6

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) The week promises

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) With change dominant this week, don’t be surprised to find new facts emerging that could put another slant on a situation and offer you another choice. Think it through before you decide.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) There could be some lingering problems from a previous matter that involved a decision you felt you had to make.

Resolve the situation with your strong Taurean nononsense approach.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) The Gemini’s carefully made plans could be undone by someone’s unexpected decision. Getting the full story behind that surprise move can help you decide how to deal with the matter.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Recently uncovered information might put a new light on a situation you thought had been resolved. Keep an open mind about possible changes that you might have to consider.

a calmer aspect. Although there might be some lingering effects of a recent job problem, things should continue to ease up. Also expect a change in a home-based situation.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) If you feel uneasy about a colleague’s suggestion, it might be that your wise inner Taurean guide is alerting you to a potential problem. Stepping away could turn out to be the right thing to do.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A family gettogether opens up new opportunities for renewing ties. It can be especially effective in dealing with disagreements that should have been, but never were, fully resolved.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You might be surprised at the response you get to a recent decision. You might be even more surprised by the reasons behind it. In any event, you’ll learn something important.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your aspects favor resolving any tensions left over from a recent incident. You might want to consider having a “clear the air” talk as soon as you can. A call can lead to a change of plans.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Avoid repeating yourself. If your first few efforts fail to connect, maybe it’s because you haven’t found the right way to get your message across. Try changing your approach.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Good intentions plus a strong resolve to succeed can take you where you want to go. Don’t give up just because someone suggests you might be pursuing an impossible cause.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) An unexpected setback can be a blessing in disguise.

Use it to recheck your facts and how you’ve presented them. Meanwhile, look for ways to expand your contacts.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You should finally be seeing a positive change in a recent personal situation. However, an on-thejob matter might need more attention than you realized. Stay with it.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) While you should be close to completing an important matter, you still need to focus on being focused. But things ease up in time for weekend fun.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A certain matter might take an unexpected turn. Don’t simply accept it; ask for an explanation. What you learn might be helpful in shifting the situation around to your benefit.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Projecting a positive attitude helps restore calm even when you’re confronting some pretty stormy situations.

Stay the course. The outcome will be well worth your efforts.

BORN THIS WEEK: While you enjoy tradition and stability, you also appreciate the good things that change can bring.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) With a potential

revision of an old agreement, you can’t beat the Big Cat for knowing how to sharpen a “clause” to the best advantage. Someone close could have the news you’ve been waiting for.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Certain issues in the workplace could put you in the middle of a dispute you’d rather not deal with. Express your honest feelings before the pressure to take sides builds up.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might feel uneasy disagreeing with someone you’ve been close to. But your relationship should be able to withstand and even thrive when confronted with your true feelings.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A romantic situation seems to be creating more confusion than you can handle. If so, own up to your feelings. The sooner you do, the better your chances are for working things out.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) With change directing the Archer’s aim, consider a second look at your plans and see where they might benefit from a revision. A workplace matter is close to a resolution.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) New contacts help you learn some important information about upcoming developments.

The week calls for the Sea Goat to be more flexible than usual in a number of matters.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) With both change and uncertainty in your aspect, you might feel less confident in a previous decision. That’s OK. Check it out and see where it could be modified, if necessary.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Old relationships that seemed to be sinking are buoyant again, and new relationships are benefiting from Cupid’s loving care. This could be a good time to make a major move.

BORN THIS WEEK: While you prefer to tread your own path, you’ll go out of your way to help someone in need.

2021 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU

BY LINDA THISTLE

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.

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©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

TRIVIA TEST

BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

1. U.S. PRESIDENTS: The poem “O Captain! My Captain!” was written after the death of which president?

2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the weight of a U.S. quarter?

3. MOVIES: What was the name of the skyscraper in the drama “Die Hard”?

4. TELEVISION: What city was the setting for the sitcom “Mork and Mindy”?

5. SCIENCE: What is the study of knowledge, reality and existence called?

6. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What are male blue crabs called?

7. GEOGRAPHY: What is the highest point in Japan?

8. FOOD & DRINK: The acai berry is native to which continent?

9. LITERATURE: Who wrote the “Winnie-the-Pooh” book series for children?

10. MEASUREMENTS: What is an angstrom?

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Past artifact 6 Steal the scene from 13 “Chicago P.D.” or “Law & Order” 20 Kagan of justice 21 Indigenes 22 Euphoric 23 Change in the side of a military formation 25 Gates of philanthropy 26 Karate instructor 27 Female bleater 28 Not docked 30 Perfect site 31 Court throw 33 Really funny 36 Talk up 40 Get tangled 42 Paid to get a hand 43 Body that voted for the trial resulting in Charles I’s execution 46 “Baloney!”

50 Creative flashes 51 Rain forest, for one 52 Sunset’s direction, in French 55 Tokyo sash 56 TV’s “Warrior Princess” 57 With 77-Across, has a connection with 58 “Ad -- per aspera” 59 Resting atop 60 Twilight 64 Liaison 68 Excited, with “up” 69 Wipes away 70 Single bullet, say 77 See 57-Across 78 Dress up

79 Sign gas 80 Last letters 84 Big bother 85 “Help!” co-star Ringo 86 Encountered 88 Gnat’s kin 89 Oahu porch 91 Vision test 94 Bow of film 97 Wine vat sediment 98 Most snooping 99 “Walker, Texas Ranger” star 103 Ernie’s buddy 104 Dialogue bit 105 -- facto 106 Toothpaste tube inits.

108 Louise’s film partner 113 Fatty 115 Old ad question that’s apt for this puzzle’s theme 119 Colonist, e.g.

120 Russia and Turkey’s place 121 Good odor 122 Own 123 Distributing 124 Benefactor DOWN 1NFL officials 2 Fanning of “Maleficent” 3 Have a slant 4 Quaint hotels 5 Dessert items on sticks 6 Colorful card game 7 Covers with blacktop 8 Hearty dish 9 Noon, e.g.

10 “Hail, Cato!”

11 High mil. rank

12 Founded, on city signs 13 “Enter” 14 Like many short plays 15 Buddy 16 Safeguards 17 Language of India 18 Limerick writer Nash 19 Strike heavily and loudly 24 Mazda roadster 29 Ordinance 32 Belgrade’s land 33 Vatican City surrounder 34 Suffix with Wyoming 35 Retained 36 Grand -- (race event) 37 Uncouth 38 Premonition 39 Film-rating gp.

40 Mall stall 41 Home to Hanoi, briefly 44 Mortgage claim 45 Quick bite 47 Kachina doll carvers 48 Dry as -49 Birds flap them 53 Prior to, to bards 54 Get for less 57 ENT part 58 Abbr. at the top of a 111-Down 59 Actress O’Connor or Merkel 60 Comic Caesar 61 “Jeepers!”

62 Pot-au- -- (French dish) 63 Suffix with 93-Down 64 Popular typeface 65 Actress Jane 66 Portable bed 67 Year, in Rio de Janeiro

OPENING CUTS ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

71 -- diavolo (pasta sauce) 72 Unpaid debts 73 Steenburgen of “Ink” 74 Peruvians of old 75 Crawl (with) 76 Chemical “I” 80 Tubular pasta 81 Actress Falco 82 “I” problems 83 Email status 85 Lustrous fabric 86 Service costs 87 Wood splitter 88 Editorial page feature 90 Consents to 92 Film director Roth 93 Missouri-to-Iowa direction 95 Licoricelike seeds 96 People using lassos 99 Bracelet part 100 Baseball’s -- Nomo 101 Army squads 102 Used oars 103 Sink part 106 -- Sea (shrinking Asian lake) 107 Arnaz of 1950s TV 109 Long Spanish river 110 Spinks of boxing 111 Office note 112 Not nearby 114 Bullfight cry 116 -- and cry 117 Noted period 118 Present label

We’re kind of opening, kind of not, so not all of these are virtual events as we were highlighting at the beginning of the lockdown, but plenty are. COVID is still going strong, so party at your own risk.

‘TROPICAL SECRETS: HOLOCAUST REFUGEES IN CUBA’

Through Broadway on Demand, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte presents an adaptation of author Margarita Engle’s spare and elegant book-length poem that covers a period from 1939 to 1942. Alone in Havana, Cuba, after escaping Nazi Germany, 11-year-old Daniel meets spirited 10-year-old Paloma, who introduces Daniel to the language, music and history of Cuban culture. However, once Cuba enters the war, the two young friends are faced with dangerous choices that test their friendship, and Paloma reveals some painful secrets of her own.

More: $21.95; ongoing through March; online; tinyurl.com/CharlotteBOD

MODERN MOXIE

Modern Moxie frontwoman Madison Lucas took up songwriting in college, mostly confined to her dorm room closet. In 2013, she found her partner in crime, bassist, Charlotte music scene veteran and future husband Harry Kollm. The pair recruited guitarist Phil Pucci (Pullover, Serfs) after he heard their song, “Light + Sound.” Pucci, who also officiated the couple’s marriage, brought drummer Charlie Weeks into the fold. With their melodic and crackling newwave-influenced tunes, Modern Moxie is in the top tier of Charlotte rockers, earning Queen City Nerve’s Critics’ Pick for best band in 2019.

More: $10; March 24, 7 p.m.; Online; neighborhoodtheatre.com

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INSPIRE THE FIRE DAY

With a mission to inspire young people to succeed on stage and in life by focusing on artistic expression, Inspire the Fire is being awarded an official day in the Queen City by Mayor Vi Lyles and Charlotte City Council. Inspire the Fire was an America’s Got Talent season 7 finalist, and was selected by Oprah Winfrey to perform at Maya Angelou’s memorial service.

The non-profit provides students, ages 10–19, coaching in artistic development and community engagement. Majors include dance, voice, theatre, rap and visual arts. The live talent showcase takes place at Victoria Yards.

More: Free; March 25, 5:30 p.m.; Victoria Yards, 408 N. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org/events

LOCAL/STREET

This pop-up exhibition features the work of more than 40 local artists of color who are defining Charlotte’s 21st century visual identity. BLKMRKTCLT co-founder Carla Aaron-Lopez has partnered with the Mint Museum to launch the three-day show.

“Artists living and thriving in Charlotte bring so much color and imagination to our city’s identity,” says Aaron-Lopez. “We must support local artists now before they seek opportunities in other cities across the United States.”

More: Free; March 26, 27 and 28, 5:30 p.m.; Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road; tinyurl.com/LocalStreet

FIXAPLATE VIRTUAL POTLUCK

Mixed Metaphors’ FixaPlate is an immersive experience about food, family, and history. For their Virtual Potluck series, FixaPlate draws on theatre techniques to create a digital iteration of the family table experience. Potluck guests will join and tell their stories with Charlotteans from across the city, sharing a virtual kitchen table and generations of family recipes as they reminisce about the Charlotte of old and dream of its future. An opportunity to meet new people and stroll through Charlotte culture, the potlucks are scheduled for five dates in March and April.

More: $18-33; March 27 6:30 p.m., March 28, 5:30 p.m.; online; tinyurl.com/FixAPlate1; tinyurl.com/FixAPlate2

UNMASKED: ‘LIFT EVERY VOICE’

For this edition of Unmasked, moderator and talk show personality Ohavia Phillips holds a conversation with the curators, artists, and city planners involved in the Black Lives Matter street mural and Lift Every Voice exhibition at the Harvey B. Gantt Center. The panelists will discuss the mural’s journey, from inception to the process of making it come to life. They will also talk about the regional and national impact of the mural, as well as the intentions behind the Lift Every Voice exhibition.

More: Free; March 30, 7 p.m.; online; ganttcenter.org

AN ALL STAR TRIBUTE TO CHICK COREA

A creative and enormously influential piano player, Chick Corea touched on every music genre in his career — classical, post-bop, Latin jazz and jazz-rock fusion. He played on Miles Davis’ groundbreaking 1969 album Bitches Brew and founded the innovative — and best — jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever. He died on February 9 at age 79. Middle C Jazz’s All-Star tribute lineup, led and directed by Stephen Gordon on keyboards, includes Tyra Scott on vocals, Malcom Charles on drums, Lovell Bradford Jr. on bass and Danny Rodriguez on percussion.

More: $27.20-$34; April 1, 7 p.m.; Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.; middlecjazz.com

ADULT EASTER EGG HUNT

Normally a destination for children’s birthday parties, with a petting zoo and safari revolving around their adorable animals, Darby Acres Farm is hosting this Easter-themed event for an older demographic. Whether you’re wishing you could relive the glory days of Easter egg hunts gone by, or you just need a night out of the house, this adultsonly event is the perfect getaway.

More: $11; April 2, 5:45 p.m.; Darby Acres Farm, Hutchinson Lane; darbysafari.com

INDIE FEST: PIP THE PANSY & EMANUEL WYNTER

Every Friday night in March and April, the Indie Fest Spring Series features outdoor socially distanced concerts spotlighting local and regional bands.

Atlanta’s Pip the Pansy entwines folk, electronica and virtuosic flute to deliver polished songs that scan like latter-day classical mythology. With a voice that’s sultry, lilting, playful and bold, she cuts a striking bubblegum-chic figure onstage.

Equally adept at pop and R&B, violinist and singersongwriter Emanuel Wynter boasts lilting melodies, candid lyrics and swarming harmonies that merge smoothly with his violin.

More: $15-25; April 2, 6 p.m.; Lenny Boy Brewing, 3000 S. Tryon St.; tinyurl.com/PipThePansy

License# 2214

AMPLIFY 2021

Maestra Music’s inaugural spring concert celebrates the women who make music in musical theatre with performances from Broadway stars, appearances from Tony Award-winning Hadestown creator Anais Mitchell and OBIE Award-winning Bubbly Black Girl creator Kirsten Childs, plus a special appearance by Bernadette Peters. The broadcast highlights Maestra’s programs, which provide support, visibility, and community for the female, non-binary, and TGNC music makers in the theatre industry. Special postshow virtual hangouts with Book of Mormon stars Nikki M. James and Andrew Rannells, Mean Girls’ Ashley Park and Erika Henningsen and more.

More: Free-$500; March 29, 7 p.m.; online; blumenthalarts.org/events

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LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE SAVAGE QUICKIES

Nine questions, nine answers

BY DAN SAVAGE

I want to thank everyone who attended our third Savage Love Livestream on March 13. Mistress Matisse was our very special guest and we tackled a lot of questions about BDSM over a very lively 90 minutes. We didn’t get to every question — there were so many — but I will now, as promised, power through as many live-stream leftovers as I can in this week’s column.

Pg. 15 MAR 24 - APR 6, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

You say people need to be in “good working order” to be in a relationship. What if you will never be in “good working order” because you cope with a mental health condition?

Having a mental health condition isn’t proof a person isn’t or can’t be in good working order; likewise, not having a mental health condition isn’t proof a person is in good working order. I mean, we all know people without mental health conditions who are walking disasters. Now someone with a mental health condition who refuses to get help or to stay on their meds might not be in good enough working order to be in or sustain a relationship.

But taking care of ourselves is one of the most important ways we demonstrate that we are, in actual fact, in good enough working order to fuck, date, or marry. Or all three.

So, far from proving you’re not fit to be in a relationship, having a mental health condition that you’re doing something about — having one or more that you’re actively coping with — is evidence you are in good working order.

I’m a bi widower and not out to anyone.

While teaching a Zoom class to young people I accidentally left open a tab that read “gay.” One of the students alerted me in the chat and I closed it right away. It was embarrassing and awkward.

Should I just ignore it or address it in some way?

If you wanted to come out you could seize this opportunity to do so. If you don’t want to come out, well, you aren’t obligated to, gay tab or no gay tab. Unless parents are complaining and demanding an explanation, you’re free to shrug this off. And if someone assumes you’re gay because they saw a gay tab, well, you’re free to tell them that their mistaken … because you’re not gay, you’re bi.

I’m way more into BDSM than my huzzben. He enjoys it, but he does not initiate play. How can I encourage him to be the instigator of rough sex?

We have negotiated limits and safe words but he finds using restraints and toys to be too much work!

Since your huzzben has made it clear that restraints and toys are too much work, I would advise you to relieve him of the burden of tying you up and shoving toys in your ass by finding a third who enjoys your kinks and/ or regularly attending play parties with or without your TRIVIA ANSWERS: 4. Boulder, Colorado 8. South America husband — when the pandemic ends, of course. Who 1. Abraham Lincoln 5. Philosophy 9. A.A. Milne knows? Your husband might not like doing the work of 2. 0.2 ounces 6. Jimmies 10. One ten-billionth of a meter, tying you up but he might enjoy making out with you (or 3. Nakatomi Plaza 7. Mount Fuji used to measure very small distances someone else) while someone else does the work of tying you up.

Lovecast as the “tech-savvy, at-risk youth.” It was just but do you know how you feel about her husband sending a joke — maybe not a funny one — as they were all your selfies: You don’t like it. If your silence wasn’t enough If my fiancé bought a house, do we say, “We certainly tech-savvy, for sure, but the only risk they were to put a stop to it and he sends more photos and/or bought a house” when telling people? I got laid running was being in the same room with me. I’m sorry messages that make you feel uncomfortable, tell him to off at the start of the pandemic, but her career if that joke reminds you of a time in your life when you knock it off. If he doesn’t knock it off, tell him he’s gonna has taken off and she’s proud of being able to felt “less than.” leave you with no choice but to alert his wife. If he still afford a house all on her own. So how do we

doesn’t knock it off, alert his wife. keep things respectful while still honoring her We have a friend who could be a unicorn. They accomplishment? She wants the house to feel like have already subtly expressed interest though they I’m 39 years old, cis, and female. COVID has mine as well. (I’m a dude.) are generally possessive and need to be “number really tanked my sex drive. I’ve masturbated like To casual acquaintances you could say, “Hey, we got one” in a relationship. We’re interested but we twice in the last four months. I guess my question a new place.” To close friends and family you could say, worry about their possessiveness causing problems. is ... do you think things are gonna go back to “She’s doing so well that she bought this house — I’m I’m guessing your friend is hot — I mean, that would normal? Please tell me yes. really proud of her and so lucky to be with her.” Hell, explain why you’re willing to overlook how emotionally Yes. you could say those things to casual acquaintances and unsuited they are for the unicorn role. Because if you’re close friends interchangeably because both are true. And looking for someone to play a sexy-but-subordinate role I have imposter syndrome when I go to rope assuming you live in a marital property state, Mr. Dude, in your relationship, if you’re not seeking an equal partner jams and such, but I really love the community of the house becomes yours too after you’re married. In and/or you’re not open to your unicorn becoming an equal kinksters. Is it ok to go to kinky events even if I the meantime you can earn a little sweat equity (and partner, the last person on earth you should consider for have trouble identifying my kinks? homeowner cred) by taking the lead on fixing the place your unicorn is someone you know to be possessive and So long as you’re respectful — so long as you aren’t up. interested in being first, not last. gawking or taking photos without permission or making shocked faces — you’re more than welcome at most big I have a question about the “tech-savvy, atI’m a 27-year-old queer/poly woman from NYC. kink events. Sometimes the hosts of smaller and more risk youth” who work on the Savage Lovecast. My question: I used to babysit my friend’s baby. intimate play parties have rules that would preclude the Wouldn’t it be nicer to just refer to them as the And when I would show up to babysit, her husband attendance of someone who had no kinks of their own tech-savvy youth? How do they feel about having would be there to let me in to the apartment and or had yet to identify their kinks; at smaller parties the the “at-risk” label applied to them? Surely it gives we would chat for 10 minutes before he left for host might want everyone to be in a certain kind of gear you guys a perhaps deserved pat on the back, but work. I don’t babysit anymore, but sometimes he or interested in a certain kind of play. If you’re wondering I can’t help thinking that little bit of stigma could texts me a picture of the baby and I’ll reply with, if you’re welcome to observe the play at a particular rope be damaging. I was once an “at-risk” youth myself “So cute!” That felt normal. But one day he texted jam or event, email the organizers and ask. and even though I enjoyed and benefited from me two selfies. I didn’t reply because I thought programs that were specifically created to help that was weird. Is this something I should mention teens/youth in my situation, I was always keenly to my friend? I can’t tell if this is weird enough to Visit qcnerve.com for the full column. Thanks again to aware that it made me feel “less than” and like I bring up to her. Or is there something I should have everyone who joined us for the livestream and we’re going needed special treatment. said to him? to schedule another one very soon!

I wasn’t trying to give myself a pat on the back when You don’t know what’s going on in your friend’s Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage; I started referring to the kids who were working on the relationship — maybe flirting with others is allowed — savagelovecast.com; mail@savagelove.net.

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