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Played Here: Musical Venues of the Queen City

This web site was created as part of an MA class in Public History at UNC Charlotte for the fall semester of 2012.  The class, “History in the Digital Age”, was taught by Dr. Karen Cox, a widely published author of books, essays, and articles about southern history and culture.  

Our web site reflects many weeks of research in the Carolina Room of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Special Collections of Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte and within the community of Charlotte itself.  It also reflects many hours of mastering the web!

These venues have fascinated and captivated us.  We hope that this sampling of some of the wide variety of music venues in Charlotte over the last century and a half will be fascinating to other people also.

 Our web site is organized into four sections:

Early Music Venues – Christina Wright:  

This section follows the roots of mainstream music in Charlotte, both Classical and Popular and the venues that made it flourish.  In the period from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, Charlotte saw rapid growth and significant change.  This is reflected in the shifting music scene as venues emerged and declined.                 

Christina Wright is originally from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.  She is an oral historian and loves to hear and preserve people’s stories.  She also likes to explore historic sites and hike in the high country when she can get a chance.  She is excited to be starting an MA in Public History.

Radio Stations – Anna Boyer:

For a long time, radio has been a popular medium for communication as well as for entertainment. Two stations, WSOC and WBT set the precedent for radio in Charlotte, especially in terms of playing popular and local music and having groups perform live on the air. Music radio in Charlotte is a fascinating story, so come and take a journey to a period when radio was often at the center of communities. 

Anna Boyer is from Raleigh, North Carolina and she is working on her Master's Degree in Public History. She is interested in studying American popular culture in 1950s and 1960s, particularly in terms of music. Outside of school, she is enjoys learning about fashion, food, and cultures around the world.

Black Music Venues – Reggie Rucker:

This section researches black contributions to the rich musical history of Charlotte, NC.  The Black Music Venue items, collections and exhibit covers the time period between 1940-1960. The exhibit highlights a multitude of music venues during the era of segregation, which were vital in shaping the musical landscape of the black community. The exhibit examines WGIV, the first black radio station in Charlotte along with important radio personalities of this era.  Also the project highlights the contribution of the Excelsior Club along with significant hotel venues, which provided a musical outlet for blacks.  All of the articles, historical photographs, and post cards are used to help contribute to the growing narrative reflecting black’s contribution to Charlotte music history.  

Reggie Rucker is a first year graduate student in the UNC Charlotte Public History masters program. He is a native of Charlotte, N.C.  Currently his research focus is within the areas of African American history, racial politics, slavery narratives and Charlotte history.

Contemporary Music Venues – Ian Pasquini:

Contemporary Musical Venues of the Queen City seeks to give a brief view of some longstanding venues around Charlotte.  While it is only a glimpse at a few venues, they quietly represent the character of the music scene in Charlotte.  

Ian Pasquini is a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is currently perusing his MA in American History. As a student, his main interests include revolutionary uprisings of the 20th century and musical history. Outside of his studies he plays music with several groups. His musical interests include jazz, rock, avant-garde, classical, and anything in between.  Ian is also the web master for “Played Here, Musical Venues of the Queen City”

Acknowledgements:

The "Played Here, Musical Venues of the Queen City" group would like to say a big thank you to the following for the excellent help they gave us when we were researching this project.  We could not have accomplished anything without you.

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