The Avett Brothers, Delta Rae and Mipso to Headline N.C. Governor’s Inaugural Ball Festivities

North Carolina entertainers to perform throughout the Inaugural Ball weekend

RALEIGH, Dec. 29, 2016 – North Carolina natives The Avett Brothers, Raleigh-based Delta Rae and Chapel Hill’s Mipso will be the featured headline entertainment at the 2017 N.C. Governor’s Inaugural Ball events Jan. 5-7, 2017.

The Avett Brothers and Delta Rae will headline the N.C. Governor’s Inaugural Ball Gala Presentation on January 7 at N.C. State University’s Reynolds Coliseum. Indie-folk band Mipso will headline the Rock the Ball concert, which will be held January 5 at Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh. Folk artist Lynn Blakey will add to the entertainment at Thursday’s Rock the Ball concert.

Hilary, Natalie and Claire Cooper, the three daughters of Gov.-elect Roy Cooper and his wife, Kristin Cooper, will be the honorary chairs of the Rock the Ball concert, where they will introduce their dad during the event.

On January 7, Charly Lowry, Kasey Tyndall and Katie Basden, Kidznotes and the N.C. A&T State University’s Cold Steel Drumline – all performers with North Carolina ties – will round out the entertainment at the Gala Presentation. After the Presentation, ball attendees will dance the night away at the Inaugural Ball to Bull City Syndicate, Sidecar Social Club and Old Habits.

“At the Inaugural Ball events, we will not only celebrate the Council of State and Gov.-elect Roy Cooper, but all of North Carolina,” said Rebecca Ayers, President of the Junior League of Raleigh. “I’d like to specifically thank Dave Rose and Amy Cox from Deep South Entertainment for their help in securing so many great performers from across North Carolina. It’s going to be a great night with great entertainment!”

Here’s more about each group or performer:

Named for brothers Scott and Seth Avett, The Avett Brothers band calls Concord home. Their ninth studio album, True Sadness, was released in the summer of 2016, topped Billboard charts and scored two Grammy nominations. Recently, they were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and continue to be revered as one of the top folk-rock acts in the country.

Delta Rae was formed in 2009 when six best friends converged on a house in the woods outside Durham. Having appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “Conan O’Brien”, NPR and Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 list, the relentlessly touring group shows no sign of slowing down as they prepare to release their third studio album in 2017.

Mipso is an indie-folk band influenced by the progressive vibes of Chapel Hill and its surrounding rural landscapes. The band mixes the complexities of traditional bluegrass with modern instrumentation and smart pop melodies. The result is the intoxicating blend of Americana filling their sophomore album Old Time Reverie.

Hailing from Robeson County, Charly Lowry is a Native American vocal powerhouse. After landing in the top 20 of season three on “American Idol”, she is now the lead singer of the band Dark Water Rising.

Country singer Kasey Tyndall got her big break when she won a radio contest to sing a duet with Keith Urban at Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Amphitheater. Her first single will be released January 31. Tyndall lives in Nashville, Tenn., but she calls North Carolina home.

With deep roots in Durham, Katie Basden grew up in a home full of musical influences. She started her solo career at just 15 and migrated to Nashville, Tenn., where she now lives. Her first full record, Release The Sound, is full of original, genre-bending songs written by a travelled female artist.

With close ties to N.C. studio pioneers Mitch Easter and Chris Stamey, Lynn Blakey’s impassioned vocals and inspired songwriting have found a home in the pop-rocking Gloryfountain, and in the harmony-driven, all-girl super-group Tres Chicas. She has also added her voice to recordings by such notables as Alejandro Escovedo, Jeffrey Dean Foster and many others. Her newest endeavors are supported live and on the EP “Meadowview” by Ecki Heins, Blakey’s husband.

Kidznotes is inspired by El Sistema, an evidence-based system of classical music for social change founded in Venezuela in 1975. Kidznotes’ pilot program launched in 2010—the same year as El Sistema’s nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize—with a class of 60 students grades k–3 from three Title-1 public schools in Durham. Kidznotes now serves 400 students grades k–10 in partnership with 11 Title-1 schools in Durham and Raleigh.

Cold Steel is a 50-member drumline that provides the rhythmic pulse and cadences for the N.C. A&T University marching band. The percussion section performs for various university activities as well as at events at area elementary, middle and high schools. Students of Cold Steel also participate in symphonic, concert, jazz and pep bands.

Bull City Syndicate is named after their hometown of Durham and consists of a four-horn front line with powerhouse funk rock vocals. Sidecar Social Club draws from an ever-expanding catalog of speak-easy jazz, vintage R&B, real country and modern pop to keep toes tapping and people dancing, as does Old Habits, which blends bluegrass, rock and country.

Tickets for the Inaugural Ball festivities are on sale and can be purchased at ncgovernorsball.org.

The Junior League of Raleigh is hosting the N.C. Governor’s Inaugural Ball for the 21^st time. The League’s tradition of planning inaugural festivities began in 1933. With the volunteer efforts of approximately 400 League members working an estimated 21,000 hours, the Junior League of Raleigh is able to host the Inaugural Ball as a fundraiser to support the community.

About the Junior League of Raleigh:

The Junior League of Raleigh, which has more than 1,600 members, is the local chapter of the Association of Junior Leagues International, an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. To learn more about the Junior League of Raleigh, visit jlraleigh.org.