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In this episode of SouthBound, Tommy talks to Tennessee comedian Nate Bargatze, whose new Netflix special is "The Greatest Average American."

If you travel past schools in Charlotte, you’ve seen the giant decorated rocks outside. But why, exactly, are they there?

There are some restaurants from years past that are part of the city's past, present and, hopefully, future.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders, remote education and virtual programs have seen a massive uptick in recent months. That includes virtual music lessons from organizations like Charlotte's Bold Music Lessons, which brings music to homes and creates teaching jobs for musicians who’ve lost work as a result of the pandemic.

"Jah" is more than a shortened form of Jehovah. For Charlotte artist Joel Aloise, founding member and guitarist for the Latin reggae band JAHlistic, the word "Jah" is a mantra to be fully, transparently and wholeheartedly authentic in both life, love and music.

For the past five years, singer-songwriter Jim Sharkey has taken the 200-year-old lilt of traditional Irish folk music and placed it in a 21st-century context (with contemporary references to Facebook, Whitney Houston and even the 2019 Women’s World Cup). On his 2019 full-length release "A Lovely Day," Sharkey sings to the theme of home: of finding home, of feeling at home with loved ones, of the nostalgia of remembering his home in Ireland and of making a new one here in North Carolina.

Halloween is the one day a year where it's more than acceptable to heighten the drama of life through elaborate costumes and wigs... that is, unless you work in opera. In which case, your day-to-day career combines costumes and characterization with a love of history, languages, cultures and singing.It's a career that UNC Chapel Hill graduate and Charlotte resident Melinda Whittington has grown through international tours and even a performance at the world famous Metropolitan Opera. And it's one that she wants to share with audiences in North Carolina.

Queer and Trans People of Color often face issues of equity in their communities, and the music industry isn’t any different. QTPOC artist QUISOL is using his music (as well as his DIY music space Queens Collective) as a vehicle to try and change that.

If the opportunity doesn't exist, create it. In the case of one Charlotte resident, if you can't join The Beatles after being inspired by their landmark 1963 performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," then you join the next best thing: The Spongetones — hailed as one of the best American bands to perform Brit power-pop music. The Spongetones' Jamie Hoover has been rocking ever since.

Named after the camaraderie-filled “high five,” up-and-coming band Chócala brings friendship to the forefront through a mix of Latin rhythms and powerhouse pop-rock.

Call them rebels with a cause. Call them ear-splitting anarchists. Call them Trash Room, the Charlotte punk band transforming rage into mosh-pit-happy ragers.

A cup of Norah Jones-inspired piano pop. A few sprigs of '70s folk-rock creativity. And a good dollop of entrepreneurial spirit. Mix it all together, and you get the musical delight that is Brit Drozda.

Since Amplifier debuted in 2018, we’ve had the pleasure of featuring a wide variety of rock artists on this podcast: alt rock, indie rock, psych rock, punk rock, pop rock. But today's episode marks a first with Charlotte-based math rock band Cuzco, hailed by Volume Magazine as "a world of odd time signatures, not-so-typical rhythmic structures and mind-bending melodies.”

In fall 2018, North Carolina native Greg Cox released his debut full-length album titled “E T C .,” which takes the needle of a record player and places it in the grooves of gospel, R&B and soul.The title for the record, “E T C.,” could easily apply to the growing list of collaborations he's been a part of since moving to Charlotte in 2015, partnering with artists ranging from J. Vito (who's sung background for Anthony Hamilton as part of The Hamiltones) to Emily Sage (the singer known for her cinematic jazz pop sound). But more than that, the album title gives an audience a glimpse into the multi-hyphenate's world as a gospel singer, an R&B producer, a husband, a father, a Charlotte community-builder, etc.

In September 2019, hip-hop publication XXL posed a question: “Is North Carolina next up?” What they're referring to, in part, is the A+ rap and hip-hop talent coming out of North Carolina including prominent names like J. Cole, DaBaby and Lute. When it comes to Southern-fried rap and hip-hop in the Queen City, Elevator Jay is the name to know as the king of country rap in Charlotte.

SOLIS is more than just a band name for husband-wife duo Kellie and Leo Solis. To them, SOLIS is an electro-pop collection of sounds and stories about their relationship between themselves, their friends, and their Charlotte community.

In 2008, Self Aware was an “indie zine” highlighting the rock, punk and alternative scenes of Charlotte music. While its mission hasn’t changed much over the course of a decade, Self Aware has now grown to become an award-winning independent record label that helps market and release records for more than 30 regional musicians. In the words of Self Aware co-founders Josh Robbins and Sarah Blumenthal, the keys to the label’s success are the same as the keys to the Charlotte music scene’s success: working with good people, making good music, and sticking around (through the ups and the downs).

Ask anyone in the Charlotte music scene, and they'll tell you: The Evening Muse is one of the best local music venues in the Queen City. Thanks to the work of venue co-founder Joe Kuhlmann, The Evening Muse has helped foster the careers of thousands of local and national artists for nearly two decades. But Kuhlmann wants to do more than provide a stage; he wants to create a healthy music climate, one where the power of music can help foster conversations around personal well-being.

Charlotte has changed a great deal in the past 30 years, but a musical constant of sorts has been Hope Nicholls.The singer-songwriter has kept to her own beat in Charlotte, whether as leader of the CBGB-rocking 80s band Fetchin’ Bones, singer for the Southern indie group It’s Snakes, or owner of the rock 'n' roll boutique Boris & Natasha.

The sights you see, the people you meet, the life experiences that shape your hours, days, and years. How would you paint a picture of your day-to-day? If you were to ask Petrov, named one of Charlotte's most promising up-and-coming bands, you may find that the best kind of journal is a musical one (or, at the very least, one that is soundtracked by dreamy rock music).