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Grammy Award-winning Charlottean Anthony Hamilton shares new music and what we can all learn from being raised in the South and pivoting through the pandemic.

Some may recognize jazz as being the lifeblood of New Orleans, but what of Charlotte? President and CEO of JazzArts Charlotte Lonnie Davis shares what it takes to sustain (and evolve) "America's Classical Music" in the Queen City. Celebrate the joyful noise of Jazz Appreciation Month with this 2018 encore edition of Amplifier.

Charlotte-by-way-of-Jamaica songwriter Sanya N'Kanta shares his experience navigating race, religion and reggae music in America.

In a recent report, Charlotte ranked 111th out of 200 top cities for music fans. But if you ask Charlotte creative leader Tim Scott Jr., who’s been the artist-in-residence at Charlotte Center City Partners and toured the world with Grammy Award-winning North Carolina group The Foreign Exchange, you’ll hear how the Queen City deserves to sit higher up on the list of music cities. He talks about it in the latest Amplifier.

As NPR Music shared, “2020 was a year defined by the sounds of rage, resolve, mourning and solidarity.” That includes the sound of Grammy-nominated North Carolina trio The HamilTones (Tony Lelo, J. Vito and 2E), who released the incredibly profound record “1964” and shared joyful splendor through “A HamilTones Christmas.” After gracing the world’s stages (both physical and virtual), the acoustic R&B group sits down to share some harmonious memories and hopes for Charlotte in the new year.

For the past 20 years, Boris “Bluz” Rogers has expanded the boundaries of poetry, spoken word and musical storytelling. As an Emmy Award-winning performer, he has shared the stage with legends like Outkast, Pink Floyd and Gil Scott-Heron. As a poetry slam master and coach, he's risen through the ranks of spoken word and inspired the next generation to use their voice. And with his recent collaborative album “The Duologue Part 1: Conversations in a Vibe Room” and his organizing of the We Are Hip Hop festival, Rogers is the Shakespeare of Charlotte music and spoken word.

The past few years have shown that nerd culture is the new cool, with "Black Panther" becoming the first comic book film to score a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, "Game of Thrones" becoming a cultural phenomenon and even Walt Disney World opening up its first official Star Wars-themed hotel in Florida. Which makes it the perfect time to be GameBreax, a North Carolina “nerdcore” duo who stand proudly at the intersection of geek culture and hip-hop.

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.

Self-taught on the drums at the age of 6. Raised on a mix of A Tribe Called Quest, Chuck Berry, and Lauryn Hill. Taking meetings with Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation before her debut release even dropped in 2017. Just like her music, the stories of up-and-coming R&B star Cyanca are anything but ordinary.

Opportunities from contributing music to the hit Cartoon Network show “The Boondocks” to performing with Marsalis jazz family royalty, it’s no wonder Charlotte native Harvey Cummings II has been called a “jazz legend in the making,” mixing the classic riffs of Coltrane with the hip-hop sensibilities of J. Cole.

Charlotte native Whitney Hall is a self-described “trifecta:” a black lesbian woman who is proudly centered in communities of color, LGBTQIA+ and music. On the 50th anniversary of Pride’s Stonewall Uprising, amid nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism following the death of George Floyd, Whitney H shares her thoughts on faith, identity and how music can pave a way for progress.

The past week has been like no other. For millions of Americans, the trauma and the heartbreak is profound following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.On Tuesday, the music industry launched #TheShowMustBePaused, a statement of solidarity in response to Floyd's death and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. As a public radio station, we aren’t able to turn off for the day. But we are able to turn up the stories and perspectives. That includes Charlotte voices like DJ Fannie Mae, who's not only a ground-breaking musician (having been the first DJ to perform with the Charlotte Ballet), but also a community builder and advocate for inclusivity.This week on Amplifier, we revisit our 2019 interview with DJ Fannie Mae and our conversation about the power of music in breaking down barriers and creating a stronger, more harmonious city.

In 2018, Charlotte soul artist MercuryCarter was invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Beyond the opportunity to sing at the second-largest jazz festival in the world, Mercury's appearance was made even more notable by the simple fact of his being the third North Carolina vocalist to have performed at the festival (following Nina Simone and Roberta Flack). And to think: the rising Charlotte artist began his artistic career not as a neo-jazz singer, but as a sewing fashion prodigy.

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots,” said civil rights leader Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a thought that could just as easily apply to the history (or lack thereof) of music.Look at the iconization of Elvis Presley, which rarely mentions the influence of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, or chart-topping Bruno Mars who learned how to bust a move from soul forefathers like James Brown. For Tyrone Jefferson and Toni Tupponce, A Sign of the Times’ legacy is to share these oft-forgotten stories of black history through music, dance and spoken word.

Much of the central and eastern U.S. is sweltering under dangerously hot and humid conditions, with temperatures near 100 degrees. The heat index in Charlotte is as high as 108 during the first heat wave of the summer. We examine the impact of excessive heat on health, how to stay safe, and why Mecklenburg is one of North Carolina's hardest-hit counties.

The reports of jazz music's death have been greatly exaggerated, and world-traveling band leader Noel Freidline and acclaimed actress/vocalist Maria Howell are here to prove it.

As an artist raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, LeAnna Eden’s left a sizable impact on the Charlotte music scene. From working with music venue Petra’s on local artist spotlights to fronting the soulful garage blues-rock band LeAnna Eden & the Garden Of to creating the first black alternative music festival in the Queen City, Eden’s work shows that it’s not the music community you were born into, it’s the one you create.

From contributing music to the hit Cartoon Network show “The Boondocks” to performing with Marsalis jazz family royalty, it’s no wonder Charlotte native Harvey Cummings II has been called a “jazz legend in the making,” mixing the classic riffs of Coltrane with the hip-hop sensibilities of J. Cole.

Acceptance is a recurring theme for up-and-coming R&B crooner Dexter Jordan: accepting new friends and collaborators in the Charlotte music community, accepting new sounds and inspiration for his full-length release Blue, accepting grief and the many paths it takes through life and, more importantly, accepting one’s self (the good, the bad and the potential therein).

The Charlotte City Council votes to require permits for street vendors in NoDa; removes Tesla from a list of pre-approved electric vehicles. Former S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson kicks off his gubernatorial bid. The Charlotte Checkers fall in the AHL's Calder Cup Finals.