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Best Art Gallery in the Triangle
Art space
Finalists: Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Peel Gallery + Photo Lab Carrboro, Lump, Visual Art Exchange
Best Bartender/Mixologist in County Durham
Shannon Healy – Alley Twenty-Six
Finalists: MJ Weber – Corpse Reviver, Bear – Growler Grlz, Kacey Liebes
Best Bartender/Mixologist in Orange/Chatham County
James Peery – The Kraken
Finalists: Zach White, Elena – Nash Street Tavern, Darrick Long
Wake County’s Best Bartender/Mixologist
Joshua Self – The Blind Pelican
Finalists: Jenny – Players Retirement, Kyle Hankin – Foundation, Lucius Cyrus – Person Street Bar
Best Comedy Club in the Triangle
Good nights
My love for Goodnights is well documented in the INDY Week Archives and, I must say, it’s been an emotional year for fans of the venerable comedy club. But while we are losing a piece of history, we still have a lot to look forward to. When Goodnights turns off the lights for the last time at its longtime Morgan Street location (in this grungy, quirky 1920s Art Deco-style building that’s slated for a demonstration) on July 31, I’ll be sad, even though I can’t wait to catch future shows at its new home in the Village neighborhood. First, Goodnights will take over the former K&W space, which has now disappeared. Then, depending on how long it takes to obtain building permits and building materials blocked by the supply chain, the club will open in its final form, an 11,000 square foot lair beneath what was once the Bargain Box but will soon be a Shake Shack. Cool? Yes. Suitably wacky? Yes too. My friends, the building may be gone, but the laughter and the legacy will live on.—JP
Finalists: Raleigh Improv, ComedyWorx, Bull City Laughs
Triangle’s Best Community Event
Festival for Eno
Finalists: Drag Queen Story Hour Triangle, Beaver Queen Pageant, Centerfest, Dix Park Inter-Tribal Pow Wow
Best Draft Slinger in County Durham
Bear – Growler Grlz
Finalists: Nolan – Beer Study, Georgette – Fullsteam, Colby Singleton
Best Draft Slinger in Orange/Chatham County
Cynthia Burkins – Gizmo Brew Works
Finalists: Kacie Walker, Elena McCarry, Dave – Pittsboro Hop House
Best Draft Slinger in Wake County
Joshua Self – The Blind Pelican
Finalists: Alison Williams, Rusty – The Green Monkey, Zach Neuman – Crank
Best LGBTQ+ bar in the Triangle
pin hook
Finalists: Ruby Deluxe, Arcana, Flex
Best golf course in the triangle
Hillandale Golf Course
Finalists: Hope Valley, Umstead Pines, Pine Hollow Golf Club
Best Indoor Fun Company in the Triangle
Boxcar Bar & Arcade
Finalists: Over The Moon Playground, Bull City Escape, Dogwood Country Club
Best karaoke in the triangle
pin hook
Finalists: All King Karaoke, Flex Karaoke, Kingdem Karaoke
Triangle’s Best Live Theater Company
PlayMakers Repertory Company
Finalists: Raleigh Little Theatre, Burning Coal Theatre, Theater in the Park
Best Live Theater Venue in the Triangle
Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC)
Finalists: Playmakers Repertory Company, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Burning Coal Theater
Best Local Podcast
Criminal
Finalists: Girls Who Do Stuff, NC F&B, The Bob and Lu Show
Best museum in the triangle
Museum of Life + Science
Finalists: North Carolina Museum of Art, Gregg Museum of Art and Design, Nasher Museum of Art
County Durham’s Best Neighborhood Bar
accordion club
“Hey bartender, let me get a roll of toilet paper.” It’s a question that never came up in bartending school, but at the height of the pandemic, the Accordion Bar had two-ply rolls for sale. Dive bar sensibilities notwithstanding, the Accordion in the NoCo district of Durham is about the closest Bull City has to an English pub. And it screams community. It’s a place where a young black man, after a meaningful conversation over beer and a cigarette with an older white man, declares that such a conversation would never happen in Brooklyn. L’Accordéon, with a white fluorescent sign that promises “cold beer” and “hot dogs” and a list of mostly locally brewed beers, is the quintessential neighborhood bar. “There’s a guy named Grant down the street doing our butchery at home,” Briggs said. “A local woman makes our Spicy Hermit Kimchi.” Accordion has a red brick interior, high-backed green wooden chairs, cylindrical lighting that once hung in a church, and a thick, worn slab of a wooden bar. There are picnic tables behind strings of cheerfully scalloped orange Chinese lanterns overhead. “We get loads of people from the neighborhood,” Brigg says. “Many of the elementary school teachers next to Cocoa Cinnamon are also regulars.”—TM
Finalists: Growler Grlz, Pinhook, Queeny’s
Best neighborhood bar in Orange/Chatham County
The Kraken
Finalists: Orange County Social Club (OCSC), Zog’s, The Belltree
Wake County’s Best Neighborhood Bar
Person Street Bar
Finalists: MyWay Tavern, The Blind Pelican, Hero’s
Best outdoor music venue in the Triangle
Red Hat Amphitheater
When it comes to venues in the Triangle, there are many I would tip my hat to, but only one who would tip theirs. Whether you’re seeing Rex Orange County for the first time or Goo Goo Dolls for the 21st time, the Red Hat Amphitheater is sure to provide a night you’ll never forget. From the lawn to the pit, this huge outdoor venue offers the ultimate outdoor musical experience in Raleigh with concession stands, stunning concert lighting, beautiful views of downtown Raleigh and an open lawn asking practically let your picnic blanket rest on it. This summer’s lineup contains a slew of genres from EDM to country to pop, so everyone in the Triangle can find at least one artist on their gig list.—HK
Finalists: Koka Booth Amphitheater, NC Museum of Art, The Kraken
Best place to dance in the triangle
The Blue Note Grill
Finalists: Pinhook, The Fruit – Durham, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival
Best place to get specialty cocktails in County Durham
aisle twenty six
Finalists: Kingfisher, Corpse Reviver, Arcana
Best place to get specialty cocktails in Orange County/Chatham
The Crunkleton
Finalists: Belltree, Bowbarr, Over There, Orange County Social Club (OCSC)
Best place to get specialty cocktails in Wake County
Foundation
Finalists: Bittersweet, The Blind Pelican, SideBar
Best place to listen to bluegrass in the triangle
The Blue Note Grill
Finalists: Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, community church concerts, The Kraken
Best place to listen to blues in the triangle
The Blue Note Grill
Finalists: The Kraken, Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, Community Church Concerts
Best place to listen to hip-hop or soul in the triangle
The cat’s cradle
Finalists: Blue Note Grill, Local506
Best place to listen to jazz in the triangle
Blue Note Grill
Finalists: C. Grace, Carolina Theatre, Kingfisher, Sharp 9 Gallery
Best place to hear noise / Electronica in the triangle
The cat’s cradle
Finalists: The Fruit – Durham, Nightlight, Ruby Deluxe
Best place to listen to rock’n’roll in the triangle
The cat’s cradle
Cat’s Cradle, a small barebones gig venue in Carrboro, has made a name for itself in the music world since 1969, helping launch indie rock bands such as Superchunk, Ben Folds Five, Whiskeytown, Polvo and Archers of Loaf . If you want a cheap weekday or weekend gig with your favorite name from Spotify, Cat’s Cradle is the place for you. The place does not claim to aspire to grandeur. The sticky floor and cash-only bar make it a favorite stop for students and concertgoers, who can enjoy close interaction with their favorite musicians. The black box stage is the first stop for non-mainstream bands crossing the Triangle, including some rappers, soul singers, and noise/electronic artists. But seating is scarce, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes.—JG
Finalists: Motorco, Lincoln Theater – Raleigh, Carolina Theater, The Kraken
Best place to listen to world or international music in the triangle
Duke Shows
Finalists: Carolina Theater of Durham, Cat’s Cradle, The ArtsCenter
Best place to shoot pool in the triangle
The green room
It’s late Thursday night, and the Green Room has a respectable crowd of people whose deliberative choreography around the beautiful green felt billiard tables is accompanied by the crackle of ivory billiard balls and the sounds of chalk scrick, scrick applied to the tips of the tails of the sticks. All tables in the 3,300 square foot venue are occupied and the former bar is also doing steady business. “We have good music, bad movies and good beer,” says pool hall owner Michael Dearing. “We have bad movies every night. It’s an ode to Wesley Snipes tonight. The Green Room opened in the 1950s and was known at the time as the Broad Street Sport Shop before being renamed in the 1980s. Dearing bought the place in 2005, years after starting hanging out in the venerable high school pool hall. He fell in love with the place. “People from all over the world come here and tell me how much they love this place,” he says. “I tell them, ‘Be careful. You might end up owning it. ‘” – TM
Finalists: Zog’s, Sharky’s Place, The Kraken
Best theater to see an independent film in the Triangle
The Chelsea Theater
Finalists: Carolina Theater of Durham, Rialto Raleigh, Alamo Drafthouse
Best quiz night in the Triangle
Jake’s Tomato
Finalists: Growler Grlz, Durty Bull Trivia, Hammered Trivia at Ruckus Mission Valley
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