From Atlanta to Raleigh - The Good Graces Perform at the Hopscotch Music Festival
Last week, DOPECAUSEWESAID was able to catch a wide array of talented artists from all walks of life at the Hopscotch Music Fest in Raleigh, starting with a duo called The Good Graces. We kicked off our Hopscotch experience with the corky band from Atlanta who made their Thursday afternoon appearance at a local venue called Slim's Downtown Distillery, a small and cozy bar located in the heart of the city. The stage was small, the venue was dimly lit and every inch of the floor was filled with festival goers having a good time.
Born in Kings Mountain, NC, Good Graces lead singer Kim Ware relocated to Atlanta in 2004 to pursue a life surrounded by good opportunities and even better people. She fell in love with Georgia and decided to keep it as her home base, hitting the road occasionally for performances such as the one we saw in the North Carolina capital city. An avid 90's music lover, Kim takes inspiration from artists such as Liz Phar, Mountain Goats and Indio Girls (sidebar, Kim actually toured with Emily and Amy of Indigo Girls).
Ware also prefers to keep her lyrics on the raw and honest side, a somewhat traditional trait of indie-folk, opting to stay away from the use of metaphors and getting straight to the point. Her subject matter and phrasing are clever, unique and tell a story- keeping the audience attentive and with smiles on their faces throughout. She is also a drummer, so most of the music being produced by The Good Graces is heavily percussion based and acoustic, putting most of the weight on the vocal side of things.
Within five minutes of watching The Good Graces, we were impressed with the on stage charisma Kim possessed. She immediately made the audience laugh with her pre-performance banter before proceeding to silence the room with her catchy melodies and distinct way of singing. Having played at Slim's a few times before, we could tell Ware felt comfortable and had established a modest following of listeners, some of which who were even crowded on the staircase to get a better look. She breezed through her originals making no mistakes, portraying confidence and hitting the more difficult notes with ease and power. DOPECAUSEWESAID was definitely glued to the singer during her 45 minute set, and we hope to see her perform again in the near future.
If you missed The Good Graces in Raleigh, you can catch them next at Nuci's Space in Athens, Georgia today with Pete McDade. Kim is also working on a new album that is set to be released this winter, but in the meantime, you can go to Thegoodgraces.org and download their album Set Your Sights (July 2017), an album Kim worked tirelessly on and is extremely proud of.