The Rant

Carolina Indie Fest is less than a week out, and we have interviews with two of the performers for Spring 2026 - the Southern Brothas out of Durham and Raleigh's Jo Gore. Carolina Indie Fest is set for Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16 at Hugger Mugger Brewing, 229 Wicker St. in downtown Sanford. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net.

We unpack what's happened so far in the debate over Lee County's next EMS contract, and speculate irresponsibly about what might happen next.

We interview members of Late Night Special (Charlotte) and Ol' Joey Scrums (Raleigh) ahead of Carolina Indie Fest, which kicks off on Friday at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford. Ol' Joey Scrums performs at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, and Late Night Special performs at 7 p.m. the same day. For more information about Carolina Indie Fest, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net .

Gordon interviews members of the Boom Unit Brass Band (Raleigh, NC) and the Corey Stevenson Band (Greenville, SC). Boom Unit will perform at Carolina Indie Fest at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 27. Corey Stevenson plays at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 26. Carolina Indie Fest will be held on September 26 and 27 at Hugger Mugger Brewing, 229 Wicker St. in downtown Sanford. For more information, vi...

Gordon interviews Carolina Indie Fest performers the Pinkerton Raid (Durham, NC) and Pageant (High Point, NC). For more information about Carolina Indie Fest, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net.

Gordon interviews Greenville, S.C. folk band Pablo Atlas and Raleigh's the Dapper Conspiracy, who play a mix of Americana, folk, rock and more. The Dapper Conspiracy will play Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 26, and Pablo Atlas plays at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 27. For more information about Carolina Indie Fest, visit www.caro...

Gordon interviews Charleston-based rapper Sxvxnt, as well as George Hage, frontman of Raleigh-based roots rockers Jack the Radio. Both Sxvxnt and Jack the Radio will perform at Carolina Indie Fest on September 26 and 27 at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford. For more information about Carolina Indie Fest, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net . 

Gordon interviews Carolina Indie Fest performers the Great Indoors, who hail from Wilmington.    Carolina Indie Fest is set for May 23 and 24 at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford. For more information, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net .

Gordon interviews Derrick Dove of Derrick Dove & the Peacekeepers and Cliff and Garrett Wheeler of the Cliff Wheeler Band. Both are slated to perform at Carolina Indie Fest on May 23 and 24 at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford. For more information visit www.carolinaindiefest.net . 

Gordon interviews Carolina Indie Fest performers Heavy Denim (Durham, NC) and Nor'Easter Tippers & Pypes (Central NC) ahead of Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford on May 23-24. For more information about Carolina Indie Fest, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net.

Gordon interviews Carolina Indie Fest performers La Unica (Washington, D.C.) and Droze & the Drift (Charleston, S.C.). Both will take the stage at the event, set for May 23 and 24 at Hugger Mugger Brewing at 229 Carthage St. in downtown Sanford. For more information, visit www.carolinaindiefest.net.

Gordon talks with Syracuse, New York's Paper Rabbit and North Carolina's Lipbone Redding about their upcoming performances at Carolina Indie Fest, set for May 23 and 24 at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford. For more information visit www.carolinaindiefest.net.

Gordon, Billy and Richard talk Mexican restaurants, the public school funding debate, and snow days. Happy 2025!

Gordon welcomes Cliff Wheeler back to the podcast to talk about what he's been up to over the past year, as well as the ways Carolina Indie Fest has evolved over the years. The Cliff Wheeler Band headlines night one of Indie Fest on Friday, September 20 at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford.

Gordon and Richard review the month in local government for Sanford and Lee County. Topics include bond financing for a new library, guns at the polls, proposed housing and commercial developments, and the start of the new school year.

Gordon interviews Durham, North Carolina's Bombadil, a folk rock/Americana act who headline night two of Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford on Saturday, September 21.

We kick off our fall 2024 Carolina Indie Fest performer podcast series with Virginia's Suburban Key Party, who play on Saturday, September 21 at 6:45 p.m. Carolina Indie Fest will be held at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford on September 20 and 21. The festival, which also includes food trucks and craft vendors, is free to the public. For more information visit www.carolinaindiefest.net.

We welcome Central Carolina Community College President Dr. Lisa Chapman as well as Bobby Powell, who was recently awarded an honorary degree from CCCC after completing 32 years of service on the college's Board of Trustees.

The gang talks about the forthcoming Lee County Athletic Park, now less than a year away from completion, as well as our local teacher shortage, and some damage caused by recent storming.

Jeremy Palme, coach of the Sanford Spinners, joins the podcast to discuss the new baseball/softball facility he and partners have opened in Jonesboro. 

The Friends of the Rant podcast returns to regularity with a new format. The first week of each month we'll discuss the cover story from The Rant Monthly and do a recap of the month in local government. The gang also discusses the truly frightening prospect of songs of any genre and topic, generated in a matter of seconds by artificial intelligence. The future is bleak!

Gordon talks with Carolina Indie Fest performers Jive Talk (Nashville synth-driven alt rock) and Tuatha Dea (progressive rock from Asheville mixing Celtic and Appalachian sounds), completing the Friends of the Rant podcast's Spring 2024 artist interview series. Tune in to get familiar with these bands, and come out on May 10 and 11 to Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanfor...

On the Friends of the Rant podcast, Gordon interviews Indie Fest performers Julia, an "intergalactic funk" band from Raleigh, and Chapel Hill's Blue Cactus, who play a strain of Americana that brings together country, psychedelia and 70s pop. Julia plays Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, and Blue Cactus plays at 6:15 p.m. on Friday,...

On this week’s Friends of the Rant podcast, Gordon interviews Asheville’s Chris McGinnis, whose music has been described as “Appalachian absurdity for the 21st Century,” as well as Paleface, whose career in the music industry goes back to the 1980s and who tours full time with his partner and drummer Mo. Both are slated to perform at Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in downtown Sanford...

On the Friends of the Rant podcast, Gordon interviews Indie Fest performers the Culper Ring, a self proclaimed “dad punk” band from Dallas, Texas with a knack for big hooks and shimmering production, as well as Greensboro’s the Gooseberry Jam, who present a “Southern fried taste of soul set to a backdrop of raw rock and roll.”  The Culper Ring plays Carolina Indie Fest at Hugger Mugger Brewing in...