Magnetic Sound Studios

Don't miss the incredible NY jazz organist Gregory Lewis - aka "Organ Monk" who specializes in playing the music of legendary jazz pianist and composer, Thelonious Monk -- but instead of playing these pieces on piano, Gregory plays this beautiful music on the Hammond B-3 organ! For this concert, he will be joined by the astounding vocalist Raina Welch, who will be singing unique versions of these classic Thelonious Monk tunes. Accompanying them will be two of our finest local players, Tinashe Blu Thompson Jr. on tenor sax and Jeremy “Bean” Clemons on drums!! The show is Saturday May 9th at 8pm with tickets on sale now at the studio's website: https://www.magneticsoundstudios.com/events

Don't miss our next show here with Durham stringband Viv & Riley on Wed Feb 11th at 7:30pm. Tickets are available online at the studio website - https://www.magneticsoundstudios.com/events

We had a sold-out concert this weekend with the amazing Greg Ruby from NYC, Sam Farthing from Baltimore and our own Kenny Phelps-McKeown on upright bass. A couple of shots courtesy Diane Davis and Dan Eason, last shot from my iPhone.

What amazing musicianship and just sheer joy pouring out of these guys’ instruments. Thank you everyone who came out and supported this show and the studio’s concert series in general… this is a good sign that we can keep doing this kinda thing with such great community support from attendees and friends and local radio and media that supported this event! Thank you for supporting live music in crazy, alternative venues!!!

Cajun fiddler Louis Michot returns to Magnetic Sound Studios for a solo concert this Wed June 11th 7:30pm. Tickets on sale now at the studio website. https://www.magneticsoundstudios.com/events

Our next public concert features Louis Michot, the two-time Grammy award winner, fiddle player and singer for Lost Bayou Ramblers - who is celebrating the release of his second solo album, SEAUXLEAUX. The show will be Wed June 11th at 7:30 here at Magnetic Sound Studios - at Lakewood in Durham.

This show will be Michot's second appearance at Magnetic Sound Studios — If you missed his first, sold-out, standing room only show here back in 2024, this is your chance to see one of the most creative and dynamic musicians in Southern Louisiana perform in an intimate and up-close setting, rich in vibe and with stellar acoustics - right here in Durham.

SEAUXLEAUX is a collection of songs that tells Michot’s stories and those of the Louisiana French experience. The repertoire on this album comes mostly from the traditional Cajun canon, representing a diverse range of obscure but powerful work by Louisiana songwriters. Michot performs them using an unusually full and ambitious sonic palette with separate tracks assigned to vocal, vocal space-echo delay, foot stomp, foot stomp space-echo delay, and fiddle or guitar.

See the Facebook event or check out the studio's website for more details. Tickets are on-sale now for $20 at the studio's website.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2731195723733630

Our next concert is Saturday March 15th at 8pm with the country-cajun supergroup Allumé!!!

Allumé is a powerhouse collaboration uniting Nashville’s Miss Tess, Lafayette’s K.C. Jones (Feufollet, The Daiquiri Queens), Thomas Bryan Eaton with and Trey Boudreaux (The Revelers). This Cajun-country-cozy supergroup weaves together rich harmonies, pedal steel, fiddle, bass, and stripped-down drums for a sound that’s both rootsy and dynamic. Expect a mix of fresh originals and timeless covers, plus highlights from Cher Rêve, the newly released album by Miss Tess. Don’t miss this chance to catch these acclaimed multi-instrumentalists lighting up the stage together!

This new band—like Miss Tess’s latest album, Cher Rêve (out last week)—is born from a deep admiration for the culturally rich Acadiana region of South Louisiana, particularly the vibrant city of Lafayette. Known as the “Little Easier,” Lafayette is a magnetic hub where community, tradition, and music thrive. Cajun and Creole melodies fill the air, dancers move across hardwood floors, and generations carry on time-honored traditions of language and cuisine. Warm, welcoming, and steeped in culture, it’s a place that has a way of changing those who experience it.

Tickets are on-sale now through the studio's website. Don't miss it!

The new album "Lakewood Jump" is out today from bandleader, composer/arranger and reed-man Keenan McKenzie and The Riffers! Hot swing, wild solos and sultry vocals - recorded/mixed right here at Magnetic Sound Studios in the Lakewood neighborhood in Durham!! You can purchase an LP, CD or a digital download via Bandcamp - or directly from the band when you catch them live at a swingdance near you!