It seems like the weekends in Wilmington are only getting busier, and with so many worthwhile events, the only bad thing is having to make some tough choices. It's a good problem to have, because the 18 events listed here are only a fraction of what's going on.
Speaking of tough choices, recently I've been starting off this list each week with a featured event. This week it's an album release show that combines local music, photography and advocacy for the environment.
'This Water Is Life'
Wilmington's arts community, and its natural beauty, are two of the area's defining qualities, and big reasons why everyone keeps moving here.
But rarely has a project connected the things that makes Wilmington special, and done it in such a meaningful way, as "This Water Is Life." The new double EP from locally based Fort Lowell Records comes out Friday and is timed to Earth Day. It will be the first in a series of releases that not only highlight Wilmington indie rock and hip-hop musicians, but also provide a platform for two groups fighting to protect Wilmington's environment, specifically its threatened waters: Cape Fear River Watch and Coastal Plain Conservation Group.
On Friday, a release concert for "This Water is Life, Vol. 1" will be held at local hotspot Satellite Bar and Lounge on Greenfield Street. The show will feature longtime Wilmington rock songwriter James Sardone and local hip-hop mainstays MindsOne. Sardone has three songs and MindsOne four on "This Water Is Life," which will be released on vinyl and digitally.
The project is the brainchild of James Tritten, who runs Fort Lowell and is one of the Wilmington music scene's biggest boosters. He said he got the idea after seeing the photographs of Josh Putnam, one of which Tritten used for the album's cover. The photos capture water within the urban Wilmington landscape while also literally reflecting that landscape.
That duality, or mirroring quality, gave Tritten the idea for a "split" EP that would get new work by area musicians into the world while reminding people of the very real challenges facing local waters, including pollution by PFAS chemicals released into the Cape Fear River by the Chemours company near Fayetteville.
"In a perfect world there would be four to six of these albums a year," Tritten said, almost like a subscription service people could sign up for.
Fort Lowell, which Tritten started in Arizona, is an indie rock label with a national roster, so Tritten knew that indie rock, in all its many forms, would be part of the equation. But he also wanted to spotlight the strength and depth of Wilmington's hip-hop scene.
To kick off the series, Tritten went with two acts who've been sustaining Wilmington music lovers for decades.
MindsOne, which includes lyricists and rappers KON Sci and Tronic and beats by Belgian producer DJ Iron, has been around since the early 2000s. They've released multiple albums that have helped define the sound of Wilmington hip-hop while influencing the current generation of artists.
Their old-school, "boom-bap" style with conscious lyrics is exemplified by the song "Footprints" from "This Water Is Life," which Joe Latterner, who writes and performs under the name KON Sci, said they wrote specifically for the album. The lyrics dwell on footprints both environmental and metaphorical, and especially the legacy that's left for future generations.
"Environmental concerns, social concerns, that's always been in our wheelhouse," Latterner said, adding that new songs "Phantasy" and "Why So Serious?" show another side of the group that's more playful.
They'll be performing all three songs from the new release on Friday (the album also includes a remix of "Footprints") and MindsOne has a full-length album coming out later this year.
Sharing Friday's bill will be a new band from James Sardone, who was a mainstay of the Wilmington scene in the '90s. His punk band Brickbat toured nationally, opening for acts like Jawbox and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and his country rock outfit The Burnley Brothers were local favorites as well.
A move to New York in the late '90s had Sardone hitting the big city right when a rockabilly revival was sweeping the nation, and his Jimmy Nations Combo turned heads in the Big Apple, even earning a write up in the Village Voice.
Returning to Wilmington a decade ago, Sardone started a new band, Loose Jets, whose edgy glam-rock vibe was a regular presence at local clubs.
"I've always kind of like to change my hat" in terms of the music he plays, Sardone said, and the songs on "This Water Is Life" mark new territory for him: tuneful, deceptively simple pop rockers like "Do This Thing" that sound like they were pulled from some forgotten '80s radio playlist.
"They're straightforward love songs pretty much," Sardone said, that he wrote for his wife, Stella. He said he's got enough material for a full album he hopes to put out soon.
Tritten said one goal of the "This Water Is Life" series — he's got a few more indie rock/hip-hop pairs lined up but doesn't want to say who just yet — is to get artists' work "on vinyl. So many artists stop at the world of digital, and vinyl is a special thing I know I can offer."
Another goal is for the project to be self-sustaining, where one release pays for the next one until there's a whole bunch more Wilmington music out there, not to mention increased awareness of environmental issues that need addressing.
A perhaps unintended benefit? On Friday, Sardone and the artists of MindsOne, who've done so much for their respective scenes, will meet each other and play on the same bill for the first time.
Details: 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, at Satellite Bar & Lounge, 120 Greenfield St., Wilmington. Free.
