Veteran music writer David Menconi (@‌davidmenconi) has been on the North Carolina music beat since 1991, and knows the ...

Veteran music writer David Menconi (@‌davidmenconi) has been on the North Carolina music beat since 1991, and knows the NC scene like few others (he’s also a past @‌comehearnc contributor). So when Menconi put together a list of 2024’s “Standout Songs with North Carolina Ties” for Walter Magazine (@waltermagazine), our office perked up our collective ears! Menconi’s list provides a snapshot of this past year in NC music, and while these lists are inveterately subjective, his rundown (and the playlist that goes with it) gives a great sense of the diversity, exuberance, and resilience that characterizes the amazing music made in 2024 by North Carolinians (current and lapsed). The list ranges from Rhiannon Giddens’s (@rhiannongiddens) banjo intro to Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Rapsody’s (@rapsody) collaboration with Erykah Badu on “3:AM” to youthful Bill Moore’s (@billmooremusic) acoustic guitar workout “Just a Couple of Blueberries” and Katherine Whalen’s (@whalenkatharine) lush Chet Baker tribute “Let’s Get Lost.”