The Warren County Memorial Library will host music critic, journalist, and author, David Menconi on Saturday, June 3 at 11:00 AM. Menconi will discuss his 2020 book Step it Up & Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music. The book covers musicians from across the state including Blind Boy Fuller, Doc Watson, Nina Simone, and Warren County native Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange).
David Menconi spent 34 years writing for daily newspapers, 28 of those years at the Raleigh News & Observer. Menconi resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has also written for Rolling Stone, Spin, Billboard, New York Times, and salon.com. His books include the 2012 biography Ryan Adams: Losering, A Story of Whiskeytown (the University of Texas Press), Comin’ Right at Ya: How a Jewish Yankee Hippie Went Country, or, the Often Outrageous History of Asleep at the Wheel. (co-written with Ray Benson, 2015).
Menconi also hosts “That Old North State Radio Hour,” a weekly show about North Carolina music, on 95.7-FM in Raleigh, NC. Menconi was the 2019 Piedmont Laureate.
Step it Up & Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music was selected as part of this year’s NC Reads program. North Carolina Reads is North Carolina Humanities statewide book club. North Carolina Reads annually features five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equality and the history and culture of North Carolina. All five books pose critical questions about how North Carolinians view their role in helping to form a more just and inclusive society. At the heart of North Carolina Reads is NC Humanities’ desire to connect communities through shared reading experiences.
The Warren County Memorial Library is located at 119 S. Front St. Warrenton, NC.