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North Carolina Songstress Rebecca Newton Steps Out Solo

Rebecca Newton's new album "Blue Shirt" is her first solo project.
Rebecca Newton's new album "Blue Shirt" is her first solo project.

Rebecca Newton is a well-known name on the North Carolina music scene. The longtime musician and artist promoter has spent decades performing in groups and working to promote her bands and other people's music.

Host Frank Stasio talks with musician, singer songwriter Rebecca Newton. Rebecca is joined by musicians Robert Sledge and Sam Frazier to play live in our studio.

When the opportunity came up to record a solo album at Jerry Brown's Rubber Room studio in Chapel Hill, she leapt at it and began a years-long collaborative process to write down her story and assemble it with help from some of the state's best musicians, including Andrew Marlin of Mandolin Orange, and Robert Sledge, formerly of Ben Folds Five. The product is her new record “Blue Shirt.”

Newton joins host Frank Stasio to talk about the process of putting together the personal collection. Newton, who is president and CEO of the Carolina Theatre of Durham, is joined by artists Robert Sledge on bass and Sam Frazier on guitar.

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.