NC Reads Book Discussion: Step It Up & Go

North Carolina Reads is North Carolina Humanities’ statewide book club for 2023. North Carolina Reads 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.  Learn more about the book selections here.

Step It Up & Go by David Menconi

This book is a love letter to the artists, scenes, and sounds defining North Carolina’s extraordinary contributions to American popular music. Menconi shows how working-class roots and rebellion tie North Carolina’s Piedmont blues, jazz, and bluegrass to beach music, rock, hip-hop, and more.

Registration is required to join our discussion of Step It Up & Go.  To register and join the conversation on December 5 at 6:00 pm in the Library’s Rogow Room, click here.

Watch NC Humanities’ virtual book event  on June 27 with author David Menconi and founder of Ramseur independent label and North Carolina Music Hall of Fame Trustee Dolphus Ramseur in a conversation moderated by NC Humanities’ Board Trustee Elizabeth Carlson.

Accompanying Playlist – Explore the music of Step It Up & Go in the player below or directly on Spotify. Note: some songs may contain explicit language or themes.