Note: Authored by David Menconi, this piece has been produced in partnership with Raleigh Arts. Menconi's latest book, "Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music," was published in the fall of 2023 by University of North Carolina Press. His podcast, Carolina Calling, explores the history of the Tar Heel State through music.

Live After 5, downtown Raleigh’s venerable outdoor live-music series, is back for another year in 2025. Concerts are scheduled for four Wednesday evenings at City Plaza through the summer and they are, as always, free.

This year’s model has a thematic concept that falls literally close to home: all North Carolina, after last year’s “Women In Music” and 2023’s vintage oldies from the 1980s and ’90s.

“This year it’s North Carolina-grown, an all-North Carlina lineup of almost all original music,” says Amy Cox, the series’ talent buyer and production coordinator. “That’s a pretty drastic departure from the usual Live After 5 theme. It’s in the spirit of bringing people downtown to explore art and experience something they may have never heard before. You could say we’re leaning into local.”

^{Clockwise, starting in top left: Charly Lowry; Kooley High; Jack the Radio; Rissi Palmer}

Co-produced by Deep South Entertainment and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, Live After 5 offers one show per month from May through August. It’s a Sip & Stroll event, so you can purchase alcoholic beverages from participating merchants and carry them through the designated zone downtown. Bringing in coolers with outside drinks, however, is prohibited.

The event footprint will be along Fayetteville St., from City Plaza north to Davie St., with an array of vendors and food trucks in the vicinity. It’s rain or shine, which can be an admittedly dodgy proposition in any season. But despite anyone’s plans, the weather will most likely be the major factor affecting attendance.

“I’m just hoping for the best weather we can get,” says Cox. “You know if I could wave that wand, I would.”

Officially, the event time for Live After will be 5 to 9pm. But in order to give everyone time to get there, the music won’t start until 6pm. And the 2025 Live After 5 artist lineup goes like this:

2025 Live After 5 schedule

• May 21: Weekend Excursion, Tre.Charles
• June 18: Rissi Palmer, Duck
• July 23: Kooley High, Charly Lowry
• August 20: Chatham Rabbits, Jack the Radio

“I’m especially proud of how truly eclectic this lineup is,” says Cox. “We tried to get really diverse with it—a pop-rock band with a soul act, or country with funk. Kooley High, a hip-hop act, is on a bill with Charly Lowry, who is an Americana songstress. But she also has an incredible rap in her song ‘Brown Skin.’ The combinations on these shows should be a lot of fun.”

For more details about the Live After 5 series, see downtownraleigh.org.