By Cameron Lee
June 5, 2024
The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame has announced six new inductees for 2024, including Greenville native rapper Petey Pablo; legendary music executive and Greensboro native Clarence Avant; the storied Durham indie rock label Merge Records, founded by Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance; and Mary Cardwell Dawson, the musician and teacher who was the founding director of the National Negro Opera Company.
The 2024 induction ceremony will also mark the 30th anniversary of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and will take place at the Charles Mack Citizen Center in downtown Mooresville on October 17. Open to the public, the event will feature a dinner and a show, including performances by the inductees such as Petey Pablo.
Petey Pablo (Greenville)
Best known for the North Carolina anthem “Raise Up” and the massive radio hit “Freek-A-Leek,” Greenville native Moses Barrett III burst onto the national hip-hop scene in 2001 with his debut album, Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry, which was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. His sophomore album, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry, achieved both critical and commercial success, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and featuring the Lil Jon-produced single “Freek-A-Leek.” Throughout his career, Petey has collaborated with notable artists including Timbaland, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, and Ciara, lending his talents to her chart-topping debut single, “Goodies.”
Clarence Avant (Greensboro)
Born in Greensboro, Clarence Avant was a prominent music executive widely recognized as “The Black Godfather.” A documentary about his life, with the same name, was released in 2019 and directed by Reginald Hudlin (House Party, Boomerang). Spanning over 50 years in the entertainment industry, Avant primarily remained behind the scenes. His work advocated for the fair treatment and compensation of African American artists, collaborating closely with legends such as jazz great Sarah Vaughan, Bill Withers, and Johnny Nash (“I Can See Clearly Now”). In 2021, Avant was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, receiving the prestigious Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors non-performing industry professionals who have had a major influence on music. He is also the recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP, the Recording Academy’s Trustees Award, and countless other music and civic accolades. Additionally, in 2021, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from North Carolina A&T.
Merge Records (Durham)
Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2024, Merge Records has released several groundbreaking albums since its founding by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan in 1989. Originally created as an outlet for their band Superchunk, the label has become synonymous with quintessential indie rock, including releasing Arcade Fire’s first four albums. Early successes also include Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs, and Spoon’s Kill the Moonlight. In 2009, Algonquin Paperbacks published Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, chronicling the label’s rich history. To mark its 35th anniversary, Merge will host a four-day festival at Cat’s Cradle (July 24-27), featuring performances by Hiss Golden Messenger, M. Ward, Wye Oak, Fruit Bats, Eric Bachmann, Mike Krol, Mary Timony, John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats), and more.
Mary Cardwell Dawson (Madison)
Mary Cardwell Dawson was an influential musician and educator, best known as the founding director of the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC) in 1941 — the first African American opera company in the United States. Born in Madison, North Carolina, Dawson spent much of her childhood in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Chicago Musical College and The Metropolitan Opera Studios in New York City. In 1941, following a presentation of the opera Aida at the National Association of Negro Musicians convention, she launched the NNOC. Dawson made opera accessible to Black audiences by establishing opera guilds in several major cities and training hundreds of young performers. The Charlotte Museum of History is currently exhibiting Open Wide the Door: The Story of Mary Cardwell Dawson and the National Negro Opera Company, which can be viewed through December.
Bobby Hicks (Newton)
A 10-time Grammy Award-winning fiddler and International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee, Bobby Hicks has made unparalleled contributions to bluegrass music over five decades. His career spans more than 50 albums and includes collaborations with renowned artists such as Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, Jesse McReynolds, Carlton Haney, and Jim Eanes. Notably, he also spent 23 years as the fiddler for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.
Tommy Faile (Charlotte)
A prolific songwriter, radio and television personality, and baritone vocalist, Tommy Faile is best known for composing the 1967 hit “Phantom 309” and recording “The Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights.” He began his career in 1949 as a bass player and singer with the Hired Hands before joining Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks in 1951. In 1969, Faile launched his own successful TV program, The Tommy Faile Show, on Charlotte’s WBTV, which made him a beloved figure throughout North Carolina.
Since its inception in 1994, 132 individuals have been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. The museum, located in Kannapolis, features 65 exhibits showcasing rare memorabilia from the inductees. Admission to the museum is free, and guided tours are available upon request. Current items on display include Charlie Daniels’ fiddle; Arthur Smith’s banjo; beat machines from Jermaine Dupri and 9th Wonder; clothing worn by American Idol contestants Scotty McCreery, Fantasia, Clay Aiken, and Kellie Pickler; and Jim Lauderdale’s Grammy Award.
The 2024 North Carolina Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony will honor six North Carolinians with an event on Thursday, October 17, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Charles Mack Citizen Center in downtown Mooresville. The ceremony is open to the public, and attendees will enjoy dinner and a show featuring performances by the inductees. Tickets are available for $100 through the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame’s official website.
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