Celebrate Valentine’s Day with 7 of Charlotte’s Coolest Creative Couples

Heart to Heart – A Valentine’s Day Q & A with a Few of Charlotte’s Coolest Creative Couples
“Our community doesn’t suffer from a scarcity mentality. We believe that a rising tide raises all ships. There is a genuine celebration of each other and appreciation for each other’s gifts.” – Krystle Baller
From podcast hosts and rock stars to video directors and branding consultants, we have some pretty super pairs of significant others in our community. We wanted to hear from some of Charlotte’s coolest couples, and these duos really delivered.
- Sasha & Larry Manley
- Krystle Baller & Elizabeth Palmisano (Pictured Above)
- Kevin & Monique Douglas
- Andy & Saul Waizer
- Kailyn Downen & Jorge Vargas
- Phil & Laura Beebe
- Ruth Ava Lyons & Paul Sires
Click to read this special Valentine’s Day Q&A to see how these couples partner on everything from creative projects to co-parenting — even if it isn’t always smooth sailing.


JazzArts Charlotte Tells Today’s Story with Yesterday’s Music
“Whisper, listen, whisper, listen. Whispers say we’re free
Rumors flyin’, must be lyin’. Can it really be?
Can’t conceive it, don’t believe it. But that’s what they say
Slave no longer, slave no longer, this is Freedom Day.”
– Lyrics from “Freedom Day,” the second track on We Insist!
North Carolina composer and drummer Max Roach and lyricist Oscar Brown put the words above — and the lustrous jazz music in which they swim — into the world in 1960. They were part of a groundbreaking, six-track album, We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite. Some said the world wasn’t ready for the album and its ideas about civil rights when it was released by Candid Records. But, this was how Roach and his collaborators chose to combat the inequities and injustices around them … and it has endured.
Sadly, communities across the country are still confronting the issues explored in We Insist! The music resonates today — 60 years later — as loudly as it did the day it was released. That’s why JazzArts Charlotte organized a special live performance of the album at the site of the Black Lives Matter mural in uptown Charlotte last October. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, it wasn’t open to the public. But, it was recorded and premieres online today.
Tonight at 8 p.m., you can experience the premiere broadcast of this event on Facebook Live and YouTube. It will be available online for the next six months.
Explore the story and photographs of how this performance — featuring 12 musicians and a team of dancers, a poet and a historian — came together.

Don’t go ’round hungry. If you missed the last batch of The Biscuit, don’t worry. We’ve kept it warm for you. This batch featured:
- Take a romantic walk on the Lovers’ Art Trail compiled by CLT Art Walks
- Explore a labyrinth of words with slam poet, Jay Ward
- Hear artist Irisol Gonzalez share the promise she made to herself that’s made all the difference
- And more!
Click here to dig in, y‘all.
The Biscuit is proudly sponsored by: |
 |
 |
|