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Michaela Chesin, Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN Business owner Rachel Harrington thrives on taking chances.
She opened B.Xclusive streetwear and accessory store in a basement in 2007. When demand grew, she moved the shop above ground. Now, though, she’s opening a store twice the size, and rebranding.
During the COVID-19 threat Harrington is among Provincetown business owners on the move such as Christine Meegan switching to online sales only at Christina’s Jewelry or Doug Freeman taking a chance on selling his West End Salon and finding another place to work.
Harrington, though, is expanding.
Coming to town
As a Vermont native, the beauty on the Cape captivated Harrington. She first came to town on a trip to the dune shacks with friends, during a snowstorm.
Bandcamp
In October, Austin s brooding balladeer Bill Callahan teamed with equally enigmatic auteur Bonnie Prince Billy to release a surprise cover of Cat Stevens Blackness of the Night, with arrangements by Drag City labelmate Azita Youssefi. The singles have continued weekly since, each a new cover and collaboration, ranging from pop busters (Steely Dan s Deacon Blues with Bill MacKay; Billie Eilish s Wish You Were Gay with Sean O Hagan) to more obscure (Johnnie Frierson s Miracles filtered through Ty Segall; Lowell George s I ve Been the One with Meg Baird). Amid Lou Reed s Rooftop Garden and Hank Williams Jr. s OD d in Denver, the duo also rolls out a deep Jerry Jeff Walker fascination with takes on Little Bird, Letter Sung to Friends, I Love You, and Night Rider s Lament. The arrangements spiral eclectic and provocative, hung across the balancing act of Callahan s low, methodical intonations and Oldham s creaking high lonesome. –
Cover by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images. Photos courtesy of the artists.
In late March, mere weeks into the pandemic that we ve carried into another year, Music Editor Raoul Hernandez launched a Q&A series with local musicians. He called it Checking In, a name that carried special resonance for him. It was directly inspired by the language we were all using in those disorienting first days of COVID-19, when the days were full of worried calls and texts and emails:
I just wanted to check in. I ve always viewed journalism as social work, he told me on Monday, as we hung around after a meeting in the Zoom room where we all live now. He said the checking-in process was sometimes overwhelming, as artists laid bare the tolls of isolation and lost income and my life is melting stress. But for musicians and music fans alike, these regular posts provided a way to stay connected to a scattered community.
Hotel Free TV, Thursday 28, 8pm
Clubs are closed, but dance magic transcends YouTube. Austin pop princess p1nkstar and performance artist Y2K team with cinematographer Hannah Varnell for a live music video experience celebrating the trans and queer artists who ground Texas nightlife. Lorelei K, Belladonna, and Quentin Arispe star, while Katherine Vaughn, Charlie AB, TC Superstar s LB Flett, and more make special appearances in a 16-clip feature shot in 24 hours. Although free to stream, a GoFundMe linked through Hotel Vegas livestream site hopes to raise $5,000 to cover the concert/art installation/community builder s custom-built sets and lights installations, and pay the LGBTQIA stars, producers, crew, dancers, choreographers, and stylists underrepresented in the industry even without a global pandemic. –