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Raleigh’s most over-the-top music tradition—a six-night, full-costume, secret-lineup spectacle—is getting the PBS NC treatment Aug. 21.
Raleigh’s rowdiest musical tradition is getting the big-screen treatment. The Great Cover Up—a documentary on the six-night, no-setlist, full-costume lovefest for live music at Kings—is premiering Aug. 21 on PBS NC.
It all started in 1999, when Kings co-founder Paul Siler and friends—touring musicians tired of the lack of indie-friendly venues—decided to open their own spot and throw a hurricane benefit. “A friend told us about this event where bands would dress up as a famous band and perform. We decided to make a curtain, not tell anybody who it was, and when the reveal happened, people just loved it,” Siler recalls. That two-night show is now a six-night festival with as many as 10 bands per night.
The rules? Learn a short set. Go all in on the costumes. Keep your band identity secret until the curtain drops. “The anticipation of who the next band is going to be is always fun,” muses Siler. “It’s an endless supply.”
Kings event manager Yvonne Chazal says the vibe is different from your typical dark-wall club. “We… know how to treat folks well… and the little things that make playing a show really comfortable,” she says. “We pride ourselves on throwing cool shows.”
Onstage, Siler emcees in his now-iconic ’70s-game-show-style jacket. Offstage, the Cover Up raises funds for multiple causes over the course of the week—past beneficiaries have included everything from the Red Cross to local soup kitchens.
The PBS NC documentary focuses on the people and the community that keep the tradition alive—longtime fans who’ve waited in line for decades, bands perfecting every note and wig flip, and even one first-time group prepping for their big reveal. For Siler, it’s a love letter to Raleigh: “It’s a cultural little slice of our city everybody gets excited about.” kingsraleigh.com
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