ICYMI, drinking is no longer just about drinking—it’s about play. As Raleigh swaps barstools for scorecards, a new form of entertainment is making its way onto the scene. Enter Baseball Shuffle, a fast-paced mashup of baseball and shuffleboard built into a cocktail table. With anywhere from two to 16 players able to participate, the game aims to cultivate more than just competition. Unplugged Arcade founder and Baseball Shuffle creator Dan Winger says he hopes players will form friendships, resulting in a resurrection of organic community. So step onto the plate and batter up to play and unite. Play at Compass Rose Brewery, Salty Turtle; unpluggedarcade.com
What’s summertime without a soundtrack? Regardless of your personal playlist for the season, a handful of songs always rise to the top—and during the best summers, just one track takes the crown, going down in history as the unofficial “Song of the Summer.”
Occasionally, it’s a pick that the masses can get behind. Read: Neutral pop hits like “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas or “As It Was” by Harry Styles proved agreeable, relatively undisputed anthems in 2009 and 2022, respectively. Other years, the seemingly christened song is endlessly debated (2025 is still undecided), or leaves everyone scratching their heads—think “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X in 2019. And more often than not, an unexpected late July release sweeps the charts and steals the title.
Regardless of the song, the spirit of summer holds fast: Hear the track and you’ll be immediately transported back—whether you like it or not. But it’s not just whatever happened to dominate radio roulette; it’s a swath of rising stars, superstars, and breakout genres shaping the season in real time. Think of it as a form of cultural carbon dating.
Here, we break down some of the top contenders* for the 2026 title.
“Stateside + Zara Larsson” by PinkPantheress
GENRE: Girlboss bop bordering on hyperpop Descendant of: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter (2024) Vibe check: Pitbull’s “International Love” but for the girls Soulmate: Alysa Liu
“drop dead” by Olivia Rodrigo
GENRE: Soundtrack for closing credits of a 2000s rom-com Descendant of: “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush (2022) Vibe check: Synth-pop for Swifties Soulmate: Sofia Coppola
“Click Clack Symphony.” by RAYE and Hans Zimmer
GENRE: Show tune meets film score meets girlboss pop Descendant of: “Lights” by Ellie Goulding (2012) Vibe check: A would-be flawless fit in the Ocean’s 8 soundtrack Soulmate: Maya Rudolph
“I Just Might” by Bruno Mars
GENRE: Little bit of disco, little bit of soul Descendant of: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson (2014) Vibe check: Your middle-aged mom’s favorite song for the next year Soulmate: Christine Baranski
“E85” by Don Toliver
GENRE: Melodic rap with a touch of indie R&B Descendant of: “NOKIA” by Drake (2025) Vibe check: Mellow, high-performance + low maintenance Soulmate: Jenna Ortega
“Midnight Sun” by Zara Larsson
GENRE: Sparkly dolphin electro-pop Descendant of: “Lush Life” by Zara Larsson (2015) Vibe check: Going straight from the beach to the club Soulmate: Paris Hilton
“Doors” by Noah Kahan
GENRE: Crunchy campfire folk tune Descendant of: “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers (2012) Vibe check: The optimal Subaru Outback song Soulmate: Stevie Nicks
“Babydoll” by Dominic Fike
GENRE: A little performative but very lovable indie pop Descendant of: “Circles” by Post Malone (2020) Vibe check: Sounds like it smokes cigarettes + carries a tote bag Soulmate: Paul Mescal
“SWIM” by BTS
GENRE: Emotional yet reassuring electronica K-pop Descendant of: “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee (2019) Vibe check: Slow night drive through a cityscape Soulmate: Billie Eilish
“Aperture” by Harry Styles
GENRE: Euphoric but slow-burning dance hymn Descendant of: “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals (2022) Vibe check: Charli xcx’s brat summer, reheated (sorry not sorry) Soulmate: Troye Sivan
“Going Shopping” by The Strokes
GENRE: Tears for Fears revival synth rock Descendant of: “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk (2013) Vibe check: A mild + modern take on NYC indie sleaze Soulmate: Sombr
As developers snag property in DTR, small businesses are being displaced.
Let us take you back in time. … It’s 2022, and Tidal Real Estate Partners just snatched up a Warehouse District plot in one of the then-most expensive real estate deals in the city. The 1.3-acre corner property at South Harrington and West Davie streets (think the now-relocated Raleigh Founded, Circa 1888 dive, etc.), is zoned for 40 stories, and the NY-based firm promises big plans for later the same year.
Hype built, businesses uprooted—and for what? Fast-forward, and the buildings sit untouched. The only difference: a mostly vacant block, rumors, renderings and unanswered questions. Not the first or last developer to overcommit and underdeliver, it’s becoming a common phenomenon around Raleigh.
Nearby, Goodnights Comedy Club’s famed move was spurred by the purchase and demolition of its former digs on Morgan Street. The lot still sits empty, and although property owner/real estate firm Childress Klein maintains the original plans for a multifamily development are still stable, the project is on pause thanks to rampant construction costs.
“Cost has moderated a bit, but recent urban multifamily deliveries have hurt occupancies and depressed rental rates,” Childress Klein Partner Randy Bates tells RM. “We will look to start construction as soon as the supply issues turn around.”
In an ideal world for developers, other local apartment buildings will fill, rent prices will rise and construction costs will fall. But, Bates says, they can’t predict when that will happen—although they hope it’s this year.
Original Morgan Street project rendering
Despite receiving the boot, Brad Grossman, COO of Helium Comedy—the operator behind Goodnights—told RM although displacement was difficult, the end result was favorable, and the developers were supportive in helping the club find the best path forward. “Business has been positive, and it allowed us to reinvent our space,” he affirms.
Adding to the list, Legends’ OG home—where the nightclub currently resides before moving down the street—was purchased by CityPlat in 2020. Now on a long-term pause, the project initially called for a 30-story mixed-use tower. In the interim, insider sources tell RM that new food and beverage concepts are likely headed to the Warehouse District site after Legends moves later this year.
Instead of waiting for the inevitable, MMA gym Gracie Raleigh chose to uproot shortly after Tidal secured the Warehouse District plot in 2022. While the developer didn’t outright force out businesses—Circa 1888 still occupies the Davie Street dead end—they raised rent and shifted tenants to month-to-month leases amid uncertainty around construction plans.
“I didn’t feel safe with the month-to-month terms because it can take three or four months just to find a space, and then another six to go through permitting,” Gracie owner Brandon Garner tells RM. The construction timeline was murky then—and years later, little clarity has emerged (Tidal did not respond to our request for comment).
Just a few blocks away, the beloved Berkeley Cafe served up sandwiches and live music in its West Martin Street digs for over 40 years, until the One Nash Square condominium project prompted the restaurant to revise plans in late 2023. Now, Berkeley sits close by on South Dawson—while the original site sits untouched and Berkeley’s OG three-story building still stands. Laura Strelau, a broker with Urban Triangle Realty, says the condo project is set to break ground at the end of this year.
For businesses, new ownership brings uncertainty at best, panic at worst. For developers, the math has to work—and until it does, some of Raleigh’s most valuable blocks sit frozen in limbo, all cracked concrete, empty storefronts and faded promises.
Despite this, most businesses don’t hold grudges. “This is a natural cycle of growth, and developers aren’t to blame for the demise of small businesses or anything,” emphasizes Garner. But for now, in some of Raleigh’s fastest-growing corridors, the future remains stuck in demo mode.
Once upon a time in the early 2010s, you couldn’t set foot in a house show without hearing the opening riff of Joyce Manor’s “Constant Headache.” Over a decade after they took suburban basements and Tumblr blogs by storm, the Cali-native pop-punk band has stayed the course with their new album, I Used To Go To This Bar. Read: The record still reeks of cheap beer and nuanced nostalgia in a friend of a friend’s garage.
Dan Monick
Taking the album on the road, the trio is embarking on a 42-show tour, including a Raleigh stop at The Ritz June 12. The group’s seventh record is an accumulation of everything Joyce Manor has made so far, vocalist and guitarist Barry Johnson tells RM. “It has qualities that have been there since our earliest material, and also dips into some new territory in some ways.”
By sticking to their original script, the group dodged the corniness and callowness that so often sinks midcareer pop-punk albums. Jumping from moshworthy to cryworthy and back again all in less than 20 minutes, I Used To Go To This Bar walks the tightrope between growing older and still feeling and doing things you think you should have grown out of.
“It’s remembering the past, but not with rose-colored glasses, and actually trying to remember the exact flavor of misery you felt,” maintains Johnson. “Remember exactly how your old apartment smelled? Remember what it felt like to start work at 2pm?”
Tony Soprano once said: “‘Remember when’ is the lowest form of conversation,” and Joyce Manor complies—but believes talking about the realistic and pragmatic moments (the bad times) makes for a far more interesting conversation than a “good old days” jab sesh.
Also gracing the album is arguably Joyce Manor’s first true love song—“Falling Into It”—so it won’t entirely be a sob story at The Ritz. But, fear not—there’s still angst galore.
East Bower Cider Co. ups production via a new canning line.
East Bower Cider Company is upping its game—tenfold. The Triangle’s only cidery is expanding its footprint via a new production facility on the Larry’s Coffee campus, outfitted with tanks and a canning line to dramatically boost output and allow cider sales across the Triangle.
The expansion was a long time coming, co-founder Oliver Koch tells RM. “A lot of breweries start way too big, so we wanted to start our brand smaller, build it up and make sure there was a demand,” he adds. “Within the first six months, we were like, ‘Oh, we started too small.’”
After quickly exceeding sales expectations, the cidery sought out a way to grow—but finding warehouse-size space in Raleigh proper can be a time-consuming venture. With a stroke of luck—and a connection to the local coffee brand—East Bower secured the space after about a year and a half of looking.
As of now, there are no plans to make the new production facility public-facing, notes Koch, but the original locale at East End Market will see an expanded community gathering space, both for private events and patio spillover. While the canning facility is complete—and will be up and running in about two months—updates to the original spot are still a month out.
Besides its current facility, the only place East Bower sells cans today are at Trophy Brewing locations—but with “quadrupled” capabilities, prepare to see its RTDs popping up across the Triangle at bottle shops and bars. Despite the upped production power, grocery store sales may still be a ways off.
No matter the growth, the local cider company just wants to do what it does best: “We want to be good,” says Koch, “and we want people to be proud when they drink a cider that is actually from Raleigh.”
