North Carolina-based Americana singer Florence Dore has announced a performance at the Beachland Ballroom on July 12 as part of the first annual National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) conference taking place in Cleveland, OH. Dore will be performing songs from her new album Highways & Rocketships out on Propeller Sound Recordings, the new imprint run by former R.E.M. manager Jefferson Holt and Music Geek Services founder Jay Coyle.

Florence Dore is a fitting headliner for the NIVA conference’s gathering. Because at seemingly the exact moment when the creators of NIVA were banding together to help independent venues nationally during the shutdown, Florence came up with an idea to help her local venue, Cat’s Cradle: make a benefit record that brings together some of North Carolina’s most notable artists to support the venue they love.

Says Dore, “I started thinking, wow, is there even going to be a Cat’s Cradle to come back to when this is all behind us? What will happen to these venues that launch and sustain local music and make each town what it is?”

Dore joined forces Steve Balcom and Lane Wurster (formerly of Mammoth Records) as well as local entertainment lawyer Shawn Nolan—to make it happen, and together they created Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover to Benefit Cat’s Cradle. Cover Charge includes such NC notable acts as Superchunk, the Mountains Goats, Iron & Wine, and Southern Culture on the Skids. The record was a smash success: by the end of August 2020 Cover Charge had charted at #1 in compilations on the Billboard Charts. Pitchfork described Cover Charge as “a whopping 25-song set with far more riches than a charity project requires.”