Arts & Culture Music The Best in Charlotte - Best in the Nest

Arts & Entertainment Readers’ Pick Winners: Best in the Nest 2022

Best of Charlotte's arts and entertainment scenes chosen by Queen City Nerve readers

Q.C. Nerve Staff December 2, 2022

3 minutes read

Best in the Nest Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers through a one-month nomination process followed by a one-month voting process. The nominations were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff at all — save for removing ourselves from a few categories to proactively dispel any notions of favoritism. In other words, if you disagree with these ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us.

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VISUAL ARTS

BEST ART GALLERY

Winner: Mint Museum
Runner Up: Petra’s

BEST DISPLAY OF PUBLIC ART

Winner: Camp North End
Runner Up: Charlotte International Arts Festival

BEST EXHIBIT

Winner: Fresh2Death: Streetwhere? at Camp North End
Runner Up: Divine Feminine by Ryan Sumner at Artisan’s Palate

BEST MOVIE THEATER

Winner: Independent Picture House
Runner Up: AMC Park Terrace 6

BEST MURALIST

Winner: Bree Stallings
Runner Up: Osiris Rain

BEST MUSEUM

Winner: Mint Museum
Runner Up: Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

Mint Museum uptown — Mint Museum, Uptown (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER

Winner: Alex Cason
Runner Up: Daniel Coston

BEST TATTOO ARTIST

Winner: Hayley Moran
Runner Up: Matt Terry

BEST VISUAL ARTIST

Winner: Elizabeth Palmisano
Runner Up: Miss Lotus

PERFORMING ARTS

BEST ACTOR

Winner: Kevin Shimko
Runner Up: Jeremy DeCarlos

BEST ACTRESS

Winner: Iris DeWitt
Runner Up: Andrea King

BEST COMEDIAN

Winner: Jordan Centry
Runner Up: Jason Allen King

BEST COMEDY VENUE

Winner: Comedy Zone
Runner Up: Starlight on 22nd

BEST DRAG PERFORMER

Winner: Riley Malicious
Runner Up: RC Cola

BEST IMPROV TROUPE

Winner: Therapy Adjacent
Runner Up: The Fungibles

BEST PERFORMING ARTIST(S)

Winner: Cirque du Cosplay
Runner Up: The Flamingo Revue

BEST PLACE TO HEAR SPOKEN WORD

Winner: The Evening Muse
Runner Up: Petra’s

BEST SKETCH COMEDY ROUTINE

Winner: Screw Up TV

BEST THEATRE COMPANY

Winner: Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte
Runner Up: Three Bone Theatre

Six actors raise their hands in the air, preparing to take a bow on stage — Leslie Giles (second from L), Scott Tynes-Miller (third from L), and Jeremy DeCarlos (far right) appear in ‘Twelfth Night.’ (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST THEATRE SHOW (LOCAL)

Winner: Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic by Proxymoron Productions
Runner Up: The Maids by XOXO

BEST THEATRE SHOW (NATIONAL)

Winner: Waitress
Runner Up: Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

MUSIC BY VENUE

BEST CONCERT VENUE

Winner: Neighborhood Theatre
Runner Up: Snug Harbor

BEST RECORD LABEL

Winner: Four Finger Records
Runner Up: Self Aware Records

BEST LOCAL SHOW OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS

Winner: The Flamingo Revue Presents The Ides of March at Visulite Theatre
Runner Up: The Wormholes, Solis, Modern Moxie at Visulite Theatre

BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL (IN STATE)

Winner: Queen City Jam Session
Runner Up: Merlefest

A look down from a drone at a stage at nighttime with hundreds of people gathered in front of it while the city is miles away in the background. — A look down at the stage during the Queen City Jam Session. (Photo by Jeff Hahne)

BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL (OUT OF STATE)

Winner: Bonnaroo
Runner Up: Shaky Knees

BEST MUSIC SCHOOL/LESSONS

Winner: School of Rock Charlotte
Runner Up: We Rock CLT

BEST NATIONAL SHOW OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS

Winner: Nas and Wu-Tang Clan at PNC Music Pavilion
Runner Up: Rage Against the Machine and Run the Jewels at PNC Arena

BEST OPEN MIC NIGHT

Winner: Find Your Muse at The Evening Muse
Runner Up: Open Mic Tuesdays at Starlight on 22nd

BEST PLACE TO HEAR COUNTRY MUSIC

Winner: Thirsty Beaver Saloon
Runner Up: Coyote Joe’s

BEST PLACE TO HEAR JAZZ

Winner: Petra’s
Runner Up: Middle C Jazz

BEST RECORDING STUDIO

Winner: Jambox
Runner Up: Sioux Sioux Studio

MUSIC BY ARTIST

BEST BLUES/JAZZ/SOUL BAND

Winner: Matt Postle
Runner Up: Jazz Is Led

BEST COUNTRY/FOLK BAND

Winner: Sinners & Saints
Runner Up: Jude Moses

BEST DJ

Winner: DJ Vanna Vanity
Runner Up: DJ Spider

Vanna Vanity holds DJ equipment while wearing a Hello Kitty dress — Vanna Vanity (Photo by Graham Morrison)

BEST EXPERIMENTAL MUSICIAN/BAND

Winner: SOLIS
Runner Up: Hey RICHARD

BEST INDIE ROCK BAND

Winner: Modern Moxie
Runner Up: The Wormholes

BEST LIVE PERFORMER(S)

Winner: The Wormholes
Runner Up: Hey RICHARD

BEST LOCAL ALBUM

Winner: Jude Moses – The Beauty
Runner Up: Occult Fracture – Bones & Bonfires

BEST NEW BAND

Winner: Dreamboat

Members of the band Dreamboat pose together wearing black against a beige background — Dreamboat (Photo by Shane Travis)

BEST POTENTIAL BREAKOUT ARTIST

Winner: Natalie Carr
Runner Up: Jude Moses

Natalie Carr in the studio. (Photo by Shea McKissack)

BEST PRODUCER

Winner: Krystle Baller
Runner Up: Master Kie

BEST R&B SINGER

Winner: Dexter Jordan
Runner Up: K. Omari Wilkerson

BEST RAPPER

Winner: Phaze Gawd
Runner Up: ReeCee Raps

BEST SINGER/SONGWRITER

Winner: Lisa De Novo
Runner Up: Søelle

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