Arts & Entertainment Readers’ Pick Winners: Best in the Nest 2022
Best of Charlotte's arts and entertainment scenes chosen by Queen City Nerve readers
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.
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

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

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

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

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

BEST POTENTIAL BREAKOUT ARTIST
Winner: Natalie Carr
Runner Up: Jude Moses

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
Become a Nerve Member: Get better connected and become a member of Queen City Nerve to support local journalism for as little as $5 per month. Our community journalism helps inform you through a range of diverse voices.

This work by Queen City Nerve is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.