Lisa Wood of Sidecar Social Club talks about their return to Figulina and the resurgence in the local jazz scene
by Addie Ladner

“Jazz music is collaborative. You’re responding to the other musicians or the crowd’s energy, which is the main difference from other genres. You can hear the same band play over and over, but each time, it’s different,” says Lisa Veronica Wood with jazz fusion band Sidecar Social Club. Her band has been a fixture in Raleigh’s jazz and cabaret scene for 15 years, alongside other local jazz legends such as Al Strong and Peter Lamb and the Wolves.

Raleigh’s jazz scene has experienced a resurgence over the past year, with local bars, restaurants and nightclubs regularly hosting gigs and crowds filling rooms late at night to enjoy its improvisational sounds. It comes after a lull in the scene after the closing of Glenwood South jazz bar C. Grace in 2022 and Warehouse District restaurant Humble Pie in 2023. 

From the archives: Peter Lamb and the Wolves at Humble Pie

From the early 2010s until it closed, Humble Pie’s checkered floor would be buzzing with couples and singletons. Sidecar Social Club played every Wednesday to a standing-room-only crowd. “That was our conduit to the community every month. It is all because of the people who come to see us that we get to do what we do. As jazz musicians, we want to feed off the audience and their energy. Humble Pie was where we built that. It was just a moniker when we said ‘Sidecar Social Club’ but it really became a club,” says Wood.

When chef David Ellis and his wife, Sam Taylor, opened pasta-forward restaurant Figulina in the former Humble Pie space in 2024, Ellis says people who came into the restaurant would bring up these memories almost daily. “As soon as we got the space, we heard a lot of people talk about the late to mid-90s early 2000s, and this being a great venue for live music, especially Sidecar Social,” he says.

After being in operation for a few years, the couple wanted to test out bringing back jazz nights to the space. They invited Sidecar to come play in November outside on the patio — and people came out in droves. “It felt like a homecoming. It was a huge success. We ran out of chairs and people we hadn’t seen in a while were there dancing. The place was full of love and the current owners are wonderful,” says Wood. 

Wood has noticed an uptick in younger people enjoying the jazz genre and credits our local education institutions and the inclusive and accessible music community here in Raleigh. “Enloe High School has an amazing jazz program. So many ridiculously talented kids emerge from that program. NC Central does too,” says Wood. It’s also a genre of music that’s approachable. You don’t need to know the lyrics, the shows are often reasonably priced and the easy, on-the-fly sounds of the saxophone and other brass instruments put listeners at ease.

Gavin Hitmar, a senior at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh and one of those jazz enthusiasts Wood speaks to, started the Triangle Jazz Calendar, an events listing on Facebook and Instagram for local jazz acts. “I’ve received a ton of great feedback since starting it. Between comments, direct messages, emails and in-person interactions, even requests to be featured on the calendar,” says Hitmar.

Here are some of Hitmar and Wood’s recommendations to experience jazz this month and beyond:

Figulina will host Sidecar Social on the first Sunday of January, February and March. Expect a lively, diverse setlist from Sidecar to enjoy alongside a special “Lasagna Lounge” menu from chef David Ellis (Jan. 4, Feb. 1 & March 1 | 5 – 8 p.m.; $10; 317 S. Harrington Street; figulinaraleigh.com)

Moon Room in Smoky Hollow offers live jazz Wednesday through Saturday evenings (8 p.m.; 500 N. West St, Suite 150; moonroomraleigh.com)

Boatman Spirits in Seaboard Station has Jazz Night every Wednesday night (8 – 11 p.m.; 713 Seaboard Station Drive; boatmanspirits.com)

Stir Raleigh has a Jazz Brunch every Sunday (4242 Six Forks Road, #100; stirraleigh.com)

This article was originally published on December 31, 2025 on waltermagazine.com