By trade, Bruce was a Quality Assurance Director who moved to Charlotte in 2001 with his job. He doesn’t necessarily see himself as a lifelong music fan. He remembers buying records as a kid and played a little bass guitar in a high school rock band. From there he his music pursuits were limited to enjoying a show here and there.

After he retired in 2018, Bruce had the time to turn that lifelong simmer of interest into a full blown hobby. In 2023, he realized he had attended 174 performances. So he made a casual goal to reach 200 in 2024. He expects to reach a new high for this year. Without the 9-5, “I get up in the morning, check my calendar of shows, and see what I get to look forward to for the day.”

A favorite experience in 2024? After a string quartet performance in NoDa, he happened to be seated next to the conductor at the bar and bought him a beer. He ended up at their table chatting all night with a group of stellar musicians.

Bruce’s tastes are broad: his list includes everything from the Symphony, to Metallica at the Spectrum Center, to an unknown artist at the west side bar The Jam Shak, to an eclectic mix of genres at Middle C Jazz. He has likely been to every venue in the area. These days, Bruce says he’s got the big stadium-sized shows out of his system and prefers smaller venues where he can see great artists up close. With diversity of music and intimate jazz club style, Middle C Jazz is the venue he finds himself at most frequently. The staff at Middle C Jazz are always glad to see his friendly smile as soon as he walks through the door and greet him with his favorite drink.

If you start chatting about shows, Bruce might pull up his organized spreadsheet of past performances and upcoming plans, giving a glimpse of those career-long organizational skills. Truthfully, with so much happening in Charlotte all the time, you’d need that to keep track.

If you want to know what’s coming up in Charlotte, Bruce’s office hours are after 6pm once or twice a week at Middle C Jazz.

Preview of Keiko Matsui from her last visit to Middle C Jazz.