rock for change

Chapel Hill's early voting ends on Saturday, but that doesn't mean the polls aren't rocking.

In fact, they will rock harder than ever Saturday morning as a slew of local bands take the stage for N.C. Rocks for Change, a concert in support of Barack Obama on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The set is a rare treat, with shows from '80s power-pop group the dB's-who were broken up from 1987 to 2005-and an acoustic set from Merge Records co-founder Mac McCaughan's Superchunk. McCaughan's other band, Portastatic, and label mate Ivan Howard of the Rosebuds will also play. The lineup expanded Wednesday to include Billy Bragg, who will perform in Page Auditorium the same night.

"Mac asked me if [Bragg] would do it," said Aaron Greenwald, director of Duke Performances. "It should be cool."

The event comes on the heels of James Taylor's Oct. 20 show at UNC, also in support of Obama. Several major acts-including Dave Matthews and Bruce Springsteen-have performed in support of the Democratic presidential candidate nationwide.

"He's the only candidate I can imagine campaigning like this," McCaughan wrote in an e-mail. "Musicians are using their talent-the tools at their disposal-to get the word out and get people hopefully to the polls."

Even though the Triangle area typically votes Democratic, McCaughan believes the concert is still important.

"It doesn't matter what county you're in, getting out the vote is the key to turning N.C. blue and helping win the election for Obama and for change the country needs," he said. "Getting people to the polls and getting them there early is key because who knows what will happen on Election Day."