Not all 66-year-olds depend on Social Security check

“How Much Does It Cost to Book Your Favorite Band?” asks Priceonomics (May 16) — and by golly it has the answers, thanks to a booking-agency list provided by an anonymous source. These numbers don’t include expenses and seem only ballpark-reliable, but of course the North Carolinians caught my eye….

James Taylor:  $1 million plus

Avett Brothers:  $175,000 to $250,000

Clay Aiken:  $85,000 to $100,000 plus [stump speech included?]

Kellie Pickler: $60,000 to $80,000

Ben Folds: $40,000 to $50,000

Charlie Daniels Band: $40,000 to $50,000

George Clinton:  $20,000 to $25,000

Link dump confesses lack of Otto Wood news

— The case against pardoning Gov. Holden.

— How “Chicken” Stephens was named and claimed.

— Pine, ‘shine and the decline of Buffalo City.

Avett Brothers on Flatt and Scruggs: “We wouldn’t even recognize their music.”

Mary Ann McQueen, Lucy Bryant and the tangled skein of racial identify.

Link dump welcomes (kaff-kaff) Mr. Butts

–How  Avett Brothers survived heckling at Sadlack’s Heroes.

— In search of North Carolina’s lost kaolin mines.

“Doonesbury’s 200 Greatest Moments” cite Krispy Kreme and RJR’s  indefatigible Mr. Butts.

— Him sign funny today: Looking over the shoulder of David Sedaris.