Smart bet web extra: Donavon Frankenreiter

If you’ve caught a Donavon Frankenreiter show before (he plays Asheville every year-and-a-half or so), you already know it’s a polished-to-a-gleam production. But there’s also plenty of room for the singer-songwriter’s easy-going pro-surfer-turned-groove-rocker aesthetic.

Read a review from Frankenreiter’s last Orange Peel show here.

Touring in support of this year’s Start Livin’, Frankenreiter returns to The Orange Peel on Wednesday, Nov. 7. It’s an all ages show,  starting at 9 p.m. Asheville’s Holiday Childress and Wrightsville Beach-based musician Dylan Holton open. $16 advance or $18 day of show. “The follow-up to 2010’s Glow, Start Livin’ is a nine-track selection of folk-infused songs that sweetly reflect the simplicity of their recording,” says press for the album. “With its smooth showcasing of Frankenreiter’s rich, honey-thick vocals and masterful guitar work, Start Livin’ bears all the intimacy of an impromptu back-porch performance and the tenderness of a treasured love letter.”

The album bio also says that this is a love letter to Frankenreiter’s wife. Love has long been one of the musician’s favorite topics (that, and the importance of being true to oneself), and that, combined with his over-sized mustache, make him a standout. The very best example of this, on Start, is “I Can Lose,” with its warbling strings, its ambling two step and its heart-on-sleeve almost-whispered vocal. “is there a place that I can escape to that feels like our first kiss? Oh, I just wish,” Frankenreiter sings. For fans of his achingly sweet “Call Me Papa” from his 2004 debut; this is the 2012 equivalent.

Xpress will run a video interview with and exclusive performance from Frankenreiter following the Asheville show. Check back for that. And if you want a double-dose of feel-good groove-rock this week, Citizen Cope takes the stage at the Orange Peel on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Read the Smart Bet for that show here

Photo from KPRIfm.

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

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