Superbowl XLIX companion: a game day guide to Asheville’s cheap booze, good eats and big screens

While nacho stains are certainly more socially acceptable in the comforts of one’s own home, why not venture out for some game day antics this year? Super Bowl XLIX, New England Patriots versus Seattle Seahawks, kicks off Sunday, Feb. 1, at 6:30 p.m., and Asheville-area businesses have planned a variety of celebrations to suit your football fancy.

Smart bets: American Babies

Although Tom Hamilton counted himself among the many men preoccupied with “chicks and partying” during his 20s, the American Babies frontman found himself “digging deeper” for musical and personal inspiration over time. Last year’s resulting effort, a “40-minute existential meltdown” titled Knives and Teeth, addresses heavy topics like mortality, cruelty and frustration, often vacillating between […]

5 questions with North of Nashville

“America’s two-man outlaw country band” is the tagline for North of Nashville, the collaborating between Jay Basiner (acoustic guitar, lead vocals, harmonica, percussion) and Andrew Martelle (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals). As the duo’s name suggests, they’re located north of Music City. Far north. In Maine. But Basiner and Martelle have a pitch-perfect country sound, from […]

Smart bets: The Royal Noise

Drawing on influences from the great funk masters Herbie Hancock and Parliament Funkadelic, as well as contemporary bands like Umphrey’s McGee and Lotus, Philadelphia-based funk band The Royal Noise is a self-described “relentless funk dance party.” One reviewer characterizes the band as “Groove, groove and more groove — with a side order of groove and a […]