This weekend on a shoestring

Thursday, August 25

• According to William Walter‘s bio, “Four albums of independently released original material, a full bag of carefully selected cover tunes and a bold sense of improvisation make for an exciting repertoire of live music … The full band’s unique sound combines high-energy rock and roll with a special blend of funky twang. Solo shows deliver even more intimate moments from the singer/songwriter and incorporate live looping jams with epic guitar wizardry. Whether solo or with the full band, William Walter is a crowd favorite with music that reflects a common shared experience. Listening to William is like hanging out with good friends: intimate, energizing and fun.” Walter & Co. visit Pisgah Brewing Company (150 Eastside Drive, Black Mountain, 669-0190) for a performance with multi-instrumentalist Tucker Rogers. 8 p.m. Free.

Friday, August 26

• Asheville Community Yoga Center (8 Brookdale Road in Woodfin) offers a new take on the ancient discipline with Black Light Yoga. “Be sure to wear white so you can glow while you flow,” reminds a blurb on the organization’s calendar. The family-friendly event is open to practitioners of all ages and skill levels. 8:30 a.m. Free.

• Summer is drawing to a close, so don’t miss your last chance to enjoy the best of local watersports. The Lake Lure Ski Club‘s annual water-ski show will wow crowds with pyramids, ballet lines, flips and more. Held at the beach of Rumbling Bald Resort, 112 Mountains Blvd. in Lake Lure. 5:30 p.m. Free.

• In their own words, The American Gonzos are “a power trio with rock and roll attitude! Louder than The Who but with the ability to make the crowd get up and dance. Catchy melodies and bitchin riffs round out these North Carolina sons.” The band celebrates the release of it’s funk-flavored debut with an album release show at The Root Bar (1410 Tunnel Road, 299-7597).

• From a 2009 Xpress review:

“‘I said pop music for cannibals for a while,’ recalls the If You Wannas’ Ryan Cox. ‘Then I called it minimalist pop mayhem. I also said green apples in mud to someone once.’ Surprisingly, these off-the-wall descriptions are somehow fitting of the If You Wannas dreamy soundscapes, poppy hooks and often-bizarre lyrics. Built around Cox’s gleefully melancholy vocals and guitarist Gavin Conner’s meandering riffs, the band’s catalog is an experiment in stylistic schizophrenia. Drawing from elements of ska, roots rock, grunge and indie pop, listening to an If You Wannas album is like playing a carefully constructed mix tape, cohesive yet capable of dramatic stylistic leaps from one track to the next.”

Catch the band at Highland Brewing Company (12 Old Charlotte Highway # H, 299-3370). 6 p.m. Free.

• ”Jasmin Kaset recorded her first album in 2008 and released it exclusively on audio cassette through the now-defunct Nashville noise rock cassette label, Nailbat Tapes. The self-titled album, now difficult to find, is a sparely arranged and recorded collection of quirky folk-pop songs that had never traveled far beyond the basements of Murfreesboro, Tennessee — the college town where Jasmin also played drums in the locally notorious all-girl punk band, Stevie Binge and the Fork Hunts. By the time the album saw a release, Jasmin had moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she played in pubs and wrote a host of new songs that chronicled her transition from the brash innocence of her Tennessee youth to adulthood’s first weird brushes with clarity and loss. Returning to Tennessee, she partnered with producer Jordan Lehning to make Hell and Half of Jordan, a big sounding 18 minute, 8 song record.” Kaset brings her lush indie pop and quirky charm to Bandwagon (474 Haywood Road, above the Dry Goods Shop) for a show with Asheville’s own Sky Lake. 8 p.m. $5.

** Check out Bandwagon’s Facebook for info on a Thursday performance by Neapolitan Children, Villages, Concern and Advance Base. **

Saturday, August 26

• From Transition Asheville: “We are planning a community celebration of the work done so far to make us the 88th Official Transition Town in the USA and the 373rd Official Transition Town worldwide. We are officially part of the global movement to build community resilience as we power down. Plans for the celebration include good food, great music, activities for families and a chance to renew our common ground in the prinicples and positive vision that the Transition Movement offers. We are inviting some politicians, some of the many nonprofits already doing this work in WNC, some of the green businesses that have generously supported sustainability efforts in our community and, most important, all of the many folks who have attended our events, read our newsletter and believe that together we can make a future beyond fossil fuels.” The afternoon will include entertainment by Billy Jonas, Geri Littlejohn, Deja Fuze and more. 5-10 p.m. Free.

• Browse local art and enjoy the sweet sounds of Kellin Watson and Woody Wood at Paints and Pints, an event to raise awareness for The Pisgah Center, a local nonprofit that “offers court-involved young people a fresh start and hopeful future through experiential education, career-technical training and treatment.” Held at The Ale House, 117 Cherry St #117C in Black Mountain. 2-8 p.m. Free.

Photo by Gary Reckard

• Halloween is still a few months away, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to get spooked. Join a Blue Ridge Parkway Ranger for a two-mile hike to Moses and Bertha Cone’s final resting place, which is rumored to be haunted. Trip departs from Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, MP 294. 8 p.m. Free.

Moses Cone (seated)

• From this week’s Xpress:

“Sure, Asheville has its share of bands of brothers (The Enemy Lovers, Her Marigold, Sons of Ralph, to name a few). But very rarely do three brothers — in three different bands — grace the same stage on the same night with each of their musical ventures. Meet the Robbins brothers. You’ve probably heard of Wayne Robbins, the oldest. With a Neil Young-meets-My Bloody Valentine sound, his band Wayne Robbins & The Hellsayers has released two critically acclaimed albums and tromped through Europe opening for Band of Horses. Younger brother Sean Robbins, 37, also a guitarist and songwriter, cut his teeth in local buzz band Nevada before forming the sunny-pop tinged Warm the Bell last year. And 31-year-old Matt Robbins, the youngest, currently plays drums in the tripped-out, Raleigh shoegaze band White Cascade.”

The brothers perform at The LAB (39 North Lexington Avenue, 252-0212). 10 p.m. $5.