LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT: On 'Little Things,” Hearts Gone South combines tried-and-true musical elements, creating a honky tonk country and western album that's both new and familiar.

Album review: ‘Little Things’ by Hearts Gone South

Posted on May 26, 2018May 23, 2018 by Bill Kopp

The title track brings together sly humor and an understanding of the hard truths of modern life for a memorable number that recalls Kirsty MacColl’s forays into country and western.

Acoustic Asheville: Queen Bee & the Honey Lovers

Posted on May 26, 2018May 24, 2018 by Jesse Hamm

The quintet is headed by singer Whitney Moore and includes members from other local groups, such as Sirius B, The Low Down Sires, Drayton and the Dreamboats, and Hot Point Trio.

EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION: With an array of workshops ranging from the practical (explore the fundamentals of the design process in Two Week Shack) to the heady (Counter Logistics and Communist Measures), The Cabbage School shares its “thoughtful, radical, skill-based approach to learning."

The Cabbage School announces its first full weekend of workshops

Posted on May 25, 2018May 17, 2018 by Alli Marshall

The Cabbage School, which describes itself as a “rigorous skill based fool school,” takes inspiration from the rural craft school tradition and educational communities such as Rural Studio and Black Mountain College.

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER: “We always say, ‘It takes a village to run this place,’” says Amy Marshall, left, who owns the West Asheville venue with her partner, Tamy Kuper, right. By taking over the venue five years ago, the couple were able to honor their roots: “the odd, the unusual, the queer.” Photo by Cindy Kunst

AVL Beer Week 2018: The Odditorium celebrates five years with new events and concoctions

Posted on May 24, 2018May 22, 2018 by Alli Marshall

“We always say, ‘It takes a village to run this place,’” says Amy Marshall, who owns the West Asheville venue with her partner, Tamy Kuper.

BREAK ON THROUGH: Tyler Jackson, aka Musashi Xero, is half of the local hip-hop duo Xero/God, but he also puts out solo projects, including his latest EP, The Otherside. That release, produced by Cliff Worsham of RBTS WIN, explores Jackson’s idea of “the other side” through music. Photo by Andrea Coon

Musashi Xero teams up with RBTS WIN’s Mother Hood for a new hip-hop EP

Posted on May 23, 2018May 17, 2018 by Timothy Burkhardt

According to Tyler Jackson, the album is not only conceptual in a lyrical sense, it explores his idea of “the other side” in a musical sense as well.

Smart Bets: The Stump Mutts

Posted on May 23, 2018May 14, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The Asheville rockers play a benefit show for Everytown for Gun Safety on May 27 at Salvage Station.

Smart Bets: Corey Flood

Posted on May 22, 2018May 14, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The Philadelphia dark-pop quartet plays Fleetwood’s on May 25.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED: The 12th annual ABSfest — featuring headliner May “The Cocoa Barbie” Hemmer, pictured — brings more than 30 acclaimed burlesque and sideshow performers to Asheville for three days of outré entertainment. Photo by Marisa Parisella

ABSFest returns to Asheville for its 12th year

Posted on May 22, 2018May 22, 2018 by Bill Kopp

“Asheville loves the weird stuff” says festival founder Madam Onca O’Leary. This ABSFest showcases nearly three dozen performers; headliners include magician and storyteller David London and sideshow performer Alex Doll and Oregon Burlesque Fest “Keepin’ it Weird” award winner Natasha Riot.

Smart Bets: Creative Voices for Social Justice

Posted on May 22, 2018May 14, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The showcase of works by visual artist Joseph Pearson and young writers of color takes place May 25 at the YMI Cultural Center.

GAMBLE ON LOVE: The acclaimed musical is about love among saints and sinners. The stars of Guys and Dolls, from left, are Luke Haynes, Tasha Pepi, Craig Conner and Jen Heeder. Photo by Janice Guazzo

Theater review: ‘Guys and Dolls’ at Hendersonville Community Theatre

Posted on May 21, 2018May 20, 2018 by Patricia Furnish

At its heart, Guys and Dolls is a story about the redemptive power of love. The clash of religious morality and the amoral streets of New York never overshadows the lightheartedness of the story.

Smart Bets: Full-Tilt Boogie at the Big Bang Diner

Posted on May 21, 2018May 14, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The “comedic love letter to all levels of pop-culture fandom” debuts May 24 at The Magnetic Theatre.

UP ON THE ROOF: Attendees enjoy a 2017 Live@Aloft rooftop concert at Aloft Asheville Downtown. The series returns May 27 and continues the last Sunday of each month through October, featuring a new musician and nonprofit beneficiary each time.

Conscious Party: Live@Aloft

Posted on May 20, 2018May 25, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The monthly summer concert benefit series kicks off May 27 with performances by Rock Academy NC’s bands.

MESS OF HAPPINESS: On his own, Drive By Truckers keyboardist Jay Gonzalez makes perfectly constructed, scintillating music that truly deserves mention among the greatest names in pop. For this local date, Gonzalez appears solo and digs into the music of the 1960s and '70s that informs his very original songwriting. Gonzalez appears at Ambrose West on June 9. Photo courtesy of the musician

30 Days Out: a look at upcoming concerts

Posted on May 19, 2018May 21, 2018 by Bill Kopp

This edition spotlights one of the strongest musical schedules in recent memory: two shows of historical and sociological importance, a preview of what is sure to be a highlight of this year’s Barnaroo, and the man responsible for some of the best (and least-heard) pure pop of the decade.

Acoustic Asheville: Three Strands

Posted on May 19, 2018May 10, 2018 by Jesse Hamm

Once the frontman for quintet The Band of Rivals, Sean Cox stepped out on his own a few years ago and released his debut EP, Letters to the Light, last summer.

ANYTHING GOES: West Virginia-based band The Change, in Asheville while leading a residency with LEAF Schools & Streets, recently played an open mic at One World Brewing.

Open mics in and around Asheville

Posted on May 17, 2018May 10, 2018 by Alli Marshall

There’s typically a time limit for each presenter, and some open mics have a theme or a host to usher the evening along, but what happens in front of the microphone is, truly, wide open to possibility.

RHYME AND REASON: A graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA program, writer Reginald Dwayne Betts has published memoirs and poetry and went on to earn a law degree from Yale. “It hit me that the ways I might have imagined my life progressing in some linear [motion], it’s not doing that,” he says. “I’m finding ways to be become [more deeply] connected to things that I value.”

Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts on words, incarceration and his commencement address

Posted on May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 by Alli Marshall

Betts, who completed his MFA in 2010, will return to Warren Wilson on Saturday, May 19, to give the commencement address to the school’s undergraduate class.

Smart Bets: Rob Haze

Posted on May 16, 2018May 8, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The Atlanta-based standup and “Tonight Show” alum performs at The Southern on May 19.

FRIDAY FANTASTIC: The 30th-anniversary Downtown After 5 lineup includes an array of local, regional and nationally touring acts, performing bluegrass, rock, soul and hip-hop. Oakland, Calif.-based Fantastic Negrito, pictured, returns to Asheville, performing his self-styled “black roots music for everyone.”

The Downtown After 5 concert series celebrates a major anniversary

Posted on May 15, 2018May 10, 2018 by Timothy Burkhardt

Friday, May 18, the 30th annual Downtown After 5 concert series launches with an especially localcentric show: Asheville All-Stars, a super-group comprised of a rotating cast of Asheville’s favorite singers and musicians.