“It’s a platform that can be used to vocalize LGBTQ+ issues that our community is currently facing,” says Ginger Von Snap, Miss Blue Ridge Pride 2016. Since taking the title, Ginger (aka Kaleb Sisco) has used her position to raise awareness of underrepresented subdivisions on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, like transgender youth and those who are gender-fluid.
Before those summertime memories start slipping away, make a quick trip to the beach — or to the musical comedy King Mackerel and the Blues are Running, on view at N.C. Stage Company through Sunday, Oct. 8. Director Neela Munoz does a fine job with this heartfelt show, written by Bland Simpson and Jim Wann […]
Amadeus is actually more about Salieri, the exalted musician who finds Mozart’s rapid rise to fame as a personal affront to his more measured success. Salieri is a skilled musician, but the revolutionary spirit of Mozart threatens to overshadow him.
At Isis Music Hall for a recent tour stop, Hiatt took time out to give a stripped-down performance of two songs exclusively for Xpress and Acoustic Asheville.
Percussion is a rarity on Pearl Diver, but something like it crops up on “Hayabusa Terra,” along with stringed instruments. The album’s ever-present subtlety means that those instruments are used less as means to convey a melody and more to insert deft splashes of tone color here and there.
As it happens, the author has some things in common with the historic figures whose story she tells. Like Vanderbilt, Kiernan was born in New York City, and like the scion and his wife, Edith, Kiernan traveled widely (including a stint in Italy reporting on soccer for ESPN) before settling in Asheville.
Reflecting on his development between when he first wrote the songs on Under the Bridge and now, Stephen Evans says the years have mellowed his approach. “Fame isn’t really the goal. We just want to keep making better and better records and having fun with it,” he explains.
His tenure with the Asheville Symphony will conclude with the New Year’s Eve Gala. He conducts his final Masterworks concert — the season opener for the symphony’s 2017-18 season — on Sunday, Sept. 24.
As far as the hurricane that struck Houston last month, Franklin says that those in and around the group remained safe and accounted for. “Everyone’s been volunteering and — as much as we can — trying to provide emotional support to those who have lost everything,” she says, characterizing the response to Harvey as one big, city-wide effort.
As layers are peeled away and details revealed, some viewers will be squirming in their seats — particularly in the second act. It’s a riveting ride and in no way a light night of entertainment.
Unlike most U.S. cities with music scenes, Asheville doesn’t offer lockout spaces or practice facilities for local or touring artists. When a storage unit facility asked local bands to leave, it left many musicians scrambling for creative solutions.
