Smart Bets

Blue Ridge Rollergirls season opener

Asheville's all-female, flat-track roller derby league returns with its first home game of the season: the St. Patrick's Day Slay. And the smack-down is a double-header, with The French Broads going up against the Twin City Derby Girls at 5 p.m. followed by the Blue Ridge Rollergirls All-Stars taking on the Soul City Sirens at 7 p.m. At the Asheville Civic Center. $10 advance/$12 doors includes both games. Kids under 12 are free. blueridgerollergirls.com

Men's Dance Festival

Since 2002 (not counting a three-year sabbatical) the Men's Dance Festival has celebrated the artistry and creativity of local and regional male dancers. This year's show, held at the BeBe Theatre, showcases 20 performers in a wide array of movement styles, from tap dance and pas de deux to performance art and puppetry. Friday, March 11, and Saturday, March 12, at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 13 at 6 p.m. $15 adults/$10 seniors and students in advance, $17 /$12 at the door. acdt.org.

Elephant Stone

Asheville's Wayne Robbins & the Hellsayers host what they're calling an intimate show with locals Sky Lake and Montreal-based Elephant Stone. Writes Jonas Cole from the Hellsayers, "Hellsayers songs are being reworked into a somewhat acoustic format, to be followed by Sky Lake, featuring a harpist and violin, and then Elephant Stone which features a sitar, so it might be the only show of the year with a sitar, banjo and harp on the same stage in a rock club in Asheville!” At Emerald Lounge on Monday, March 14. emeraldlounge.com.

Richard Shulman's A Dream Of Camelot

Local (and internationally known) recording artist Richard Shulman has been inspired by the legend of Camelot for some time, but his newest work, A Dream of Camelot: A Return to Love takes his compositions to the stage. The work, in collaboration with Asheville Community Theatre’s Jerry Crouch, features local vocalists recounting “the destruction of ancient Camelot as Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot and Morgaine move their dream of a better world to another time.” The world premier takes place at the Masonic Temple on Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, March 13 at 2:30 p.m. $20 advance/$25 at the door. richheartmusic.com/ADreamOfCamelotTickets.html.

George Porter Jr.

It doesn’t get much funkier than New Orleans The Meters. And, being the bassist for said Meters, George Porter Jr. is known not just as a funk musician but one of the progenitors of funk. While he’s still a member of the Meters (these days called The Funky Meters, not to put too fine a point on it), Porter also keeps himself busy with his side project, Runnin’ Pardners, who stop by Pisgah Brewing on Thursday, March 10. (A runnin’ pardner, by the way, is like a BFF. Round up yours for this 8 p.m. show.) $10 advance/$15 doors. pisgahbrewing.com.

David Troy Francis

An impressive résumé under his belt, pianist/composer David Troy Francis has performed for films such as The Pursuit of Happyness, Fame (the 2009 version) and Elegy. He’s also the composer and executive producer of the musical BARK! (taglined, “The musical that does it doggie style”). Francis recently relocated to Asheville from L.A. and, by way of introduction to his new hometown, will perform an hour-long program at Groce United Methodist on Sunday, March 13, 4 p.m. The concert will include music by Rachmaninoff, Pachabel and Francis’ arrangements of American Hymns. Free. barbarianrecords.com.

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