St. Patrick’s Day shows for the green and not-so-green

All shows take place on Saturday, March 17. For more entertainment ideas, visit Clubland.

Kiss them, they’re Irish (more or less):

• The entertainment gets off to an early start at The Grove Park, with The Boys of Buncombe Street in the Great Hall form 2-5 p.m., followed by Bill Covington from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and The Magills performing traditional music from 8-11 p.m. In the Magnolia Lounge, Chris Peters from Highland Brewing hosts a tasting of Gaelic Ale, St. Terese’s, Oatmeal Porter, Mocha Stout and, we’re told, some seasonal surprises. 3-4 p.m. All of these events are free.

• French Broad Brewery Tasting Room St. Patrick’s Day party Wasted Wine who describe their sound as “weird, dark, sad, funny, theatrical, self-recorded, and employing countless “exotic” instruments. Depending on when you catch us, we are a mix of Rock, Eastern European Folk, Klezmer, Cabaret and more.”  Okay, so not a lot of Irish in there, but members Robert Gowan, Adam Murphy, Robert “Buck Dollars” Buckingham, Lou Buckingham and Jane Kemp all boast surnames from the British isles, so surely they can drum up a hornpipe or a chorus of “Whiskey in the Jar.” 6-8 p.m., no cover.

• Jack of the Wood hosts a weekend-long St. Paddy’s Festival. And even if you don’t have a drop of Irish blood in your veins, your likely to find something sonically appealing. The festivities kick off on Friday, March 16 with local bluesman Chuck Beattie (4:30-6:30 p.m., free show), are bookended by more blues (Andy Cohen with Blind Boy Paxton, 9:30 p.m., $5) and are blue in the middle, too (Mississippi blues guitarist and drummer Cedric Burnside performs at midnight on Saturday, March 17). With all the blues, there’s still plenty of green: Cutthroat Shamrock (pictured) with The Whiskey Gentry on Friday (9 p.m., $5); a full Saturday lineup beginning at noon with Cutthroat Shamrock, The Pipefitters, Royal Tinfoil, Whiskey Gentry, Chompin at the Bit, Irish sessions and the Drake Irish dancers from the Asheville Performing Arts Academy ($1O at the door after 9 p.m.); and free Irish session on Sunday from 3-9 p.m.

• Feel like making the drive to Saluda? Purple Onion presents Skeeziks, a quartet versed in Irish jigs, reels and Appalachian fiddle tunes. The band is Joel McConnell on mandolin and bouzouki, Eddie Ramsey on guitar, Carol Ramsey on hammered dulcimer and Alan Dillman on fiddle. 8-10 p.m.

• “Many performers, fine Irish food…no green beer!” is the promise of the Saint Patrick’s Day Spectacular at White Horse Black Mountain. 8 p.m., $15.

Not a Danny Boy amongst them.

• While the name Van Ghost might, on this occasion, make you think Van Morrison, the five-piece psychedelic/rock band is decidedly not from the Emerald Isle.  Fronted by Michael Harrison Berg, a long-time concert promoter and band manager, Van Ghost features “an earth shattering rhythm section and haunting guy/girl harmonies.” They play Pisgah Brewing‘s St. Patty’s Day dance party. 9 p.m. $10 men/$5 women.

• The Brand New Life (Afro-funk and jazz from Greensboro) and Iyubis (members of Dashvara, Nataraj and World Music Elevation from Asheville) share the stage at The LAB. According to an email, “It will be The Brand New Life’s first show in Asheville with it’s most recent member, and Asheville resident, Sean Smith (trumpet). Sean Smith was in the former group The Afromotive.” 10 p.m., $5.

• ANTiSEEN has a lot of tag lines: “The boys from Brutalsville,” “The bad will ambassadors,” “the unreconstructed punk-rock redneck band,” “the kings of Destructo rock.” Don’t expect fiddles and step dancers at their Broadways show. “This will be the first time in 16+ years that ANTiSEEN has played in Asheville,” a source tells Xpress. They’ll do it up right with Zombie Queen and Gutterhound (pictured).