The Enemy Lovers’ Stella Blue residency

There’s something prophetic-seeming about The Enemy Lovers’ forthcoming album, tentatively-titled The Asheville Days — like they named it at some point in the future and, like Bill & Ted in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, came back to the present to deliver this collection. (Rest easy, they do not, at any point, suggest we should “be excellent.” They do, however, offer up intriguing lyrics like,“I’m standing by the switch and I think about flipping.”)

It’s been less than two years since Xpress was first introduced to The Enemy Lovers at a Grey Eagle Show. Even then, thanks to friends and family and a tight-knit church community, the Scroggses already had a dedicated fanbase. But that show was a turning point, introducing two talented songwriters to a wide and welcoming audience. The Scroggses, in turn, have not wasted any time establishing themselves and securing the best local stages as well as prime opening slots. They recently opened for Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s at Stella Blue: In a night of solid performances one Xpress reviewer declared their set “energetic and inspired” and went on to call them, “a new band that has been (deservedly so in my opinion) touted as the next big thing on Asheville’s music scene.”

Though it will still be a little while before we can all listen to the completed Asheville Days, listeners might get to check out the new songs at upcoming shows. Starting Thursday, Oct. 28, the band will play a weekly Thursday night free show at 9 p.m. at Stella Blue (31 Patton Ave., Asheville, 236-2424). The shows will benefit Adullam Orphanages who care for 750 children in Africa.

According to Tim Scroggs, “The night will consist of music by The Enemy Lovers and eventually others as we begin to feature multiple artists from across the region. Sometimes there will be musicians from one band sitting in with another band, or a lead singer of one band will be backed by a different band, or a singer-songwriter will get the backing of the Enemy Lovers.” The idea is to build “a community of artists creating and performing original music together with no initial form or restraint.  We want to provide a time where the creative music culture of Asheville can come together and interact live.” 

Learn more at theenemylovers.com.

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

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