This weekend on a shoestring

Thursday, April 19

• Join the West Asheville Presbyterian Church, 690 Haywood Road, for a spaghetti supper to benefit WNC Brain Tumor Support. The fundraiser will include meat and veggie sauces, garden salad, garlic bread, desserts and drinks. Takeout available. By donation. Info: wncbts@bellsouth.net or 691-2559.

• “Whimsical, haunting, dreamlike music that eschews the traditional formulae, Cheyenne Marie Mize presents a rainbow of juxtapositions,” begins the singer-songwriter’s bio. “The New York Times described her 2010 debut, Before Lately, as ‘sweet without being cloying, weary without hopelessness,’ noting the vast space between notes, yet lack of air. …Before Lately was a slow-burning, introspective, meditative affair. Her follow-up EP, We Don’t Need, offers an expansion of the sonic palette she’s established – with more dynamic moods, instrumentation and experimentation. Using only a dense array of percussion, the opener ‘Wishing Well’ nods to both classic R&B flavors and adventurous modern pop. A somber funeral march provides the backbeat of ‘Don’t Call Me Beautiful’ before Cheyenne showcases her upbeat troubadour chops within the resplendent piano swing of ‘Going Under.’ ‘Keep It’ and ‘It Lingers’ conjure a bombastic form of classic college radio songwriting. Instrumental album closer ‘Back Around’ goes full desert chamber rock – monolithic walls of cavernous sound fill the backdrop behind spacey vocal samples and cinematic strings.” Mize stops in Asheville for a performance at One Stop Deli & Bar, 55 College St. Donora and Dirty Bourbon River Show open. 10 p.m. $5.

Friday, April 20

• Staring at the sun is a famously unwise move. But this week, the Astronomy Club of Asheville offers the public a rare chance to check out the center of our solar system without going blind, using telescopes with solar filters. Take a peek when the group hosts a solar observation party at UNCA’s quad. Free. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

• “The workplace will never be the same at Consolidated Inc. after three secretaries take the office from their sexist-egotistical-lying-hypocritical-bigot of a boss,” begins a synopsis of 9 to 5: The Musical. “The women take charge of the office and their lives in this upbeat musical centered around the empowerment of women. Violet Newstead, Doralee Rhodes and Judy Bernly turn the office rightside up with catchy songs by Dolly Parton and a can-do attitude.” Performed in Warren Wilson College‘s Kittredge Theatre. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. $5/students free.

• From a feature in this week’s Xpress, “Once upon a time, all three members of Asheville indie roots band Now You See Them were deported from Australia. But, there’s more to the twisted, meandering tale of how they became the band they are today — and came to record a definitive full-length album titled What We Want. … So, those early days saw them busking around town, determined to hone their sound, get heard and make rent. It worked. They scored gigs, were voted WNC’s Last Band Standing and earned a spot at Bele Chere. They caught the ears of producer Eric Willson (Ricky Skaggs, Mountain Heart) and got started on their first recording. The resulting EP, Things Change in a Day, says Mencer, was ‘simple. It’s fun but it’s not musically what any of us wanted.’ But, it was good enough to interest clubs and fans beyond Asheville and allow them to maintain their status as highly dedicated road warriors. It was also enough to set in motion their dreams of making a lush album with strings, horns and complex arrangements for numerous backing vocalists. They set more time with Willson and delved into a year of work on a full-length album.” Check out the result the band’s efforts when it releases What We Want with a performance at The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave. Uncle Mountain and DJ Kipper Schauer open. 9 p.m. $8 advance/$10 door.

Saturday, April 21

• “As many of you know,” reads the website for Hot Springs Community Trailfest, “Hot Springs has the honor of having the famous Appalachian Trail go right through the main street in town, the only real ‘trail town’ in North Carolina. We do so like to celebrate that fact as often as possible, but this year we are breaking out into the great wide open! Although hiking remains close to our hearts, we will also celebrate bicycles, skateboarding, hoola-hooping, river rafting, soccer, Yoga and more! This a free family event with lots of community involvement all weekend long. We’ll kick-off on Friday, April 20 with a delicious (cheap) spaghetti dinner, play all day Saturday, April 21, and have pancakes, a float trip and family soccer on Sunday. Come to Hot Springs and get outside with us!” Festival kicks off Friday at 5 p.m. and resumes Saturday at 9 a.m. See website for a complete schedule of events.

• The City of Asheville celebrates Earth Day with a host of family-friendly activities throughout N. Lexington Avenue. The festival will include a kids’ village, an eco-village with environmentally-friendly nonprofits, live music by Underhill Rose, The Fritz, New Orleans Suspects and more. Noon-10 p.m. Free. Check out the Festivals section of the Community Calendar for a complete list of Earth Day celebrations.

• The Asheville Sailing Club invites the community to kick off the spring season at the Jet 14 Sailboat Regatta, a series of races held on Lake Julian, 406 Overlook Extension, Arden. Sat., 1:15-5pm; Sun., 9:45am-12:30 p.m. Free to attend. Info: 254-6877.

• According to its website, “The Campaign 1984 is best described as a ‘dirty south’ rock ‘n’ roll band.  … In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Campaign 1984 began work on what would become their fourth full-length album, Sessions. These three years saw the band head to Nashville, TN, to work with producers Chris Henderson (guitarist for 3 Doors Down) and Roger Alan Nichols (Paramore’s All We Know is Falling) during three separate studio sessions. The four songs recorded with Nichols were titled the Black Magic Revival EP and were pressed as such before being combined with the other two recording sessions with Henderson. The 11-track CD was released on July 3, 2010. This album showcases the next stage of evolution in their sound: an aggressive yet accessible blend of hard, southern-fried riffage, catchy choruses and lyrics poison-tipped with sex, cynicism and social satire.” The band plays Emerald Lounge, 112 N. Lexington Ave., with Fire! Fire! and Gutterhound. 9 p.m. $5 advance/$7 door.

• From this week’s Xpress, “Turns out Saturday, April 21 is a triple holiday. It’s Earth Day Eve, it’s Record Store Day and it’s the release of The Secret B-Sides’ new album, Easy Magic. It’s been just about a year since the local neo-soul outfit released its sophomore album, Flowers and Chocolate. That record — all retro jams, slinky beats, hits of hip-hop and a platform boots-and-butterfly-collars aesthetic updated with a space age mythology — was an instant hit. And how could it not be? Frontman Juan Holladay has infallible instincts when it comes to music. Though his jumping-off points might seem random (dinosaurs? footie pajamas?), Holladay has a knack for pulling far-flung influences together under the psychedelic umbrella of R&B, happiness and the kind of love that, whether spiritual or sexual in nature, makes us better people. … The album-release party takes place at Asheville Music Hall with openers Sirius.B and Sidney Barnes, and the invite for the show promises that ‘a piñata will be smashed at midnight, revealing all treasures previously concealed within.’ 10 p.m., $5 in advance or $8 at the door.”