Represented in 2015 are dancers and musicians from Bangladesh, Estonia, Indonesia, Philippines, Chile, Ecuador, Quebec, Puerto Rico, and right here in WNC as Eastern Band Cherokee performers join the lineup.
Serafina and the Black Cloak is set in an Asheville landmark
Robert Beatty was a successful tech pioneer before embarking on his new career as a novelist. His middle grade tale, Serafina and the Black Cloak, is set in the basement of local landmark the Vanderbilt house.
Smart bets: Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands
Now in its 68th season, the biannual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands returns for a long weekend filled with regional craft history and work for show and sale. It’s held at the U.S. Cellular Center, Thursday-Sunday, July 16-19.
Moogfest moves to Durham
Moogfest 2016 will be held in Durham from May 19-22, according to an article by Indyweek, which confirms rumors of the multi-venue festival’s location change today.
Show review: “The Bait Hides the Hook” at Pink Dog Creative
Beneath all the irony and bleak comedy lies pronounced carnality, vulnerability and a tactile emphasis on figure. Jensen’s paintings engage the viewer as frames of an individual mind — intimate, nonsensical, damaged, absurd.
Asheville Creative Arts stages children’s story Miss Nelson Is Missing
Miss Nelson is Missing was “a favorite book growing up,” says ACA founder and director Robbie Jaeger. “The title is meaningful to many generations — our parents read it to us, our peers today are now reading it to their kids, and kids are loving it as much now as when it was originally published in the ’70s.” The play opens at N.C. Stage Co. on Thursday, July 16.
Smart bets: Colston
Local hip-hop artist Colston releases his solo mix tape, Uppercuts, at The Grey Eagle on Thursday, July 16.
Music review: JJ Grey & Mofro at Pisgah Brewing Co.
JJ Grey seems like a guy who knows how to have a good time. He also seems like he genuinely wants everyone around him to have a good time. With his six-piece band Mofro, Grey played the outdoor stage at Pisgah Brewing Co. on Friday night.
Smart bets: Dulci Ellenberger
Color Collage opens for Ellenberger, who will be joined by many guest musicians during her set at the Mothlight on Thursday, July 16, at 9 p.m.
Jack Off Jill reunites for one show in Asheville
After talks of a reunion for three years, influential South Florida riot-goth band Jack Off Jill holds a weekend-long get-together in Asheville. The show date falls of the 15 year anniversary of the release of the band’s final album, Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers.
Smart bets: King Parrot
Detroit-based post punk, experimental outfit Child Bite open for the thrash artists at the Odditorium on Monday, July 20, at 9:30 p.m.
VIDEO: Sonny and The Sunsets plays The Mothlight, July 18
The band, currently on tour in support of latest album, Talent Night At The Ashram, plays The Mothlight on Saturday, July 18. Sarah Bethe Nelson opens. 9:30 p.m., $10 advance/$12 day of show.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding campaigns
Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features a local artist’s mask-making residency in Mexico, a new dance school called Terpsicorps, a foam party to follow the cyclocross nationals in Asheville in 2016 and upgrades to an astrology podcast.
Sound Check: Eternal Summers at The Mothlight
Eternal Summers were in recently in Asheville for a tour stop at The Mothlight to promote their latest record, Gold and Stone. Ahead of the show, they played “Bloom” from the new record exclusively for Xpress.
Sound track: “Lovecraft” by Chris Jamison
Lovecraft’s nine tracks are more lush and stylized than typical singer-songwriter fare, more laid-back than typical indie-rock. iTunes insists they’re pop, but each song is a world unto itself with careful and joyful interplay between musicality and lyrics.
Album Review: Ashes & Dust by Warren Haynes
Ashes & Dust, out July 24, is widely being described as Warren Haynes’ “Americana album.” But attempting to pin the record down to a single genre — however stylistically inclusive that genre might be — does it and Haynes a disservice. The music on Ashes & Dust invites all listeners.
Conscious party: On the fringe
With its pop-up performances, collaborative artist workshops and a large-scale puppet show by Madison J. Cripps and Keith Shubert, this fundraiser will give attendees a taste of Fringe Arts Festival 2016.
Smart bets: JJ Grey & Mofro
On tour in support of new album Ol Glory, JJ Grey & Mofro play the Pisgah Brewing Co. outdoor stage on Friday, July 10.
WNC’s wine and cheese industries come of age
The artisan wine and cheese industries in Western North Carolina are experiencing a major growth spurt as increasing numbers of entrepreneurs seek out careers in these fields.
MOTION Dance Theatre goes behind the scenes of New/Now/Next
“The mission of MOTION is really to allow the choreographers a chance to experiment,” says Nick Kepley, founder and artistic director of MOTION Dance Theatre. Trying new things is exactly what this year’s residency and performance, New/Now/Next, is all about. MOTION returns to Asheville this summer with a production at Diana Wortham Theatre on Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11.
Smart bets: Holy Ghost Tent Revival
New-to-Asheville sextet Holy Ghost Tent Revival covers Beck’s 1999 album Midnite Vultures at the Mothlight on Saturday, June 11, at 9:30.