Denver-based husband-and-wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore have been dreaming up sea-inspired retro-pop together as Tennis for half a decade now.
Local playwright Waylon Wood stages sentimental “Letters and Notes”
“It’s a strange process; it’s like osmosis,” says producer, writer and director Waylon Wood of his latest play, Letters and Notes Found on the Windshield at the Piggly Wiggly Parking Lot. It opens at Asheville Community Theatre’s black box performance space 35below on Friday, May 8.
Smart bets: Miles Wide
The term “independent musician” doesn’t quite convey the extent of Kyle Donovan’s dedication to the do-it-yourself ethos. Performing under the name Miles Wide, the self-taught musician acts as his own manager, recording engineer, Web developer, graphic designer, press contact, booking agent and social media correspondent.
State of the Arts: RAD Studio Stroll moves to a new weekend
Each spring and fall, thousands of art and craft collectors and enthusiasts converge on the River Arts District for the biannual studio strolls. Now, as the stroll enters its 21st season, the River Arts District Artists organization has moved the two-day event previously scheduled in June to Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10.
Smart bets: Jacqueline Terry
Jacqueline Terry is a park ranger and will soon be heading out to Glacier National Park in Montana for a five-month stint. But along with her love of nature and educating the public about conservancy, she’s a budding singer-songwriter.
4 questions (LEAF edition) with Sirius.B
Local absurdist/gypsy/folk/funk/punk collective Sirius.B has been playing fewer shows lately, but by the sounds of things, that’s about the change. The group launches a busy spring and summer season at Lake Eden.
Stage sights: Local concert highlights
Each month concert photographer David Simchock of music news and reviews blog Front Row Focus shares some of his favorite images, captured on stages in and around Asheville.
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 designer’s efforts to create a living wage, ethical garment factory and multiple Grammy-winning musician David Holt’s televised programming to preserve Appalachian traditions.
Buncombe Commissioners to discuss parkway preservation, historical art project, air quality concerns
The Tuesday, May 5 Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting might be one for the books, as the board will discuss a new art, culture and history project that may result in the addition of a new landmark on the horizon. The board will discuss this, as well as a few environmental interests.
5 questions (LEAF edition) with Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Grammy-nominated kid-hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo has been regularly making the trip back to LEAF from his new home base in California. Here, he talks about the festival, plans for his own musical trajectory, and his special equation for LEAF maximization.
Sound Track: Woody Pines’ self-titled album
Even at 11 tracks, the new self-titled album from former Ashevillean Woody Pines is just over 30 minutes long. It’s an album that wastes little time.
5 questions (LEAF edition) with Jonathan Santos
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Santos is community activist as well as a musician. This year, instead of performing his own set, he’ll be working with LEAF Schools & Streets students at the festival.
Two reasons to go down an alley on Friday night
Castell Photography and Blue Spiral 1 are teaming up for a one-night-only collaborative opening event on Friday, May 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. Both galleries will debut group photography exhibitions in conjunction with the Downtown Asheville Arts District’s monthly first Friday art walk.
Sound values: How LEAF’s eclectic lineup defines the festival’s ethos
The 2015 lineup for LEAF, which prides itself on its globally conscious reach, is unsurprisingly excellent. Topping the bills each night are acts that range from soul revival firebrand Charles Bradley & his Extraordinaires to Australian world-roots act Xavier Rudd & the United Nations, demonstrating the festival’s knack for mixing quality bedrock American music with an eclectic range of styles that span the Earth.
Busk break: Jason Brazzel
Buskers, however innately transient, also boast a collective permanence in downtown Asheville. During his solo set, singer and guitarist Jason Brazzel paired his sturdy rasp with peppy strums, covers with originals.
5 questions (LEAF edition) with Free Planet Radio
World music trio Free Planet Radio (Chris Rosser, River Guerguerian and Eliot Wadopian) has played many a LEAF festival — and the three musicians also have their hands in a number of other projects, from LEAF stages to world tours.
Local efforts help Nepali earthquake victims
In the last week, Josh Phillips has stumbled into both disaster and the opportunity to help those in need. Known around Asheville for his performances with the Josh Phillips Folk Festival and Yo Mamma’s Big Fat Booty Band, Phillips happened to be visiting Kathmandu in the central region of Nepal this weekend when tragedy struck.
stephaniesĭd release party for “Excavator,” May 2
It was almost exactly a year ago that local indie-pop band stephaniesĭd launched ĭd Weekly a month-long residency in the upstairs lounge of Isis Restaurant & Music Hall. Included in those weekly intimate concerts was a segment called “night of bravery” in which members of the audience could take the stage for up to five minutes.
LEAF celebrates 20 years of music, art, culture and community
How do you sum up 20 years of festivals? That’s two decades of twice-yearly campouts, dances, new musical discoveries and fond favorites; of friends made and family bonds strengthened; of campfire hangouts and sunny-day revelry. For LEAF, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this May, it’s expressed in the theme, “Global Gratitude.”
A-B Tech announces writing scholarship winner
Every year, in conjunction with the annual publication of The Rhapsodist, A-B Tech’s student literary magazine, the magazine’s editorial team awards the Helen Dehnke Smith Memorial Writing Scholarship to a Rhapsodist contributor. This year the scholarship was awarded to Magnolia Wilson, currently a student at A-B Tech.
Smart bets: Ouroboros Boys
Featuring intriguing and textural instrumentals with unexpected influences and surprising end results, Ouroboros Boys will come to the Mothlight to share a bill with fellow locals Analog Moon, an experimental psychedelic indie-rock band, and Birmingham, Ala.-based power-gaze act Wray.