"Today I go back and forth between painting and writing, on two different floors of my house in Brooklyn," Basil King says on his website. "One feeds the other and in both I bring disparate things together." An immigrant to the U.S. from England, he discovered Black Mountain College at age 16. He went on […]
No good in goodbye
In the second verse of “Farewell Transmission,” one of the late Jason Molina’s finest compositions for his band Songs: Ohia, his voice starts to shake. “After tonight, if you don’t want this to be,” he sings, trembling on the word “be,” as if it’s all he can do to shape these words, to hear his […]
Smart Bets: Asheville Vaudeville
Come one, come all — Asheville Vaudeville kicks off the second half of its 2013-14 season with two shows at the Toy Boat Community Art Space. Watch as circus artists, jugglers, musicians, storytellers, puppeteers, burlesque dancers and more awe-inspiring (or at least laughter-inducing) acts carry on the historic vaudeville tradition while displaying some of Asheville's […]
Love Ya Like A Sis all over again
Sketch comedy troupe LYLAS presents an all-new show at 35below, Jan. 16-25.
Smart bet web extra: Fred Eaglesmith
Self-described road dog Fred Eaglesmith is on a never-ending tour in his bio-fueled bus. His next stop? The Grey Eagle.
Twelfth Night
Asheville Mardi Gras holds a Twelfth Night party at Club Eleven on Monday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m.
The long detour
In “The Answer to the Riddle is Me,” Warren Wilson alum David Stuart MacLean recounts his decade-long recovery from amnesia caused by the antimalarial drug Larium. Told with a light touch and plenty of humor, the story is as engaging as it is harrowing. The book is out on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
New Year’s Eve with Jahman Brahman
The local jam band rang in 2014 at Asheville Music Hall.
CalCast Jan. 3-5
This weekend, Asheville FM encourages you to think about giving back.
Mountain Xpress and Sherwood’s Music Present: Elijah Wyman of Decent Lovers
Mountain Xpress and Sherwood’s Music are partnering to showcase local musicians through a series of stripped-down performances for the web. To kick off our series, Elijah Wyman of Decent Lovers performed “SHOOT THEM. EAT THEM,” a yet-to-be-released track.
New Year’s Eve in and around Asheville
Happy New Year, everyone! And now that we’ve safely crossed the threshold into the new year, why not take a look at how we got here. From fancy dinners to quiet nights at home, from dressed up to dressed down, and from big concerts to small parties, WNC rang in 2014 right.
Space rockumentary
“I figured out a way to plug my theremin into our spaceship and actually drive the spaceship with the theremin controller.” Learn about time travel, Betty Boop and local/intergalactic music in Silver Machine’s newest video.
New Year’s Eve with Red Honey and friends
The local band, fronted by Erika Jane Ferraby, put on a free show at Hotel Indigo.
The Honeycutters ring in the new year at Westville Pub
Westville Pub was overflowing with locals and dedicated fans looking to kick off 2014 with some foot-stomping Americana from The Honeycutters, one of Asheville’s most well-loved country roots bands.
An evening of Shakespeare fan fiction
The Montford Park Players perform G.B. Shaw’s “Dark Lady of the Sonnets” and Vincent Dowling’s “The Upstart Crow” at the Masonic Temple. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10 and 11.
Asheville’s hip-hop scene is poised to claim the spotlight
Words from the wise Michael Capra, better known to fans as Foul Mouth Jerk, has been a part of Asheville’s hip-hop scene since the late ’90s. As difficult as it can be for rappers to make a name for themselves in the city today, it was often even harder in the past, when hip-hop couldn’t […]
Smart Bets: Rob Morrill Photography
Leicester-based photographer Rob Morrill was a veterinarian for his first career. Following his retirement in ’99, he turned his attention to his camera. According to his bio, Morrill is “primarily devoted to dynamic floral images that were manipulated digitally, to varying degrees, in an attempt to blur the line between real and imaginary.” He has […]
Tricks of the trade
A skull wearing sunglasses cackles to announce the arrival of visitors to Magic Central, a retail shop on Weaverville Highway in North Asheville. The shop appears empty except for the autographed posters of celebrities that grace the walls and glass cabinets displaying magician’s wares. Finally, shop owner Ricky D. Boone appears from behind the back […]
Smart Bets: The Rag-Pickers Guide to Poetry
As faculty members of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, Eleanor Wilner and Maurice Manning have, between them, decades of teaching experience, many published collections of poems and (in Manning’s case) Pulitzer Prize finalist status. All of which made them the perfect team to edit The Rag-Picker's Guide to Poetry: Poems, Poets, […]
State of the Arts
Chances are you’ve been invited to one of Asheville’s cafes, salons, bookstores or breweries not for a book, beer or haircut, but for an art opening. Whatever their main purpose, these businesses-turned-galleries are some of the city’s premier spaces for art. They’re accessible to new artists wanting to show their work, and approachable for those […]
Smart Bets: Wine and Ink
The new year is the time for, if not resolutions, then making plans and setting goals. Here’s a fun way to get going with creative projects: Wine and Ink, hosted by Ten Cent Poetry (aka singer-songwriter Chelsea Lynn La Bate). “Songwriters! Poets! Story makers! Drawers! Bring your ink and paper to Ten Cent Poetry’s Wine […]
