Although husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Lauren Goans, aka Lowland Hum, is based in North Carolina, the couple have spent much of the last two years logging miles up and down the Eastern Seaboard. “For the most part, we have gone where people reach out to us,” says Daniel. The Goanses love touring, and recent national […]
We take in a lot of music here at Xpress. Happily, there’s a lot of great music to be found in and around Asheville. Less happily, there aren’t enough hours in the day to review every CD, EP, 7-inch and MP3 collection that finds its way to our desks and our inboxes — but we’ve […]
Will you kick off 2014 in your PJs (no judgments, we promise), on the dance floor, or at an intention-setting ceremony? Will the coming year be more about soul? Or perhaps it’s your time to rock ’n’ roll. Whatever your preference, Xpress here rounds up some top options to launch your next circuit around the calendar.
It could be said that auction houses specialize in scarcity and rareness. But occasionally, they may come across a piece so unique, so peculiar even, that it garners national attention. Such was the case for Lot 0447, an inlaid Federal desk that sold for $354,000 at Asheville’s Brunk Auctions’ November sale.
This weekend is all about shoreline hikes, good drinks with good laughs and giving back.
One of the premier exponents of present-day Zappa music is Asheville’s own Project/Object. The group — named after Zappa’s label for his entire body of work, held together by what he called “conceptual continuity” — was founded in 1991 by guitarist André Cholmondeley. The group played a rare local date last weekend.
In advance of his Friday, Dec. 27, show at The Grey Eagle, Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer talks about parenthood, lo-fi recording and New Year’s resolutions. Click through for the video interview and exclusive performance.
Semi-local alt-rock outfit Treadmill Trackstar released its latest album earlier this year. The concept project pairs a song collection with a text script. Both can be downloaded for free.
The WNC Agricultural center is hosting the largest drive-through, synchronized LED Christmas light show in the world.
There are a number of business maxims — dress for success, learn more from your failures than from your successes, reinvent yourself every day — that could be applied to a winning New Year’s Eve. But none is more apt than that old British chestnut, start as you mean to go on. Because, let’s face […]
Daryl Hance, founder and former and guitarist of the band JJ Grey and Mofro, goes solo with his own brand of bluesy, groove-driven Southern rock. Hance says that while he throws down some loud guitar, the music is “all about fat beats, monster grooves and wide-open spaces.” Musical influences range from Sly and the Family […]
“By the time Scots-Irish settlers came to this area, the Christmas music tradition had already been well-established,” says award-winning fiddler and Asheville resident Jamie Laval. So, while there is a signature music from Appalachia, “a lot of the traditional carols that we all know and love had existed for centuries,” says Laval. A deep love […]
It's a decade-jumping retro-fabulous double bill. Asheville's ’60s-pop-reminiscent Cheeksters share a stage (for the first time ever) with David Bowie tribute act, Wham Bam Bowie Band. While it wouldn't usually be a big surprise that two popular local bands only just got around to co-billing, this is a different case. Both bands share frontman Mark […]
During the past year, DeSoto Lounge had an entire exhibition of taxidermied African beasts. The exhibit redrew, if only for a moment, the boundaries of fine craft and the decorative arts. Warren Wilson College featured a video performance installation by Chicago-based artist Jefferson Pinder that brought about a serious dialogue on individual upward mobility and […]
Asheville High juniors Brennan Reichmann and Van Arthur launched the Instagram hashtag #828isgreat. When they reach 1,000 followers, they’ll turn the photo collection into an apparel business.
Revisit Razor & Blade’s’ AHA AVL performance.
This weekend is all about dark night Solstice hikes, Christmas concerts with saxophones and choirs and holiday-themed “Naughty” burlesque.
The renowned glass artist, ceramist and the pioneer founder of the American studio glass movement, who was based in Spruce Pine, passed away last week. Image courtesy of Fritz Dreisbach, photo by Gloria Schulman.
The drum-and-guitar/brother duo from Camden, S.C. return to The LAB on Friday, Dec. 20 for a show with The Go Devils.
It starts with that first construction paper garland, or popcorn-and-cranberry chain, or pomander ball (you know, an orange studded with cloves and tied with a ribbon for a closet sachet): Holidays and crafts go hand in hand. Some people make all of their gifts, from knitted scarves to fresh-baked pumpkin bread. Others craft decorations, from […]
"Pro tip: Go see Floating Action whenever possible," writes photographer Rich Orris on his blog, UnofficiallyAsheville.com. Here's the thing: Multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Seth Kauffman's touch can be heard on albums by Benny Yurco (Grace Potter and the Nocturnals) and Juston Stens (Dr. Dog), and his collaborators include Jim James and Dan Aurbach, all of which keeps him […]
