Rollin’ on the river

The G.E.D. Records soul showcase takes the stage as the third installment of this year’s RiverMusic series, created by environmental nonprofit RiverLink. This is the second year for the event, held one Friday a month from May through September, and already it’s grown from 2012. “Last year we had rain on three out of five […]

Time management

“People think, with me, that it’s a dress-up contest or a history project,” says dapper roots musician (and former, albeit briefly, Asheville resident) Pokey LaFarge. “I just choose to look nice. When I dress nice I feel good and hopefully that passes on to other people.” In the instance that LaFarge’s sharp suit, shined shoes […]

Celebrity chefs and reality TV, fringe style

The local restaurant scene, like most of Asheville culture, could use a good-natured ribbing every now and then. And who better to take up the task than the Magnetic Theatre, another group of passionate locals? When the Theatre, founded in 2009, shut down its physical location in the River Arts District last March, some worried […]

Big names, little town

Andy Warhol, Barbara Kruger, Robert Mapplethorpe, Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, Keith Haring, Martin Puryear, Jenny Holzer, Carl Andre and William Eggleston — it sounds like a litany from an art school student trying to impress someone at a party. It’s really a selection of works from the Emily Fisher Landau collection that has made […]

Smart Bets: Rebecca Pronsky

"Rebecca Pronsky could probably sing the phone book and bring out subtle nuances in the listings with her penetrating voice," said Blurt Magazine of the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter-guitarist. And Northern Sky said her sound is "as if The Smiths relocated to Nashville." Which is cool, but absurd, because just try to get a Smith to Asheville, […]

Smart Bets: Brushfire Stankgrass

If you missed the well-matched pairing earlier this year of local bluegrass-rock outfit Brushfire Stankgrass and Richmond, Va.-based rock-funk-jam ensemble The Shack Band, you're in luck. The two groups will reunite on the Emerald Lounge stage on Thursday, July 11. "Their last date together resulted in extensive jamming between the two bands (the first time […]

Smart Bets: Eagle Street Playwright­s

The Apothecary and Black Swan Theater are teaming up to support local playwriting. Or, as press for the inaugural meeting of the Eagle Street Playwrights says, "to encourage, refine, and produce local theatrical work." The playwrights group will gather on the first Thursday of each month to workshop and plan for upcoming productions. Sign up […]

State of the Arts

The “Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts,” ILSSA for short, has over 200 members from 28 states and 5 countries. They’re artists and artisans, crafters and creators bound by a common thread: they all make artwork with outdated practices and technologies. Their inefficiencies and eccentricities are self-identified, boasted really. And it’s all for […]