The third annual Music on the Mountaintop opened Friday under cloudy skies in Boone, with performances by local favorites like Now You See Them, Uncle Mountain, Josh Phillips Folk Festival, Holy Ghost Tent Revival and more.
SoundTrack Web Extra: Utah Green
ForTune is a sweet album the deserves close listening. It’s modern folk — the songs are contemporary and are based on Green’s very current world view — but performed the same way songs would have been ages before MP3 and album art.
Busk Break: Michael Stutesman plays “Waltz of the Wooden Horses”
Accordion-player Michael Stutesman may hail from Morganton, but he’s a regular visitor to Asheville. Unlike many of our local buskers, Stutesman isn’t looking for tips, performing without so much as an open case or upturned hat, insisting he’s only playing outdoors because he loves doing it. Here, he performs a traditional tune known by many names, including “Waltz of the Wooden Horses,” on his Hohner Erica.
Hey! It’s Friday! How about some videos from last Friday?
We’re a little late posting Jesse Hamm’s footage from last week’s DTA5, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less fun to watch.
Goombay has begun
Don’t miss the annual Goombay Festival held on Eagle and Market Street in downtown Asheville. The three-day festival continues through Sunday, Aug. 29.
Dress + boots
He made it!
Aaron Woody Wood will be making his album, thanks to the power of community and social media tools.
Pink ladies
Elitist Bastards: White Zombies And Sucky Vampires
In this week’s Elitist Bastards Go To The Movies, Xpress film critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther review Get Low, The Lottery, Nanny McPhee Returns,The Switch, Piranha 3D and Vampires Suck. They also discuss this week’s Thursday Horror Picture Show double feature of the Béla Lugosi classics White Zombie and Island of Lost Souls, the Asheville Film Society screening of the George C. Scott cult classic They Might Be Giants, and the one-night-only screening of the remastered version of Ken Russell’s Tommy. And, just to top it off, they ponder the potential quality of soon-to-open films Takers and The Last Exorcism.
Review of Country Roads
Let’s face it, in this day and age of hipster sensibility, the tortured optimism and simplicity of Denver’s lyrics and his persona are the very anti-thesis of cool.
Holy Now You See Them Revival!
Tomorrow night, White Horse Black Mountain: a show you ought not miss.
Review of The 39 Steps
If frivolity is what you’re after, Flat Rock Playhouse’s production delivers.
Show-Me Burlesque promises to take it off with class
The Show-Me Burlesque Tour comes to Asheville on Saturday, Aug, 28, for a sizzling strip, dance and vaudeville performance at the Boiler Room.
This weekend on a shoestring
Art, theatre and rock shows: Good way to spend a weekend, right? Know of more shows that cost $5 or less? Add them in the comments field.
Four Views at Blue Spiral 1
A spectrum of abstract and narrative art is exhibited through Four Views, currently on display at Blue Spiral 1 in downtown Asheville. The work of the four artists represented is impeccably crafted, as one expects from artists exhibiting at Blue Spiral. The gallery has garnered a high reputation for its stable of […]
Back on the block
Goombay festival The YMI Cultural Center has presented the African/Caribbean cultural festival Goombay for the past 28 years. Next weekend, Friday-Sunday, Aug. 27-29, marks Goombay’s multicultural return. Traditionally held on “The Block” — Eagle and Market Streets in downtown Asheville — some events will be at the new Pack Square Park stage nearby. The music […]
Twintuition
Much ado has been made over family bands: The Jacksons, the Osmonds, the Carpenters. The thing is, while tapping a sibling to be a band mate is convenient, it's certainly no guarantee against implosions and disasters (i.e. The Allman Brothers, The BeeGees, The Meat Puppets). And sometimes band dynamics are just a little too close […]
Whoop-ass wings and men in skimpy bathing suits
Westville Pub’s second annual ComeTogether Fest is “all about having a great time to support a great cause,” says Pub owner Lu Young. ComeTogether is an all-day, end-of-summer celebration benefiting Helpmate, a local nonprofit and domestic violence agency dedicated to “working with the community to eliminate abuse and fear.” The mission: Listen to awesome music, […]
Eleven & the Falcons: weird, in a good way
Describing the sound of Eleven & the Falcons is no easy task: they come across as independent of their contemporaries and ahead of their time. Under the guise of catchy pop songs, rich ambience and a collection of found sounds make the band inimitable; blown-out practice amps and student-level instruments dominate their setup – but […]
Junker’s Blues
“Take your pick, Frankie Boy, my loss will be your gain.” – Bob Dylan Over the past couple of years, a number of people have asked me whether I watched the show American Pickers on the History Channel. They were extremely surprised when I admit that not only did I not watch it, I’d never […]
Superior Poetry
“Billboards” If you have more money than someone do you think that makes you a better person? Or does it just mean you’ve spent less on the things that matter? Like daily chocolate milkshakes (with whip cream) or a weekly deep tissue massage (with mud-facial) or a John Tesh box set (collector's addition) autographed by […]