Just when you thought you’d have to wait until next year for more Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, Jesse Hamm’s got three more Jam videos shot for Xpress.
New Streetstyle photos
Visit Asheville Streetstyle for new images by Xpress photographer Jonathan Welch
Walnut Street
photo by Jonathan Welch
Mo Daddy’s parking lot
photo by Jonathan Welch
Bah, humbug!
View The Mad Tea Party’s just released video for “Oh Sh*t It’s Christmastime.” (Warning: As the song title suggests, there is some strong language, as well as a bird-flipping Santa and a naughty elf. Not for the easily offended.)
Homecoming
Go a-wassailing into the holiday season with A Swannanoa Solstice, and join the southern Appalachian's foremost bards of song, poetry, dance, and storytelling in an unforgettable celebration of Christmas and the winter solstice. In its seventh year, the event rejoices in the yuletide history of Appalachia and its Celtic origins. Rejoicing in the Yuletide history […]
Hookers, bat wings, pigs’ feet and hair tonic
Central to the African-American experience of the 1950s and '60s was the juke joint. An unlicensed liquor dispensary, it was a place for people to get together, relax, dance and drink. Free of the pressures of home or work, the juke joint was in many ways the only place where people could be themselves. Artist […]
"Like playing naked"
"Just because the audience isn't dancing doesn't mean they don't like the show," says singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Markham. The musician admits that he, himself isn't "much of a dancer, but I'll get up and do the robot from time to time." Happy hour: Despite its name, this relatively new Asheville quintet is far from its last […]
Artillery
About 150 drawings comprise Nathanael Roney's exhibit Take Me Out, currently on display at Harvest Records in West Asheville. The sheer volume of work is impressive and when viewed as a whole, the mass of drawings tells a compelling story as strange and beautiful as each individual piece. Nathanael Roney doesn't compromise subject matter for […]
Soundtrack
When Arundas plays, the crowd is a mix of friends and family, belly dancers and the broad array of Asheville freaks who want to get down and boogie. Arundas plays a range of collaborative music that explores fantasy-like mystical rhythms, incorporating sitar, dun-duns, chanting and heavy, heavy drumming. Arundas tunes in to far-flung inspirations and […]
Keep some local gifts on hand
This is how it happens: You show up at a holiday open house or potluck or company party and some well-meaning person hands you a gift. A neighbor or co-worker or distant cousin — someone you totally like, yet never thought to shop for. What to do? Xpress has your back. Here's a list of […]
All the real trees
Artificial trees made to look real are always tacky. But earlier this millennium, the thirst for ultra-tacky retro fakes, in particular mid-century-modern aluminum trees, began to elevate kitsch to the rank of spirit. Choose your own:The WNC high country is the Christmas-tree capital of the East. Photo courtesy High Country Host. For staunch traditionalists • […]
A liberal dose of liquor
With all the stressors that have come to define the holiday season, what better time to have your drink and eat it too? Sure, a cake spiked with spirits is festive. But experienced home cooks say a dish doused liberally with hard liquor – think daiquiri guacamole, salmon dip whisked with gin and chicken wings […]
Shopping, eating, fireworks
Stroll through downtown Asheville this Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Seasonal Sizzle, and enjoy leisurely holiday shopping that supports our vibrant mountain economy. Three farmers markets/arts-and-crafts bazaars offer unique holiday delights, homemade gifts and the finest seasonal produce, while downtown-area restaurants serve up delicious fare at discounted prices. In the evening, local caroling troupes caravan […]
What’s the Jam? Videos from the Xmas Jam
As promised, here’s footage from deft videographer Jesse Hamm. The first is the Stones’ classic “Wild Horses.” Then there’s Govt’ Mule’s “Brokedown on the Brazos.”
This weekend on a shoestring
Here’s a plan: party as much as possible from now until the end of the decade. Which is in, like, two weeks. Maximize your revelry with this bunch of free, cheap or under $5 shows and events.
Dead guys rule
A review of I’m Going Down to North Carolina: The Complete Recordings of the Red Fox Chasers [1928-31], a reissue by Tompkins Square.
What’s the Jam? Warren Haynes Xmas Jam
Check out Xpress photo gallery from the Christmas Jam (and Pre-Jam) over the weekend.
Edgy Mama: Running the marketing hamster wheel with Mr. Squiggles
For the first time since Pet Rocks were hot in 1975, I got caught up in a toy craze.
Video a-go-go
This week, we explore Asheville’s SantaCon, “As You Like It” reinterpreted as a Western (and a silent movie to boot), the writing of Nathanael Roney, how MindShapeFist keep their hard-rock dream alive … and more.
How to avoid those January blues
Before the seasonal gloom takes hold, consider signing up for a class, taking a workshop or volunteering your time.