Almost everyone loves a festival. But as event planner Par Neiburger points out, even weekend-long music blowouts can hit a bit of rut. Unified by Trinumeral: When you think about performers most likely to spend a weekend grooving in the woods, chances are that Wu-Tang Clan founding member GZA (aka The Genius, top) isn’t the […]
Eye on the storm
To Heather Maloy, creating choreography for a dance is a process uniquely individual to each piece. Sometimes an idea for choreography strikes first, followed by a search for an accompanying music track. In this case, inspiration for the company’s new work, Hurricane & other forces of nature came when Maloy was listening to a Godspeed […]
Take that, rockin’ robin
According to Radix Faruq, half of experimental-rock duo The South French Broads, “There are a lot of ways of expressing yourself without ending up in handcuffs at the end of the night.” Unpredictable in the park: The South French Broads bring their chaotic charm to this community-building event. Photo by Timothy Boettcher And that’s why […]
SoundTrack
My momma always told me you could tell a lot about a person by the shoes he wears. I’ve been self-conscious about my shoes, and noticing of others, ever since. So the first thing I did after shouldering my way to the front of The Grey Eagle stage was spy the Custard Pie footwear. This […]
Arts awards
The Asheville Area Arts Council recently announced its 2008 awards.
Edgy Mama: sending my baby to overnight camp
By the time this column hits print, my 9-year-old girl will be a few days into her first time at overnight camp. Mama will be a few days into low-level, sleep-free anxiety mode.
Book Report: Asheville’s River Arts District
Rob Neufeld’s just-released Asheville’s River Arts District provides a wealth of faded images and bygone facts, culled from libraries, universities and personal collections. It’s not a history tome as much as a scrap book, where images are given prominent placement and text is relegated to glorified photo captions. Still, it’s enough to give the curious reader and the lay history buff a substantial taste of local lore.
Pat & Alli’s Weekly Winners
Each week Xpress reporter Alli Marshall and WOXL DJ Pat Ryan team up to bring you their entertainment suggestions.
An edgier Village Art & Craft Fair
This weekend, local outsider artist Gabriel Shaffer shows his stylized paintings alongside garden sculpture and cat art.
In my solitude
text by Kent Priestley, illustrations by Nathanael Roney Alas, there you are: alone, surrounded by miles of sea. Your luggage is gone, so is your family. Your iPod was lost in the wreckage. Your BlackBerry was swallowed by a grouper. Your mind, baked by an unrelenting sun, is full of questions: Did I turn the […]
His and hers
M. Ward is a guy who has it all. He has a devoted legion of fans hanging onto every raspy-voiced note he sings and finger-picked rhythm he plays on guitar, the acclaim of a surprising number of taste-making critics and a Midas-like ability to make lively albums in genres (indie-folk singer/songwriter land) that have seemingly […]
Road food for thought
“I was soon labeled a photorealist. I was disturbed a bit by the label,” says painter John Baeder in notes accompanying his retrospective, Pleasant Journeys and Good Eats Along the Way. Ironic, since the Morris Museum of Art-curated show (now mounted at the Asheville Art Museum) includes nearly four decades of diners painted in such […]
Different strokes
There are inevitabilities in this world: the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, Madonna reinventing herself and the Xpress coming out every week. Another sure thing is that when the Immediate Theatre Project announces that they are putting on a new show, it’s worth paying attention. The best of times, the […]
To tell the Ruth
“I feel like the mole on Cindy Crawford’s face: just happy to be here,” says playwright David Wright, who authored Ruthie. The Western North Carolina-based production sees its world premiere this week at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre. Divine inspiration: Ruthie recasts the Bibical story of Ruth in post-World War II Western North Carolina. Photo Provided […]
SoundTrack
Four children, 10 years and the same three chords Asheville, meet The Humbuckers (again). While they may not look like champions of a movement, they might be Asheville’s best example of a band getting better with age. Rudy Humbucker Formed more than a decade ago, the Humbuckers rose and burned out quickly in the Asheville […]
Edgy Mama: Is it just me?
I’m so frickin’ sweaty and uncomfortable. All the time. Are you?
Book Report: Santa vs. Satan
Author Jake Kalish may have single-handedly solved the problem of men who read less than women. And if not, that’s one more match he can breakdown in his book, Santa vs Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights.
Edgy Mama’s no-nonsense guide to surviving Bele Chere with kids
The Edgy kids love Bele Chere — for about two hours and $75. Yes, Bele Chere can be expensive with kids, but the festival also can be loads of fun. Just keep a few things in mind.
Pat & Alli’s Weekly Winners
Each week Xpress reporter Alli Marshall and WOXL DJ Pat Ryan team up to bring you their entertainment suggestions.
Interview with Amos Lee
Singer/songwriter Amos Lee recently spoke to Xpress about his thoughts on shrinking communities, corporate takeovers, perfectly imperfect songs and the steep learning curve of a touring musician.
Village person
Even though Philadelphia-born singer/songwriter Amos Lee admits he hasn’t really lived anywhere (other than a tour bus) for half a decade, he sounds fully prepared to leave the traveling life behind and get tight with his neighbors. Think globally, play locally: Stuck in a tour bus for half the year, Amos Lee has plenty of […]