Here’s the idea: Each week, we pick three local musical acts, link to a site where you can listen to their songs for free, then ask you to spend a few moments of your time to tell us what you think about them. Some may be great, others may be middling or awful — that’s for you to decide. All we ask is that you listen with an open mind.
Each week Xpress reporter Alli Marshall and WOXL DJ Pat Ryan team up to bring you their entertainment suggestions.
“I write songs because I have to, really, to document my own life and understanding of what’s going on and to process all those experiences.” So says pop artist James Blunt, sounding much like my former writing professor. (The professor claimed she rolled out of bed in the morning and wrote a couple pages before […]
Life is full of second chances. For thousands of Deadheads born too late to see the band’s legendary live shows, that second chance has come in the form of the Dark Star Orchestra. The musical necromancy of the devoted fan: Dark Star Orchestra has been bringing the music of the Grateful Dead back to the […]
Arguably the most innovative bassist since Jaco Pastorius, Les Claypool has helped to redefine the role of his instrument perhaps more than any other rock musician of his generation. Best known as the leader of the quirky alt-prog trio Primus, Claypool has been widely heralded for his unique slapping style. Generally speaking, he pushes the […]
What exactly is dance? Sure, we all know about moving to a beat, but in the larger, artistic sense of the word, dance is a little harder to define. The art of movement: The Nelson Reyes Dance Company has a decidedly innovative and modern take on dance. From the deeply internal, careful practice of Japanese […]
The two-year Master of Fine Arts program in photography at Yale University is, to put it mildly, intense. Only nine students are admitted each year, and expectations for those few artists lucky enough to get into this exclusive program run very high. It’s interesting to note that four of the program’s graduates are now teaching […]
Factory girl: Mod- meets- ‘80s- meets- futuristic. High-waisted jeans, red belt, skyscraper pumps and a just-made Angi West band tee. Singer/songwriter Angi West (www.angiwest.com) is a relative newcomer to the Asheville music scene. She released her debut album, Orange Thread in a Blue Sea, late last year, and has been racking up local dates at […]
Here’s what British singer-songwriter James Blunt has to say about the recording process, his new album, the 1970s, and why he loves Cat Power.
In case you didn’t know, February is Children’s Dental Health Month. So I took my kids to the dentist last week.
The Asheville Art Museum has announced a series of discussions, workshops and films featuring world-famous artists.
Heard a juicy tidbit about goings on in Asheville? Pass it along, and we’ll get to the bottom of it.
Here’s the idea: Each week, we pick three local musical acts, link to a site where you can listen to their songs for free, then ask you to spend a few moments of your time to tell us what you think about them. Some may be great, others may be middling or awful — that’s for you to decide. All we ask is that you listen with an open mind.
Don’t be put off by the title. This gem of a novel is both fun and touching while boasting a distinctive Southern voice.
Bluegrass music has come a long way from its roots in the hills and hollers of the South. Today, given enough enthusiasm for the music and a sufficiently fat wallet, aficionados can fill their summers with outdoor festivals where banjos cluck and fiddles saw incessantly over a period of days. Just how star-studded is Bluegrass […]
There’s been a lot of talk recently, both in local clubs and on locally oriented music sites, about which band from Asheville will be the next to step into the national spotlight. Names are thrown around, various viable reasons are given, and speculation is rampant. But, on that list of likely future headliners, one name […]
Behind every great work of fiction, there’s usually another great story about how hard it was to make it great in the first place. For instance, the classic movie Gone With the Wind was at first expected to be a huge Hollywood flop. Blown away by Gone With the Wind: The cast of Moonlight and […]
It has been said that if you look at a good landscape painting, you can tell how the air would feel on your cheek if you were standing in that place. Andrea Clark’s photographs of the area of Asheville once called the East End have that quality. You can feel the breeze, hear the talk […]
Reusability is key at The Lazy Susan (625 Haywood Road, West Asheville, 225-3235), a kitchen emporium featuring new products, consignment items and antique furnishings. Owner Jane Northway explains that everything her 3-year-old business carries has a proven track record. Either it’s already lasted decades (if not generations) or—in the case of new items—is practical enough […]
Well-known poets participate in inaugural Wordfest.
Screaming. Fists smacking into flesh. Hurled insults. Crashing sounds. No, I’m not describing a drunken Saturday night bar fight. I’m describing almost any day in my sunny living room.
