Target Corp. this spring shook up the typically staid bridal business by marketing a silk-and-polyester scoopneck Isaac Mizrahi wedding dress—for $159.99. In an industry that still looks askance at money dances and cash gifts—no matter how many times a Bridezilla stomps her foot and wishes it were otherwise—the retailer’s unabashed fusion of frugality and frills […]

Patterson Hood rarely looks in his rear-view mirror. As the ever-unapologetic Drive-By Truckers retread after the departure of important member Jason Isbell, the band’s swaggering, whiskey-bent fountainhead displayed his forward-thinking disposition in a recent talk with Xpress. “It kind of got to the point where, in my opinion, [Jason] outgrew being one-fifth of this thing,” […]

The 15 members of Joe Ahuna’s family dance troupe are likely to thrill the thousands of local spectators who will watch them bravely reenact a Samoan knife dance, which practitioners refer to by the cuddly nickname of “Dance of Death.” All-American boy: This young Hawaiian fire dancer apparently prefers flames to video games. But for […]

Nikki Talley Claims Carolina Stardom Local singer/songwriter Nikki Talley recently won the Asheville-based, American Idol-knockoff show Carolina Star. Her win has already been announced on live TV, so this is somewhat old news. Then again, given how utterly lax the show’s promotional team has been, chances are they haven’t gotten around to doing much with […]

Fiddler and composer Mark O’Connor knew he’d reached the pinnacle of his profession not when superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma agreed to play with him, but when he found he could play without Ma. In true independent mountain spirit, fiddler Mark O’Connor, above, staffs his Appalachian Waltz Trio with the young and untried, regularly changing a […]

Bonnaroo breaks the bank. The near-$200 ticket begins a financial plunder of the pocket, and an eventual $1,000 weekend (or relinquishing of first-born rights) becomes reality for some festivalgoers. So with prices ascending each year, the budget-minded scope for fests on the cheap. Found hounds: Anticipating the upcoming Coon Dog Day in Saluda, these Bassets […]

“I was born and raised in the 828” is the chant that erupts from Dem Carolina Boiz’s track “Born and Raised.” Dem Carolina Boiz are ambassadors of the 828. It’s an unlikely proclamation: Western North Carolina is known for a lot of things, but its up-and-coming hip-hop scene is not one of them. “All of […]

Just after 7 on a Sunday night, an NPR news update trails off with dire reports of the rising price of gasoline, the most recent suicide attack in Baghdad and the international community’s vain hopes of stopping global warming. Seconds later, a welcome sound fills the air. It’s bluegrass band Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, shimmying […]

Moon Europa Gets Mainstream Media Mentions Is 2007 the year that will put the Asheville film community on the map? Quite possibly. It seems that many long-awaited local flicks are finally gearing up for actual release. Perhaps the most notable of the bunch is Moon Europa, which recently completed the Independent Feature Project’s (IFP) Narrative […]