The editors of Asheville Poetry Review recently announced the William Matthews Poetry Prize recipients for 2013. According to a press release, they are: • Bart Rawlinson, from Forestville, CA, was awarded first prize for his poem, “Jonah and Mr. Bones,” and will receive $1000, plus publication in the next issue of Asheville Poetry Review (Vol. 20, […]

If you’re a fan of Cajun music, then south Louisiana-based Lost Bayou Ramblers (with its fiddle, standup bass and French vocabulary) are an easy sell. If you’re not of fan of Franco-Americana, the relentless two-step beat or the omnipresent accordion, Lost Bayou Ramblers may still be for you. They were nominated for a Grammy Award […]

Local craft and Belgian beer bar Thirsty Monk announces that it will hold its fourth annual Thirstyfest from Monday-Sunday, Sept. 2-8. “On tap will be The Finest, The Rarest, The Most Exclusive, The Most Extraordinarily Unsurpassed beers the Monk has plotted to grab and quietly hoard throughout the year,” says press for the event. “The […]

The final installment in The Montfiord Park Players’ summer season is Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” It runs Friday through Sunday, Aug. 23-Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m. at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre behind the Montford Rec Center. From a press release: “Hamlet is often called “the greatest play ever written in the English language”. Hamlet explores themes of treachery, […]

From a press release: Architect Vladimir Belogolovsky, founder of New York-based Intercontinental Curatorial Project, will present a talk, “Colombia Transformed, Architecture = Politics,” at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22 in UNC Asheville’s Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Belogolovsky is the author of several books including the […]

Local singer-songwriter Mark Bumgarner will be a featured showcase artist and workshop host at The North Carolina Bluegrass Pavilion, Music from The Mountains to The Coast, at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass 2013. “World of Bluegrass Week is the annual bluegrass music homecoming – taking place September 24-28, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina,” says the festival’s […]

Southern writer Lee Smith, who was born in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, is known for acclaimed books “The Last Girls,” “On Agate Hill,” and “Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger.” Since 1968, she has published 15 novels, along with four collections of short stories. She’s received a number of awards including the O. Henry […]

Local photographer Reggie Sheldon Tidwell writes, “I’m on the Board for LEAF and am heading to Rwanda to support LEAF and another non-profit organization (Africa Healing Exchange) that has a pilot program there. I’ll be taking gifts from LEAF to the orphans and photographing them while I’m there.” In 2009, Tidwell, photographed Mizero, a group […]

Local artist Julie Armbruster opens her first solo show at Satellite Gallery on Friday, Sept. 6. The exhibit runs through Monday, Oct. 21. From a press release: Hoard Reflex expands some of Armbruster’s classic narratives through 9 large format panels, a collection of smaller works including some sculptures and artifacts, and a companion guide. Beloved […]

“Since 2009, Blue Ridge Pride has selected an organization to receive funds through its community grant process in an effort to build and support resources available to the LGBTQ community,” says a recent press release. Continuing with its mission to “Advocate. Celebrate. Educate,” Blue Ridge Pride has posted its Community Grant Application and interested organizations […]

Register by Friday, August 30 for a Mandala workshop, held at the Asheville Art Museum. The class takes place on Friday, Sept. 6, noon-2 p.m. $40 Museum members / $55 non-members. Members register here: http://www.ashevilleart.org/products-page/event-tickets/mandala-today-workshop-member-ticket/ Non-members register here: http://www.ashevilleart.org/products-page/event-tickets/mandala-today-workshop-non-member-ticket/ From a press release: Using common materials such as paper, colored pencils and markers, this personal […]

The Sunday Jazz Showcase at Isis music hall in West Asheville is an ongoing series. It started, appropriately, on New Year’s Day. Its first shows used the upstairs lounge at Isis, a small but elegant space with a bar, a piano and an understated suave. But Bares was thinking bigger: By early February a piano […]

Local guitarist/Ahleuchatistas member Shane Perlowin brings his Open Letter Music Series to the Double Crown (375 Haywood Rd., West Asheville) on Mondays in August. 7-9 p.m. From a press release: Every Monday in August at the Double Crown will feature new and experimental jazz coming out of Asheville. The concerts will be from 7-9pm. Century […]

Athens, Ga.-based psychedelic rock band New Madrid is set to play Broadway’s on Friday, Aug. 23. Local acts The Hermit Kings and Doc Aquatic share the bill. “New Madrid recently signed to Normaltown Records, the imprint of esteemed New West Records (Steve Earle, The Whigs, Ponderosa), and has just finalized their sophomore album at Chase […]