The Cabbage School, which describes itself as a “rigorous skill based fool school,” takes inspiration from the rural craft school tradition and educational communities such as Rural Studio and Black Mountain College.
![](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AE-CabbageSchool-by-lydia.see014-330x264.jpg)
The Cabbage School, which describes itself as a “rigorous skill based fool school,” takes inspiration from the rural craft school tradition and educational communities such as Rural Studio and Black Mountain College.
“We always say, ‘It takes a village to run this place,’” says Amy Marshall, who owns the West Asheville venue with her partner, Tamy Kuper.
There’s typically a time limit for each presenter, and some open mics have a theme or a host to usher the evening along, but what happens in front of the microphone is, truly, wide open to possibility.
Betts, who completed his MFA in 2010, will return to Warren Wilson on Saturday, May 19, to give the commencement address to the school’s undergraduate class.
The spring festival — held Thursday, May 10, to Sunday, May 13 — features more then 20 percent women-led acts, including its headliners and the entire Lakeside main stage schedule for Friday.
Asheville-based writer Holly Amann has been named the winner of this year’s Xpress Poetry Contest. Writers were invited to submit work around the themes of sustainability, environmental awareness and/or reverence for nature.
Keats will conduct the Universal Orchestra at UNCA on Thursday, April 19. He’ll take part in a listening session at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center on Friday, April 20.
Panels discuss everything from the experience of women in media and entertainment fields to the process of turning a story into a song. Saturday night concludes with a superband made up of Ben Sollee, Big Chief Juan Pardo, Leeda “Lyric” Jones, Jaze Uries, Jacob Rodriguez and others.
Local poet Brook van der Linde was invited by by creative director Joel Vannfuller to join The Mermaids’ Song project, which deals with climate change and, specifically, with sea level rise.
“We wanted a video that bubbles darkly and tells the story of someone who is striving for a different life. A better life,” says Cliff B. Worsham of Spaceman Jones and The Motherships.
Abrianna Brown’s forthcoming album, Dysthymia, slated for a September release, focuses on themes of depression and anxiety. “It’s forced me to think about these topics that I don’t want to think about,” she admits.
Jesssica Kaufman met fifth-generation master artisan Anwar Khatri on the Batik Techniques Facebook group. He’s based in a small village in India’s Gujarat state, off the beaten path of tourism, with no hotels. So, Kaufman stayed with Khatri’s family.
Along with exhibitions, concerts, readings, dance performances and a ceramics sale, Arts Fest also offers installations and presentations aimed at engaging students and the broader Asheville community.
This year’s events, which take place Monday-Thursday, April 2-5, include writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and culminates in an event with Pulitzer, Emmy and Obie (among others) award-winning playwright Tony Kushner.
In advance of her May 5 EP release show at Isis Music Hall, Brie Capone shares her new video, a collaboration with Peter Brownlee.
“The way we do ensemble-created theater, the heart of what we do is being community-minded,” says Erinn Hartley of Anam Cara Theatre Company. “It’s hard to be in a city that claims to be all about that [but where] it no longer feels like that’s even tangible.”
The verses of the song, says musician Jared Hooker, describe the beauty and pitfalls of daydreaming
“There is nothing special about being white and male,” says Ryan Anderson. “In fact, it can be quite disgusting.”
In advance of its second EP, the duo shares a video filmed and edited by Erick Lottary aka Shotxlott.
The band is at work on the album ‘Love, Your Human,’ set to be release on Thursday, April 19.
Natural Born Leaders perform at The Orange Peel on Friday, Feb. 23, with Window Cat and Evil Note Lab.