Since it was announced last month, Actionfest has hit Asheville with the impact of one of Chuck Norris' stunning roundhouse kicks. Except instead of bringing a world of pain, it's brought a world of anticipation to local fans of adrenaline-fueled cinema. Billed as the world's first film festival devoted exclusively to action, the four-day event […]

The circus is coming to town. But this isn't Barnum & Bailey. The Runaway Circus and the Loose Caboose performance troupe is a homegrown Asheville ensemble that incorporates "anything from unicycling to juggling to trapeze to acrobatics to slapstick, belly dancing and magic," says organizer/performer-extraordinaire Ingrid Johnson. "There's a lot of heart and soul involved, […]

Asheville's venues, promoters and festivals deserve much of the credit for fueling the local electronic music explosion. What started out as the soundtrack of private house parties and informal gatherings can now be heard almost any night of the week at downtown clubs such as Emerald Lounge, Club 828 (formerly Nashwa), Hookah Joe's, BoBo Gallery, […]

"What you niggas know about the Dirty South?" asks the refrain of Goodie Mob's seminal, term-coining 1995 single "Dirty South." In the mid-'90s, the question piqued the interest of listeners across the country tired of mainstream rap's obsession with Los Angeles and New York ,and the beef between Tupac and Biggie. Soon, along with fellow […]

At a recent show at Club 828, A.D. (Akamai Drone) performed a set of arena-worthy electro-industrial art-rock that far outmatched the small crowd lucky enough to bear witness. The brainchild of local musician/singer/producer extraordinaire Christian Imes (formerly a member of oddSTAR), the band has been operating under the local radar for a couple years now, […]

One of the more novel acts to emerge on the national scene in recent years, Matisyahu draws inspiration from his practice of Judaism and channels it into accessible songs about the human struggle for hope, peace and understanding. The traditionally clad Hasidic reggae singer, songwriter and rapper spawned a media frenzy in 2006 with his […]

Three years since their last performance together and 10 years since the release of their much celebrated album, Eat at Joe's, local legends The Blue Rags are reuniting this weekend to revive their trademark brand of 'rag 'n' roll' with a pair of shows at the Grey Eagle and the LAAFF festival. "We want to […]

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, ongoing war and perhaps even more disturbingly, a national media frenzy over the untimely death of Michael Jackson — it's enough to bring anyone down. However, if laughter truly is the best medicine, Asheville is a good place to be these days. The town might not yet […]

Cary Fridley was steeped in music as a child, studied music in graduate school, worked as a music teacher and played professionally in bands for more than a decade. But when it came to writing her first album of original songs, she did things the old-fashioned way: She sang to herself in the shower. Naturally […]