Yahoo, it's the middle of summer and prime Downtown After Five time. The next show in the free (free!) series kicks off Friday, July 17, with a lineup that ranges from gritty-blues-rock to local quirk-folk. Coverin' all the bases, they are. The show starts at 5:15 p.m. (though you can come right after 5, if […]

Walking from midtown (the nickname I've tried and failed to give the land between Merrimon and Broadway, but it never catches) to downtown has gotten a lot different over the years. Used to be, you'd walk past punk/art houses and under the blandy I-240 overpass into what was really just prime hobo territory. Now you've […]

Frigid January weather couldn't sway the legions of dedicated music lovers who checked out the four-day, 30+ band's worth of pop glory that was this year's POPAsheville. LaZoom shuttled the fans around (complete with bus-worthy musical entertainment), and by all accounts, the indie pop festival was a wild success. And while that kind of cold […]

Here's the set-up for A Beautiful View, now running in repertory at N.C. Stage, according to the show's press: L and M meet in a camping-goods store. Their tentative friendship seems doomed to fail before it begins, each with preconceived notions about the other. Rather than hurt each other's feelings, they have a drink. Their […]

In the wake of the Asheville Area Arts Council cancelling its annual color ball (its signature fundraising event for the past eight years), another group has stepped in to give Asheville a different colored ball. Well, accurately, it would be called an absence of color ball. Regardless, it’s a rogue art party gala: The Asheville […]

Don’t be daunted by the size and labyrinthian layout of Phil Mechanic Studios. Most days, the doors are open and many artists eager for visitors. And along with the regular 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday hours, there are aplenty of other programs happening at the building. Flood gallery (a contemporary art gallery […]