“It has come to my attention that a lot of people think that Menage has quit,” writes Mary Ellen Bush, bassist for the popular folk-rock group. Bush, whose projects of the past year also include old-time band The PitchSlickers and jazz group The Sireens, wants to dispel that myth. Menage hasn’t quit—the band will play […]

Two venues, two stages, 20 acts: Here’s what to know about Asheville’s first electronic music summit. Breakbeat livetronica group Pnuma trio plays Tron-A-Thon on Friday night. • The lineup is stellar. If you missed Eliot Lipp on his recent trip to town, or on his recent tour with Sound Tribe Sector 9, you can catch […]

For starters, a couple of Orange Peel alums are returning to the live music fray, and none too soon. Jack and Lesley Groetsch, who formerly managed the venue, have announced their new venture in the former Old Europe space (corner of Lexington and Walnut). Orange Peel house photographer Jon Leidel recently earned a national award […]

It’s that time of year, time for the bluebirds to sing, the daffodils to sprout and the Blue Ridge Rollergirls to beat the loving hell out of their opponents. To better get to know our local gals, clip and save these handy trading cards and keep ‘em all season long. Download super rad Rollergirls trading […]

It seems that two of Asheville’s most-loved bands won’t be existing in the forms we’ve known them. Reports indicate that the Barrel House Mamas and Bandazian have disbanded. Both the sultry Mamas and the pop-wunderkinds Bandazian were seemingly at their prime—the Mamas developing a significant regional fan base, and Bandazian releasing O Pioneer last fall. […]

Sad for us, good for them: Electro-anthem dance-partiers EAR PWR play their Asheville finale at BoBo on Friday, March 13. While our claim on the band is now tenuous (Devin Booze graduates from UNCA’s music technology program in May, and Booze and PWR duo-mate Sarah Reynolds are moving to Baltimore), we’ll take what we can […]

The news spread faster than a drunken two-step: That longtime Black Mountain institution the Town Pump tavern was for sale. What would happen to the historic bar and community gathering spot? Town Pump changing hands: It seems fitting that the Xpress file photo of the decades-old tavern was undated and sepia-toned. “Maybe it’ll get cleaned,” […]

You can’t help but notice it when driving across the Smokey Park Bridge into Asheville: A bright wall of color in the middle of the River District’s industrial landscape. It started when local guerrilla outfit Eyesore Studios asked about filming a graffiti-writing scene on one of the property’s old silos. Modernist developer Whit Rylee gave […]