Banjo player Nic Coker from the Swannanoa-based country swing band The Screech Owl Serenade was catching the final hours of hassle-free downtown busking on Thursday, as the city transformed itself for Bele Chere. Here, he performs an instrumental version of traditional tune “Bully of the Town.”
With their high-voltage style, musical saw and general whimsy, novelty jazz band Blind Boy Chocolate and the Milk Sheiks may be one of the most easily recognized bands in Asheville’s street music scene. Here, the group perform their version of the Mississippi Mud Steppers’ tune “Jackson Stomp.”
Even the best performers and athletes can get a little performance anxiety. That’s as true for people as it is for Bele Chere favorites the Ultimate Air Dogs, as this video proves.
People watching plus photography plus a snarky list of targets equals the best Bele Chere photo scavenger hunt of all time.
There was something approaching a reunion of the gone-but-not-forgotten 90’s epoch Asheville band The Spoonbenders on the streets of downtown over the weekend, as Isaac Alexander Johnson and Jim Barton busked in front of the BB&T Building. Although significant cajoling couldn’t convince them to perform one of their older tunes, Barton (on acoustic bass guitar) joined in on an unrehearsed version of Johnson’s tune “The Highway Song.” Let’s have a listen.
Every so often, a downtown busking group really sink their teeth into what they’re playing and give a truly memorable performance. And that’s exactly what happened here, when Asheville-based singer/songwriter Taylor Martin and fiddle-player Lyndsay Pruitt performed Martin’s original tune “Devil’s in the Barroom” on Pack Square on Friday evening.
This week, we post videos that ask, and then answer, a few simple questions. Aggressive bellydancing, running commentary, epic craft events, old-school Asheville music and local musical icons all make an appearance in this week’s roundup.
Having a bit of a low Sunday? If so, here’s a tune just for you. It’s “Lonely Sunday”, written by local singer/songwriter Nathan Taylor and performed with fiddler Darin Gentry on Pack Square last week.
Local singer/songwriter PJ Bond and Sirius.B’s musical saw player Lauren Baker performed this tune in front of Kim’s Wigs in the Miles Building in downtown Asheville to a small, enthralled crowd on Friday night.
Last week, the Xpressstaff was all in a tizzy thanks to a performance by Lyric (aka Leeda September Jones), but weren’t quite able to get a recording of the young songwriter and her band. Luckily for the rest of us, Lyric is no stranger to the downtown busking scene. Here she is performing her song “Blue Skies” on Pack Square.
Listening to how neatly the members of The Leather Britches fit together as performers, you’d be hard-pressed to guess that the group had only been playing together under that name for the better part of an afternoon. Composed of four friends who came to Asheville for the Swannanoa Gathering, the group is: Nick DiSebastian (guitar) and Charles Muench (bass) — both of the band River Wheel — Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle) and Jen Starsinic (fiddle). Here, the quartet perform the cross-genre standard “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor.”
In this week’s roundup, we catch some local BMX action, mellow out with an artsy yoga video, take a refresher course in didgeridoo sounds, check out Asheville through an iPhone lens and hear a quick tune by Tony Wain.
While Billy Joe Shaver has been influencing outlaw country music for nearly four decades, many younger listeners became introduced to his music when his tune “Warrior Man” was used as the theme to the Adult Swim cartoon Squidbillies. How influential was that theme song? Just ask buskers Obie Quiet, Ignorant and Captain Ahab, who performed their cover of the tune near Pritchard Park earlier this week. If you like what you hear, be forewarned that the trio lack any kind of Web presence, so your best bet to hear them live is to wander aimlessly on the streets of Asheville. Just a word of warning, though: The song is just a touch not safe for work.
Although he’s busked on streets from Austin to New Orleans, F.J.K. has been hanging out in Asheville for the last few weeks. Here’s his tune “If You End Up Broke” recorded live in front of Malaprop’s earlier this week.
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Ashton and Rama Cheromaya are hardly strangers to the local busking scene, having passed through town regularly for the last several years. Although not Asheville residents, the couple claim that the city is their “base in the Southeast,” and opted to perform their original tune “Mayan Queen” for their Busk Break debut.
In this week’s roundup: A hike at the North Carolina Arboretum, a foggy ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, ice cream for dogs, questionable art history and a glimpse at Shindig on the Green.
While he wasn’t too forthcoming with his full name, traveling Dobro player Dustin was more than happy to perform his original tune “Caroline” for Busk Break. Like what you hear, and want more? Sorry to disappoint, but Dustin claims he doesn’t have an online musical presence yet, has no downloadable tracks and is merely passing through town. This may well be your only chance to hear him in action.
Informal busking groups are commonplace on the streets of downtown Asheville during the summer, and these short-lived bands can make for some very interesting, now-or-never listening experiences. Here’s the pickup group of Elie Herzog (vocals, bass), Eric Merchant (guitar, vocals) and Erica Schinasi (violin) performing the cross-genre standard “Hesitation Blues.”
In this week’s roundup, we get a first-person view of biking Bent Creek, check out a 48 Hour Film Project submission, watch samples of a dance interpretation of Alice In Wonderland, see some very dedicated hula-hoopers and remark on the lasting legacy of one of John Lennon’s most beloved songs.
Busker and mental health activist Tommy Edwards. The song is called “Hitchhiker.” Now with video!
