“At dance clubs and private parties in northern Mali, Imarhan Timbuktu [Those Who Love Timbuktu] had provided much of the grooving soundtrack to life over the past 10 years,” according to the band’s bio. That party was interrupted by the arrival of political turmoil in the band’s homeland — conflict that drove group members to […]

“For centuries — literally — folks have been following the French Broad River into Madison County to hear the finest in traditional music,” says the Madison County Arts Council in a press release. The tradition continues at the eighth annual Fiddlers of Madison County event to benefit the arts council. This year’s show features regional […]

After a journalism career with stories in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (among others), Asheville-based writer Denise Keirnan turned her attention to the Southeast. Her 2013 book, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, examines the lives of the women (many […]

Songwriter and musician Johnny Neel is probably best-known for his work with Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman. Thanks to those relationships, in 1989, Neel was invited to join The Allman Brothers Band. In addition to touring with that group, Neel also lent his other skills: He co-wrote the Allman Brothers' 1990 hit single "Good Clean […]

Folk duo The Everydays (David Zoll and Tim Marsh) are, between them, members of local groups like Bayou Diesel, Chalwa and Asheville Horns. Together, they've opened shows for Malcolm Holcombe, Red June and others. That's why it's kind of fitting when The Everydays got ready to release their new, self-titled album, Red June guitarist and […]

There's more than a catchy rhyme at play when it comes to the band name of this Czech trio (Vash Havelka on vocals and guitar, Mira Syrny on bass and Jan Svacina on drums). According to a press release, the group's "indomitable and deep-seated spirit of adventure and keen desire to place themselves firmly in […]

You’ve gotta hand it to a cartoon series that made it fun to sing about adverbs. Thanks to that Saturday morning staple, Schoolhouse Rock!, children of the ’70s know what a conjunction is and how a bill becomes a law. For those in need of a refresher (or born in decades that lacked such academic […]

Singer-songwriter Callaghan left London in 2010 to record her debut album with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins — a collaboration that began with a MySpace message. Since her move to the States, Callaghan has been touring heavily in support of that album, titled Life in Full Colour. Her style combines folk, pop and country influences to create […]

Vampires in the Lemon Grove is not your average collection of short stories. From the title tale, about a pair of immortal beings who quench their thirsts with fresh fruit, the book establishes itself as wonderfully weird. While not all of the eight stories are quite as engaging as that of the vampires (or the […]

The Squirm Burpee Circus is a cartoony, over-the-top “vaudevillian melodrama” complete with slapstick comedy, daredevil juggling and a host by the name of Baron Vegan von Hamburger. According to a press release, “the show features an eye-catching cast and a beautiful, Cirque du Soleil-like aesthetic, with high-energy acts such as the Human Cannon, the Ladder […]

It's not every rapper who's honored with a bobblehead likeness. Then again, Blowfly (aka Clarence Reid) is not just any rapper. Performing in a cape, mask and yards of gold lamé, he is known as a triple-X-rated funk legend. Following a career as a soul and R&B recording artist, Reid donned his alter ego and […]

Arooj Aftab is one of Pakistan’s few female guitarists. She’s also one of NPR’s top 100 composers under 40, founder of Rebuild Pakistan — an initiative that began in response to the 2012 Pakistan flood crisis in — and she’s the assistant editor for MTV’s Rebel Music Series. If her credentials aren’t already enough of […]

“Take everything you think you know about country music and throw it out the window,” wrote one reviewer. “That pop rock crap y’all call country is nothing compared to what Rachel Brooke is laying down.” Based in northern Michigan, Brooke grew up with bluegrass fans for parents. Meanwhile, she played in a punk band. Somehow […]

Brooklyn-born, Asheville-based vocalist and composer Serpentine Arborvitae once said in an interview that she used to listen to early jazz and learn all the horn parts. Not that she plays horn, but her vocal — at turns rounded with longing and knife-sharp with power — is wielded like a brass instrument. After turning her attention […]

Subjects of past TED talks have covered all manner of business, art, technology and philosophy. CEOs, inventors, brainy fashion models and precocious kids have all presented unique thinking. Taking it one step further, the theme for this week's TEDxUNCAsheville is rethinking. "Topics include the parable of the pan, rethinking community gardening and activism, techniques for […]

"Get off the Internet and go see a rock show," says the Facebook bio of Athens-by-way-of-Nashville trio The Whigs. It's especially good advice if the show in question is a Whigs show. Julian Dorio, Parker Gispert and Timothy Deaux perform like men on fire. Men who really like being on fire. And, though they've put […]

"It may be cold outside, but the show is hot, hot, hot," says a press release for Asheville Vaudeville. The local variety show brings an array of new and original works to the stage. Performers include Madison J. Cripps (puppeteer), Sneaky McFly (magic/fire), Keith Shubert of Toybox Theatre (puppeteer), Sadye Osterloh (trapeze artist), Rigel 7 […]

There’s a lot to admire about Detroit’s Koffin Kats. They started out playing for beer. Like true troubadours, they took their show on the road full time. They write songs about sci-fi subject matter and real-world atrocities. And, though the band’s namesake, Tommy Koffin, has left the lineup “to pursue a normal life,” the remaining […]

Dirty laundry is at the center of the Sarah Ruhl-penned comedy, The Clean House. The “comic and surreal theater piece blends fantasy and reality to integrate conflicts of gender, class and the true nature of love,” says a press release about the show. It will launch the fourth season of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective. […]