The Resonant Rogues journey through a variety of folk traditions. With their band, Asheville songwriters Keith Smith (guitar, percussion, vocals) and Sparrow Pants (accordion, banjo, vocals) blend Balkan, klezmer and Gypsy music with hot jazz and old-time mountain standards. The adventurous group will take these roots music explorations across the country this summer, on a […]

Who didn't get pumped up by "Pumped Up Kicks," that viral dance song by L.A.-based pop band Foster the People? The trio was formed by Mark Foster, who found little success as a commercial jingle writer but reached No. 1 on the Billboard alternative chart with that single from Foster the People's 2011 debut, Torches. […]

There's a pretty romantic story behind folk rock duo The Whispering Tree: classically trained vocalist Eleanor Kleiner and French bassist Elie Brangbour met at music school in London and decided to not just take their show on the road, but around the world. Their 2010 debut, Go Call The Captain, was influenced by their globe […]

The second in this summer's RiverLink RiverMusic free concert series is set for Friday, June 14, beginning at 5 p.m. High-energy Americana act The David Mayfield Parade headlines. Mayfield last played Asheville in December 2012 at The Grey Eagle, sharing the bill with his sister, Jessica Lee Mayfield. Earlier in the year, he played at […]

Border collies, bagpipes, Irish dance, kilts and plenty of microbrew: The WNC Highlands Celtic Festival returns for the fourth year. Celtic food and vendors, pipes and drums and plenty of music fill the weekend. The entertainment lineup includes Albannach (pictured), Rathkeltair, Cutthroat Shamrock and Marcille Wallis & Friends among others. The festival also highlights the […]

Siblings Jens (banjo, harmony vocals) and Uwe Kruger (guitar, lead and harmony vocals) began their musical career in their homeland of Switzerland, but since it was American folk music (specifically that of Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs and Bill Monroe) they were drawn to, the Krugers relocated to N.C. With native-New Yorker/brother-from-another-mother Joel Landsberg (bass, […]

The Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce puts on what some say is the most popular barbecue festival in the U.S. And while that claim (like all things to do with 'cue) is sure to be hotly contested, the annual Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival (at Harmon Field in Tryon) certainly has something for pretty […]

The May-to-December album collaboration is far more interesting than the May-to-December romance. Though, like the latter, the former tends to spawn something unexpected and thought-provoking and not necessarily long-lasting. Think Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. David Byrne and St. Vincent (the stage name of Annie Clark) met at an '09 Radio City Music Hall benefit […]

Nashville-based Night Beds recently released Country Sleep, the band's debut full-length. Singer-songwriter Winston Yellen says it's the group’s first album out on a label but, “It doesn't put a stamp on anything, as far as a beginning. It just kind of feels like another step." The atmospheric-yet-sparse collection is stunningly pretty and emotionally intense — […]

Ahleuchatistas’ music is something akin to sonic parkour, a race of immense speed and skill, physical prowess, mental fortitude and ninja-like reflexes. It's also about the onstage symbiosis of Shane Perlowin (guitar) and Ryan Oslance (percussion), a duo refined and synthesized over a decade of experimentation, exploration, touring and recording. Asheville has known this band […]

Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre and White Dog Dance Project International are set to stage The Decent Women of Calle 58, "Inspired by the exhibit by social anthropologist Christian Rasmussen and his 22 interviews of sex servers." Artistic director Susan Collard "wanted to focus on the humanity of these women’s stories, putting them in intimate settings […]

String and bluegrass bands take over Pisgah Brewing Company, and the lineup — though steeped in tradition — boasts some new configurations. Namely, the collaboration between singer-songwriter Keller Williams and The Travelin' McCourys (the backing band for guitarist/vocalist Del McCoury). Williams released Pick with The Travelin' McCourys to instant acclaim; this will be the first […]

Local rockers Elijah Hooker (vocalist Caleb Johnson, drummer Frank Skulski, Wade Wilson on bass, guitarist Josh Sawyer and Brian Turner on keys) claims that their "sole purpose is to spread the gospel of hard rock ‘n’ roll to the masses." Which, for a band, is a worthy purpose to have. The quintet is set to […]

More than a year after a weekend-long film shoot at the Masonic Temple wrapped on Ben Lovett's Black Curtain, the music video/short film is set to screen during a night of live music performances at Isis. A preview of the lush, dramatic video reveals a slick, professional work of art. But it's also rife with […]

It was during a 2006 interview that singer-songwriter Dave Desmelik revealed his plan to someday release an instrumental album. The time has finally come, in the form of Instrumental Swim, the musician's new 16-song collection. Tracks range from poignant ("A Short Walk on South Leroux Street) to lush ("Waiting"), with layers of guitars, harmonica and […]

The Pure Heart Ensemble is the quintet of local visionary composers and musicians Richard Shulman, Adriana Contino, Kate Steinbeck, Dielle Ciesco and Bob Hinkle. The group has just released Bliss of Being, "a deeply relaxing and expansive music to dive into for your natural inner alignment," according to press. It's a collaborative work of piano, […]

Electronic/metal band Kings of Prussia got its start in Miami before relocating to Asheville in '06. According to the group’s bio, "The band’s show covers a wide range of territory, with beautiful melodic structures and movements intertwined with thrashing heavy explosiveness, an intricate visual display and lighting show and distinctly original artistic style." Kings of […]

"Ziggy played guitar / jamming good with Weird and Gilly / and the Spiders from Mars." We can't say for sure who, in this David Bowie tribute lineup, is Weird or Gilly or the Spiders from Mars, but we have it on good authority that Cheeksters frontman Mark Casson will be channeling Mr. Stardust himself. […]

The Bus Driver Tour is not actually a musical project featuring those long-suffering schleppers of school children. It's the collaboration of three songwriters (Danny Freund, Ian Thomas and Paul Lee Kupfer) who met on the road and, according to their bio, "shared a common code of living that would find them around campfires late at […]

Americana Burlesque & Sideshow Festival returns for the seventh year and, as press for the event boasts, "neo-Burlesque is only getting bigger." The Friday-Sunday, May 24-26 weekend-long extravaganza is dedicated to empowerment, innovation and information. There are also shopping opportunities, sideshow acts and a Friday Night Speakeasy (at The Grey Eagle, 8 and 10:30 p.m., […]