From Oaxaca to Asheville: Photographer Henry Stindt traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico to capture the festivals and ceremonies that make that region unique. A closing reception for his exhibit, The Mestizo Spirit, will be held in Brevard College's Spiers Gallery on Friday, Feb. 22 Not so funny? Cartoons have a way of boiling cultures down to […]

Modesty’s the best policy: Local post-rock quintet Fictions claim to "make a lot of noise and the occasional song or two," but the band's atmospheric slow burners have a mounting intensity reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky's "cathartic mini-symphonies." Fictions plays The LAB's back room on Friday, Feb. 22. Behind the Mic Asheville FM hosts […]

The romance really heats up the weekend after Valentine's Day — that's when the Spanish dance and music company Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana makes a two-night stop at Diana Wortham Theatre. "Through the dynamic expression of dance, influences can be seen and heard from Africa, the Americas and the Middle East," says press for the […]

Centralia, the new release by Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago drone duo Mountains, is described as the band's most fully realized to date. The sound of the twosome (Koen Holtkamp and Brendon Anderegg) is "defined by slow builds and subtle transformations, textures and melodic lines that evolve in a variety of ways to create grand soundscapes and acutely detailed […]

After 10 years, the jazz-prog-trance-R&B band known affectionately as PGroove is about to be a bit less perpetual. The quartet (Brock Butler on guitar and vocals, bassist Adam Perry, Matthew McDonald on keys and vocals and drummer Albert Suttle) from Athens, Ga., recently announced an extended hiatus, which makes their Saturday, Feb. 23 show at […]

Even though she now lives in New York, singer-songwriter Tift Merritt says she'll always consider herself a North Carolina musician. "The only thing that's more formative in my life than North Carolina is my family," she tells Xpress. And, while Merritt's most recent album is called Traveling Alone, it's a theme, not a touring reality. […]

Photo by Andy Tennille Patterson Hood (of the Drive-By Truckers) says, in his bio, that he likes writing on the road, though it's hard to finish songs amid the distractions. So, he decided to write a book (which was to be called Slam Dancing in the Pews). But, in the process of writing that, he […]

Now in its 18th year, the annual Bluegrass First Class weekend event features performers like Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Lawson is pictured here), Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out and many others — including The Bluegrass Album Band, making its first appearance in 23 years. Doors open at noon on […]

Take the plunge: More than 125 brave souls will don costumes and jump into the Asheville Racquet Club's icy outdoor pool to raise funds for Meals on Wheels on Saturday, Feb. 16. Photo by Max Cooper Riddle me this: RiddleFest, a celebration of mountain life in story and song, returns to Burnsville with a keynote […]

A Frank by any other name: Black Francis is the dark and gritty solo project of Charles Thompson IV, best known as The Pixies' frontman Frank Black (his most-used pseudonym, among many). The highly influential songwriter visits Asheville for a show at The Grey Eagle on Saturday, Feb. 16. Photo by Andy Tennille Different side […]

Photo by Mark Haskett Mountain Xpress announces the Local Matters Book Club, in partnership with Malaprop's Bookstore & Café. The readers' group will focus on works of fiction written by local and regional authors and/or with Western North Carolina themes. Each book selection will be by an author scheduled to read at Malaprop's — such […]

In case your your faithful canine has been like, "What, the dog park again? Why can't we ever go to a movie or a play?" Bark! (a musical, no less) is here. OK, the show — staged at Asheville Community Theatre — is not really for furry friends, but for the people who love them. […]