Folk trio The Stray Birds was born out of two of its members’ travels — Maya de Vitry busking her way across Europe and Oliver Craven traversing the U.S. as vocalist/guitarist/fiddler for Adrienne Young. Bassist Charles Muench rounds out the group. According to the group’s bio, "Often singing into a single microphone, their sound is […]

If you're a fan of Cajun music, then south Louisiana-based Lost Bayou Ramblers (with its fiddle, standup bass and French vocabulary) are an easy sell. If you're not of fan of Franco-Americana, the relentless two-step beat or the omnipresent accordion, Lost Bayou Ramblers may still be for you. They were nominated for a Grammy Award […]

Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance's summer show is the one-weekend-only Many Deaths of Edward Gorey, and Other Moments of Eccentricity. The Gorey part of the performance was first staged in 2007 and tells, in macabre-tinged costume and movement, the tale of the American writer and illustrator known for works like The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Gorey was also […]

In the fall of 2010, NPR's Bob Boilen called Chapel Hill's Lost in the Trees his "favorite new band of 2010." Asheville had already discovered the group more than a year earlier, during a summer '09 show at BoBo Gallery in which the sprawling band (maybe six members at the time) spilled first into the […]

East Bay, Calif.-based power-punk duo Street Eaters (Megan March and John No) say "There is no one else in the band, and there won't be in the future." But two is plenty — she plays the drums, he plays the bass, they both write and sing. Actually, they kind of shout-sing while whipping their instruments […]

S.C.-born blues keyboardist Sammie Moore may have earned his stage name, Ironing Board Sam, because, according to his bio, he "designs and sews his own intricate stage costumes." He's also invented a baby bottle holder, a button keyboard and can "produce free electricity for an entire apartment complex with a machine that has only five […]

Not that many people are OK with a status of “decent” when it comes to romantic prowess. However, the claim that "Elijah Wyman is a Decent Lover" is proudly displayed on the Facebook page of Wyman's indie-pop band, The Decent Lovers. Even better, the group (which sometimes includes Wyman's BFF/collaborator Jason Rozen) has included a […]

Local acoustic trio Red June (think old-time, bluegrass, roots rock and traditional country influences with three-part harmonies) has been making a name for itself, playing three days at this year's MerleFest and opening for Steep Canyon Rangers last month. The band (Will Straughan, John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Weinstein) has also been hard at work […]

Born John Michael Dexter Romweber, under the sign of Gemini, the rockabilly-roots musician currently known as Dex got his start in Chapel Hill two-piece Flat Duo Jets. That band, and Romweber specifically, "was and is a huge influence on my music,” Jack White said in the 2006 documentary, Two Headed Cow. Still a fan of […]

This ride involves, as its vehicle, not a fairy godmother-transformed-pumpkin carriage or a magic carpet, but two pianos. David Troy Francis (Memphis-born recording artist for films like Pursuit of Happyness, Elegy and the remake of Fame) and Asheville-based Daniel Weiser (artistic director of Classicopia) put on a four-hand concert. So, instead of dueling pianos, this […]

The inaugural Asheville Percussion Festival taps, slaps, kicks and rolls its way into the Odyssey School's Creative Technology and Art Center for a weekend of performance and instruction. The festival's theme is "Tradition to Innovation" and the mission, say organizers, "is to provide a creative environment where percussionists of all traditions gather to explore, create […]

If indie-rock, hula-hoops, glow-sticks and sound systems don't figure into your ideal sort of festival, then the Bluff Mountain Festival might be more your speed. The annual music gathering is all about the region's best traditional old-time and bluegrass acts (including the Orpheus Supertones, pictured), ballad singers and cloggers, along with an evening square dance […]

Called "the Salvador Dali of folk music," Seattle-based musician Baby Gramps blends rags, jazz and vintage blues with originals, throat singing and palindromes. He's toured as part of the Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys CD Concert Tour, which included musicians like Marianne Faithful, Lou Reed and Suzanne Vega (not to mention that […]

Folk rockers Wilhelm McKay takes its band name, conveniently, from the band members’ names — singer-songwriters/drummers/guitarists Chris Wilhelm and Liam McKay (who perform with cellist Cristof Ensslin). Separately, Wilhelm has already released four studio albums, as has McKay. Together, they combine their various influences (Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson). According to […]

"Zach is back!" reads a press release from local singer-songwriter Zach Blew, who has been living in Chicago for the past two years. But he's not only returned, he comes bearing new music — an "all-vocal, all-a capella, R&B/electronica EP" called Voicebox. (If you've watched the TV show The Sing Off, you have some idea […]

Ironically, the musical production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee might not be appropriate for some children. It gets a PG-13 rating due to some adult language, and a song about an erection. But, hey, even though it’s a show about, according to press, “six young people in the throes of puberty [who] […]

Proving. Grounds is the new collection of images by local music/events/fashion photographer Micah Mackenzie. "I had a dream to see Asheville as the new Paris. With this collaboration, we are on our way,” says Mackenzie, who collaborated with local designers R. Brooke Priddy (Ship to Shore) and Danielle Miller (Royal Peasantry). The three artists worked on […]

Local used bookstore and Lexington Avenue staple Downtown Books & News is having a birthday. The shop is a Gemini. Or maybe a Cancer. Doesn’t matter — the anniversary (its 24th) lasts the entire month of June. Events kick off on Friday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. with an evening of acoustic music provided by […]

Alejandro Escovedo’s career dates back to first-wave punk band The Nuns (San Francisco, circa 1975 — the same year the Sex Pistols got their start in London). By the '80s, he had relocated to Austin, Texas, where he joined cow-punk outfit Rank and File, a precursor to many of today's roots-rock acts. Escovedo's solo career […]

Winner of the 2009 San Francisco Comedy Competition, Tom Simmons' material ranges from his own young son to grocery shopping to politics. “I’m a likable misanthrope, a contrarian who believes we are doing it all wrong. And it’s just fun pointing that out through jokes,” he says in his bio. He's kind of a lovable […]

While the upcoming Decline of WNC show isn't necessarily the one to which you'd bring your visiting-from-out-of-town-Mary-Kay-saleswoman-of-the-quarter-Aunt-Betty, it's still a show with a lot of heart. Four bands perform a benefit for beleagured West Asheville venue The Get Down. The lineup includes B.F.O. ('90s Asheville alt-rockers Biltmore Forest Overdrive), Maggie Valley-based metal group Vic Crown, […]