Americana heirs Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (off-stage spouses/members of The Guthrie Family Rides Again with her dad, Arlo Guthrie/children's music makers/band in their own right) used to live just down the road in South Carolina. Now they're based in Massachusetts, but they're heading back South for a handful of select shows in support […]

David Earl Tomlinson describes his sound as "amphetamine folk," though new songs posted on his ReverbNation page have plenty of slow-burn rock, too. Tomlinson's band, David Earl and the Plowshares, made a name for itself with the 2008 release Local Anesthesia. The group has since reformed with Soulgrass Rebellion's Silas Durocher on guitar and Chris […]

Avery County musician Billy Constable is known for his Appalachian approach to the banjo and for his contribution to such bands as Hypnotic Clambake, The Larry Keel Experience and Big Daddy Bluegrass Band. A recent brain tumor diagnosis has left Constable with considerable medical expenses, and like many professional musicians, he doesn't have insurance. To […]

Here's the back story: Three friends from Mars Hill College got together a year or so ago and formed a band, one which they describe as "rock with some progressive leanings and melancholic songwriting." Songs like "Five" and "Katydid" actually fall into crisp grooves and ring with haunting melody. The group — The Luxury Spirit […]

Musician, wellness advocate and educator Kristin Luna Ray returns with a new album, One Shared Heart, which features much-loved performers like Wah!, Girish, Alvin Young (Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band) and others. The songs on Heart, like on Ray’s last album, Where Heaven Meets the Earth, are informed by travel, mantras and deep […]

If you thought all the Bard could do was recite sonnets and soliloquies, here's a new take on the age-old playwright. Shakespeare Sings!, conceived by theatrical director Francis Cullinan, highlights "Shakespeare's words alongside famous operatic settings of Shakespeare by great composers … seamlessly weaving together spoken word with musical interpretations of such works as Romeo […]

Prog-electronic quartet Déjà Fuze formed in Buffalo one January, perhaps trying to get through the winter doldrums or to stay warm. Either way, the band (now based in Asheville) probably knows a thing or two about heating up a room. Or a set. "The four melody makers at the center of Déjà dial into each […]

"Whether one celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, yule or any other holiday, this will be the party to attend," promises illustration and pop culture art gallery/retail space ZaPow! Browse all things nerdy/geeky in comic book art and graphic toys while sipping Wee Heavier from French Broad Brewery (or fruit punch, if that's more your speed) and […]

Local electronic band Sonmi has been having a pretty great year, what with Bele Chere and Moogfest engagements. The instrumental outfit wraps up 2011 with one more local performance — this one as part of the RUN DMT show at the Asheville Music Hall. "RUN DMT began as an experiment in sonic debauchery in the […]

Singer/songwriter David Wilcox is an Asheville staple going back to the '90s when he played in Black Mountain's storied McDibbs, released his East Asheville Hardware album and his songs like "Eye of the Hurricane" were in heavy rotation. Though he's moved away from (and back to) the area, Wilcox's Thanksgiving shows are a thing of […]

Local music producer Andrew Schatzberg of Alive and Well Records (home of St. Solitude) decided last year to record a collection of his own songs (inspired by Radiohead, U2, Pink Floyd and Beck). After completing his album, Schatzberg took the brave next step, parlaying Worldline from the studio to the stage. The band plays its […]

Storytelling (the folk art variety, not the "dog ate my homework" variety) is an ancient and enduring form of entertainment, and it's just as viable now as it ever was. Which is why Tellabration!, held the weekend before Thanksgiving, is not just an annual event but an international celebration. Asheville joins the global telling of […]

L.A.'s eight-piece collective Breakestra is all about (by the band's own admission) "deep funk, good ol’ hip-hop breaks and psychedelic soul-jazz fever." And, the bio continues, a show entails "dancing and getting your wig flipped back by a non-stop throwdown." Breakestra formed from weekly jam sessions at a coffee shop called The Breaks, with founding […]

Bluegrass-influenced quartet The Bloodroots Barter may or may not actually live in the Kentucky cabin of a dead carpenter, with smoke wafting from the chimney and a deer hide tanning on the porch. Either way, that haunting, storied sound is what makes the self-described "voodoo grass" outfit so alluring. "If you thought that bluegrass music […]

It's that time of year again: Take the tux out of storage, re-pouff the crinoline and rent the limo — Prom!!! is back. The annual semi-ironic/semi-formal dance party fills the Grey Eagle with taffeta, hair spray and misplaced dreams. DJ Rob Castillo spins the dance tracks; slow jams come courtesy of Benji Hughes who, according […]

"After many years in the wilds of non-fiction, I've returned to my first love, short stories," reads the notice atop author Steve Almond’s website. His new book, God Bless America, is, according to the New York Times Book Review, "a meditation on the American Dream and its discontents. In his most ambitious collection yet, Steve […]

Cellos, feathers, corsets, punk-rock attitude, folkloric songs — this and more makes up dark cabaret trio Rasputina. The group is fronted by cellist/singer Melora Creager and recently added its first male cellist, Daniel DeJesus. Dawn Miceli rounds out the group on percussion. Rasputina returns to The Grey Eagle on Friday, Nov. 4. The Wilderness of […]

It's weird when you can say you've known someone for 20 years, or lived somewhere for 20 years, or did something 20 years ago. For jazz-fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood, that 20-year mark represents their career. To celebrate, they've been recording and releasing two tracks per month since March (there will be 20 in […]

In case you missed Kids These Days at Bele Chere (remember? the classically and jazz-trained musicians, ages 17-21, who filled in last-minute after Mambo Sauce dropped out?), here's another chance to see the Chicago-based collective. They bring their jazz, singer/songwriter and hip-hop-influenced sound to The Orange Peel on Friday, Nov. 4. Trombone Shorty & Orleans […]

Local roots-rockers Big Daddy Love have only been performing for the past two years, but fast friendships among the band members, well-crafted songs and a great mix of driving beats and supple Americana melodies make the group fan favorites. The band keeps busy with its "Love Bus Weekly" blog newsletter, and playing plenty of shows […]

Did you know that River Arts District theater The Magnetic Field hosts more than just plays? The Magnetic Music series brings (as the name suggests) music to the stage. Local Americana/roots/country/bluegrass act Dehlia Low, currently supporting new release Ravens and Crows (produced by the Infamous Stringdusters’ Travis Book) plays three shows: Wednesdays Nov. 2, 9 […]