While not every band creates the sort of fan base that follows it from state to state (The Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic make the shortlist) even fewer of those pied pipers can claim "an intense, retina-burning, intelligent light show creates an atmosphere unlike any other, assuring fans they’ll get a highly polished, yet […]

Yes, Christmas Day has come and gone. Unless you're counting the 12 days of Christmas. Or, if you're a literary type and are celebrating Dickensian-style, which can extend well before or past actual Christmas. Blue Ridge Bookfest prolongs the holiday season with Christmas with Dickens: A Victorian Dinner with Entertainment. The idea for an evening […]

Gurp City South artists (and San Francisco-by-way-of-Asheville musicians) Fist Fam return to their home turf for an end-of-year show. "Take two parts Carolina moonshine, one part San Francisco liquid acid, three parts four-track rap, and a pinch of ‘60s punk and you have the Fist Fam’s new record Posted," says press. Looking for new music? […]

You may have caught the episode of Portlandia where Fred and Carrie are being hounded by invites to DJ nights. This particular turntablist venure is not one to hide from. Adama Dembele, front man of local Afropop ensemble Zansa, spins music from the Ivory Coast. He'll trade off DJ sets with live performances by Zanza, […]

According to his bio, stand-up comic Seaton Smith is "a lover of bacon and beer. He applies a smooth charisma to a layer of explosive energy, topped off with unforgettable characters sure to permanently reside in your brain." He's charmed fans on YouTube, at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and at The […]

Need to kick start your Christmas spirit? Balladeer and storyteller Sheila Kay Adams (a seventh-generation ballad singer from Madison County) performs "an evening of Southern Appalachian Mountains Christmas stories, traditional ballads and music" at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial. The “Christmas On The Mountain” program draws from Adams' own childhood holidays and experiences growing up in […]

Local trip-hop outfit Paper Tiger announces its last show for 2011 — this is the one to make lest those 2012 predictions come true. (And even if the Mayans were wrong, why not close out this year in high style?) The Emerald Lounge show, on Saturday, Dec. 17, kicks off at 10 p.m. with producer […]

Though "Multi-cultural Holiday Concert & Celebration" may be a long title, it's sure to pack a wallop of fun. After all, the Monday, Dec. 19 "upbeat, innovative, whimsical family show" (held at the Diana Wortham Theatre) comes straight from the wacky and wonderful mind of Billy Jonas. Expect lots of found-object percussion (buckets, broom handles, […]

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 […]