Greensboro, N.C.-based Songs of Water describes its music as "a spiritual conversation of eclectic sounds and instrumentation." There's also talk of the fusion of ancient and modern, about acoustic grassroots jam sessions meeting classical training, jazz stylings and organic compositions. The eight-member band features the songwriting of Stephen Roach; it also includes Luke and Molly […]
Author: Xpress Staff
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Smart Bets: Thomas Wolfe Memorial furniture
If furniture is, to you, simply something under which dust bunnies breed, then the upcoming special program at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial might not be your thing. If, however, you've often wished armoires could talk and sideboards could reveal all the long-forgotten suppers over which they presided, then get thee to the Old Kentucky Home […]
Smart Bets: Robin Hood
"Sweeping adventure and diabolical villainy collide in this fast-paced swashbuckler," says Parkway Playhouse of its latest production, Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood. The new take on the famous archer-turned-outlaw tale is written by Jeff Douglas Messer (with Robert Akers), who also directs (with Andrew Gall) the production. Asheville Lyric Opera veteran Dominic Aquilino stars […]
Smart Bets: The Secret B-Sides and ArtOfficial
Local soul/funk/hip-hop outfit The Secret B-Sides headlines the One Stop stage on Thursday, Aug. 4, performing its brand of "flower-powered-future-soul for your earholes." They're joined on the bill by ArtOfficial, an underground hip-hop act from Miami. According to ArtOfficial's website, their "setup alone beckons the question, 'What does a live band with two emcees sound […]
Smart Bets: I Killed My Mother at NC Stage
Edgy, contemporary play I Killed My Mother opens at North Carolina Stage Company on Thursday, Aug. 4 (with complimentary tiramisu in the lobby on opening night). The production, by Theatre-Y, runs through Sunday, Aug. 7, with a talk-back with the actors after each performance. The Romanian play (playwright Andras Visky, with English translation by Alisha […]
Smart Bets: Djembefola Bolokada Conde
It's not every day you get to meet a West African djembefola (master drummer), but on Friday, Aug. 5, Bolokada Conde — a percussionist and performer from Guniea — will appear at Jubilee! He'll play with Asheville's Chikomo Marimba and the Skinny Beats Drum Crew at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, he'll do another show […]
Smart Bets: Sew Moe
Need another fashion fix this weekend? Moe Erin Donnelly (aka Sew Moe) shows a number of new pieces from her fall/winter collection during a gallery art opening for I Never Promised You a Rose Garden at Pump in the Phil Mechanic Studios. The show combines Sew Moe’s apparel design work with a brief fashion show. […]
Smart Bets: Gift of Gab at Mellow Mushroom
If you missed underground MC Gift of Gab last time he performed at Mellow Mushroom, you're in luck, the rapper returns on Thursday, July 28. California-based Gift of Gab is known for his work with Blackalicious and for his collaborations (check out his verse on local hip-hop artist Agent 23's Monkeywrench). He'll be supported by […]
Smart Bets: Seussical
Part Broadway musical, part Dr. Seuss send up, Seussical (on stage at The Parkway Playhouse from Thursday, July 28-Saturday, Aug. 6) is based loosley on Dr. Seuss' popular Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches an Egg. Characters from the Dr. Seuss repertoire, like the Grinch and Yertle the Turtle, make a showing and the […]
Smart Bets: Duncan Wickel at the White Horse
Billed as "an auspicious evening of masterful, innovative world jazz collaborations," Duncan Wickel's Saturday, July 23 show at the White Horse Black Mountain promises to be a heady evening. Asheville-born/Boston-based violinist Wickel, though barely old enough to be in the White Horse, is already a Berklee School of Music grad and a two-time Fletcher Bright […]
Smart Bets: Badman
According to the band's website, Badman "can be best described in three words, 'rock, reggae and dance.'" The group got its start in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; they boast hard-driving melodies and smooth guitar tones. Badman makes the trip to Asheville on Friday, July 22, sharing the stage at Emerald Lounge with local roots/reggae/soul project […]
Smart Bets: Pierce Edens at Jack Of the Wood
Local singer/songwriter Pierce Edens is best known for his hoarse, gravelly, smoke-booze-and-late-nights voice; that raw growl that makes every song an anthem. But Edens, along with fronting The Dirty Work, is also a fine guitarist, plays a mean harmonica and (if his album notes are anything to go by) likes to bang on Dumpsters, too. […]
Smart Bets: The New Orleans Bingo! Show
Before you get ahead of yourself, this is not the Bingo that involves daubers, cards and senior citizens (well, possibly the latter). Instead, The New Orleans Bingo! Show — born in the back of a French Quarter fried chicken shack — is "a thrilling phenomenon and one of the very finest entertainments on the theatrical […]
Smart Bets: Ashley McBryde
Having just dropped her new album, Elsebound, Memphis-based country artist Ashley McBryde hit the road for a Southeast tour. McBryde co-wrote every song on Elsebound, from the catchy "Break It Fast" to the gospel-turned-rocker of "Holy Water" (which opens with an earnest chorus of "Amazing Grace"). "Put her on a stage and you will see […]
Smart Bets: Hudson K
Knoxville trio Hudson K (fronted by singer/songwriter Christina Horn) describes itself as "eccentric anti-pop piano rock." What that means is it’s theatrical and entertaining while not veering too far into the surreal. Horn, a classically trained pianist, cut her teeth in Erick Baker's band before striking out on her own. Last year Hudson K released […]
Smart Bets: Ahleuchatistas
In case you've been wondering, Asheville-based math rock/prog rock/punk/jazz duo Ahleuchatistas takes its name from the melding of two words: The Charlie Parker song title "Ah-leu-cha" and Zapatista (as in the Mexican liberation movement). The band (Shane Perlowin on guitar, Ryan Oslance on drums) is rather like both: a composition of disparate and experimental forces. […]
Smart Bets: Gurp City South Presents
In case you missed the last “Gurp City South Presents” event at Emerald Lounge (it sold out early in the evening), the next hip-hop showcase, also at Emerald Lounge, is set for Saturday, July 16. Gurp City South represents regional hip-hop acts, like Foul Mouth Jerk, TopR, Fist Family, The Ville Boyz and Smidi — […]
Smart Bets: Witness for the Prosecution
"A wealthy widow is found murdered and a man stands accused. His only hope is the testimony of his wife, but she has some secrets of her own." No, it's not the season opener of Desperate Housewives, it's the 1925 short story, Witness for the Prosecution, by crime writer Agatha Christie, first staged as a […]
Smart Bets: Drunken Prayer
It's that time of year again: When Morgan Christopher Geer, former Asheville-based frontman of hard-driving The Merle and country noir The Unholy Trio, comes back into town and plays a number of shows. Those dates start out with Geer and his current Portland, Ore.-based project Drunken Prayer performing at Broadways. Expect a solo set followed […]
Smart Bets: Toubab Krewe
Now that local road warriors Toubab Krewe (the five-piece band that so seamlessly blends American and West African sounds) has mastered the festival circuit, it seems only fitting that they play Pisgah Brewing Company's recently expanded outdoor stage. The Saturday, July 9 show includes performances by The Secret B-Sides and Floating Action. 7 p.m., $12.50 […]
Smart Bets: Paris of the South Flea Market
It's been awhile since the Dreamland Flea Market was just a quick drive for local bargain hunters. But an even more wonderful world of kitsch, craft and ephemera is readying its vendor booths. The Paris of the South Flea Market holds a grand opening celebration at at 530 Lyman St., in the River Arts District, […]
