A Carol, a Jam and a freakshow

“There’s something special about the music that’s made when people know they’re doing it for charity and not getting paid,” says Warren Haynes, longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band,…

This year’s spooky production of A Christmas Carol is a Victorian vision quest set in malefic 19th-century London. At the foreboding Masonic Temple, the winter home for the Montford Park…

While its status as the “hap-happiest season of all” is debatable, the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve are easily in the running for the bus-busiest of all. But…

“As someone who is born different, and performs on stage, my goal is to make it better for kids who are growing up like I grew up,” says Black Scorpion,…

For more than 20 years, Amy Ray has been known as one half of the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls — two women whose music is built around counterpoint harmonies, catchy…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

Viva DeConcini plays Pisgah Brewing on Friday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. The Pitch: She’s the blond Joan Jett here to bring her scorching guitar licks all the way from…

Celebrate Bernard, the “awesome” rescue hound, at Bernard’s Birthday Benefit, a fundraiser for the Avery County Humane Society. Held on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the Altamont Brewing Company, 1042 Haywood…

Dan Rattigan gently places a chocolate bar on the table, followed by a handful of beans. The bar is wrapped in shiny, food-grade foil, and it glints like the prized…

There’s still time to catch the National Gingerbread House Competition and display at the Grove Park Inn. The competition, in its 19th year, includes entries from across the U.S. The…

Scott Wallace is starting a mini-food revolution in the Rankin Vault's very lightly equipped kitchen, and he's building it tortilla by tortilla. The Vault, with its serviceable $2 tacos, has…

The Bar of Soap Laundromat and bar holds its grand opening on Saturday, Dec. 10. Sean McNeal's new business on Merrimon Avenue (in a shopping plaza that once housed various…

In the former Square D plant in Emma, vacant since the electrical-components manufacturer moved operations to Mexico in 2005, Jennifer Lapidus perches on a 1-ton “tote” of grain. Behind her…

In early November, Asheville police arrested Helen Roberts for passing out Occupy Asheville fliers, claiming she was violating a city ordinance. But the charges against Roberts were quickly dropped, and…

The United Way of Asheville Buncombe oversees and helps coordinate a wide array of charitable efforts. While they aren't engaged in any holiday-specific efforts themselves, through their Hands On Asheville-Buncombe…

On a clear, cool mid-November afternoon, a small-scale fishing derby was under way along Cullowhee Creek on the Western Carolina University campus. Working with WCU recreational-therapy students Shawn Chapman and…

The Blue Ridge Mountains are known the world over for the quality and diversity of their plant life, particularly ornamentals and medicinal herbs. Harvesting these treasures has been a fixture…

What: Whether a festive Christmas tree is scraping your living room ceiling, or you’d rather enjoy evergreens outside the home, take a break from the holiday stress and let someone…

As of Thursday, there are 35 new N.C. state laws. In addition to passing the “Truth in Stereotypes Sentencing Act” and the “Pothole Multiplication Gas-Tax Cap,” state legislators have made…

Last month, Council member Gordon Smith asked OccupyAsheville to designate representatives who could deal with city officials. OA declined. It was a less in-your-face response than Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper…

As one of the mothers quoted in the Nov. 23 Mountain Xpress Wellness article, "Mother Knows Best?" I feel the need to clarify and correct a quote attributed to me…

Less is more, cheaper goods, lower pay and more money to business — that has been the goal of our hedonistic corporate government for decades now [“Identity Theft,” Nov. 30…

In light of the misrepresentations and downright untruths that are being spread about the events of Nov. 15 in downtown Bakersville, I thought I would share some “truths” about the…

On Nov. 15, the Mitchell County Gay Straight Alliance held its first meeting at the Bakersville Library. On the street outside, dozens of people came to demonstrate. Some people said…

After several years of living in the "Five Points" neighborhood and walking downtown as much as possible, I am still amazed that the sidewalk going from hereto Lexington Avenue is…

Recently North Carolina has opted to close The Governor Morehead School for the Blind and consolidate its programs and administration under that of the Eastern North Carolina School for the…

I recently attended the String Cheese Incident concert at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the Asheville Civic Center and was very disappointed by the way the crowd was being (mis)handled.…

In the third paragraph of Greenlife’s letter in the Nov. 23 issue of Mountain Xpress, Sherri Sterken states, “Greenlife remains as committed as ever to Asheville, and during the past…