Come and Gather

“For the good are always the merry Save by an evil chance And the merry love the fiddle And the merry love to dance …” — William Butler Yeats, “The…

Around 3 a.m. one day in 2006, comedian Greg Brown was on the return leg of a regular and grueling commute from Asheville to Charlotte, when he experienced an epiphany.…

One thing that Los Angeles-based electronic trio The Glitch Mob can do that an analog band can't do is switch parts mid-song. "We can change instruments throughout the set," says…

Chaz Bundick and Mat Cothran are quite different on the phone. Bundick, the Columbia, S.C.-based musician behind the lush, throbbing psychedelics of Toro Y Moi is reserved and polite. He…

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…

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…

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…

Although Becky will continue to write periodic Profilers, her weekly column will now include new features such as Musical Missed Connections, Have You Seen this Band? and the occasional Personality…

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…

Local mystery writer Mark de Castrique will thrill audiences with his new novel The Sandburg Connection on Wednesday, July 13 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial,…

Troy and Sons, a legit, licensed and local moonshine distillery, is "all heart," says Troy Ball, mother of three and white whiskey (aka moonshine) maker. With her all-American-girl looks and…

Asheville: Distillery City USA? Troy and Sons may not be the only distillery open in Asheville for long. Adam Dalton Distillery is getting under way, first as a full-service bar…

Ingredients: Salad 2 cups quinoa 2 ¾ cups water 1 lb green beans, stems removed and beans cut into 1-inch lengths 3 cups grated carrots 1 red pepper, diced ½…

You could call Cathy Cleary, co-owner of West End Bakery in West Asheville, a legume lover. Her biggest crush? The Fortex pole bean, a type of long, stringless green bean…

Great gardens are experienced the same way fine art is — as an emotional connection. The Biltmore gardens, designed by pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted under George Vanderbilt’s patronage,…

“Insane.” “Biased.” “Cynical.” Those are just a few of the words outraged Western North Carolina residents used during a July 7 public hearing to describe a proposal to move most…

For the third consecutive legislative session, lawmakers in both houses of the N.C. General Assembly have introduced bills that would raise the age at which some juvenile offenders are tried…

Buncombe County’s removal of 17 newspaper boxes in front of the courthouse was illegal, attorney Amanda Martin of the N.C. Press Association maintains. “There’s absolutely a First Amendment issue here,”…

The imminent release of a report by the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future has revived fears of a high-level radioactive-waste repository in Western North Carolina. In the 1980s,…

YWCA diabetes program makes goal "The YWCA exceeded its fundraising goal to save the popular Diabetes Wellness Program with $26,110 raised in all. … Today was the last chance to…

Watching the N.C. General Assembly's 2011-12 session thus far has been like sitting through a civics lesson on steroids. There’s been the high drama of the Republican Party's complete takeover…

I am stymied by how the author of “Stymied: Undocumented Students’ Rocky Road to a College Degree” and the people it refers to are expecting us to wave our hands…

I loved the speak-truth-to-power tone of Susan Andrew's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" article [Green Scene, June 29 Xpress]. It's embarrassing how every government agency attempts to synthesize some asinine-though-remotely…

There are a few things that need to be addressed as to what exemplifies a “lie from the pit of hell,” as discussed by James Dye in his June 29…

It’s time for community interest to be considered before self-interest. We are seeing a groundswell of Asheville residents responding to the digital billboard installed on Merrimon Avenue; more than 370…

Regarding the N.C. Legislative Committee and their lack of common sense to attempt to use their wisdom to merge 22 local community colleges: Their [attempts] to save money leaves a…

Pardee physicians, some of them, are urging the Henderson County commissioners to allow Pardee Hospital to expand into north Henderson County and into Lake Lure where they can compete with…

• Many long-time Asheville restaurants close, citing increased cost of Ranch, Thousand Island dressing • State archivists seek family Bible records Spokesman: ‘Somebody begat somebody, and we’re going to get…