Storify: Dispatches from Christmas Jam

A Woodfin native, Grammy-winning rocker Warren Haynes returned home this weekend for the 26th annual Christmas Jam. Over the course of the 7-hour concert at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Asheville, Haynes was joined onstage by Jason Isbell, Billy Kreutzmann, Caleb Johnson, Jackie Green and many more acts. Concert-goers posted photos and other dispatches from the Dec. 13 event via Twitter late into the night.

In photos: Downtown Art Walk has plenty to show as season concludes

At Artetude Gallery on Patton Ave., artist Leonid Siveriver blends mediums with his piece, “Motion.” Siveriver displayed a variety of pieces Dec. 5 during the last First Friday Art Walk of the season. (The gallery crawl series resumes again in April.) He said the idea of “Motion” came from photography — it’s a bronze casting of […]

In photos: Asheville ‘Die In’ keeps focus on Garner, Brown cases

Photographer John Penley covered the Asheville “Die In” held at Vance Monument today, Dec. 6. Protesters marched from the Buncombe County Courthouse, holding signs and chanting. “Die Ins” and various protests have been held across the country this month in the wake of the Dec. 3 grand jury decision not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo […]

Visions of Tibet: Asheville photograph­er shares rare images of monasterie­s

Taylor Taz Johnson trekked through the Himalayan mountains of South Asia with Dr. Hun Lye, the founder of Asheville’s Urban Dharma Buddhist Center. They were granted unprecedented permission to photograph inside some of the most isolated religious institutions in the world, braving military interrogations along the way.

In photos: Michael Brown justice rally draws hundreds in Asheville

About 200 people gathered in downtown Asheville Nov. 25 in support of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man who was killed by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer earlier this year. Unlike protests in Ferguson and some other cities, the Asheville gathering at Vance Monument was peaceful as attendees held signs with phrases such as “Hold Cops Accountable” and “Where is Justice for Black America.”

Activists say transgende­r people still face uphill battle in Asheville

Activists who gathered Thursday night, Nov. 20, during the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TdoR) say there is ongoing danger toward transgender people living in Asheville, and it may not be an issue that is on people’s radar. “There is danger for transgender people living in Asheville. I know of transgender women who have faced danger […]

A deeper dive into the Democratic blue: Analysis of Buncombe Commission­, NC House elections

Despite rightward-streaming state and federal political currents, Buncombe County stood out on election night as a small sea of Democratic blue. In several important local races, Democratic candidates toppled Republican incumbents or maintained their positions of power. Here’s a look at some of those key local races, with an analysis of what happened and the consequences going forward.