In their own words

“The way local musicians, promoters, and venues support each other and collaborate is unprecedented. I hear it all the time at The Tuesday Night Funk Jam, when I meet musicians from all over the map that come to check it out or sit in, ‘Man, I wish we had something like this where I was from.’” — Josh Blake, musician, producer, engineer

“In Asheville, people don’t ask, ‘What do you do?’ They ask, ‘What do you play and how long have you been playing and where are you gonna play next?’ … Our town elixir may be beer, but music is what get’s the crowd going out to party.” — Jenny Fares, Sound Mind Creative, graphic design for the music scene.

“People [in Asheville] tend to avoid complacency; they go out to shows, they dance, they buy music, they want to hear new things — it’s vibrant here in a way I imagine many other cities are not.” — Mark Capon, Harvest Records

The scene really needs to coalesce and organize so it can be a unified voice in its local advocacy efforts, and work more effectively with local civic leadership and community stakeholders to everyone’s mutual benefit.”  — Gar Ragland, NewSong Recordings

“There is a need for rehearsal space. I would love to see a musician colony — with affordable housing and practice space — develop in the community.” — David Whitehill, executive director of Asheville Symphony Orchestra