Head east (OK, only as far as Black Mountain) for "a night of shared songs" — which, by its name alone, is pretty much the antithesis of a street festival. This show, held at the airy and relaxing White Horse Black Mountain, includes Annie Lalley, Joe Ebel, Ray Chesna and Jimmy Landry. Asheville native Annie […]
Friday, July 27 Coxe Avenue Stage 5 – 6 Spicy Moustache & the Flavor Saviors Funk 6:30 – 7:45 The Buchanan Boys Country 8:15 – 9:45 Blackberry Smoke Southern Rock Biltmore Stage 5 – 6:15 Whitney Moore Latin/World 6:45 – 8 David Mayfield Parade Americana 8:30 – 10 Lucero Rock Battery Park Stage 4:30 – […]
To local hip-hop band CrazyHorse & Colston, playing Bele Chere is a big deal — partly because the duo (Max Hupertz and Bryan Godleski) both grew up in Western North Carolina, and partly because at last year’s festival, hip-hop fans voiced their disappointment about the lack of the genre on the lineup. “It does feel […]
For most of its excellent and exuberant duration, Lucero’s 2009 album 1372 Overton Park occupies the all-out-party-and-subsequent-fallout cycle of the band’s previous efforts. Bolstered by horns for the first time in its career, the Memphis-based sextet barrels through barroom punk anthems about the women and wonders that slipped through their fingers as booze slipped through […]
While most kids his age were dreaming about becoming astronauts and professional athletes, David Mayfield was touring the country in his family's bluegrass band. By his early 20s, the Ohio native was surviving as a "gun-for-hire" in Nashville, writing songs for other artists and eventually stepping into the world of producing, where he earned a […]
If you're wondering who The Critters are, you're probably not from around here. The psych-pop quartet has seen a meteoric rise in WNC, releasing its debut EP, performing at last year's Bele Chere festival, filming a session for Moog's AHA AVL series and landing in the Xpress' Best of WNC readers' poll, all in the […]
It’s starting to seem like Dr. Dog has a crush on Asheville. The Philadelphia-based five-piece performed at the Orange Peel in March, it headlines this weekend's Bele Chere festival and it's slated to return again in August for a slot at nearby Boone's Music on the Mountaintop. Not to mention the gushing endorsements for Asheville's […]
Brandi Carlile isn't just playing Bele Chere because some booking agent somewhere routed her tour through Western North Carolina. She loves this town, she tells Xpress. And, having played the Grey Eagle and the Orange Peel already, "I thought I'd try something different." A festival seems just about right for the singer-songwriter (and Lillith Fair […]
It’s easy to image that the passports of David Wax Museum’s three core players (frontman David Wax, Suz Slezak and Greg Glassman) are dog-eared and stamped to capacity from use. In addition to touring the U.S. and traveling to Mexico to collect field recordings for September release Knock Knock Get Up (it was produced on […]
There are some foodies out there who scoff at all things fried and turn up their noses at any sort of what-have-you on a stick. These two staples of the festival food group are exactly what Bele Chere vendors have in spades, so what’s a gourmand to do? Relax. In Asheville, you can have kale […]
There’s more to a festival than rock bands, misting tents, funnel cakes and sunburns. There’s shopping! And Bele Chere doesn’t just have a few booths; it’s lined with vendors from end to end, selling everything from lawn art and broomstick skirts to paper hats and leather jewelry. Whether you’re planning to knock out your holiday […]
Depending on whom you ask, anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000 music, art and street-festival seekers are about to descend on our city. The streets will once again cram with temporary tenements selling everything from jewelry to kabobs. And among the myriad visitors and locals in attendance are dozens of visiting and local artists exhibiting work […]
Friday, July 27 ARCADE: DJ Abu Dissaray, 9 p.m. Asheville Music Hall: Common Foundation (reggae) w/ Chalwa, Dub Kartel & Marrietta's Palm, 10 p.m. Athena's Club: Mark Appleford (blues, folk, rock), 6-10 p.m. — DJ, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Boiler Room: Decline of Western North Carolina showcase, 8 p.m. Club Hairspray: Dance party w/ DJ Lil […]
Friday, July 27 Black Mountain Ale House: Chris Williams (soul, rock, reggae), 9 p.m. Blue Mountain Pizza Cafe: Acoustic Swing, 7-9 p.m. The Dugout: Johnnie Blackwell & Six Toed Possum Babies, 9 p.m. Elaine's Dueling Piano Bar: Disclaimer Comedy (standup) w/ Chelcie Rice, 8:15-9:15 p.m. — Dueling Pianos (rock 'n' roll sing-a-long), 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. […]
The local indie-pop band has a plan to help out in that respect — by turning their Sunday set into a water show. Photo by Michael Oppenheim.
The local hip-hop duo releases a new album, “Backroads & Bonfires,” ahead of their Bele Chere performance.
This year’s festival includes 40 bands ranging from funk and Americana to hip-hop and Christian r&b. Headliners include Dr. Dog, David Mayfield Parade, Lucero and Brandi Carlile.
I am a sophomore at Asheville High School, an active member of the Teens Against Tobacco Use club and a recent hire at Youth Empowered Solutions. I recently read an article about the Bele Chere Camel tobacco booth, which hands out coupons and special offers that make tobacco products even more accessible to the public. […]
I was just reading the Dec. 28 "A-List” issue of Xpress and was reminded of the huge Bele Chere hip-hop controversy this summer. It brought up a few things that had apparently been swimming just below the surface of my awareness for a while. I remember Moog's Emmy Parker making a big, big deal about […]
The city of Asheville needs to be careful in any attempts to regulate street preachers at the Bele Chere festival, and any rules must apply to all groups, Katie Parker, executive director of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, says. She adds that the current situation, with vocal showdowns between preachers and their opponents “sounds like it’s already working the way it ought to work.”
Photo by Jerry Nelson
The presence of street preachers (and people opposing or arguing with them) is an annual fixture at the Bele Chere festival. Now, after complaints, the city of Asheville is looking into ways to regulate or curb the activity.
Goldsboro-based street preacher Tony Denson, speaking during Bele Chere 2010. Asheville resident Jeremy Carter, in the background, brandished a rainbow flag in protest of Denson’s remarks. Photo by Michael Muller
