Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features a milestone for a 15 year old guitarist and a youth guidance organization providing free opportunities for children.
Theatrical facial expressions and expressive gesticulations take jazz vocalist Annie Sellick’s onstage storytelling abilities over the top, transforming each song into a personal conversation with the crowd.
Lowland Hum, composed of indie folk musicians Daniel and Lauren Goans, has been churning out sweet and artsy material since the couple’s 2012 nuptials.
Bishop stumbled upon his latest challenge — a spellbinding parlor guitar — in Tangier, Morocco. This six-stringed muse inspired an improvised collection of seductive tunes titled Tangier Sessions, which showcases both the unaccompanied instrument and Bishop’s own penchant for songwriting.
Despite churning out a steady stream of upbeat piano anthems, Mikey Wax turns the diva pop star stereotype on its head.
Thigh slaps, hand claps, finger snaps and foot taps typify Evie Ladin and Keith Terry’s uniquely percussive performance style. The energetic pair marries old-time- and blues-inspired folk.
2014 was a prolific year for emcee and hip-hop producer Black Milk (also known as Curtis Cross) who polished his solo rap EP Glitches in the Break just months before releasing his sixth full-length record If There’s a Hell Below.
Local Flavor AVL co-founder Flori Pate recently launched a new project aimed at community progress through collaboration. Food Connection, which consolidates hunger and food waste by redirecting surplus edibles, will hold a kickoff fundraiser at the Altamont Theatre on Friday, March 13.
Americana singer-songwriter Chuck Brodsky swapped formal education for a musical pursuit all his own. Now, 11 albums later, the pianist-turned-guitarist has mastered the art of adorning his lyrical tales with eccentricity and wit.
“They may appear to be a traditional bluegrass band at first glance, but they’ve taken the customary old-timey instrumentation to new heights,” reads a press release for Colorado trio Yonder Mountain String Band. Credited with pioneering “a renegade movement to rewrite the definition of the genre,” the Yonder Mountain pickers deliver their self-made brand of […]
Asheville’s AL Coffee & Da Grind, a self-described high-energy, up-tempo blues quartet, will travel to Memphis, Tenn., in late January, joining more than 200 musical groups in competition at the International Blues Challenge. The soul- and dance-inspired band has scheduled a series of hometown fundraising gigs to cover the musicians’ trip to this “blues heaven” […]
“There are gonna be a lot of smiles onstage and for good reason,” says Asheville guitarist Taylor Martin of his upcoming show at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall. Local music luminaries Lyndsay Pruitt (fiddle), Drew Matulich (mandolin) and Rick Cooper (upright bass) comprise Martin’s band, and drummer Josh Mulligan will also join the musical combo […]
Twenty-five years after meeting on a London train, couple Shannon and Mark Casson are working toward their seventh full-length studio album as The Cheeksters — a glam-pop outfit whose catchy sound has been scooped up for commercial use by NFL and Coca-Cola in past years. “Typically I’ll be playing a new song around the house, […]
Laney Jones could pull her weight simply performing as the banjoist for Laney Jones & the Lively Spirits, but thankfully she shares her vocal talents with the world as well. Marrying the sprightliness of youth with the tame confidence of an old soul, Jones’ live vocals venture freely from smooth to saucy, with lyrical content […]
Most touring artists gather stories and experiences to fuel their writing while on tour, but Fred Eaglesmith also collects used deep fryer oil to power his converted 1990 tour bus. This feisty mentality pervades other aspects of Eaglesmith’s persona, making him the type to hand-draw his concert posters, hook audiences with a comical tale or […]
When it comes to genres, brothers Dillon and Jantzen Wray refuse to pick just one … or two. Their band Carolina Wray’s 2014 single “America,” for example, combines uncharacteristically slow banjo strums with vocal and electric guitar tracks made of undiluted pop rock. The former Old North State band members take decisive strides into the […]
Internationally renowned Celtic violinist Jamie Laval’s Christmas in Scotland performance calls on a patchwork of art forms to revive traditional Celtic celebrations of the winter solstice and Christmas. Local guitarist and banjoist David Brown and multi-instrumentalist Rosalind Buda are among Laval’s supporting lineup of Celtic-influenced artists, in addition to a Welsh harpist and a Scottish […]
Country pop rocker Chris Carpenter first picked up a guitar at age 11 and shortly after extinguishing his 30th birthday candles felt a need to assuage his newfound existential unrest with “a little therapy.” Carpenter aims to reconnect with fans in 2015 by sharing the personal stories that inspired select musical works through posts on […]
“We just want to show West Asheville peeps a good time before they go into their holiday family hangs,” says Javi Bolea of RBTS WIN. “The goal is a sticky floor by the end of the night.” Bolea, along with bandmates Cliff B. Worsham and Josh Chassner, follows a multifarious musical recipe — one influenced […]
Although Tom Hamilton counted himself among the many men preoccupied with “chicks and partying” during his 20s, the American Babies frontman found himself “digging deeper” for musical and personal inspiration over time. Last year’s resulting effort, a “40-minute existential meltdown” titled Knives and Teeth, addresses heavy topics like mortality, cruelty and frustration, often vacillating between […]
Forget hibernating. Instrumental rockers TAUK are making a full-fledged national tour this winter, and Asheville fans have two chances to catch the band live. TAUK, oft-praised for its ability to infuse songs with emotional cues despite the absence of lyrics, plays New Mountain this week before circling back to Asheville as the supporting act for […]
