On the first Sunday of March, volunteers helped ready Southside Community Farm’s quarter-acre plot for the planting of spring crops, including potatoes, sugar peas and radishes, among others. But preparation for the site’s eighth year growing fresh produce for the Southside Community Kitchen and nearby low-income and food-insecure residents kicked off in mid-February with a GoFundMe […]
On a bill that includes Angelique Kidjo, The Wood Brothers, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles and more than 30 other acts, La Santa Cecilia is in keeping with the festival’s stated mission of being an “intergenerational celebration of world culture.”
Two celebrated local artists (one who’s bidding farewell to Asheville, the other a globetrotting artist who’s only occasionally home) and two psychedelic bands (one a relic from the ’70s, the other a new and soul-infused exponent of the style) are spotlighted in this roundup.
“Art brings voice and vision to facts written on the pages of history books. It reflects and shapes culture, liberates us, expresses the forbidden. It confesses our sins and celebrates our triumphs. It can even topple tyrants. Perhaps that is the most disturbing aspect of Trump’s quest to destroy the NEA.”
Music from the ’80s and ’90s, a silent auction and raffle, and dressed up dancing are all on the agenda at Francine Delany New School for Children’s upcoming fundraiser. The event is at Isis on Friday, Feb. 3.
LEAF festival, held last weekend at Lake Eden in Black Mountain, started chilly but quickly heated up with music, dance, performance and visual art. On Friday, hip-hop artist Chali 2na took the Lakeside stage with jazz-fusion band Naughty Professor and performed two songs with students from Eliada Homes. Electronic/world music collective Beats Antique headlined to […]
What to expect from Beats Antique’s Friday performance? “Instead of an LED screen, we have giant geometric lanterns that glow and pulse with our music, and a shadow screen that we use with cutouts and our own bodies.”
The Asheville-based group redefines circus theater by involving artists of all kinds — dancers, musicians, visual artists and circus performers — to collaborate, teach and perform.
“I think my favorite LEAF was the last time Beats Antique was there. I am lucky enough to dance with the band on the East Coast. It was raining outside and inside the tent the energy was awesome.”
“I have been fortunate enough to recruit among the best of the best musicians and entertainers from the Southeast, particularly New Orleans,” says Jimbo Mathus. “The new show is a realization of all of the potential that lay in the material that we wrote and performed 20 years ago. It is truly a dream come true.”
The Hip Abduction is based in St. Petersburg, Fla., but the indie-pop-meets-roots and reggae outfit is no stranger to Western North Carolina.
The Space Cowboys and Cosmic Girls, a local dance-funk-pop-fusion band, perform the music of the London-based acid jazz band, Jamoriquai. Keith Harry and Matt McCue spoke about their 10-piece lineup, which hopes to spark a dance frenzy.
In advance of the fall iteration of LEAF, held at Lake Eden in Black Mountain, Xpress is talking with a number of LEAF performers about their work and what they have in store for the weekend-long music and art festival.
“What we’re hoping to accomplish with this festival is really empowering people to remember that coming together in a positive way is important,” says Ehren Cruz, performing arts director. “We don’t have to be pro or against anything, we can just be for human connection.”
The inaugural Open Streets Asheville brought residents and visitors into the streets to enjoy downtown in a new way. With Battery Park Avenue, Wall Street and portions of Haywood Street, Patton Avenue and Church Street closed to automotive traffic, folks did art projects, movement-based activities, listened to buskers and relaxed with yoga and massage.
Juan de Marcos and the leaders of MarchFourth! and Clan Destiny Circus discuss Cuban music and improving relations between the island nation and the U.S.
Before the Dragons unleash their funk- and Americana-inspired jams, fans can warm up with opening act Fritz Beer and the Crooked Beat. DJ Molly Parti closes the fundraiser with a dance party, which the Grey Eagle hosts on Friday, Jan. 15.
Local musician Matt Townsend is a regular at songwriter events and also fronts his band, The Wonder of the World. Townsend performs at The Barn Saturday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. with the Alex Krug Combo.
Rock and soul band The Revivalists are based in New Orleans. The group, led by vocalist David Shaw, formed in 2007, and recently released its latest studio album, Men Amongst Mountains, which seems fitting considering this festival’s concept.
In advance of this season’s LEAF, the 41st bi-annual iteration of the festival, we’re talking to performing artists from the LEAF lineup about the festival’s New Orleans-meets-Western North Carolina theme. Local singer-songwriter Jeff Thompson talks about his NOLA roots.
The free LEAF Downtown AVL festival, held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 1 and 2, features high-profile performers like Bootsy Collins’ Rubber Band and Red Baraat. There are also many local acts and a focus on area communities and initiatives.
