Grab your kilt and your clan and get to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games for “blaring bagpipes, astounding athletes and tons of tartan.” The four-day event begins with sheep-herding demonstrations and only gets more Celtic from there. Brawnier participants may enter heavyweight competitions such as “turning the caber” and “tossing the sheaf.” In the caber toss, […]
“We wanted a revolution, but they just ran us around in circles. Here to speak truth, to say what needs to be said,” says the Bandcamp page for Free the Optimus, a hip-hop collective whose members are based in Boone and Asheville. The group was founded by lead emcee, C.Shreve the Professor, who is about […]
Most musicians are lucky to get props for shredding or ripping or killing it. But Nashville/Atlanta/Rochester N.Y.-based blues, rock and soul act The Slide Brothers have been dubbed “godfathers of the electric church,” “masters of the sacred steel” and “the greatest living musicians who embody the sacred steel tradition.” Aubrey Ghent, Calvin Cooke, Chuck Campbell […]
The can part of Burning CAN Beer Fest at Oskar Blues in Brevard is easy — more than 30 breweries that can their beer will be on hand to share craft brews. As far as the burning part, it’s unlikely to refer to the wares of local food trucks at the event. It might, however, […]
Musician Matt Townsend spent two years writing songs in secret before going public with his work in 2010. “Initially busking on the streets of Burlington, Vt. and playing local coffeehouses, he soon began hitting the stages of clubs and venues around the Burlington area,” says Townsend’s press release. He released a solo EP, performed in […]
Ready yourself — and perhaps your clogs/banjo/suspenders — for some truly old-fashioned fun at the 48th annual Shindig on the Green. Since its inception in 1967, the event has been an Asheville summer staple with its traditional and old-time string bands, bluegrass, ballad singers, big-circle mountain dancers and cloggers, as well as a stage show […]
Before singer-songwriter and keyboardist Bruce Hornsby (pictured, lower right) topped charts in the 1980s with hits like “The Way It is” and “The Valley Road,” he was a session musician for the likes of Sheena Easton. Hornsby also performed with The Grateful Dead and put out solo work before forming his current band, The Noisemakers. […]
The psych-rock outfit Gringo Star has been described as a “’60s beach party on acid,” and with musical influences ranging from The Stooges to The Kinks to Sam Cooke, that sounds about right. Musicians and brothers Nicholas and Peter Furgiuele and cohort Chris Kaufmann put forth the band’s latest, self-produced album, Floating Out to See, which […]
Indie folk singer-songwriter Robert Francis almost abandoned his music career after a near-nervous breakdown following the release of his critically acclaimed third album, Strangers in the First Place (2012). It wasn’t too long, however, before his passion for music drew him back into the recording studio and onto the road. “I’d never known a life […]
There have been complaints of a dearth of reggae music in Asheville (Letters, April 30), but Jamaican-born, London-raised and, now, Kingston-based musician Junior Marvin is about to set things right. Marvin has performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley, contributed to The Wailers’ albums from Exodus on and co-founded The Original Wailers […]
Part multi-instrumentalist, part mythical creature, singer-songwriter/surfer/environmentalist/cultural activist Xavier Rudd took the didgeridoo from tribal instrument to legitimate dance club beat-maker. The musician, who lives in Australia, “gradually refined his globally influenced collage of world music — a matchless mixture of reggae, funk, blues, folk, and nearly every other sort of song with the ability to […]
“Prince of Afrobeat” Seun Kuti joins Egypt 80, the band of his legendary father Fela Kuti, to create a powerful and high-energy sound with a distinctly political message. With his latest album release, A Long Way to the Beginning, Seun aims to inspire his listeners to fight for social justice. “In Africa today, most people are struggling […]
What better way to celebrate art than to highlight the natural beauty that surrounds us? Art in Bloom is Black Mountain Center for the Arts’ biggest yearly fundraising event. This year’s three-day flower fest includes a gala preview party with a seated catered dinner, a gallery display of 22 ikebana and Western floral designers interpretations of […]
Named after the majestic range of mountains where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge, Balsam Range has been steadily making its mark on the bluegrass scene since the five musicians came together in 2007. The band’s 2012 album, Papertown, won the 2013 IBMA Album of the Year award, and expectations are high for the group’s […]
Wedged between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, the ultra-nationalistic Henry V is the perfect choice to launch The Montford Park Players’ 42nd season of free Shakespeare in the park. The play — a tale of one man’s quest to be king — pairs humor, drama and romance with “some of the most patriotic […]
Casey Neill and his backing band, The Norway Rats have “all been in the trenches of the Northwest music world together since the mid ’90s,” says the musician. Even before forming the band, he was performing in the U.S. and around the globe. So while Neill is hardly a newcomer to the music scene, it could […]
“The foundation for my work lies within the understanding of primordial forms and their purpose throughout history,” says glass artist Chad Holliday. He creates contemporary glass sculpture to communicate these timeless shapes, many of which are derived from European architecture and gothic cathedrals. Along with his solo exhibition, titled Primordial Forms, at the Bender Gallery, […]
Love is a battlefield: This we know. But Battlefield is also a Los Angeles-based Americana band made up of singer-songwriters Matt Ducey, Jenny Weaver and James Addison. According to a press release, “Their tight vocal harmonies, contemplative lyrics and stirring melodies reflect the famous folk and gospel artists of America’s past.” The trio recently passed […]
American contemporary art pioneer Henry Niese has work in the Whitney Museum and The Corcoran Gallery. His friends include Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and William Carlos Williams. Niese has also immersed himself in the Lakota Sioux culture and its Sundance tradition. That ceremony takes place over four days and involves fasting, personal sacrifice and, […]
Asheville native Elliot Heller (aka DJ Equal) is based in New York City, but makes regular visits back to his hometown where he not only catches up with family and friends, but throws dance parties. In an interview with Xpress last year, Heller said that he got started as a drummer. Then, “One day I […]
“I did it,” said Emma Gatewood on Sept. 25, 1955. “I said I’d do it, and I’ve done it.” The 67-year-old mother of 11 and grandmother of 23 stood on top of Mount Katahdin, the 5,267-foot peak at the northern terminus of the more than 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail. Journalist Ben Montgomery’s Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The […]
