February took a drummer/keyboardist from local instrumental/electronic collective A Ghost Like Me. But March brought a new drummer — Josh Newton (formerly of Dashvara) rounds out the band (with Brad Rogers on guitar, synths and loops; and Key Andrew on bass, flute, synths and loops) and has also helped to evolve the trio's sound. "A […]

“As a biracial young woman, there is an innate lack of belonging,” writes local artist Liana Murray, a rising senior at Asheville High. “The need to shift between the black and the white world, and still understand the meeting between the two dictates the meaning behind my work.” Murray will debut her powerful, soulful collection […]

"Shop indie. Shop handmade. Shop fun," says the press release for The Big Crafty, which returns to the Asheville Art Museum and Pack Square on Sunday, July 7. The best thing about the summer arts and crafts fair is that instead of stocking up on Christmakwanzakah gifts for friends and family members (like you do […]

If the name Bethesda makes you think of either Maryland or video games, the band that shares that moniker is about to change your frame of reference. The sextet from Kent, Ohio, crafts folklore-infused indie-rock informed by storytelling traditions and resonant with strings (guitar, violin, banjo) and the rich vocal of lead singer Shanna Delaney. […]

Musician/photographer/actor/author Tav Falco has said his main artistic purpose is "to stir up the dark waters of the unconscious." He'll stir those waters twice this week when his tour beings him to Asheville for a show and a book reading (yes, that’s right). Tav Falco's Panther Burns (an "art damage" rock band, formed in Memphis […]

You know you've made it when your fans coin a term for themselves. For the followers of '90s jamband moe., it's "moe.rons." The group got its start in '89 while members were in school at SUNY-Buffalo; they released debut album Fatboy in '92. Now, 20-plus years later, moe. has put out a couple dozen live […]

Orchestral folk-pop outfit River Whyless may be local, but it's hard to catch the band on an Asheville stage. In fact, this week's West Asheville performance be be the band's only show on home turf for 2013. But it promises to be a good one: The band will perform new songs they've written for their […]

Secrets: Freeing the Hidden Story, this year's production by Community Choreography Projects, weaves together storytelling, drama, dance and multimedia. The performance troupe, led by artistic director Barrie Barton, guides locals (many without theater backgrounds) through the process of self-expression and movement. Film artist Erika Czerwinski, filmmaker and photographer David Huff, author Gregg Levoy, spoken-word poet […]

The Resonant Rogues journey through a variety of folk traditions. With their band, Asheville songwriters Keith Smith (guitar, percussion, vocals) and Sparrow Pants (accordion, banjo, vocals) blend Balkan, klezmer and Gypsy music with hot jazz and old-time mountain standards. The adventurous group will take these roots music explorations across the country this summer, on a […]

Who didn't get pumped up by "Pumped Up Kicks," that viral dance song by L.A.-based pop band Foster the People? The trio was formed by Mark Foster, who found little success as a commercial jingle writer but reached No. 1 on the Billboard alternative chart with that single from Foster the People's 2011 debut, Torches. […]

There's a pretty romantic story behind folk rock duo The Whispering Tree: classically trained vocalist Eleanor Kleiner and French bassist Elie Brangbour met at music school in London and decided to not just take their show on the road, but around the world. Their 2010 debut, Go Call The Captain, was influenced by their globe […]

Border collies, bagpipes, Irish dance, kilts and plenty of microbrew: The WNC Highlands Celtic Festival returns for the fourth year. Celtic food and vendors, pipes and drums and plenty of music fill the weekend. The entertainment lineup includes Albannach (pictured), Rathkeltair, Cutthroat Shamrock and Marcille Wallis & Friends among others. The festival also highlights the […]

Siblings Jens (banjo, harmony vocals) and Uwe Kruger (guitar, lead and harmony vocals) began their musical career in their homeland of Switzerland, but since it was American folk music (specifically that of Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs and Bill Monroe) they were drawn to, the Krugers relocated to N.C. With native-New Yorker/brother-from-another-mother Joel Landsberg (bass, […]

The Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce puts on what some say is the most popular barbecue festival in the U.S. And while that claim (like all things to do with 'cue) is sure to be hotly contested, the annual Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival (at Harmon Field in Tryon) certainly has something for pretty […]

The second in this summer's RiverLink RiverMusic free concert series is set for Friday, June 14, beginning at 5 p.m. High-energy Americana act The David Mayfield Parade headlines. Mayfield last played Asheville in December 2012 at The Grey Eagle, sharing the bill with his sister, Jessica Lee Mayfield. Earlier in the year, he played at […]

The May-to-December album collaboration is far more interesting than the May-to-December romance. Though, like the latter, the former tends to spawn something unexpected and thought-provoking and not necessarily long-lasting. Think Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. David Byrne and St. Vincent (the stage name of Annie Clark) met at an '09 Radio City Music Hall benefit […]

Nashville-based Night Beds recently released Country Sleep, the band's debut full-length. Singer-songwriter Winston Yellen says it's the group’s first album out on a label but, “It doesn't put a stamp on anything, as far as a beginning. It just kind of feels like another step." The atmospheric-yet-sparse collection is stunningly pretty and emotionally intense — […]

Ahleuchatistas’ music is something akin to sonic parkour, a race of immense speed and skill, physical prowess, mental fortitude and ninja-like reflexes. It's also about the onstage symbiosis of Shane Perlowin (guitar) and Ryan Oslance (percussion), a duo refined and synthesized over a decade of experimentation, exploration, touring and recording. Asheville has known this band […]

Local rockers Elijah Hooker (vocalist Caleb Johnson, drummer Frank Skulski, Wade Wilson on bass, guitarist Josh Sawyer and Brian Turner on keys) claims that their "sole purpose is to spread the gospel of hard rock ‘n’ roll to the masses." Which, for a band, is a worthy purpose to have. The quintet is set to […]

Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre and White Dog Dance Project International are set to stage The Decent Women of Calle 58, "Inspired by the exhibit by social anthropologist Christian Rasmussen and his 22 interviews of sex servers." Artistic director Susan Collard "wanted to focus on the humanity of these women’s stories, putting them in intimate settings […]