Tashi Dorji talks a lot about community — in terms of both Asheville’s punk scene and his interest in radical politics. Nonetheless, he’s releasing an album’s worth of eccentric solo guitar music. In 2000, Dorji, a native of Bhutan, received a scholarship to Warren Wilson College, where he studied philosophy and political science. Forays into […]
These are not your ordinary love songs. And some aren’t actually love songs at all — Malcolm Holcombe’s “Pitiful Blues,” EDJ’s “For the Boy Who Moved Away” — but the emotions still apply. On this week’s playlist: • “When You Were Mine” by local rockers Posh Hammer. • “Pitiful Blues,” the title track from the new album […]
Durham-based electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso, the project of Amelia Randall Meath and Nicholas Sanborn, launched their tour with a pair of sold-out shows at The Mothlight. The first, last night, was not without its glitches (the computer crashed, ironically, during the song “Play it Right”), but it showcased Meath and Sanborn’s considerable chemistry, energy and […]
by Jordan Lawrence With a newly renovated arena complex in the U.S. Cellular Center and a number of theaters and rock clubs strewn throughout the city, Asheville books what would be an impressive array of musical entertainment for a town five times its size. We checked in with three of the city’s successful venues — […]
When you think of the banjo, you might think of Earl Scruggs or Uncle Dave Macon, or even Steve Martin. You probably don’t think of loop pedals or bowing, or ancillary sounds from percussive tapping and blowing; you probably don’t imagine anything that could be classified as “space banjo.” But that’s exactly the kind of music banjo player Mike Savino of band-turned-solo-act Tall Tall Trees makes.
Lucius is a five-piece rock band from Brooklyn, that, since the release of its first LP last October, has garnered an unusual amount of excellent press — from Rolling Stone and NPR to Pitchfork and Vogue — for such a young band. Lucius’ music and self-presentations most often highlight the two female lead singer-songwriters, Jess […]
Husband-and-wife, indie-pop outfit Mates of State consistently challenge the perceived limitations of a two-piece with their effortless harmonies and minimal pop appeal. One reviewer describes the band as “two people playing complex songs that sound like five people playing a simple song.” Kori Gardner (keyboard/vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums/vocals) formed Mates of State in 1997 and have […]
A good number of establishments still won’t book local rockers Posh Hammer. It’s not because they trash dressing rooms or reduce sound men to tears — it’s because of the band members’ ages. “We get there and we load in, and the bands playing with us or the people already there or the owners of […]
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 […]
Back in 2009, just before Durham-based folk-pop outfit Bombadil released Tarpits and Canyonlands, bassist Daniel Michalak was diagnosed with neural tension. The tour was canceled and the album kind of fizzled. Happily, after years of treatment, Michalak and his bandmates were able to go on the road again in 2012. This June, Ramseur Records will […]
Local aerialists and rockers team up for a production An unlikely collaboration was forged in January, when Bromelia Aerial Dance Collective performed at the Mothlight as part of the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. According to local movement artist Anna Bartlett, “One of our dancers was injured, and our friend Valerie Phillips saved the day by […]
Fresh off their Adult Swim debut, Baltimore-based arts collective Wham City — the group responsible for the viral video “Drinking out of cups,” among others — is spreading its weird and wonderful comedy across the East Coast. The show is a “75-minute multimedia performance featuring four alt-comedians offering up all-original stand-up, videos, skits and monologues,” […]
Ahleuchatistas are heading to Spain and Italy, and we should all be very jealous. So exciting is the duo’s upcoming tour that guitarist Shane Perlowin and percussionist Ryan Oslance listed their five overseas tour dates with three exclamations marks. Each. But even if you can’t pack a bag and follow Ahleuchatistas to Rincón Pío Sound!!!, […]
“Tomorrow’s Hits” is the band’s fifth record in as many years, discounting 2013’s gap-filling alternate-takes collection Campfire Songs. And the band is as hard-working as it is prolific, stringing together a seemingly infinite number of tour dates. The Men’s current tour, a month-long jaunt, comes to The Mothlight on Thursday, May 1.
The Chapel Hill collective pared down its expansive orchestral-pop line-up for a more space approach to new album, “Past Life.” The band plays The Mothlight on Tuesday, April 15.
Gold Light, fronted by musician and filmmaker Joe Chang, recently released video for the song “True Love Never Dies.” Click through to watch it; see the band live at The Mothlight on Sunday, March 9.
Foothills (Chase Hudson of 2PPM) performs an evening of experimental music at The Mothlight on Saturday, Jan. 11. Kane Pour, Difference Clouds and Paciens Trine share the bill.
Performance artist and musician Bart Trotman brings his new project, Flying Erase Head, to The Mothlight this weekend. The found-instrument and found-footage show is Saturday, Dec. 7.
West Asheville’s newest concert venue The Mothlight held its grand opening this weekend, selling out its first Saturday-night show and giving music lovers a fresh hangout.
