To most musicians, a “jam” is a highly informal affair — a chance to swap licks and drink a few beers, maybe. But for Asheville’s homegrown guitar god, Warren Haynes, it’s a little more complicated than that. Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam in Asheville (now in its 12th year) has become a veritable who’s who of … Read more
Flat Rock Playhouse upholds its tradition of delivering fine seasonal entertainment with its current production, a melding of two one-act holiday musicals. Christmas may be the best time of year to visit North Carolina’s state theater — the playhouse exudes warmth and good spirits. Situated in scenic Flat Rock and surrounded by solemn pine trees, … Read more
Josh Joplin didn’t feel like he had a choice. While his peers were getting their first taste of teenage freedom behind the wheel of Mom and Pop’s old Olds, roaring recklessly with radios wide open past Amish horse-drawn buggies on rural Lancaster County, Pa., roads, Joplin, 16, was dropping out of school to follow the … Read more
It’s Friday-night rehearsal of act one, and a myriad of details, on and off the floorboards, still need to be ironed out. The Dancing Maids, in their warmup leggings and workout leotards — imaginary feather dusters fluttering from their long, graceful arms — are slightly out of step. “Don’t guess!” cautions Ann Dunn, the Asheville … Read more
Dig into Buncombe County’s cable-franchise history, and your head spins. Since the late 1970s, there have been more franchise agreements, more buyouts and ownership transfers, and more amendments piled on top of amendments than the number of court hearings in the Florida presidential race. County Clerk Kathy Hughes summed things up succinctly when Mountain Xpress … Read more
His hand resting on his great-grandmother’s well-worn Bible, Nathan Ramsey was sworn into office last week as the new chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, before a crowd of enthusiastic supporters at the Buncombe County Courthouse. Ramsey, a Republican, and the four returning Democratic commissioners all took their oaths of office on Dec. … Read more
Challenging the legitimacy of state government is no easy task — especially in the unlikely venue of a car-repossession hearing. But that’s just what Doug Stehling tried recently at the Buncombe County Courthouse. Stehling is one of a group of people seeking to legally re-establish the state of North Carolina under the constitution it had … Read more
Dollars for doers by Lisa Watters In the spirit of its namesake — a tenacious herb that persists in growing under the toughest of circumstances — the recently launched Dandelion Fund hopes to encourage and support grassroots, community-based movements struggling for social justice and change in Western North Carolina by providing monthly grants in amounts … Read more
Those four missing pages Journalistically speaking, it’s a really lousy day when you discover that the newspaper that just hit the streets has four missing pages. A lot of time and effort went into producing that issue and getting it right. We know the readers got shortchanged. A couple of letters to the editor failed … Read more
I’ll have to say that I’m very disappointed by the coverage in Mountain Xpress of the “controversy” surrounding WNCW. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, when those opinions become allegations of wrongdoing — especially when based on inaccurate and misleading information or a misunderstanding or lack of knowledge about certain issues — they … Read more
