Thomas Wolfe, Carl Sandburg, Terry Sanford, Charles Kuralt. Most North Carolinians probably wouldn’t find anything sinister in this list of some of the state’s favorite sons. Yet the FBI investigated and maintained secret files on all of these prominent people, whose names are written into both state and national history. These and similar files, declassified … Read more
For the past decade, disturbing questions have swirled around Wilco like the insistent entreaties of some couch shrink. And one of them doesn’t ever seem to get resolved: Who exactly are you? Well, no wonder: The band’s albums seem to add up to something like a Dharma vision quest. Is Wilco the group that validated … Read more
Proprietors of the Grove Park Inn set considerable store by the army of notables who have spent time beneath its tiled dormers and stone porticos. Though many a restaurant and hotel boast a wall of fame, GPI’s entry comprises a staggering who’s-who of the 20th Century. “Staggering” is sometimes too apt — and probably no … Read more
As part of a genuine Rags-to-spiritual-riches quest, boogie-woogie wuenderkind Abe Reid is back dazzling dancers — just as he did a decade ago fronting Asheville’s then-premier club band, punkish rag ‘n’ roll pioneers the Blue Rags. This Saturday night, the 32-year-old dynamo returns with his funk-rock trio the Spikedrivers (with bassist Korey Dudley and drummer … Read more
The Flat Rock Music Festival happens Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26, at Camp Ton-A-Wandah. Weekend passes include camping, and are $70/advance while supplies last, $80 at the gate. Tickets for youth (ages 11-17) are half-price. Daily tickets cost $30/Friday, $35/Saturday and $20/Sunday for adults ($15/$15/$10 for youth). Children 10 and younger get in … Read more
“Creative people struggle with demons, and try to deal with them on certain levels,” suggests Mark Kemp, author of the just-published rock ‘n’ roll memoir Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South. “Based on conversations I’ve had with musicians, alcoholics, drug addicts and recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, … Read more
Views Great White, Cherokee Survivors Motorcycle Rally, Fair Grounds, Cherokee, N.C.; Friday, Sept. 10 “Like the fearsome, deadly denizen of the deep that shares its name, Great White knows something about survival of the fittest.” Given the band’s recent history, this lead-off sentence to their latest press release is a bit hard to fathom. In … Read more
Gardening has reached new heights at The North Carolina Arboretum — about 40 feet off the ground, on top of the arboretum’s recently completed Operations Center. The new horticultural venture (and exhibit) is a “green roof” — sometimes known as a vegetated green roof. It’s one of the center’s many features that meet the state’s … Read more
The fast-rising floodwaters weren’t the only thing that surprised Asheville residents. Many, like Billy Hagen, were shocked to smell and see evidence of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of gallons of fuel and other toxic liquids that spilled into WNC rivers during the massive flooding that occurred as a result of Hurricane Frances. As … Read more
