Stalking the halls of conservatories everywhere, there are purist professors who insist music should never be combined with any other activity — Mozart didn’t craft his piano concertos to serve as the backdrop for candlelit dinners of spaghetti marinara, for heaven’s sake — or with art. Their protestations notwithstanding, there’s a long tradition of musicians … Read more
In the early ’90s, fans and critics lauded Jay Farrar as a pioneer. He blazed the trail for the fledgling alt-country genre with his former band, Uncle Tupelo. His next project, Son Volt, showed no sign of halting the creative spirit, culling from the same poetic ilk that buoyed his former outfit. The heralded success … Read more
The World Festival of Sacred Music, held every third year in Los Angeles, was reportedly “initiated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1999 to mark the millennium with a message of peace, cultural understanding, and spirituality.” Asheville’s own Sacred Music Festival may not have sprung from such auspicious beginnings — the vocal-and-instrumental concert began … Read more
During Folkmoot — Waynesville’s two-week international-dance festival held in July — translators are often used to ease the language barrier between foreign groups and their American hosts. But Robert Jumper, spokesman for the Eastern Band of Cherokee, got a message from Folkmoot that went beyond words. “We wanted something of that magnitude, but that focuses … Read more
CD review Steep Canyon Rangers, One Dime at a Time (Rebel Records): Four Stars • Genre(s): Bluegrass • You’ll like it if: You don’t mind bright-eyed lads plundering traditional bluegrass with remarkable ease. • Defining song: “Green Eyed Lady” — At first, I expressed disappointment that it wasn’t a cover of the Sugarloaf staple. Dismay … Read more
Flavor: Upwardly mobile pub grub Ambiance: Slightly raucous at times, but generally warm and neighborly Service: Good September’s here again, and nothing says fall to me like Guinness and burgers for breakfast. No stunning autumn landscape, no crisp, blue day, could possibly rival the downright decadent satisfaction that comes from sleeping through a chilly morning, … Read more
Howling good times: Madison’s Inn and Restaurant in Black Mountain is going to the dogs. On Thursday, Sept. 22, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Inn will host a silent auction fundraiser for Full Moon Farm, a 17-acre mountain haven dedicated to the rescue and shelter of the wolf dog. There will be a wine … Read more
As the garden season yields to chillier nights and we tip into post-equinoctial darkness, breaking up is hard to do. The tiny seedlings we so tenderly defended from slug, caterpillar, aphid, bunny, woodchuck, drought and flood have become robust, even rank, and any day now they’ll be history. Frost’s leaden grip is slipping down the … Read more
Price increases are a fact of life. And for cab companies, that means paying more for their vehicles as well as for repairs, tires, insurance — and, of course, fuel. But unlike most businesses, cabbies can’t simply jack up the amount they charge their customers. In North Carolina, cities have the option of regulating the … Read more
