“This should be a great year for berries,” says Walter Harrill of Imladris Farm in Fairview. “A very solid berry year indeed.” That's good news for local food lovers and supporters, who have been worried about the possible impacts to berry production from the late frost, which had devastating effects on WNC's apple crop. “There … Read more
Out of sight on Eagle and Market streets, a mere block away from the tourist corridor of Biltmore Avenue, the area known as the Block doesn't attract many visitors to its small, dense environs. But for nearly a century, the Block has served as a social and commercial hub for Asheville’s African-American community. While some … Read more
Having once played in Asheville to an awe-struck and delighted crowd 11 years ago, Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai return for a live performance combining the Native American wood flute and the concert piano. And though you’ll often find their records pegged as New Age, Kater doesn’t feel comfortable with that label. More accurate, … Read more
In the months leading up to the May 8 primary, how did the Buncombe County commissioner candidates raise and spend money? Their initial campaign-finance reports provide a snapshot of how much was donated, who the contributors were, how much the candidates spent and what they spent it on. The next round of reports is due … Read more
I want to express my thanks to Brent Brown for his "Lowlife Scum" cartoon in the June 27 Mountain Xpress. If you'll permit me, I'd like to address the Lowlife Scum directly, and explain the historical precedent behind the severity and deep immorality of this particular crime. In the Old West, stealing a horse was … Read more
Boy, howdy: It sure seems like music lost its way a while back — gone off the rails, you might say. I remember a time when kids playing music was all about living in the moment, the here-and-now — kicksville, we used to call it. Tomorrow may bring an alien invasion, atom bombs, or — … Read more
According to Charleston, S.C.-based "sloppy-tonk" duo Shovels & Rope, its stripped-down setup (two guitars and a "junkyard drum kit harvested from an actual garbage heap") is about necessity. Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent are an onstage two-person band and offstage married couple who have honed their sound into a "harmonized, loose but tight, streamlined … Read more
Asheville native Charles Frazier is probably best known as the author of Cold Mountain. His newest novel, Nightwoods, is also set in the Appalachian mountains — though instead of the post-Civil War era, that work of love and suspense is set in the early 1960s. Frazier is the second author to appear as part of … Read more
Author, library critic and Emily Dickinson scholar Christopher Benfey already has an impressive CV. He's also the grandnephew of Josef and Anni Albers, German artists who emigrated to the U.S. to escape Nazi pressure and joined the faculty at Black Mountain College. Benfey's family memoir, Red Brick, Black Mountain, White Clay, follows the journey of … Read more
The summer installment of The Big Crafty — equal parts social event, indie-craft bazaar and shopping expo — returns to Pack Place and Pack Square on Sunday, July 8. Vendors include Owlette Collective (bibs, bonnets and vests for babies), Rockpile Bindery (custom-made books), Sweet Mess Art (illustrations and prints with lots of stylized birds, flowers … Read more
