In recent years, Asheville’s underground music scene has benefitted greatly from an influx of well-established musicians, DIY label honchos and motivated show promoters. Arriving from all corners of the country, these folks tend to share the same belief — that our little mountain province is as groovy a locale as any to set up shop … Read more
The money used to purchase the property [across from the St. Lawrence Basilica] came from tax dollars. The income of the sale is less or equal to the original purchase price. You/the city will receive no room tax from the hotel. The sale will only benefit one out-of-state company for a short time. The benefits … Read more
It is possible that this article is NSFW. Blowfly is nasty. Nasty and weird. For more than 40 years, the 73-year-old performer has sung tweaked versions of soul, rap, and R&B songs, turning them into no-holds-barred, no-words-shunned, no-taboos-respected odes to sex, stink and sweat. And he does it all while wearing a superhero costume. You … Read more
Being the opening act can be a thankless task, what with playing to a crowd who didn’t come to see you and taking the less-glamorous early slot. But it’s also a chance to roll out your best new material and, in 30 minutes or so, turn a room full of strangers into your newest disciples. … Read more
Please stop insisting that McKibbon must build a hotel and parking! It sure feels like you are in collusion. The new plain and cheap-exterior Broadway Hotel, if built near the Basilica, would be a huge failure — for the builder, City Council and the people of Asheville. Please listen. Quality of life for the downtown … Read more
Pardee Hospital mistakenly blames its low patient-satisfaction rating on the old hospital at the main campus. [For more about the patient-satisfaction survey, visit http://avl.mx/hz.] Pardee mistakenly believes that the old hospital building, built in 1952, is a turn-off to its patients. Wrong! Had patients received excellent medical treatment, they would have overlooked having been housed … Read more
Local singer-songwriter and guitarist Valorie Miller is set to release her sixth album, Turtle Shell. The project was recorded at Echo Mountain in a mere 10 hours. Guests on the project include Mike Holstein on upright bass, Will Straughan on Dobro and backing vocals, Justin Ray on trumpet and Rupert Wates on piano. Varying from … Read more
Naturalist George Ellison chronicles over 30 years of his life, marriage, family and work as a writer — all while living on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The resulting book, Permanent Camp: Poems, Narratives and Renderings from the Smokies, includes poetry and prose along with water color landscapes by Ellison's wife, … Read more
The N.C. State Historic Sites series 2nd Saturdays continues at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial on Saturday, July 14 with Asheville’s Land of the Sky Barbershop Chorus. The vocal performance group sings popular music in "four-part consonant a cappella harmonies featuring dominant seventh chords," with plenty of comedy and audience participation. The free, family-friendly event runs … Read more
Now that we're well into summer (you can tell by the heat, the fireflies, the watermelon cravings), it's the perfect time for Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lucky for you, Montford Park Players is performing that very comedy, through Saturday, July 21. In case you need a refresher, the play follows the adventures of four … Read more
