The Best of WNC, Part 1

Local experimental-rock band Fashion Bath launches new LP, Give It, with a free show at The Mothlight on Monday, Aug. 10.

RiverLink's annual RiverFest is on Saturday, Aug. 8. The full day of live music, food trucks, Sierra Nevada beer and more begins at 11 a.m with the Anything that Floats…

Hannah Dansie's show The Fishwife — opening at The Satellite Gallery on Friday, Aug. 7 — was named after a story from a Grimm's fairytale book that was read to…

Counting Crows performs at the Biltmore Estate on Sunday, Aug. 9, as part of the annual summer concert series. The show is a stop on the band's current tour in…

The wordsmith presents his latest work at the Crow and Quill on Sunday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m., along with poet Caleb Beissert, singer/songwriter Darien Crossley and jazz singer Katie…

Black Mountain's annual Sourwood Festival was named for the area's high-quality honey, but in its 38th year, the weekend-long celebration also offers local arts and crafts, music, games and, of…

The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, now in its 88th year, returns to the Diana Wortham Theatre, Thursday to Saturday, Aug. 6 to 8. Entertainers at this year’s three-night gathering…

The emerging rappers perform at the One Stop on Saturday, Aug. 8, at 8 p.m., with Zoot Troop (Mayor Black and Dante) opening for SASS and Daree.

The struggle embodied by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain — and caused by the opposing forces of creating for progress versus profits, genuineness versus marketing genius, art versus money — plays…

The modernized play runs at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, Fridays through Sundays, Aug. 7-29, at 7:30 p.m.

Look for apparel from Charles Josef, Angela Kim, McKinney Gough, Anna Gordon, Tricia M. Ellis and the design team at House of Fabrics, among others at Asheville Fashion Week.

Although gentrification may be watering down the legacy of longstanding watering holes, several beloved dive bars stand strong in Asheville.

Chef Patrick Abernathy has spent the past 15 years working at notable Asheville eateries, but Chupacabra Latin Café in Reynolds Village is his first solo project.

WNC beverage enthusiasts are harnessing the kick of ginger in their alcoholic and nonalcoholic brews.

The agriculture department has released a master plan for the WNC Farmers Market calling for everything from LED fixtures and improved signage to a new brew pub, outdoor dining and…

Desperate for something that would calm his shaking hands, Sylva resident Ted Kubit found relief in deep brain stimulation, a surgical procedure that involves drilling holes in the skull and implanting a device in…

This week in local film news, The Orange Peel screens "Merchants of Doubt," BMCM+AC screens "How to Draw a Bunny" and New Belgium gears up for the return of its…

"The solution to the affordable housing problem is political and community will."

"Whenever people ask what we need to create more affordable housing, we say: capital."

Slip-and-slides, water balloon games, crazy sprinklers, food trucks and live music take over Hall Fletcher's activity field on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Editor’s note: This essay is part of a series in which local experts were asked: “What would it take to solve the Asheville area’s affordable housing problem?” Housing in Asheville…

"Why is the focus on “affordable housing” and not on “affordable living”? The official “affordable housing” definitions focus narrowly on rent; transportation costs are ignored."

Sixteen candidates have officially thrown their hats into the ring for the Asheville City Council elections this fall. Each week, Xpress will introduce, in brief, four candidates’ backgrounds and ideas…

What would it take to solve the Asheville area’s affordable housing problem?

"For every job created with a subsidy that doesn’t provide a living wage, let’s provide a genuinely affordable home."

Surrounded by mountains and crammed into a 45-square-mile valley, the city of Asheville is bursting at the seams, suffering from a severe housing shortage, skyrocketing rents and home prices, overcrowded…

"Thinking of my flu as transformational evolution pacified me for a minute or so: Then I had to blow my nose again."

Regarding [a July 9 article in the Asheville Citizen-Times], “Franklin Graham Slams Obama for Supporting Gay Marriage”: “The most damnable and bloodthirsty tyranny that a nation can be subjected to,…

"The lack of global warming for the past 18 years while CO2 rose 10 percent (likely due mainly to soaring hydrocarbon fuel use in China and other developing nations) suggests…

"Because most butchering goes on behind closed doors (ever try to get a slaughterhouse tour?), consumers tend to block out the cruelty behind the nicely packaged meat and dairy in…

"[Short-term rentals] threaten to commercialize and disrupt residential neighborhoods which, for most of us, represent the largest investments we will ever be make."

"Veganism — a diet free of animal products — is exploding in the United States and abroad."

"Residential zoning is there for a reason. People who have chosen to live in quiet, residential subdivisions within the city limits do not want to suddenly find that they are…