Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Sunday, October 5, 2025
Jazz Is for Everyone- Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington: The Sound of Welcome
Oct 5 @ 3:00 pm
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

Lecture Demonstration Series for the Curious, the New, and the Devotee

Sun Oct 5 • 3 pm | 60 minutes

Louis and Duke were there at the beginning—and their influence echoes through every note that comes after. Louis taught the world to swing with joyful individuality. Duke, America’s greatest composer, gave us music that is sophisticated, soulful, and gloriously open. Between them, they laid the foundation—unshakably cool and warmly welcoming.

Jazz Is for Everyone is a series of five one-hour sessions exploring jazz music. Come to one or join them all—each session stands on its own and welcomes listeners at any level.

What You’ll Experience:
Guided listening
Live music demonstrations
Stories that connect the music to people, places, and intent
A space for questions, curiosity, and shared discovery

Jeremy Walker launched Jazz Is for Everyone in 2004 at his Brilliant Corners Jazz Club, with Wynton Marsalis serving as Artistic Advisor. The program was developed as an Educational Affiliate with Jazz at Lincoln Center. Since then, Walker’s been writing, composing, performing, producing, and speaking about why this music still matters.

FELLOW PYNINS SUNDAYS ON THE RIVER IN OLIVETTE
Oct 5 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
OLIVETTE RIVERSIDE PAVILION

Fellow Pynins is an award winning contemporary transatlantic folk duo with a keen and bucolic sense of vocal harmony and song craft. The live performance is a whimsically emotional escapade through the chasms of our, yes, feelings. Dashed with spontaneous and clever banter, mirth and woe, you will probably cry and quite possibly laugh, a lot. Wielding claw-hammer banjo, Irish bouzouki, mandolin, and acoustic guitar the duo sings predominantly original music as well as reworked traditional ballads gathered from their travels.

“Folk Music with a hefty touch of whimsy” – Bob Boilen (NPR)

The Steeldrivers 20th Anniversary Tour
Oct 5 @ 7:00 pm
Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

Only Nashville could give birth to a band like the SteelDrivers: a group of seasoned veterans –each distinguished in his or her own right, each valued in the town’s commercial community – who are seizing an opportunity to follow their hearts to their souls’ reward. In doing so, they are braiding their bluegrass roots with new threads of their own design, bringing together country, soul, blues, and other contemporary influences to create an unapologetic hybrid that is old as the hills but fresh as the morning dew. This is new music with the old feeling. SteelDrivers fan Vince Gill describes the band’s fusion as simply “an incredible combination.”

Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Exhibition – Sharon Louden: Barriers & Boundaries
Oct 8 @ 11:00 am – 11:00 am
Tracey Morgan Gallery

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present “Barriers & Boundaries,” a solo exhibition by Sharon Louden showcasing three interrelated bodies of work — paintings from The Barriers series (2023), selections from the Untitled series (2010), and a new wall installation featuring works on paper from Louden’s ongoing and current series, Barriers to Entry (2023–25). Together, these series trace Louden’s evolving vision, revealing a rich dialogue between past and present, painting and installation.

Louden’s work investigates limits—both actual and psychological—and the space in which constraint becomes possibility. The Barriers paintings evoke edges, thresholds, and the complex interplay between openness and division. The Untitled series explores fragile architectural form, color, and gentle quietness in the gestures themselves. The wall installation in Barriers to Entry transforms one of the gallery’s walls into a site of engagement, inviting viewers to navigate, literally reflect, and imagine themselves in a new environment.

Native America: In Translation
Oct 8 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Asheville Art Museum presents Native America: In Translation, an
exhibition curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Star, on view from May 22 through November 3,
2025. Featuring work by seven Indigenous photographers and lens-based artists from across North
America, the exhibition explores urgent questions of identity, heritage, land rights, and the ongoing
impact of colonialism.

Building on Red Star’s role as guest editor of the Fall 2020 issue of Aperture magazine, Native
America: In Translation continues the conversation through personal and often experimental visual
storytelling. Using self-portraits, performance-based imagery, and multimedia assemblages, the
artists offer new perspectives on Native life and representation today.

The Witcher in Concert
Oct 8 @ 7:30 pm
Peace Center

The Witcher in Concert is coming to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt! Witness the open-world RPG’s timeless score brought to life with a live orchestra performance, featuring special appearances by Polish folk metal band Percival, the original co-composers of the game’s soundtrack.

This cinematic experience combines breathtaking in-game visuals with live music, making it a must-see event for fans of The Witcher and epic orchestral performances alike.

Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic
Oct 8 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Third Room

Asheville’s longest running comedy open mic happening every Wednesday night. The show starts at 8:00, and there is no cover. Anyone wanting to perform can sign up starting at 7pm, and will get four minutes on stage. Local and not-so-local, professional and not-so-professional comics perform or just anyone wanting to get up in front of people and try to make them laugh. Always fun. Always free.

Thursday, October 9, 2025
Grease
Oct 9 all-day
Asheville Community Theater

Grease

September 19 – October 12, 2025

Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 PM

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Sponsored by: HomeTrust Bank

Bursting with high-octane fun and unforgettable songs like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “You’re the One That I Want,” Grease is the ultimate rock-and-roll celebration. Step back into the 1950s as Rydell High’s senior class navigates the ups and downs of love, identity, and teenage rebellion. One of the most popular musicals of all time, Grease is a rollicking good time.

Supported by a live five-piece band!

Exhibition – Sharon Louden: Barriers & Boundaries
Oct 9 @ 11:00 am – 11:00 am
Tracey Morgan Gallery

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present “Barriers & Boundaries,” a solo exhibition by Sharon Louden showcasing three interrelated bodies of work — paintings from The Barriers series (2023), selections from the Untitled series (2010), and a new wall installation featuring works on paper from Louden’s ongoing and current series, Barriers to Entry (2023–25). Together, these series trace Louden’s evolving vision, revealing a rich dialogue between past and present, painting and installation.

Louden’s work investigates limits—both actual and psychological—and the space in which constraint becomes possibility. The Barriers paintings evoke edges, thresholds, and the complex interplay between openness and division. The Untitled series explores fragile architectural form, color, and gentle quietness in the gestures themselves. The wall installation in Barriers to Entry transforms one of the gallery’s walls into a site of engagement, inviting viewers to navigate, literally reflect, and imagine themselves in a new environment.

Native America: In Translation
Oct 9 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Asheville Art Museum presents Native America: In Translation, an
exhibition curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Star, on view from May 22 through November 3,
2025. Featuring work by seven Indigenous photographers and lens-based artists from across North
America, the exhibition explores urgent questions of identity, heritage, land rights, and the ongoing
impact of colonialism.

Building on Red Star’s role as guest editor of the Fall 2020 issue of Aperture magazine, Native
America: In Translation continues the conversation through personal and often experimental visual
storytelling. Using self-portraits, performance-based imagery, and multimedia assemblages, the
artists offer new perspectives on Native life and representation today.

Aaron Lewis and the Stateliners
Oct 9 @ 7:30 pm
Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville

Aaron Lewis, the Vermont-born powerhouse first found success with Staind – the 2000s-era hard rockers who injected meditative muscle into an era better known for mindless aggression. But while that band is still very much alive, it was never enough to satisfy Lewis’ creative drive. Embracing his roots to earn a rare second round of success, a series of solo Country projects have led to two No. 1 Billboard Country Album debuts – TOWN LINE (2011) and SINNER (2016) – plus a PLATINUM collab with heroes George Jones and Charlie Daniels (“Country Boy”), and a GOLD-certified Billboard No. 1 with “Am I The Only One” in 2021. Lewis’ 2022 solo album followed suit, with FRAYED AT BOTH ENDS emerging as the best-selling Country album in America but he never wrote songs for the stats. No matter the sonic setting, Lewis writes and sings to get his truth out and his latest album THE HILL (2024) is no different.

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Oct 9 @ 8:00 pm
Grey Eagle Music Hall

The Grey Eagle and Worthwhile Sounds Present

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band

Doors: 7pm // Show: 8pm
$20.91

Grey Eagle Music Hall
ALL AGES
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Three time BMA nominee’s The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band are “the greatest front-porch blues band in the world”. They are led by Reverend Peyton, who most consider to be the premier finger picker playing today. He has earned a reputation as both a singularly compelling performer and a persuasive evangelist for the rootsy, country blues styles that captured his imagination early in life and inspired him and his band to make pilgrimages to Clarksdale, Mississippi to study under such blues masters as T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. Their last record Dance Songs For Hard Times went #1 on the Billboard, iTunes and Sirius XM Blues Charts and was produced by Grammy winner Vance Powell. The record was critically acclaimed by Rolling Stone, Relix, Popmatters, Guitar World, American Songwriter, No Depression, Glide, Wide Open Country, Paste, American Blues Scene and many more!
Friday, October 10, 2025
Grease
Oct 10 all-day
Asheville Community Theater

Grease

September 19 – October 12, 2025

Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 PM

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Sponsored by: HomeTrust Bank

Bursting with high-octane fun and unforgettable songs like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “You’re the One That I Want,” Grease is the ultimate rock-and-roll celebration. Step back into the 1950s as Rydell High’s senior class navigates the ups and downs of love, identity, and teenage rebellion. One of the most popular musicals of all time, Grease is a rollicking good time.

Supported by a live five-piece band!

Exhibition – Sharon Louden: Barriers & Boundaries
Oct 10 @ 11:00 am – 11:00 am
Tracey Morgan Gallery

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present “Barriers & Boundaries,” a solo exhibition by Sharon Louden showcasing three interrelated bodies of work — paintings from The Barriers series (2023), selections from the Untitled series (2010), and a new wall installation featuring works on paper from Louden’s ongoing and current series, Barriers to Entry (2023–25). Together, these series trace Louden’s evolving vision, revealing a rich dialogue between past and present, painting and installation.

Louden’s work investigates limits—both actual and psychological—and the space in which constraint becomes possibility. The Barriers paintings evoke edges, thresholds, and the complex interplay between openness and division. The Untitled series explores fragile architectural form, color, and gentle quietness in the gestures themselves. The wall installation in Barriers to Entry transforms one of the gallery’s walls into a site of engagement, inviting viewers to navigate, literally reflect, and imagine themselves in a new environment.

Native America: In Translation
Oct 10 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Asheville Art Museum presents Native America: In Translation, an
exhibition curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Star, on view from May 22 through November 3,
2025. Featuring work by seven Indigenous photographers and lens-based artists from across North
America, the exhibition explores urgent questions of identity, heritage, land rights, and the ongoing
impact of colonialism.

Building on Red Star’s role as guest editor of the Fall 2020 issue of Aperture magazine, Native
America: In Translation continues the conversation through personal and often experimental visual
storytelling. Using self-portraits, performance-based imagery, and multimedia assemblages, the
artists offer new perspectives on Native life and representation today.

Matt Mathews Boujee On A Budget
Oct 10 @ 7:00 pm
Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, A SECOND PERFORMANCE TIME FOR THIS SHOW HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR 9:30PM ON OCT. 10!

Come on out for a night of fun and laughter.

Ben Folds With The Asheville Symphony
Oct 10 @ 8:00 pm
Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville

Ben Folds With The Asheville Symphony is coming to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on October 10, 2025.

Joss Stone: Less Is More Tour
Oct 10 @ 8:00 pm
Peace Center

Bursting onto the scene at just 16 with her multi-platinum debut The Soul Sessions, Grammy and Brit Award-winning artist Joss Stone has captivated audiences around the globe with her stunning vocals and fearless artistry. With over 15 million albums sold and a billion streams in the U.S. alone, she’s a true force in modern soul.

Stone has shared the stage with legends—James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger, Sting, Gladys Knight, and more—and made history with her Total World Tour, performing in every country on Earth.

Her latest chapter is just as bold: a West End musical (The Time Traveler’s Wife), a critically acclaimed live album (20 Years of Soul), and a brand-new studio album on the way in 2025.

Chalk Dinosaur w/ Solar Circuit
Oct 10 @ 9:00 pm
Third Room

WHERE: Third Room
WHEN: Friday October 10, 2025
DOORS: 8pm SHOW: 9pm
GENRE: psychedelic jam rock / jamtronic fusion
TICKETS: $15 adv. / $20 d.o.s.

PURCHASE: https://tixr.com/e/152971

Chalk Dinosaur:
WEBSITE: https://chalkdinosaur.com
HEAR SOME MUSIC: https://chalkdinosaur.bandcamp.com
SEE A VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_7Rk-D1vGEo?si=EUEEe68oOYw1eesw

Chalk Dinosaur was founded in 2008 as the artist project of Pittsburgh music producer John O’Hallaron, and is known for it’s colorfully diverse and prolific songwriting. Over the years, Chalk Dinosaur has released 28 albums and EP’s, ranging from indie and surf rock to psychedelic rock, electronic dance music, funk, and jam. Some albums are instrumental and some are vocally centered. Some are solo recording projects, while others are collaborative albums featuring the full band.
Chalk Dinosaur (Pittsburgh, PA) as a performance entity is a live electronic duo featuring a fusion of dance, funk and psychedelic rock. Distinctive melodic themes coupled with a groove-focused rhythm section augmented with synthesizers and electronic textures, the live shows are characterized by high energy and emotional diversity.

 

 

Saturday, October 11, 2025
Art in the Park
Oct 11 all-day
Pack Square Park
October 4, 11, 18 2025

At the event you are sure to find the finest in handcrafted art that Asheville Area Artists have to offer. Skilled workers of Glass, Ceramics, Wood, Jewelry, and metal make their shops open to display to the public at every market. Positioned in the center of downtown Asheville the market has created over $1M in needed income for area artists. Many artists return to the market to welcome customers each year. Asheville is known as the hub of artistic activity that radiates throughout the area. Not only does Western North Carolina boast many excellent craft education programs, but it also plays host to many tourist each year. The vacationers marvel at the city as it’s arts and culture oozes out of every side of the artcentric mountainous region. Come start your next artistic adventure in the center of Asheville in Pack Square Park this June and October and take home some of the wondrous bounty that is Asheville Art.

Admission:
Free to attend.
Before & Afterparty
Oct 11 all-day
Center for Craft

BEFORE + AFTERPARTY
Saturday, October 11
8:30–11:00 pm
Suggested donation $40
Open to all

I Spy an immersive projection experience in the Center for Craft’s Ideation Lab. Curated cocktails, DJ, hands-on craft activities with Print House and Swannatopia, and a dance floor.

Bring an object to cast in acrylic. Record a message for the digital time capsule. Don’t miss it!

Sliding scale entry to support the Center for Craft’s mission to resource, catalyze, and amplify makers and scholars.

Activation and music by Frisson Studios.

Graphic design by Maxwell James Sauls.

Grease
Oct 11 all-day
Asheville Community Theater

Grease

September 19 – October 12, 2025

Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 PM

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Sponsored by: HomeTrust Bank

Bursting with high-octane fun and unforgettable songs like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “You’re the One That I Want,” Grease is the ultimate rock-and-roll celebration. Step back into the 1950s as Rydell High’s senior class navigates the ups and downs of love, identity, and teenage rebellion. One of the most popular musicals of all time, Grease is a rollicking good time.

Supported by a live five-piece band!

Winter Market 2025
Oct 11 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
WOLT

Winter Market 2025
Join us for our Winter Market filled with handmade treasures, unique vendors, and delicious food. Get ready for a fun and festive experience!
We still have a couple of vendor and food truck spots left. Please contact Third Day Design at [email protected] to reserve space at the Winter Market or any future event at WOLT. Vendor/Food truck fee is $20.

Exhibition – Sharon Louden: Barriers & Boundaries
Oct 11 @ 11:00 am – 11:00 am
Tracey Morgan Gallery

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present “Barriers & Boundaries,” a solo exhibition by Sharon Louden showcasing three interrelated bodies of work — paintings from The Barriers series (2023), selections from the Untitled series (2010), and a new wall installation featuring works on paper from Louden’s ongoing and current series, Barriers to Entry (2023–25). Together, these series trace Louden’s evolving vision, revealing a rich dialogue between past and present, painting and installation.

Louden’s work investigates limits—both actual and psychological—and the space in which constraint becomes possibility. The Barriers paintings evoke edges, thresholds, and the complex interplay between openness and division. The Untitled series explores fragile architectural form, color, and gentle quietness in the gestures themselves. The wall installation in Barriers to Entry transforms one of the gallery’s walls into a site of engagement, inviting viewers to navigate, literally reflect, and imagine themselves in a new environment.

Native America: In Translation
Oct 11 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Asheville Art Museum presents Native America: In Translation, an
exhibition curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Star, on view from May 22 through November 3,
2025. Featuring work by seven Indigenous photographers and lens-based artists from across North
America, the exhibition explores urgent questions of identity, heritage, land rights, and the ongoing
impact of colonialism.

Building on Red Star’s role as guest editor of the Fall 2020 issue of Aperture magazine, Native
America: In Translation continues the conversation through personal and often experimental visual
storytelling. Using self-portraits, performance-based imagery, and multimedia assemblages, the
artists offer new perspectives on Native life and representation today.

Children’s Entrepreneur Market
Oct 11 @ 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Greenwood Soccer Field at UNC-A

Big Game, Bright Ideas!
The Children’s Entrepreneur Market is setting up shop at the UNC-Asheville Women’s Soccer Game for a special event full of team spirit and young talent!
Come cheer on the Bulldogs and shop from kid-run businesses offering everything from handmade crafts to sweet treats and creative products. It’s the perfect blend of community, creativity, and soccer excitement!
Let’s rally behind our young entrepreneurs and student-athletes all for one unforgettable afternoon!

John Crist: Jokes for Humans
Oct 11 @ 7:00 pm
Peace Center

With special guest Derrick Stroup

John Crist is one of today’s fastest-rising stand-up comedians, earning more than one billion video views, more than 7.5 million fans on social media, and sold-out shows from coast to coast — continuously charting as one of Pollstar’s Top 10 Global Touring Comedians. John has sold out the majority of his 2025 U.S. ‘Jokes For Humans’ dates and continues to add multiple shows in select cities.

His latest comedy special John Crist: Emotional Support, released February 18, showcases his skills in delivering witty, pop culture commentary through clean humor. Filmed just six miles from his childhood home in Lilburn, GA, John Crist: Emotional Support sees the viral comedian diving into the ever-changing dynamics of growing up Christian in the 90s, navigating family group texts, mediating fights on the neighborhood Facebook page and more. In its first three weeks, the special earned more than 2.1 million stand-alone views, with social media clips surpassing 20 million views, as it continues to grow in viewership.

 

The Righteous Brothers: Bill Medley & Bucky Heard
Oct 11 @ 7:30 pm
Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS LOVIN’ FEELIN’ FAREWELL TOUR 

Prepare for a soul-stirring, nostalgic concert experience at the Lovin’ Feelin’ Farewell Tour of the legendary Righteous Brothers. The Righteous Brothers Lovin’ Feelin’ Farewell Tour promises a captivating musical odyssey, spanning the early days of rock and roll, the era of Blue-Eyed Soul and as far reaching as the movie Dirty Dancing.  From heartwarming ballads to energetic rock anthems, every performance is a testament to the enduring power of The Righteous Brothers’ music and their connection to fans across the globe. Take a journey through decades of timeless hits that have defined a generation, including “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,'” “Unchained Melody,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” “Soul and Inspiration,” “Ebb Tide,” and “Rock and Roll Heaven.” Bill Medley has been entertaining audiences for more than sixty years.  His iconic bass-baritone helped earn The Righteous Brothers their place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and is interwoven with the cherished memories of a lifetime of fans.

 

Sunday, October 12, 2025
Grease
Oct 12 all-day
Asheville Community Theater

Grease

September 19 – October 12, 2025

Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 PM

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Sponsored by: HomeTrust Bank

Bursting with high-octane fun and unforgettable songs like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “You’re the One That I Want,” Grease is the ultimate rock-and-roll celebration. Step back into the 1950s as Rydell High’s senior class navigates the ups and downs of love, identity, and teenage rebellion. One of the most popular musicals of all time, Grease is a rollicking good time.

Supported by a live five-piece band!

Kenilworth Artists Association Open Studio Tour
Oct 12 all-day
Kenilworth Neighborhood

Come join us for the 20th Anniversary of the Kenilworth Artists Association Open Studio Tour. Discover our Asheville NC neighborhood of creatives showcasing and selling their unique, local hand made art.
This year we have 27 talented artists in 15 locations. Artists working in a wide range of mediums, including paint, jewelry, pottery, ceramics, glass, fiber and fashion, woodcraft, mixed media, encaustic, paper, metalwork and collage.
New this year are art activities for all at Kenilworth Church on Saturday only. We will have several art stations and information tents to inform the public of our Artists’ Studio Tour and Kenilworth neighborhood happenings. Join us for an artful good time!