Calendar of Events

Every Wednesday Trivia Night

“John Ford taps the roots of blues, giving those fortunate enough to hear him, a lesson in Blues 101….. ”

— Andrew Benson – Depot BBQ, Cincinnati, Ohio

It’s pre war blues, old school country, southern gospel and the history behind the music. John Ford assimilates the blues of the 1920’s and 30’s, the blues of Robert Johnson and Son House, a bit of 1940’s country and a pinch of gospel rhythm, and comes up with his own brand of the roots experience.

Ford has been writing since his early teens, growing up in New Richmond, Ohio a small river town 20 miles east of Cincinnati. “Whether it be a new song I’ve written or an old song from the 1930’s, I play what I fall in love with.”

John’s most recent album “John Ford Live at Morehead State University” was released in early 2020. With some of the area’s finest musicians playing along, Ford performs some classic blues standards as well as his original tune ” Ma Sibbi’s Chicken and Dumplins” an ode to his grandmother.

In 2016, he released “The John Ford Blues Society”, his first full length album.

John recorded the 2014 EP “Songs From Room 414″ at The Gunter Hotel in San Antonio Texas – the hallowed ground where Robert Johnson recorded 16 out of his 27 songs in November of 1936.

His first EP, “Injection of the Blues” was released in 2011.

Over the past few years he has performed at venues through out the Midwest and South including” The Shack Up Inn” in Clarksdale Mississippi and BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups in St. Louis, as well as opening for Cedric Burnside, Patrick Sweaney, Damon Fowler and Ruthie Foster.

• Click to Visit the John Ford Website
• Click To Listen to Sample Video

By Christopher Durang

Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play.

Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home in Bucks County, PA, where they bicker and complain about the circumstances of their lives. Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Old resentments flare up, eventually leading to threats to sell the house. Also on the scene are sassy maid Cassandra, who can predict the future, and a lovely young aspiring actress named Nina, whose prettiness somewhat worries the imperious Masha.

Discretionary Content: Adult themes and Language

tickets: Dirtwire: Ghostcatcher Tour with Mystik Fool Tickets | Asheville, NC | The Orange Peel (etix.com)

Learn Asheville’s history, discover hidden gems, and laugh at LaZoom’s quirky sense of adventure.

• Guided comedy tour bus of historical Asheville
• 90-Minutes – tours run daily
• 15-minute break at Green Man Brewing
• $39 per person (ages 13+ only)

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

The Western North Carolina Historical Association invites you to an evening of fine dining, Thursday, March 30 at 5pm, with proceeds benefiting historic preservation. Prepared by the nationally-recognized and award-winning culinary department at A-B Tech, the all-inclusive, five-course gourmet dinner has become an Asheville-area tradition. Dinner service will begin promptly at 5:00pm. Culinary students will prepare one basic menu, but with their own choices of sides, garnishes, etc. Each table will have their own unique experience. A glass of wine is included with dinner. Due to college protocols, no other alcohol is allowed. Also, because this is a pre-set menu and is student driven, we are unfortunately unable to make menu substitutions based on preference or dietary needs. Read More and Register: https://www.wnchistory.org/event/annual-fundraising-dinner-at-historic-fernihurst-mansion/. For questions please email Trevor Freeman at [email protected]

Every Thursday Live Music with Aaron Lafalce at 131 Main Restaurant, 6:00 p.m.

Trivia, Singo, tailgate games, and more! Our games are sure to challenge you, but c’mon… it’s not rocket science!

Mile Twelve is back in motion. From the first manic, dissonant downbeat of their virtuosic new record, Close Enough to Hear, you’ll discover a band that is ready to explode from a restless pandemic-induced hiatus. The first track “Romulus,” glides and rages as the narrator wrestles with the ultimate impermanence of the empire he’s forged.

Next comes the magical realism of “Johnny Oklahoma,” the youth who volunteers to be fired out of a cannon for the good of his community, in one big beautiful nihilistic burst. These musicians are clearly working through some hard questions posed by the last few years. You’ll hear the same warmth and innovation that earned the band IBMA’s 2019 Album of the Year nomination and 2020 New Artist of the Year Award, and that’s gained them an international reputation as one of the most dynamic groups in contemporary acoustic music. The title track “Close Enough to Hear,” is a stripped down dream of all that we missed so dearly in those early, terrifying months of lockdown.

Something else is close enough to hear on this new album. You’ll notice the presence of two new members: fiddler and vocalist Ella Jordan and mandolinist Korey Brodsky. Take note of the new dimension they add to the band, and their ability to lock in with founding members Evan Murphy (guitar, vocals), Catherine Bowness (banjo), and Nate Sabat (bass, vocals). These aren’t session players; this album captures the formation of a new coherent unit.

Zoe and Cloyd

In 2022, the band was an official showcase artist at the IBMA World of Bluegrass, featured guest artists for the Davidson College Holiday Gala, as well as hosts of A Swannanoa Solstice at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Their fifth studio album, Songs of Our Grandfathers, is set to release in May of 2023 on Organic Records, just before their international debut in Northern Ireland.

Zoe & Cloyd delight audiences with soaring harmonies and heartfelt songwriting, seamlessly combining original bluegrass, klezmer, old-time and folk with sincerity and zeal.

By Christopher Durang

Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play.

Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home in Bucks County, PA, where they bicker and complain about the circumstances of their lives. Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Old resentments flare up, eventually leading to threats to sell the house. Also on the scene are sassy maid Cassandra, who can predict the future, and a lovely young aspiring actress named Nina, whose prettiness somewhat worries the imperious Masha.

Discretionary Content: Adult themes and Language

– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

THE COLLECTION

When we lean on one another, we don’t fall. The Collection derives an inimitable musical language from the unbreakable bond between its members. Fronted by David Wimbish, the Saxapahaw, NC-based band places just as much emphasis on interpersonal community and relationships as it does on the music itself.
On their new EP How To Survive An Ending (Nettwerk Music Group, January 2023), The Collection emanates positivity from a place of pure love encoded in a pastiche of alternative, pop, folk, and roots.

This isn’t an overnight success story. This is generating tens of millions of streams across various releases, logging tens of thousands of miles on the road, earning praise from American Songwriter, Glide, Parade, and more, and landing on NPR Tiny Desk Judges’ Picks – all before signing their first record deal.

Over the years, the group has fine-tuned their approach to making music and being together on the road to the point of codifying a signature set of “rules for how to be a band.” Wimbish notes these rules maintain “good boundaries and foster better relationships, better shows, and overall better conditions amongst the crew.”

He reveals, “The first rule is a strict ‘No Sarcasm Rule’. We don’t put each other down or act passive aggressively.” Instead, they’re honest, direct, and open. They take time for therapy and mental health as another rule. “We’re always supportive of each other. We’re listening, we’re trying our best to show up for one another.” It’s clear when you speak to Wimbish about his bandmates that they are real friends. It isn’t just about music or the shows. They really do care for one another.

“We try to give each other constant encouragement, especially on the road” notes Wimbish. “If someone needs a cheerleading session, we pitch in and encourage that person. Before we get on stage, we’ll do breathing exercises together and get everyone in the same place mentally. In general, we try to implement healthy practices—whether we’re on tour or at home. It’s part of who we are and it’s part of our community.”

And that community has only continued to blossom. Following 2014’s full-length debut Ars Morendi, the  band attracted a devout fanbase with Listen To The River [2017] and Entropy [2018]. Among many highlights from the latter, standout single “Beautiful Life” has gathered 6.5 million Spotify streams and counting. At the same time, they became renowned for raucous and rowdy performances. The group has lit up festival stages and crisscrossed the country with The Oh Hellos, RIPE, Tall Heights, and Sammy Rae & The Friends, to name a few.

Of “Blue Day,” the first of the bunch, Parade proclaimed, “Breezy acoustic guitar and a sweet melancholy sentiment help paint this pristine vocal landscape,” and American Songwriter noted, “The raw track evokes a sense of serenity with lofty vocals that eloquently deliver a timely reminder of kindness.” “GET LOST” came along next, which Alfitude hailed as “a song with deeply meaningful lyricism, emotive vocals and a beautifully constructed melody.”

MOM ROCK

Learn Asheville’s history, discover hidden gems, and laugh at LaZoom’s quirky sense of adventure.

• Guided comedy tour bus of historical Asheville
• 90-Minutes – tours run daily
• 15-minute break at Green Man Brewing
• $39 per person (ages 13+ only)

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

Yeehaw! THIS SHINDIG GONNA BE A REAL HUMDINGER!
DSSOLVR Brewery is hosting a rootin’ tootin’ Western Country themed party .
March 31st at 7pm pick yourself up by the bootstraps and giddyup ondown to
THE JOLLY RANCHER! A night of Outlaw Country Bangers, that’ll make you happier than a dead pig in the sunshine.
Join us for an evening of delicious food from JollyBBQ starting at 3pm, a photo booth to capture your best bolo tie and giant mustaches, line dancing to get those boots stompin’, and music spun by DJ BOOTSCOOTBOOGIE (aka DJ DUCHESS) that will keep you two-steppin’ all night long!
So saddle on up and come on down. Ya’ll aint ready for this gotdamn hootinanny!

Join us Friday, March 31 at Burntshirt Vineyards Tasting Room & Winery for live music at the vineyard with The Paper Crowns! The Paper Crowns are the multi-instrument, genre-crossing power duo of Spiro and Nicole Nicolopoulos. They are earning their reputation as the genuine article as a band on the cutting edge of modern roots music. Their musical chemistry is a gumbo of music genres. Mixing Appalachian folk, bluegrass, delta blues, acid rock, and more, they cook up a sound all their own. As a duo, they have a full band sound with drums, bass, guitars, banjos, and live looping, on-the-spot compositions. Their mix of modern and traditional performance creates a captivating intensity, yet always honors their intimacy and emotional rawness as a duo.

Their music has found placement in major network TV campaigns and online ad campaigns, including the Olympic Games and Pepsi. The Paper Crowns have been featured on various local and regional radio stations including Asheville FM, WBTV Charlotte, and 98.1 The River. The dynamic duo will be at Burntshirt Vineyards Hendersonville Friday from 3-6 PM. Come on down to the vineyard for an afternoon of amazing music, fabulous wines, and good times!

Wanna hear the best local music ​and​ drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.

Support:
Des Rocs
Blood Red Shoes

Ages 18+

By: Karen Ruetz

Director: Lois Hade

Written by emerging playwright Karen Ruetz from Georgia, Trillium is a tale of magic, love, jealousy and revenge set in the Appalachian Mountains. Granny always warned Maeve not to interfere with love, but when Sarah, an old friend, comes to her for a love potion, Maeve reluctantly agrees to help her. Hoping to heal past wounds of a broken friendship, Maeve unknowingly opens Pandora’s box, releasing unfortunate events that will change her life.

Hendersonville Theatre is dedicated to the development of local playwrights, and to the production of innovative new work. Join us as we present our first production developed here in Hendersonville. This world premiere of a new play has been specifically chosen for our audience and our region.

Approximate Run Time: 90 minutes
Rating: PG due to adult situations and mild language

By: Karen Ruetz
Director: Lois Hade

Written by emerging playwright Karen Ruetz from Georgia, Trillium is a tale of magic, love, jealousy and revenge set in the Appalachian Mountains. Granny always warned Maeve not to interfere with love, but when Sarah, an old friend, comes to her for a love potion, Maeve reluctantly agrees to help her. Hoping to heal past wounds of a broken friendship, Maeve unknowingly opens Pandora’s box, releasing unfortunate events that will change her life.

Approximate Run Time: 90 minutes
Rating: PG due to adult situations and mild language.

This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the Arts Council of Henderson County and the City of Hendersonville.