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.

Saturday, April 22, 2023
80S VS 90S DANCE PARTY featuring DJ Molly Parti + DJ Oso Rey
Apr 22 @ 9:00 pm
The Orange Peel
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Incendiary Performer + Piano Rocker Jesse Daniel Edwards
Apr 23 all-day
Shakey's

High-energy, piano & guitar based alt rock marked by virtuosic musicianship; dark and masterful songwriting; soaring vocals; and a band that crosses nimbly from gritty guitars to pounding piano.

Jesse Daniel Edwards is an alternative rock songwriter from the small mountain town of Cuyamaca, CA where he grew up without TV, internet, or significant exposure to the outside world. Leaving home at 16, he spent his late teens busking on street corners around the US and abroad with his brother. While singing outside of bars on Music Row in Nashville, TN Jesse struck up a friendship with Al Bunetta (John Prine). Bunetta served as a mentor to the young artist, encouraging Jesse to write and tour full-time in the years to follow. His songs have been featured in radio, TV, streaming movies, video games, and film- with his latest album (produced by Joe Chiccarelli- The Shins, The Strokes) releasing in June of 2023.

Instagram:
instagram.com/jessedanieledwards

Facebook:
Facebook.com/jessedanieledwardsmusic

Soundcloud:

Spotify:

Mother Earth Food: Local + sustainable food delivered to your door
Apr 23 all-day
online w/ Organic Growers School
OGS Ad

Mother Earth Food:

Local & sustainable food delivered to your door!

 

Ever wish your favorite items from your local farmers market could be delivered to your door? Mother Earth Food makes that possible!

Mother Earth Food is a family-owned, grocery home delivery service featuring local organic food from farmers and food artisans from Asheville and across Western North Carolina. Mother Earth Food delivers organic and sustainably raised vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy, baked goods, prepared meals, wellness items, and pantry items to those living in Western NC.

“We believe that supporting locally raised and produced food is how we can best change our food system and help our community move towards a healthier and more sustainable future. By partnering with Mother Earth Food, you dramatically lessen the miles that your food travels to get to your plate. It is estimated that meals in the U.S. travel about 1,500 miles to get from farm to plate, while local meals travel an average of 50 miles. The environmental and economic ripple effect from what we do is not only changing our community… it’s changing the world! We’re lessening our carbon footprint by bringing the Farmer’s Market to your door!” – MEF Team.

 

Use the coupon code “OGS25” to get $25 off your first order.

First Sunday Jam of 2023 and Outdoor Taproom Opening Day
Apr 23 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Pisgah Brewing Co.

Pisgah Brewing Company officially kicks off its 2023 season with Black Mountain’s original Sunday Jam, hosted Spiro and Friends!

This jam features original jams and favorite covers. Bring your instrument! Sign-ups at the stage starting at 6:00 PM!

Pisgah Beer, Gluten Free and N/A options available. Family and dog friendly venue.

The taproom is open from 2:00 to 9:00 PM with music beginning at 6:30 PM.

Photo credit: David Simchock Photography

Hybrid | Poet Quartet: Kelli Allen, Luke Hankins, Cathryn Hankla, Annie Woodford
Apr 23 @ 4:30 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore and Virtual

Poetrio is our monthly poetry event, hosted by Mildred Kiconco Barya. Due to an influx of fine poets, “Poet Quartet” will debut on April 23rd and feature Kelli Allen, Luke Hankins, Cathryn Hankla, and Annie Woodford!

This is a hybrid event, meaning there is an option to attend virtually and a limited number of seats are available to attend the event in-store.
The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. 

Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.

All of the poets’ new books will be available to purchase in-store at the event. You may also call us at 828-254-6734 order online below.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!

 


Kelli Allen is an award-wining poet, editor, and dancer. Her latest book is Leaving the Skin on the Bear, C&R Press, 2022. Her fiction has appeared in The Best Small Fictions 2022, and she is the recipient of the 2018 Magpie Award for Poetry. Her two chapbooks: Some Animals, won the 2016 Etchings Press Prize, and How We Disappear won the 2016 Damfino Press award. She is the co-Founding Editor of Book of Matches literary journal and currently teaches writing and literature in North Carolina. For more, visit www.kelli-allen.com

These poems crackle with feral intensity, with “want and seawater,” with the desire to know the world in all its rowdy glamour and to praise that world. I love how these poems include the caterpillar, the tongue and the bamboo prayer beads, how they weep and cackle over goat-carts and tossed coins. This is a luminous and spicy collection of poems with the power to inspire us to live more deeply that we thought possible. —Jay Leeming

Luke Hankins is the author of two poetry collections, Radiant Obstacles and Weak Devotions, and a collection of essays, The Work of Creation. A volume of his translations from the French of Stella Vinitchi Radulescu, A Cry in the Snow & Other Poems, was released by Seagull Books in 2019. Hankins is the founder and editor of Orison Books, a non-profit literary press focused on the life of the spirit from a broad and inclusive range of perspectives. For more, visit https://lukehankins.net

Testament shows Luke Hankins deftly at work in a ‘small glory’ of a chapbook! Whether addressing the troubled country that is America or bringing the reader into the prayer-like intimacy of resonant daily moments, Hankins’s poems here create spaces of presence and awareness that are refreshing and which reward rereading. Testament evokes its title by speaking the facts of the self in such ways that we can join Hankins in loving ‘the broken world better / that has broken me.’ –José Angel Araguz

Cathryn Hankla is a writer, editor, teacher, and seeker; she’s the author of sixteen books in three genres, including Immortal Stuff: prose poems; Not Xanadu: poems; the recent memoir in essays, Lost Places: on losing and finding home; and the story collection Fortune Teller Miracle Fish. Hankla is professor emerita of English & Creative Writing, Hollins University and edits poetry for The Hollins Critic. She enjoys hikes and walks in the Appalachians region and exhibits artwork at Market Gallery in Roanoke, Virginia. For more, visit https://www.cathrynhankla.com

Cathryn Hankla offers us a collection of moments, stories, and encounters that form a labyrinth we could otherwise call the human condition. She speaks to us as an old friend we must listen to. If you haven’t read Hankla before you’ll be surprised at her range—Gershwin, Mozart, tree frogs, Gettysburg—and her music, evident here in prose poems that sing as few can. If you have read her previously, as I have for years, you’ll be heartened by the wisdom, clarity, and honesty of Immortal Stuff. –Pablo Medina

Annie Woodford is concerned with how people make beauty despite precarity and perhaps because of it. She has been a community college educator since 2001 and has taught at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC since 2018. Her first book of poetry, Bootleg, was a runner-up for the Weatherford Award for Appalachian poetry. Her second book, Where You Come from Is Gone (Oct. 2022) is the winner of Mercer University’s 2020 Adrienne Bond Prize. For more, visit https://www.anniewoodfordpoet.com

This is a collection that interrogates the nuance of what ‘home’ actually means. Set in the deep South, Woodford captains a journey toward a place of great comfort, pastoral beauty, and familiarity while confronting the historical violence of both race and class. In this work, the poems lift above the page and gently question the ways in which love coupled with disgrace create the tapestry that is, at once, our families, our memories, our lives. –Airea Matthews

PATIO: Shake a Leg
Apr 23 @ 5:00 pm
The Grey Eagle
– ALL AGES
– LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

SHAKE A LEG
Local singer-songwriter Josh Pierce has been writing and sharing songs for 25+ years. Originally hailing from central Illinois, Josh initially made Asheville his home in 1995. Since then, his zig zag travels have included WNC, northern Florida, Kentucky and now back in Asheville. Along the way Josh has continued to honor his passion for live music (LIVE MUSIC IS BETTER) and songwriting. Blending elements of folk, blues, country, and rock and roll, Josh aims to connect with the audience…and have a good time along the way.

After years of playing open mics, restaurants, and bars as a solo artist, Josh knew that it was now or never to start a rock and roll outfit. When moving back home to Asheville in 2022, he quickly reconnected with friend (and bass player) Jody Stevenson aka “Skilly” to form SHAKE A LEG.

SHAKE A LEG brings unique and energetic songs that come straight out of Josh’s daily life and travels”. David Boughner  – local roots rock weirdo

The Little Pickle Pop-up at All Day Darling
Apr 23 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
All Day Darling

All Day Darling is bringing together the community for a new dinner pop-up called The Little Pickle. Kicking off on Sunday, April 23 from 5-9pm, the pop-up series explores the cuisine of the Levant – think a family-style Mediterranean feast with juicy wines, cocktails and sourdough pita (including a gluten-free option!) served fresh out of the wood-fired oven. Come as you are, whenever you’d like, and enjoy Mezze, Salatim, a family-style dinner menu including wood-roasted meats and dessert – all featuring tons of flavor and color. The dinner menu will be $29, plus mezze and desserts dished up a la carte. All are welcome at this darling little dinner, and no tickets or reservations are needed.

An Evening With Vanessa Collier
Apr 23 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

– ALL AGES
– SEATED SHOW
– LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE

VANESSA COLLIER

“There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.”
Those are the words of Buddy Guy in a recent issue of American Blues Scene, describing an impromptu performance with Vanessa Collier on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, you should definitely make sure you do. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa Collier, weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and she is downright impressive. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an impressive arsenal of honours, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch.
It’s not simply the accolades she has accumulated so far, although they’ve been many — two Blues Music Awards for “Horn Player of the Year”, and a third BMA for “Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year”, eight Blues Music Award Nominations (BMAs), a Blues Blast Award nomination, the Jammingest Pro Award bestowed by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, First Place for lyrics in the International Songwriting Competition, Best of 2014 Blues Breaker on Dan Aykroyd’s BluesMobile — it’s the fact that she has accumulated all these honours even while her career is still in its infancy. A 2013 graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, she’s toured nationally and internationally, released four critically acclaimed albums (2014’s Heart, Soul & Saxophone, 2017’s Meeting My Shadow, and 2018’s Honey Up, 2020’s Heart On The Line. Honey Up spent 9 weeks atop the Billboard Blues Album Charts Top 15, 3 months on the Living Blues Charts at #10 and #23, and continues to be spun on Sirius XM’s B.B. King’s Bluesville radio station!
It’s not surprising that the press has been quick to commend her efforts as well. Blues Blast Magazine affirms, “Vanessa Collier is a fresh face on the American blues scene, and in addition to her soulful vocals, she brings a mighty sax to the table…” Blues Music Magazine proclaims, “Collier is a fresh face who comes to the blues stage carrying her reed instruments, a dual degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, a major label debut, almost two years of touring with Joe Louis Walker, and a mature musical vision…Collier commands center stage with her vocals, soloing, and stage presence.” Midwest Record exclaims, “This bluesy singing sax player knows how to bring the slinking funk to her captivating, award winning sound that has echoes in young Bonnie Raitt/Maria Muldaur vocal sounds…Killer stuff on every level, this sounds like one of the reasons you first became a music fan. Killer stuff.” and AXS.Com declares that she “might as well go ahead and add another shelf to her trophy case because clearly, she’s going to need it. With a voice that often recalls that of blues-rock stalwart Bonnie Raitt, Collier turns up the heat…”
MOONCHILD
Apr 23 @ 8:00 pm
The Orange Peel

Last year, Moonchild (Amber Navran, Andris Mattson, and Max Bryk) released their fifth studio album ‘Starfruit’ which was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album at the 2023 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Bringing together a host of beautiful melodies and personal lyrics, Moonchild’s most recent LP ‘Starfruit’ beholds offerings from Lalah Hathaway, Alex Isley, Tank and The Bangas, Rapsody, Ill Camille, Mumu Fresh, Chantae Cann and Josh Johnson. Across ‘Starfruit’ [2022], ‘Little Ghost’ [2019], ‘Voyager’ [2017], ‘Please Rewind’ [2015] and ‘Be Free’ [2012], Moonchild have received press accolades from Pitchfork, Clash Magazine, NPR, SoulBag, NME Magazine, Wordplay Magazine, HYPEBEAST, Stereofox, Paste Magazine, Vinyl Factory, The Fader, Complex, Okayplayer, UPROXX, Billboard, France Inter, Rated R&B and Soul Bounce.

Alongside their GRAMMY nomination, Moonchild have charted on the Billboard’s genre charts and been named Soul Act of the Year by Jazz FM. The group have also seen a huge amount of radio support from BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo, Sian Eleri and Phil Taggart; BBC 1Xtra’s Jamz Supernova andEmmavie; Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2); BBC 6Music’s Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, Mary Anne Hobbs, Don Letts, Tarzsa Williams; Children Of Zeus (NTS); Marshmello (NTS); across KCRW (Anthony Valadez, Morning Becomes Eclectic, Anne Litt, Raul Campos, Scott Dallavo, Ro Contreras); Bandcamp Weekly; Erica McKoy (Worldwide FM); Ashley Beedle; Asya Shein (Fusicology); Huw Stephens (BBC Radio Wales), Late Nights (Triple J) and playlisting on BBC 6Music and Jazz FM.

Moonchild have collaborated and toured with highly respected names from across music including Kamasi Washington, Stevie Wonder, The Internet, Jill Scott and built up a host of iconic supporters from Robert Glasper (who has collaborated with Amber on his own projects) and Laura Mvula to James Poyser, Jazzy Jeff, 9th Wonder and Tyler, The Creator.

Monday, April 24, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
Apr 24 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

Science Fiction Book Club
Apr 24 @ 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Science Fiction Book Club

Join host and former Malaprop’s Bookseller Allison to dive into the wreck of the wily and wonderful world of science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, speculative fiction, and literary horror with a healthy mix of underappreciated classic and contemporary books. Meets the last Monday of every month at 7pm on Zoom. Also meets the second Monday of every month at 7pm to discuss the film adaptations of the books we read. To learn more or join the club, email [email protected].

Monday, January 30, 2023 – 7:00pm
Monday, February 27, 2023 – 7:00pm
Monday, March 27, 2023 – 7:00pm
Monday, April 24, 2023 – 7:00pm
Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Allison to dive into the wreck of the wily and wonderful world of science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, speculative fiction, and literary horror with a healthy mix of underappreciated classic and contemporary books. Meets the last Monday of every month at 7 pm on Zoom. Also meets on the second Monday of every month at 7 pm to discuss the film adaptations of the books we read.  Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading and contact the club host to join. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
Apr 25 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

LEGO Builders Club
Apr 25 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Pack Memorial Library

Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs!
Show off your building skills and make new friends with other LEGO maniacs.

Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty.

School Age – (grades K-5)
Every Tuesday 1/2 off bottles of wine at 131 Main Restaurant
Apr 25 @ 5:00 pm
131 Main Restaurant

Every Tuesday 1/2 off bottles of wine at 131 Main Restaurant

Hybrid | A Cross and A Star: Marjorie Agosín and Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman with Emöke B’Rácz
Apr 25 @ 6:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore and Virtual

This is a hybrid event, meaning there is an option to attend virtually and a limited number of seats are available to attend the event in-store.

Click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link to attend will be emailed to attendees on the day of the event.

Click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.

This event includes a book signing. If you would like a signed book but can’t attend in person, use the order comments field when you order below to request a signed copy and tell us to whom the book should be personalized.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


In this classic memoir that explores the Nazi presence in the south of Chile after the war, Marjorie Agoisin writes in the voice of her mother, Frida, who grew up as the daughter of European Jewish immigrants in Chile in the World War II era. Woven into the narrative are the stories of Frida’s father, who had to leave Vienna in 1920 because he fell in love with a Christian cabaret dancer; of her paternal grandmother, who arrived in Chile later with a number tattooed on her arm; and of her great-grandmother from Odessa, who loved the Spanish language so much that she repeated its harmonious sounds even in her sleep. Agosin’s A Cross and a Star is a moving testament to endurance and to the power of memory and words. This edition includes a collection of important new photographs, a new afterword by the author, and a foreword by Ruth Behar.

Marjorie Agosín is the Pura Belpré Award–winning author of I Lived on Butterfly Hill and The Maps of Memory. Raised in Chile, her family moved to the United States to escape the horrors of the Pinochet takeover of their country. She has received the Letras de Oro Prize for her poetry, and her writings about—and humanitarian work for—women in Chile have been the focus of feature articles in The New York TimesThe Christian Science Monitor, and Ms. magazine. She has also won the Latino Literature Prize for her poetry. She is a Spanish professor at Wellesley College.

Emöke B’Rácz is the beloved founder and co-owner of Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe and Downtown Books & News. She is the editor of Hungarian Refugee (Burning Bush Press of Asheville2021) an account of life and revolution in Hungary taken from writings by and interviews with her father, Istvan B’Rácz. Also an accomplished artist and poet, she is the author of the poetry collection, Every Tree is the Forest.

Celeste Kostopulos Cooperman‘s translations of Latin American women’s poetry have appeared in numerous publications including Harper’s, Human Rights Quarterly, City Lights (San Francisco), and The Bitter Oeander (New York). She has also translated a number of books by Marjorie Agosín, including A Cross and a Star (University of New Mexico, 1995 & 2022). She received the Outstanding Translation Award from The American Literary Translations Association for Circles of Madness / Circulos de locura: Las madres de la Plaza de Mayo (New York: White Pine Press, 1992). She is also the author of the Lyrical Vision of María Luisa Bombal (London, Tamesis Press), At the Threshold of Memory / Selected and New Poems by Marjorie Agosín, and Secrets in the Sand, The Young Women of Juárez, also with White Pine, a translated volume of poems by Marjorie Agosín for which she wrote the critical introduction. Her most recent publication appears in Rio Bravo, A Journal of Borderlands, “Mujeres en la frontera.” Cooperman holds an M.A. (1976) and a Ph.D. (1980) in Hispanic Studies from Brown University.

 

Romance Book Club
Apr 25 @ 7:00 pm
online w/ Malaprop's Bookstore
The Romance Book Club is a space to celebrate love in literature. Whether it’s set in early 1800s London, a distant planet years into the future, a fantasy world of magic, or our own contemporary universe, we are here for the stories that end with a happily-ever-after (or at least a happily-for-now). Meetings will take place the last Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Please email Samantha at [email protected] for the link to join.

The club will meet virtually for now. 

Meetings will take place at 7:00 PM ET on the last Tuesday of each month via Zoom. Please visit the Romance Bookclub page for the monthly selection, and email Samantha at [email protected] for the link to join.

Pedro The Lion
Apr 25 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

PEDRO THE LION

Pedro the Lion is the band name Dave Bazan has used off and on since 1995 to release six albums and two eps of his hooky, insightful, and mournful songs. This year, his critically acclaimed and fan favorite, first and third LPs, 1998’s “It’s Hard to Find a Friend” and 2002’s “Control”, turn 25 and 21 years old, respectively. To celebrate, Dave, along with guitar player Erik Walters and drummer Terence Ankeny, will play every song from each album on tour.

ERIK WALTERS

Erik Walters is an American songwriter and guitarist based in Seattle, Wash. Steeped in the local music community since 2008, he has written songs for several bands and played guitar for artists such as Telekinesis!, Perfume Genius, and is a current member of Pedro The Lion. He released his eponymous solo record in 2021.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
Apr 26 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

Read to Puptart!
Apr 26 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Enka-Candler Library

Puptart is a tail wagging robot dog who sits and stays, pants when listening, and responds to someone talking to and petting it. It will not jump up or run away, plus it’s fur free, so no sneezes and runny noses coming your way!

Every Wednesday afternoon, Puptart will be available for reading practice in the children’s picture book room. Help establish a joy of reading and develop early literacy skills. Sign up at the front desk, pick a book and practice reading for up to 15 minutes.

Adults Only Trivia Night Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company
Apr 26 @ 6:30 pm – 8:15 pm
Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company

EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 6:30 pm ~ FREE!

AGES 18+ ADULTS ONLY ~ NO KIDS ALLOWED

ON OUR HUGE SCREEN IN THEATER 2!

ENJOY DINNER & DRINKS (FULL BAR) WHILE PLAYING

There are 3 rounds with new winners each round so you can show up late, miss a round and still be a winner. Plus, we have mid-round prizes to create as many winners as possible.

The questions are presented by a hilarious host on our giant movie screen and includes fun videos in each round.  You haven’t played a trivia night like this one!

Witty Wednesday Trivia
Apr 26 @ 6:30 pm
Sweeten Creek Brewing

Beat the mid week grind with some fun trivia! Win a $25 gift card for our taproom along with a $25 gift card from our resident kitchen, Bears Smokehouse BBQ!

Foodie Book Club
Apr 26 @ 7:00 pm
online

Foodie Book Club

A book club for home cooks, foodies, industry folks, and anyone in-between.  We will be focusing on all sorts of food writing. Somethemes will be (but not limited to): food critics, chef memoirs, wine, food history, and food politics.

The Foodie group meets virtually on the last Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. (EST), beginning in June 2022.  Please email [email protected] for the Zoom meeting info.

Trivia Night
Apr 26 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Hickory Tavern

Every Wednesday

Trivia Night

The Band of Heathens
Apr 26 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

THE BAND OF HEATHENS

With their eighth studio album, Simple Things, The Band of Heathens came home—geographically, as they returned to their longtime base of Austin for the recording; sonically, in an embrace of the rootsy, guitar-based rock with which they made their name; and thematically, with lyrics that speak to appreciating friends and family and our limited time on this planet. It’s a confident, assured statement of a group finding its place in the world amid uncertain and troubled times.

“It was a return to embracing our influences, our natural instincts, the way we sound when we get on stage,” says guitarist-vocalist Gordy Quist. “Many times in the past, we’d take a song and stretch to make it into something else sonically, because that’s exciting and fun to do in the studio. This time around, we tried to use some restraint and embraced our first instincts, trusting the songs were strong enough. With the subject matter, there’s a sentiment of focusing on what’s important as we go through this journey together—don’t waste time, because this is all we’ve got.”

“Gordy and I each have a natural sound when we sing, but there’s something even more special and unique when our voices blend together” says guitarist-vocalist Ed Jurdi. “So it was just about harnessing and embracing that. Good, mid-tempo rock and roll—that’s our breadbasket, and there’s not a lot of that music being made right now.”

Though the members of The Band of Heathens now live scattered across the country, coming back to Austin (where they first formed in the early 2000s when Quist and Jurdi were among four songwriters playing regular weekly sets at the late, lamented club Momo’s) was crucial to the making of Simple Things. “The city has grown and undergone many changes over the years, but the intangibles that make Austin a unique place are still alive and well,” says Jurdi. “I feel like the band wouldn’t have come together anywhere else. As Austin has evolved, the band has evolved too, and now coming back feels like a very full circle moment.”

They worked in a studio called the Finishing School, which was founded by the band’s close friend and sometime producer George Reiff; Quist took over the studio after Reiff passed away in 2017, and upgraded with gear including three of Freddie Mercury’s actual vocal mics, which have previously been used on recordings by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, and AC/DC. “It’s our own communal space and we’re very comfortable there,” says Quist.

In some ways, the new album is a logical extension of Remote Transmissions, the livestream series that Band of Heathens started soon after the pandemic shut down the world in 2020 (and which was documented in last year’s Remote Transmissions, Vol. 1 album). Unable to tour, the group convened every week for a year, playing covers of songs new and old, responding to a disorienting time by reconnecting with music they love.

THEM COULEE BOYS

Soren Staff and Beau Janke—co-founders of folk/rock/Americana outfit Them Coulee Boys—met as camp counselors in northern Wisconsin in 2011. Their weekend workshopping of Avett Brothers tunes led to original songs and adding Soren’s brother Jens on mandolin. As the years grew, the band turned into a more rollicking outfit, adding Neil Krause on electric bass and Stas Hable on drums.

Thursday, April 27, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
Apr 27 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

Dining Out For Life. End HIV
Apr 27 all-day
various locations in Asheville

Dining Out For Life® is an annual dining fundraising event raising money for community-based organizations serving people living with or impacted by HIV.

On Thursday, April 27th, the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) will again host our annual Dining Out For Life event. Partnering with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR), Dining Out For Life encourages residents of Asheville and Western North Carolina to eat out at the Participating Restaurants. This celebration both supports the local restaurants which host the events and raises money for WNCAP’s life-saving services.

When you dine out for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert this April 27th at any of the Participating Restaurants, let them know you’re Dining Out For Life! Patrons will be given the opportunity to support HIV prevention and care. You can donate online or simply scan a QR code on printed postcards at tables or in go bags.

Now in its 21st year, Dining Out for Life has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We are once again immensely grateful to our Presenting Sponsor—Prestige Subaru of Asheville.

The money raised by WNCAP’s annual Dining Out for Life is more critical than ever. Your donations provide care, rental assistance, and education in our fight against HIV/AIDS. Dine Out. End HIV.

Click below to see all participating restaurants!

PATIO: Afton Wolfe
Apr 27 @ 5:00 pm
The Grey Eagle
– ALL AGES
– LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

AFTON WOLFE
Afton Wolfe is Mississippi. Born in McComb, and growing up in Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Greenville, Mississippi, the roots of American music are in his DNA. Mississippi is the birthplace of at least three American art forms: country music, blues music, and rock and roll. Meridian is the birthplace of Jimmie Rodgers, while the Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the blues, and the first rock n’ roll notes ever played according to intelligent music historians, came from Hattiesburg. Additionally, he spent his musically formative years in and around New Orleans, where the humidity of the Mississippi combined with the Cajun seasonings, the jazz, zydeco, creole, and gospel music and his Mississippi roots coalesce to add resonance and depth to his blues/country/rock influences.

Afton’s first band experience was back in the late 90s with Hattiesburg post-alternative pop outfit Red Velvet Couch (1998 to 1999) where he developed his stage presence and also was able to release his first album and learn a bit about sound, recording, mixing, and engineering. After a short break, Afton came back strong with the avant-garde, instrumentally diverse Dollar Book Floyd (2001 to 2002), which featured Amy Lott, Tim Keith, and Mike Stokes, and released a very pivotal album, Red and White. During this period Afton began to naturally incorporate country music and delta blues into his musical playbook. After the Dollar Book Floyd project ended, Afton moved to Nashville and formed The Relief Effort, a rock power trio, with whom he recorded two more records: Don’t Panic (2004) and At Your Mercy (2005).

After a hiatus from performing and recording, Afton wrote, composed, and sang all of the songs contained in Petronius’ Last Meal. This was recorded in 2008 with the likes of Charlie Rauh, Craig Schenker, and Dan Seymour. Alcohol, academia, the quest for a better mix and a perfect album cover, and a voyage across the country to live in Washington for a few years kept this project on hold for over a decade. Finally, after a dozen or so years, the project was released in the Summer of 2020. Dark, tense, and moody was the flavor of the 2020 summer season, and the EP along with its two singles “Slingshots” and “Interrogations” fit the season too perfectly.

Afton used the momentum of Petronius’ Last Meal and the tension of the pandemic and surrounding climate to fuel his creativity again. And his upcoming release Kings for Sale is the product of that. The new record defies genres while still being distinctly Afton. The new record, slated to be released in June of 2021, was produced by Oz Fritz (Bill Laswell, Tom Waits, The Ramones, Bob Marley, Ginger Baker and many others) and featuring an enviable assortment of great musicians, including but not limited to Cary Hudson (Blue Mountain, Taylor Street Grocery Band), Daniel Seymour (David Olney, Tommy Womack), Adam “Ditch” Kurtz (Great Peacock, Carrus and Kurtz), Ben Babylon (SpoBro, Sir Please), Laura RabellKristen EnglenzBlaise HearnRebecca Weiner Tompkins, and several more.

Live Music with Aaron Lafalce
Apr 27 @ 6:00 pm
131 Main Restaurant
Every Thursday
Live Stream | Asheville Poetry Review’s William Matthews Poetry Prize Reading with Maura High, Christina Hutchins, and Anna Lena Phillips Bell
Apr 27 @ 6:00 pm
online w/ Malaprop's Bookstore

Join host Keith Flynn to celebrate the publication of the 2022 Asheville Poetry Review and the winners of the William Matthews Poetry Prize.

1st place — Maura High
2nd place — Christina Hutchins
3rd place — Anna Lena Phillips Bell

This event is virtual.  Attendance is free, but registration is required.  Please click here to register. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


Maura High was born in Wales and now lives in Carrboro, North Carolina, where she works as a freelance copy editor. Her poems have appeared in various print and online literary magazines, such as New England Review, North Carolina Literary Review, Panoply, Passager, Rhino, Southern Review, Tar River Poetry, and The Phare. She is author of The Garden of Persuasions (Jacar Press) and collaborated with the artist Lyric Kinard on Stone, Water, Time. Another collaboration, a chapbook titled The Abandoned Field, with the printmaker Jean LeCluyse, is under way. Many of her poems draw on what she learned while working with The Nature Conservancy, especially with their prescribed burn crews in the Sandhills and coastal plain of the state. Her website is at http://maurahigh.com.

Christina Hutchins’ second book, Tender the Maker, won the May Swenson Award of Utah State University Press. Her first collection was The Stranger Dissolves (Sixteen Rivers Press), a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and the Audre Lorde/Publishers’ Triangle Award. A chapbook, Radiantly We Inhabit the Air, won the Robin Becker Prize for queer poetry. Poems have appeared in The Antioch Review, Denver Quarterly, The New Republic, Prairie Schooner, Salmagundi, The Southern Review, Women’s Review of Books and elsewhere. Awards include The Missouri Review Editors’ Prize, National Poetry Review’s Annie Finch Prize, a fellowship to St. Petersburg, Russia, and a recent summer living in Robert Frost’s home in Franconia, NH, as the Dartmouth Poet in Residence. She currently teaches privately and has previously worked as a Congregational minister and a biochemist.

Anna Lena Phillips Bell is the author of Ornament, winner of the Vassar Miller Poetry Prize, and the chapbook Smaller Songs, from St Brigid Press. New writing appears or is forthcoming in the Southern Review, Electric Literature, and Evergreen Review. Bell’s work has received support from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Marble House Project. The winner of the 2021 Winter Anthology Contest, she teaches in the creative writing department at UNC Wilmington and is the editor of Ecotone. More at annalenaphillipsbell.net.

Keith Flynn (www.keithflynn.net) is the award-winning author of eight books, including six collections of poetry: most recently Colony Collapse Disorder (Wings Press, 2013) and The Skin of Meaning (Red Hen Press, 2020), and two collections of essays, entitled The Rhythm Method, Razzmatazz and Memory: How To Make Your Poetry Swing (Writer’s Digest Books, 2007), and Prosperity Gospel: Portraits of the Great Recession (RedHawk Publications, 2021). From 1984-1999, he was lyricist and lead singer for the nationally acclaimed rock band, The Crystal Zoo, which produced three albums: Swimming Through Lake Eerie (1992), Pouch (1996), and the spoken-word and music compilation, Nervous Splendor (2003). His latest album is Keith Flynn & The Holy Men, LIVE at Diana Wortham Theatre (2011). He is the Executive Director and producer of the TV and radio show, “LIVE at White Rock Hall,” (www.liveatwhiterockhall.com) and Animal Sounds Productions, both which create collaborations between writers and musicians in video and audio formats. His award-winning poetry and essays have appeared in many journals and anthologies around the world, including The American Literary Review, The Colorado Review, Poetry Wales, Five Points, Poetry East, The Southern Poetry Anthology, ThePoetics of American Song Lyrics, Writer’s Chronicle. The Cimarron Review, Rattle, Shenandoah, Word and Witness: 100 Years of NC Poetry, Crazyhorse, and many others. He has been awarded the Sandburg Prize for poetry, a 2013 NC Literary Fellowship, the ASCAP Emerging Songwriter Prize, the Paumanok Poetry Award and was twice named the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for NC. Flynn is founder and managing editor of The Asheville Poetry Review, which began publishing in 1994.

Not Rocket Science Trivia at Highland Brewing Downtown
Apr 27 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Highland Brewing Downtown

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