– AGES 18+
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

BIG FREEDIA
New Orleans icon Big Freedia is dreaming of the future of bounce music. Over the past two decades, the Queen of Bounce has expanded the booming sounds of Southern rap on a string of high-energy, twerk-inducing projects, while showcasing her inimitable charisma on blockbuster hits by Drake and Beyoncé. But where some might rest on their laurels, the Queen Diva still sees plenty of opportunity to expand her empire.

“Bounce has been through many iterations—from Triggerman to Sissy to Cash Money Bounce—but my new single is something I call Bigga Bounce,” says Freedia, heralding this new chapter for the genre. “Welcome to Central City, y’all, where I pay homage to my city, my roots, hip-hop, and to the art of creating a new sound.”

The tireless mogul broke into television in 2013 with Fuse’s Big Freedia Bounces Back, released her memoir Big Freedia: God Save The Queen Diva in 2015, launched a cannabis line called Royal Bud in 2022, and is on track to open her very own Hotel Freedia in New Orleans in 2024.

In addition to promoting Central City Freestyle, and $100 Bill Ft. Ciara, the Queen Diva is gearing up to launch a new original series, Big Freedia Means Business, which will explore her prolific entrepreneurial endeavors. Visuals and even more new music are already in the works too. But in the greater scheme of things, Big Freedia hopes her voice and platform as an unapologetically authentic artist will inspire, especially at a time when the rights of LGBTQ+ people are under constant attack.

“We gotta keep pushing, and I hope this album speaks to my community and everyone who feels they don’t have a voice,” she adds. “I am living proof of why you don’t let yourself get dragged down. We keep going. We keep fighting.”

Learn to make theatre collaboratively with Erinn Hartley and Molly Graves from Anam Cara Theatre Company. You’ll learn strategies for devising that include working from images, objects, personal histories and other source material, while incorporating movement and group improvisation techniques to create a scripted performance.

The workshop includes all dates and times listed below and culminates in a public performance.

This fundraiser for Beloved Asheville features an extraordinary lineup of drag queen celebrity impersonators with a catered dinner at Highland Brewing Company’s Event Center.

Elevation Nights

featuring Elevation Worship & Steven Furtick

The Folkmoot Summer Fundraising Soirée will take place on July 20th from 7-9PM at The Folkmoot Friendship Center located at 112 Virginia Avenue in Waynesville, NC. 

At the Summer Soirée, you will have the chance to indulge in a variety of culturally-inspired cuisines from different parts of the world. From savory dishes to sweet treats, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. To top it off, everyone will receive two drink tickets to complement your culinary adventure.

As you savor your food, you can tap your feet to live music from local artists and immerse yourself in several culturally-inspired rooms.

And that’s not all! You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in a silent auction with unique one-of-a-kind items and experiences up for bid. Best of all, your attendance at this event will help support the future of Folkmoot and its mission to celebrate many cultures and champion arts, education, creative entrepreneurship and tradition.  

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to taste, listen, bid, and support a great cause. Get your tickets now and join us for an unforgettable evening! Tickets are limited!
Folkmoot preserves local and international cultures, and cultivates opportunities for community education and prosperity. Folkmoot recognizes that a community’s arts and cultural assets are a strong tool for economic development and an essential element of sustaining and improving quality of life.

Our jazz trio with Thommy Knoles on keys, Felix Pastorius on bass, and Paul Gladstone on drums will perform an opening set from about 7-8:15 pm.

An open jam session follows. Drop-ins are welcome and encouraged for a suggested donation of $10.

Jazz Jam will feature a diverse array of music from jazz’s rich history, ranging from 1940s bebop up to 1970s jazz fusion, as well as material from prominent present-day composers. Bring your instruments and jam with us, or just come and enjoy!

Join us for a lecture, poetry reading, and conversation with Lorna Goodison and Amy E. Elkins. Elkins will share her research on craft and 20th century literature, introducing the interplay between poetry and painting in Goodison’s writing. Goodison will reflect on her training at the Art Students League with Jacob Lawrence who began his teaching career in 1946 at Black Mountain College.

Lorna Goodison has published twelve internationally acclaimed collections of poetry and served as Jamaica’s poet laureate from 2017-2020. She also trained as a painter at the Jamaica School of Art and at the Art Students League in New York, taking classes with Black Mountain faculty member Jacob Lawrence. Goodison is Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan, where she was the Lemuel A. Johnson Professor of English and African and Afroamerican Studies, and has received the prestigious U.S. Windham-Campbell Prize, the Queen’s medal, and the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction for her memoir, From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her People (2007), among many other prizes and awards.

Amy E. Elkins is Associate Professor of English at Macalester College and a multimedia artist. She is the author of Crafting Feminism from Literary Modernism to the Multimedia Present (Oxford University Press, 2022). In addition to interviewing writers for Los Angeles Review of Books and for podcasts such as Novel Dialogue, she has published collaborative creative-critical work in Post-45 Contemporaries and Modernism/modernity Print+, a film-essay in MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture, and has published scholarly essays in such places as PMLA and Contemporary Literature.

Hops Around Comedy is a rotating show presented by Modelface Comedy that takes place in all your favorite Asheville breweries. This week we are at Eurisko Brewing in the South Slope!!!!

Kelsey Rosen is a comedian based in Denver, CO. Her comedy is an adventurous romp through her obsessive thoughts on mental health, family, friendship, politics and of course, romance.

She’s been featured in comedy festivals across the country, most notably High Plains Comedy Festival (2022) and Alaska B4UDie (2023).

ages 18+

– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY
– RAIN OR SHINE

Orange Moon
Erykah Badu tribute band based out of Asheville, NC. Performing hits & deep cuts from across Badu’s vast discography, Orange Moon is sure to have you movin’ from the second they hit the stage as vocal powerhouse Saara Maria (of Joomanji) pays homage to the queen of neo-soul over the sultry stylings of keyboardist Charlie Evans (of Leisureville & Big Blue), the infectious grooves of bassist/guitarist Eli Kahn (of After Ours & Mood Ring), & the dynamic drumming of Joe Enright (of HELLCRAB Ensemble). Be sure to catch them at The Outpost on 7/20!

The “One Singular Sensation,” A Chorus Line, is coming to Flat Rock Playhouse for the first time and we are thrilled to share this award-winning musical with everyone! A Chorus Line is a celebration of those unsung heroes of the American Musical Theatre: the chorus dancers. The show follows 17 would-be dancers in their quest to make the cut for a new Broadway Musical. One by one, the dancers come forward to share the stories of their lives, giving it their all and putting themselves on the line to make the cut. Only eight will remain. Capturing the spirit, tension, and hope of an audition, A Chorus Line is the musical for everyone who’s ever had a dream and put it all out there to make it come true!

A Chorus Line once held the record as the longest running show on Broadway with over 6000 performances, and heralds nine Tony® Awards including Best Musical, Best Director and Best Choreographer, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Conceived and Originally Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett. Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante, Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban. Co-Choreographed by Bob Avian. Original Broadway production produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival, Joseph Papp, Producer, in association with Plum Productions, Inc.

Maestro Kraig Alan Williams leads Brevard’s gifted wind, brass, and percussion students in a colorful program of celebrated music from the symphonic band repertoire.

PERFORMANCE & ARTIST DETAILS
Kraig Alan Williams, conductor

All seating is general admission.

From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the six wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st-century girl power! This new original musical is a global sensation that everyone is losing their head over! Featuring an all-woman cast and all-woman band, SIX has won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic’s Pick), and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for!”  The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 Million streams in its first month.

Led Zeppelin 2 will be performing LIVE on the Indoor Stage at Salvage Station on Thursday, July 20th, 2023! Doors open at 7pm and the music starts at 8pm. This is an 18 and up show (no exceptions)! On-site parking is free. Root Down will be serving their delicious twist on Southern Soul food PLUS we will have our FULL bar open for you to enjoy!

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the
longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at
Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

7.20.23 The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement PULP
What: Stand up Comedy at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge
When: Thursday July 20, 2023. 8p-10p, doors at 7:30p
Where: The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement, Pulp Lounge103 Hilliard Ave, Downtown Asheville
Tickets: $14 (available at door or The Orange Peel website)
Cocktails available while you laugh the night away to some of the area’s best Stand Up Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!!
Feature comic Petey Smith McDowell!
From Asheville, North Carolina Petey Smith-McDowell has been traveling around the country telling jokes since 2009. He has opened up for Beth Stelling, Hannibal Buress, and Trevor Noah. Just to name a few.
We feature the area’s best comics, plus an open mic. Open mic comics signup at door get 3-5m. [Free entry for performing comics, free snacks at comics table]. For more info and other standup comedy shows go to sliceoflifecomedy.com or contact Michele at [email protected]
Host Cody Hughes: Cody is a comedian who cut his teeth in Chicago and Atlanta. He is now based out of West North Carolina and tours the Southeast. He has opened for Lewis Black, John Oliver and Maria Bamford among others and hosts the regular Slice of Life Comedy shows at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge.
About Pulp: The speakeasy inspired hideaway offers a cozy space for show-goers to relax and enjoy a beverage during the concert. Boasting over 200 different Bourbons and Whiskeys, alongside a myriad of other spirits, it is a must-visit for cocktail lovers and Bourbon sippers alike. Pulp will also open various other nights to feature local artists and “Slice of Life” open-mic comedy nights. To stay informed with the happenings at Pulp, visit the Orange Peel’s website, and follow @pulp_avl on Instagram.

7.20.23 The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement PULP
What: Stand up Comedy at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge
When: Thursday July 20, 2023. 8p-10p, doors at 7:30p
Where: The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement, Pulp Lounge103 Hilliard Ave, Downtown Asheville
Tickets: $14 (available at door or The Orange Peel website)
Cocktails available while you laugh the night away to some of the area’s best Stand Up Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!!
Feature comic Petey Smith McDowell!
From Asheville, North Carolina Petey Smith-McDowell has been traveling around the country telling jokes since 2009. He has opened up for Beth Stelling, Hannibal Buress, and Trevor Noah. Just to name a few.
We feature the area’s best comics, plus an open mic. Open mic comics signup at door get 3-5m. [Free entry for performing comics, free snacks at comics table]. For more info and other standup comedy shows go to sliceoflifecomedy.com or contact Michele at [email protected]
Host Cody Hughes: Cody is a comedian who cut his teeth in Chicago and Atlanta. He is now based out of West North Carolina and tours the Southeast. He has opened for Lewis Black, John Oliver and Maria Bamford among others and hosts the regular Slice of Life Comedy shows at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge.
About Pulp: The speakeasy inspired hideaway offers a cozy space for show-goers to relax and enjoy a beverage during the concert. Boasting over 200 different Bourbons and Whiskeys, alongside a myriad of other spirits, it is a must-visit for cocktail lovers and Bourbon sippers alike. Pulp will also open various other nights to feature local artists and “Slice of Life” open-mic comedy nights. To stay informed with the happenings at Pulp, visit the Orange Peel’s website, and follow @pulp_avl on Instagram.