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.

Friday, February 16, 2024
ASHES + ARROWS W/ HUSTLE SOULS
Feb 16 @ 8:59 pm – 9:59 pm
Asheville Music Hall

Hailing from the picturesque landscapes of Asheville to the peaks of Arrowtown, New Zealand, Ashes & Arrows have been captivating audiences across the country with their powerful vocals, thoughtful lyrics, and on-stage charisma. The band’s unique sound, drawing inspiration from musical influences like NEEDTOBREATHE, Jason Isbell, and Patrick Droney, is presented in an authentically original form, enhanced by mesmerizing 3-part harmonies.

The journey of Ashes & Arrows began when Ciaran, Jonathan, and Ben, each at a musical crossroads, found themselves at an open mic in downtown Asheville in 2021. The meeting sparked an immediate connection, reigniting their joy and inspiration to write and perform music as a band. The chemistry between the members is evident in every note, creating an immersive experience for their audience.

Their debut EP, ‘Forward,’ produced by the world-renowned Greg Haver, was released on October 7, 2022. One of the lead singles, ‘Gold in the Mountain,’ garnered attention and was featured on BBC2 radio late last year, further establishing Ashes & Arrows as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

Ashes & Arrows’ upcoming performance at Asheville Music Hall promises to be a night of musical enchantment, showcasing their talent and the magnetic energy that defines their live shows. Fans and music enthusiasts alike are encouraged to secure their tickets now for an evening filled with soulful tunes and unforgettable moments.

Saturday, February 17, 2024
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Feb 17 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Yala Cultural Tour + Drum Workshop
Feb 17 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
LEAF Global Arts
Visit LEAF Global Arts every Saturday for an in-house cultural exchange with Adama Dembele. Experience the Ivory Coast with our Culture Keeper from the House of Djembe.
Stay for an all-ages Drum Workshop, no experience necessary.
Melanie DeMore An interactive singing experience
Feb 17 @ 3:30 pm
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville

Join us for an all-ages Community Singing Session led by the inspirational Melanie DeMore, which promises to be a feast for the soul and a joyous celebration of music for all ages.
Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S., Canada, and beyond.

For tickets please visit http://tinyurl.com/uucamdm
Adv – Adult $20/ Youth $0
Door – Adult $25/ Youth $5

Zoe + Cloyd’s Valentine’s Concert
Feb 17 @ 7:00 pm
Black Mountain Center for the Arts

The innovative “klezgrass” music of Zoe & Cloyd springs from the rich traditions and complementary styles of fiddler/vocalist Natalya Zoe Weinstein and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist John Cloyd Miller. Descending from a lineage of klezmer and jazz musicians, Natalya trained classically in her home state of Massachusetts before moving south in 2004. John, a twelfth generation North Carolinian and grandson of pioneering bluegrass fiddler, Jim Shumate, is a 1st place winner of the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest and the Hazel Dickens Songwriting Contest. Based in Asheville, NC, Zoe & Cloyd delight audiences with soaring harmonies and heartfelt songwriting, seamlessly combining original bluegrass, klezmer, old-time and folk with sincerity and zeal.

In 2023, Zoe & Cloyd released their fifth studio album on Organic Records, entitled Songs of Our Grandfathers. The project is an homage to their respective bluegrass and klezmer roots and has been enthusiastically received with feature articles in Bluegrass UnlimitedNo Depression and the Bluegrass Situation. Also in 2023, Zoe & Cloyd performed at numerous events including Bluegrass Omagh in Northern Ireland, the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, the NC Folk Festival, and will host A Swannanoa Solstice at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts in Asheville.

Zoe & Cloyd will be joined at the BMCA by bassist and long-time collaborator, Kevin Kehrberg. Kevin is an award-winning bassist who has performed jazz and traditional music styles all over the world from Indonesia to Kyrgyzstan, Japan and beyond. His recent collaborative recording for Bluegrass at the Crossroads won IBMA 2021 Instrumental Recording of the Year. Kevin has taught many workshops and clinics in addition to being a professor of music at Warren Wilson College, where he maintains an active bass studio and teaches various courses in music and culture.

Doors open at 6:30pm. Seating is general admission. Online ticket sales end one hour prior to showtime. If the show has not sold out, tickets may still be available for purchase in the office after online sales have ended. Call 828-669-0930 for availability.

Amanda Anne Platt + The Honeycutters
Feb 17 @ 7:30 pm
Hendersonville Theatre

Hendersonville Theatre welcomes back Asheville Americana band, Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters to its Hometown Sound Music Series in February. Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters’s music is nuanced, bringing insight and wit to the stories Platt tells through songwriting. Lyrically driven, the country roots music often inspires introspection, whether it be about life on the road, heartache, or hope. There is an empathetic and charming wit ingrained in songwriting. She has a knack for accessing a deep well of emotion and applying it to her songwriting, whether she is writing from her own experiences or immersing herself in the melody of emotions in another person’s life.

Performing along with Platt, The Honeycutters are Matt Smith (pedal steel and electric guitars), Kevin Williams (keys/vocals), Rick Cooper (bass/vocals), and Evan Martin (drums/vocals). The band is currently on tour supporting their sixth studio album, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, released in February 2022 on Organic Records.

See more about AAPH at www.honeycutters.com.

Billy Strings
Feb 17 @ 7:30 pm
Harrah's Cherokee Center- Asheville

Raised in Michigan and now based in Nashville, GRAMMY Award-winning Billy Strings is known as one of music’s most compelling artists. Most recently, he unveiled “California Sober,” a collaboration with legendary artist Willie Nelson—his first release since partnering with venerable label, Reprise Records.

The collaboration follows Strings’ most recent full-length album, Me/And/Dad, which was released last fall and features Strings alongside his dad, Terry Barber. The product of a longtime dream, the record features new versions of fourteen bluegrass and country classics that the two have been playing together since Strings was a young child.

Since his 2017 debut, Strings has been awarded Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, Artist of the Year at the 2022 and 2023 Americana Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Best New Headliner at the 2022 Pollstar Awards, Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic at the 2021 Pollstar Awards and has performed on the 64th GRAMMY Awards, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” PBS’ “Austin City Limits,” “Bluegrass Underground” as well as countless sold-out tour dates world-wide.

Wesley Schulz and Tessa Lark: Fusion and Fantastique
Feb 17 @ 7:30 pm
Peace Concert Hall

Wesley Schulz, conductor
Tessa Lark, violin
Anna Clyne: Masquerade
Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto is a showstopping piece that vibrates with energy at the intersection of jazz and classical music, a fusion genre often referred to as “Third Stream.” A native of Kentucky and highly-acclaimed fiddler as well as a classical virtuoso, GRAMMY nominated violinist Tessa Lark is the perfect artist to bring this piece to Greenville. Fusion is where this violin luminary lives.

In addition to being written for a huge orchestra of around 90 musicians, Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique stands out for the full-on macabre it provokes. Inspired by the composer’s romantic obsession with a Shakespeare actress, this Gothic-style piece’s most obvious literary counterpart is the work of Edgar Allan Poe.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR & GUEST ARTIST

The Angels In Science Fiction Tour ST. PAUL + THE BROKEN BONES
Feb 17 @ 8:00 pm
The Orange Peel
Ages 18+

Founded in Birmingham, Alabama in 2011, St. Paul & the Broken Bones consists of Paul Janeway (vocals), Jesse Phillips (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Kevin Leon (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), Chad Fisher (trombone), and Amari Ansari (saxophone). The eight-piece ensemble burst into the world with their 2014 debut Half the City, establishing a sound that quickly became a calling card and landing the band a slew of major festivals including Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury. Critical praise from The New York TimesRolling StoneSPIN and NPR followed, leading to shared stages with some of the world’s biggest artists—Elton John and The Rolling Stones among them—and launching an impressive run of headlining tours behind what Esquire touted as a “potent live show that knocks audiences on their ass.”

The group has continued to expand their sound with every record, branching out well beyond old-school soul into sleek summertime funk and classic disco on albums like 2018’s Young Sick Camellia. Their forthcoming LP, Angels In Science Fiction, stretches their limbs further afield, building on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&B of 2022’s The Alien Coast.

The Get Right Band: Summer in the Winter Beach Bash w/ Rockstead
Feb 17 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle
ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

THE GET RIGHT BAND

The Get Right Band is a psychedelic indie rock band committed to relentlessly following their muses to honest self-expression, to whatever excites them and pushes them into unexplored territory, to capturing some version of truth. American Songwriter writes that the Asheville, NC based group, “filters 60’s/70’s psychedelia and 90’s alternative rock through a modern lens–as if Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana co-wrote an album produced by Danger Mouse and Dan Auerbach.”

The Get Right Band formed in 2011, built around the musical brotherhood that guitarist/singer/songwriter Silas Durocher and bassist Jesse Gentry have formed playing music together since middle school. Durocher, who is a trained composer and has been commissioned to write for symphonies and chamber groups, has guitar chops that can soothe or rage, with a charismatic swagger as frontman and singer. Gentry’s virtuosic bass playing “catapults from elastic to nasty” (The Mountain Xpress). Completing the team is drummer extraordinaire, Jaze Uries, who is also a singer, songwriter, producer, photographer, and DJ. Over the years, GRB has defined their sound through constant evolution, building to the hook-driven, synth-heavy pop/rock/psych band they are today. The Huffington Post writes, “their songs are infectious and take you immediately to a place. The lyrics are smart and bear weight.”

The Get Right Band has shared the stage with Dr. Dog, Everclear, Cracker, UB40, Rusted Root, Smash Mouth, and Lifehouse; been featured on NPR’s World Cafe, Paste Studio, and WTF with Marc Maron; and performed at major venues and festivals including The Fillmore, Brooklyn Bowl, Theatre of the Living Arts, The Orange Peel, FloydFest, Bristol Rhythm & Roots, and Riverbend Fest. They have released four studio albums and a live album, and their latest LP, iTopia, dropped on April 7, 2023.

The Get Right Band has been compared to other modern indie rock bands with a psychedelic bent such as The Black Keys, My Morning
Jacket, Gorillaz, Tame Impala, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and MGMT.

ROCKSTEAD

The Get Right Band is back with their annual “Summer in the Winter Beach Bash” at The Grey Eagle on Saturday, Feb 17th with special guests Rockstead. This show is the perfect ticket to make you shed any Winter blues away. Beachy/tropical attire is encouraged! We’ll have tropical decorations, a themed drink special, and more!

Billy Strings After-Party at The Draftsman
Feb 17 @ 9:00 pm – Feb 18 @ 12:00 am
The Draftsman Bar + Lounge

Make a beeline to The Draftsman after the Billy Strings concert for a night of funk and fun. We’ll keep the party going with live music from Supatight, classic arcade games, and drink specials until midnight! Purchase your tickets on Eventbrite.

Sunday, February 18, 2024
Jack’s Bluegrass Brunch
Feb 18 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Jack of the Wood

Jack’s Bluegrass Brunch kicks off every Sunday at 12 noon — with lively bluegrass tunes courtesy of The Jack of the Wood Bluegrass Brunch Boys from 1-3pm. Sip a Bloody Mary or Mimosa or a warm Irish coffee. Tasty brunch specials alongside our regular menu and 18 taps of rotating craft brews! Sláinte, y’all!

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Feb 18 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

The Glorious World of Crowns Kinks and Curls
Feb 18 @ 3:00 pm
Tina McGuire Theatre

In the tradition of The Vagina Monologues and For Colored Girls…The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks, and Curls is a collection of monologues and scenes exploring the often complex relationship Black women have with their hair. From Afros to braids, weddings, and funerals, falling in love to grieving a loss, these stories serve as a powerful reminder that for Black women in particular, hair is both deeply personal and political. These heartbreaking, heartwarming, and hilarious stories will take audiences on an unparalleled journey into the world of Black womanhood.

Purchase the Different Strokes! 23-24 Season 4 Production Package! Buy two tickets to each production and get two additional half-price tickets to every show in your package. Purchase your 4 Production Package through the link below and then call the box office at 828-257-4530, ext 1, to purchase your half price tickets.

Wesley Schulz and Tessa Lark: Fusion and Fantastique
Feb 18 @ 3:00 pm
Peace Concert Hall

Wesley Schulz, conductor
Tessa Lark, violin
Anna Clyne: Masquerade
Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto is a showstopping piece that vibrates with energy at the intersection of jazz and classical music, a fusion genre often referred to as “Third Stream.” A native of Kentucky and highly-acclaimed fiddler as well as a classical virtuoso, GRAMMY nominated violinist Tessa Lark is the perfect artist to bring this piece to Greenville. Fusion is where this violin luminary lives.

In addition to being written for a huge orchestra of around 90 musicians, Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique stands out for the full-on macabre it provokes. Inspired by the composer’s romantic obsession with a Shakespeare actress, this Gothic-style piece’s most obvious literary counterpart is the work of Edgar Allan Poe.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR & GUEST ARTIST

TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSION
Feb 18 @ 3:30 pm
Jack of the Wood

Jack’s long-running Traditional Irish Music Session is the perfect way to enjoy the Celtic-influenced sounds of talented pluckers from all over WNC & further afield! Stop in to enjoy a pint or afternoon Irish coffee with the music! Sláinte!

Billy Strings
Feb 18 @ 7:30 pm
Harrah's Cherokee Center- Asheville

Raised in Michigan and now based in Nashville, GRAMMY Award-winning Billy Strings is known as one of music’s most compelling artists. Most recently, he unveiled “California Sober,” a collaboration with legendary artist Willie Nelson—his first release since partnering with venerable label, Reprise Records.

The collaboration follows Strings’ most recent full-length album, Me/And/Dad, which was released last fall and features Strings alongside his dad, Terry Barber. The product of a longtime dream, the record features new versions of fourteen bluegrass and country classics that the two have been playing together since Strings was a young child.

Since his 2017 debut, Strings has been awarded Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, Artist of the Year at the 2022 and 2023 Americana Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Best New Headliner at the 2022 Pollstar Awards, Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic at the 2021 Pollstar Awards and has performed on the 64th GRAMMY Awards, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” PBS’ “Austin City Limits,” “Bluegrass Underground” as well as countless sold-out tour dates world-wide.

Karaoke Nights in The Draftsman
Feb 18 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Draftsman Bar + Lounge

“Sing your heart out every Sunday with Lyric Jones at our laidback basement bar. Whether you’re a classic crooner or want to relive your glam metal glory days, find your moment to shine between 8pm and 11pm. Remember: what happens at karaoke night, stays at karaoke night.

People in the biz get half off select appetizers and burgers all night!”

William Elliott Whitmore
Feb 18 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle
Doors Open: 7:00 PM
– ALL AGES
– SEATED SHOW
– LIMIITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE

WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE

A man armed only with a banjo and a bass drum can be a formidable force, especially if his name is William Elliott Whitmore.  With his powerful voice and honest approach, Whitmore comes from the land, growing up on a family farm in Lee County, Iowa.  Still living on the same farm today, Whitmore has truly taken the time to discover where his center lies, and from that he will not be moved.

 

Whitmore has repeatedly carved his own path, honoring the longstanding tradition of folk music throughout his nearly 20 year career, while always allowing his blues, soul and punk rock influences to shine through.  Getting his first break opening for his friend’s hardcore band with just a banjo in hand, he would discover bands like The Jesus Lizard, Bad Brains, Lungfish and Minutemen and soon learn to play his own brand of rural, roots music with that same DIY ethic.

 

William Elliott Whitmore has been back and forth across the United States and to cities around the world.  He’s toured with such diverse acts as Frank Turner, Trampled By Turtles, Clutch and Chris Cornell to name a few.  He’s appeared on some of the biggest stages around the world including Stagecoach Fest, Byron Bluesfest (Australia) and End of the Road Fest (UK).  His willingness to take his show to any playing field has proved invaluable as he turned strangers to diehards with every performance.

CHRIS McGINNIS
Chris McGinnis writes songs that exist somewhere between a hiccup and a heartache. His debut EP, Songs For You, touches on the peculiarity of your hometown morphing beyond recognition. It tells the story of two Baby Boomers falling in and out of love across time zones and decades. It’s about connection and disconnection alike. With the release of his debut full-length album Mamaw’s Angel, Chris veers deeper into these familiar themes. Through tales of stolen Winnebagos and hip-shaking grandbabies, Chris’ music is Appalachian absurdity for the 21st Century.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Feb 20 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Disturbed: Take Back Your Life Tour
Feb 20 @ 6:30 pm
Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Disturbed is heading to Bon Secours Wellness Arena on February 20, 2024 on the Take Back Your Life Tour with special guests Falling In Reverse & Plush!

Elias String Quartet
Feb 20 @ 7:30 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center
This ensemble of young and distinguished musicians was formed in 1998 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Taking its name from Mendelssohn’s Elijah (Elias is the German form), it is now one of the foremost quartets of this generation. Their playing is vibrant, energetic, and scintillating.

Tickets are sold by subscription.  For more information or to purchase individual tickets, contact Tryon Concert Association:

888-501-0297 or contact through partner website.

“Rhythmically alive and emotionally responsive”
(Classical Music)

This ensemble of young and distinguished musicians was formed in 1998 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Taking its name from Mendelssohn’s Elijah (Elias is the German form), it is now one of the foremost quartets of this generation. Their playing is vibrant, energetic, and scintillating. The quartet is composed of Sara Bitlloch and Donald Grant, violins, Simone van der Giessen, viola, and Marie Bitlloch, cello.

Elias has recently performed a “Schumann series” of concerts at Wigmore Hall in London with Jonathan Biss and has premiered works by several contemporary composers. The ensemble has performed in major venues in North America. Recipients of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, the players mounted the “Beethoven Project in which they studied and performed all of Beethoven’s quartets as cycles while sharing their experiences on a special website (www.beethovenproject.com).”

The group’s discography has received critical acclaim. Recent recordings include the Schumann and Dvorák piano quintets with Jonathan Biss, and quartets by Britten, Mendelssohn, and Schumann. The
final volume of the complete quartets by Beethoven, including the live performance at Wigmore Hall, was recently released.

PROGRAM
Elias String Quartet

Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in G-Major, Op. 54, No. 1
– intermission –
Schubert: Quartet in D-minor, D 810 (“Death and the Maiden”)

 

Hannah Wicklund
Feb 20 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle
Doors Open: 7:00 PM

– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

HANNAH WICKLUND

Hannah Wicklund has been traveling fast and far, playing big cities and small towns around the world since starting her band at 8 years old. With her new album, Produced by Sam Kiszka, she is now arriving somewhere completely unexpected. Ethereal texturing, smokey falsetto vocals, string section surprises and guitar solos that carry equal parts pain and joy are woven tastefully into what Wicklund says is , “A record that just sounds like me”. Much like Hannah’s paintings she has become known for, each song is intricately entrancing and honored with two things seemingly lost in today’s world….patience and time. With Sam Kiszka on bass/keys/organ and Danny Wagner on drums, both of Greta Van Fleet, the songs serve as a rock ’n’ roll roadmap to a crossroads that Wicklund has been unknowingly gravitating towards for well over a decade. X marks the spot where the weary girl speeding towards the woman she will become meet in a fiery head-on collision. On this album, we hear from the woman rising from that wreckage. The woman who’s scarred but smarter, holds compassion for the girl who carried her here, and with wide-open clear eyes, unflinchingly stares down the future.

Indeed, The Prize is a beautiful representation of what raw feminine power and determination look, feel and sound like. Carved with pain during the most wounded and fragile point in our young heroine’s life, this record is for anyone that has ever had to look inward to move onward. “This album was so radically healing for me, and I hope it can inspire and perhaps play a role in someone else’s story” says Wicklund. “I want us all to remember, it can be lonely and is never easy ‘doing the work’, but we are each worthy of our own love, time, and dedication.”

THE HIGH DIVERS

The High Divers have seen some things. There are scars adorning each member that serve as constant reminders that the traveling rock n’ roll lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. After narrowly surviving a bloody scene with a semi on an Arizona Highway in 2017, and a stage silencing pandemic, the band has proved its resilience and dedication to crafting albums that they can continue to be proud of. With the release of their newest record, “Should I be Worried” due out April 2023, the band is breathing a sigh of relief in finally getting the Sadler Vaden produced album out into the hands of their fans. “The return to live shows with all of the excitement and energy behind these new songs is going to be really healing for everyone involved”, says guitarist and singer, Luke Mitchell, “We’ve held onto some of these songs for almost three years now, and it’s felt like an absolute eternity!” 

Recorded in Nashville at BattleTapes and Marshall, NC at The High Divers’ own Out There Studios, this record serves as a patchwork of where the band has been and where they are going, with great care taken in curating nuanced and eclectic songs that weave into a colorful psychedelic sonic tapestry. “When you have this long to compile songs and really live with them, there are certain ones that just jump out and continue to have that sheen that keeps us all excited” says Mary Alice, whose song “Pieces” is a sparse and hauntingly beautiful look into the past “We were young, we were stupid, we were free, we were broken”.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Auditions Womansong
Feb 21 all-day
online

“We sing because we love to… and we sing because we can… and we sing for those who can’t… ​and we sing to honor the beauty of life within and around us!” -Althea Gonzalez, former Artistic Director

We welcome all who may be interested in joining and want to get acquainted!

Auditions for the Spring 2024 concert season are available through the end of February. For more information or to arrange a visit, please contact us here or by email at [email protected].

Interested in why our members chose to join Womansong? Hear testimonials from several of our members here.

Pacolet Adult Appalachian Music (PacJAM) Spring Semester
Feb 21 all-day
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Adult Classes

Wednesdays

2:45-3:45 pm & 6:15-7:15 pm

 

Afternoon adult classes are for fiddle, beginning guitar, and beginning mandolin. Evening adult classes are for bluegrass jam, and beginning clawhammer banjo.

“If you don’t let things develop, it’s like keeping something in a bag and not letting it out to fly”
— Earl Scruggs

It’s never too late to learn to play and/or enjoy being part of the synergy that is created by adult PacJAMMERs!

Adult classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the 14-week session.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Feb 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Sing with our Choir
Feb 21 @ 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
First Congregational Church

Sing with our Choir at a progressive church

Come join us! Contact Mark Acker for more information ([email protected]).

Rehearsals on Wednesday’s, 3:30-4:45

Pacolet Junior Appalachian Music (PacJAM) Spring Semester
Feb 21 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Beginning & Intermediate youth music classes on traditional and ol’ time instruments including but not limited to, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and guitar. Students will attend 40 minutes of music enrichment, including multiple flat-footing sessions led by Alice Kexel, story-telling, visits from guest musicians, as well as learn about the heritage of the music and the region. They will have 40 minutes of group music classes, and 40 minutes of singing or JAM rehearsal.

Advanced students will have 40 minutes of group instrument lessons, followed by 30 minutes of advanced singing including harmony and shape-note singing, and finish with 50 minutes of coached, small-ensemble rehearsal.

Classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the first student, and a 20% discount of $168 for each additional sibling. Parents may choose to split payments when registering. Inquire with Julie Moore at [email protected] or 864-420-6407 about scholarships.

Youth Classes

Wednesdays, 4-6 pm

OLD-TIME JAM Old-Time Mountain + Folk Music
Feb 21 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Jack of the Wood


Grab some dinner and a pint while enjoying our long-running Old-Time jam! Featuring many talented musicians from the local WNC area, our traditional Appalachian mountain music jam runs from 5-9pm every Wednesday night at Jack of the Wood!

Citizen Swing
Feb 21 @ 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Citizen Vinyl

Join us for Citizen Swing, our new twice-monthly Wednesday jazz nights. Come through for a night of excellent, curated local jazz talent and classic cocktails. The fun starts at 6pm when we spin up some cool, old jazz vinyl, and then continues at 7pm with live sets by Connor Law and Will Boyd. Free!

 

CONNOR LAW:
Connor Law is a freelance bassist, bandleader and composer based in Asheville, NC. He got his start in the music business after graduating from UNCA in 2017 by going on the road as a tour manager for the progressive bluegrass band, Jon Stickley Trio. After leaving that position he realized his passion was in performance, and more specifically, jazz performance. He began working as a full time musician in Asheville in 2018 and has been performing with many of the top musicians in the area since then.

 

WILL BOYD: Multi-reed instrumentalist, composer, and educator Will Boyd hails from the soul-sax tradition of artists such as Eddie Harris, Hank Crawford, David “Fat Head” Newman, King Curtis, and Yusef Lateef. Originally from Orangeburg, S.C. by way of Queens, N.Y., Will currently resides in Knoxville, Tenn. He is an adjunct music faculty member at UNC Asheville and Warren Wilson College and member of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. He has released three solo albums: Live at the Red Piano Lounge, Freedom Soul Jazz, and Soulful Noise. Will also co-leads a group with his wife Kelle Jolly who is a jazz radio host and founder of the Knoxville Women in Jazz Jam Festival.