Calendar of Events
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.
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 Rabell, Kristen Englenz, Blaise Hearn, Rebecca Weiner Tompkins, and several more.
Afton and his team are planning regional, national, and international engagements in support of the new release.
It is no mistake that mewithoutYou have become one of today’s most fascinating experimental rock acts. The last 15 years have borne witness to the Philadelphia five-piece exercising stylistic evolutions and aerial dynamics with humbling dexterity and untamed ambition. At their roots may be a theatrical progressive punk/post-hardcore band, but they’ve never been content to remain comfortably within a familiar genre. Their continuous multi-directional movements have left them increasingly difficult to classify, the growth of their branches impossible to predict. The group’s sixth full-length album, Pale Horses, is the best evidence to date of their eclectic agility.
The one constant in mewithoutYou’s storied career has been lead singer Aaron Weiss’ ability to sketch ornate, thought-provoking narratives. Seamlessly weaving his signature holler amidst whispered storytelling and stream-of-consciousness outpourings, his latest offerings vacillate between the emotionally wracked, vibrantly symbolic, and ambiguously metaphysical. His meandering, technicolor vision of a world apocalyptic—populated with werewolves and vulturemen, shape-shifters and apparitions, android whales and an Idaho bride—combines the fantastic opulence of the group’s recent albums with the vulnerable personal confessions of their earliest work.
Longtime band-mates Mike Weiss, Rickie Mazzotta and Greg Jehanian continue to craft dramatic, nightmare soundscapes which lavishly complement their singer’s ecstatic hallucinations. The addition of Brandon Beaver (of Buried Beds, the Silver Ages) allows the group as a 5-piece to revisit its earlier intricate, layered fretwork, while adding new depths of vocal harmonies and ever-peculiar arrangements. Musically, the group hearkens boldly to the raw intensity of 2004’s Catch for Us the Foxes, while building on the rich imagery of 2006’s Brother, Sister. Epic in scope, Pale Horses is mewithoutYou at their best, breathing fresh life into the end times, gloriously terrifying and hauntingly iconic.
Their latest album also marks a new beginning for the band, as it’s their first to be released on Run for Cover Records. Teaming with the rising Boston independent label was the outgrowth of their partnership with Will Yip, whose masterful production transforms the band’s transcendental musings into a widescreen experience. Drums and bass lines quake with the faults of the earth, as an army of guitars and multi-instrumental nuances ring in the paranoia, mass hysteria and peaceful exaltation. The result is a stunning collage—fitfully disturbing, steadily bizarre, uniquely celebratory—undoubtedly the grandest musical adventure yet conceived within mewithoutYou’s expanding tapestry.
How much noise can two people make? ‘68 is the sound of simultaneous implosion and explosion, of destruction and creation unbound. These are songs that could almost fall apart at any moment, yet never do, devilishly dancing between life and death. It’s a primitive impulse delivered with postmodern purpose; a blacksmith’s resolve with an arsenal of electric distortion and raw nerve.
Josh Scogin kickstarted his small band with the big sound in 2013, naming the two-man outfit he modestly undersells as “a little rock, a little blues, a little hardcore” after his father’s old Camaro. And there’s a muscle car-sized rumble beneath the hood of what the Atlanta, Georgia native and his percussive partner-in-crime, Nikko Yamada, unleash with an array of guitar, bass, drums, keys, and pedals, careening between swinging barnburners, wild haymakers, and moody atmosphere.
Like a Delta Blues reimagining of Bleach-era Nirvana or the disgraced punkish cousin of The Black Keys, ’68 adheres to a single ethic: unbridled authenticity. There’s not a “plan” with ’68 so much as a ride, with the duo hanging on for dear life in the eye of the storm every bit as much as the audience. The obstacle is the goal. The journey is the destination. Inventive, disruptive, frantic; even when dipping into a bit of Otis Redding or James Brown style funk, ’68 sound urgent.
The ’68 roadshow has taken them from Moscow to Tel Aviv, across Europe and Australia and all-over North America, often splitting up 20-hour drives between the two guys. The passion, the hunger, the good humor, it all connects with diverse crowds. Deliciously stripped down and vibrant, ’68 excels in intimate environments, to be sure, but is no less unignorable on giant festival stages or on the road with Bring Me The Horizon, Stone Sour, Beartooth, Avatar, August Burns Red, The Amity Affliction, and Underoath, where they’ve earned new converts every day.
In Humor and Sadness, the first album by ’68, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard New Artist Chart. Two Parts Viper followed in 2017. “[‘68] bring the noise in the most righteous ways, caring less about the scene they came up through, the bloodless drivel that passes as ‘indie’ and the boring earnestness currently permeating ‘punk,’” declared Alternative Press. “Two Parts Viper is the best record of the year. Throw a copy in my casket, because I’ll never be done listening to it.”
Grammy-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains) became a believer after just a few songs of a ’68 set. On GIVE ONE TAKE ONE, crafted with Raskulinecz in Nashville, the band’s high intensity bombast threatens but never swallows the underlying groove.
With the same spirit of scrappy “winging it” and punchy minimalism that powered the Flat Duo Jets and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, ’68 push forward the pure rock traditions of audacity and disruption. Scogin gives everything to the microphone, as if singing to redeem his soul. He wields his guitar and keys like weapons, pulverizing away any false pretenses. It’s about the riff and the kick. It’s immediate. It’s alive. And it’s fun. Sweaty catharsis, cutting missives, surrendered by ’68 as if the world depends on them. Because in ’68, less is more. Oh, so much more.
 |
|
Drumroll…
50th LEAF Festival Tickets —————————————– Get early bird ticket access with membership! —————————————– June 1 – Membership tickets June 15 – General public tickets |
- Bricks-And-Mortar
- Public Education
- Planning, Survey and Designation
|
|
|
Musicians will lead the audience in singing along to familiar songs and music from Carl Sandburg’s “The American Songbag.” The event is free and will be held at the amphitheater at 5pm on the second Tuesday of June, July & August.
- June 14 – Carol Rifkin leads a sing and strum along. Bring a string instrument to strum-along or just enjoy the music and sing-along.
- July 12 –Wayne Erbsen leads a fun evening of banjo-led singing.
- August 9 – Carol Rifkin leads a sing and strum along. Bring a string instrument to strum-along or just enjoy the music and sing-along.
The final block party is held in conjunction with the Brevard Police Department and Transylvania County Sheriff’s Department’s National Night Out Celebration.
Attendees can expect a lineup of live music, delicious local food and children’s activities, creating a fun community gathering for all. The June events feature LEAF Global Arts and the July and August events feature our beloved Old Time Street Dances. Block parties will be held weekly from 6-8pm on East Main Street. Many downtown retail businesses and restaurants will also be open for the block party.
HOB and LEAF Global Arts invites everyone to experience a world without borders! From dance, to drumming to arts & crafts, LEAF’s performing artists will bring a new lineup of cultural art experiences and live music to the June block parties. Each week will feature a different band and the LEAF Easel Rider, a mobile arts & crafts lab.
LEAF performances will feature an eclectic mix of music that is different each week, ranging from blues and rock toNew Orleans style jazz.
LEAF resident artist Melissa McKinney kicks off the series on June 14th. “We are so excited to bring the energy of LEAF Global to downtown Brevard,” shares McKinney, “connecting community is part of our mission and we believe downtown Brevard holds the same values. Music is the best way to bring people together.”
Old Time Street Dances, a long-time community favorite, returns to the Heart of Brevard at our July 5th block party. The dances offer free, family-friendly fun that celebrates our Appalachian heritage and is sure to move your feet.
Old Time Street Dances in downtown Brevard are an 80-year tradition. This summer, Whitewater Bluegrass Co. returns to the stage as the host band to lead the crowds in a collection of square dance and contra-style dancing. Evenings will include classic songs, a chance for clogging and traditional Appalachian-called dance. Old Time Street Dances are geared toward participation at every age and skill level.
The Tuesday Night Block Parties are free and open to the public. For more information about LEAF, Old Time Street Dances and other upcoming events, follow Heart of Brevard on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to their newsletter here.
###
Heart of Brevard 501(c)(3) is a North Carolina Main Street Community, designated by the NC Department of Commerce and Main Street & Rural Planning Center. Heart of Brevard is a recognized leading program among the national network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities who share both a commitment to creating high-quality places and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. All Main Street America™ programs meet a set of National Accreditation Standards of Performance as outlined by the National Main Street Center.
Every Tuesday, DJ Lil Meow Meow brings you a curated all-vinyl listening experience while you enjoy the fantastic wine, cocktails and snacks from the bar at Bottle Riot. Keep an eye out for weekly food and drink specials and come ready to hear an eclectic mix of records you won’t hear just anywhere. Sit outside or on one of their beautiful vintage couches and take in the atmosphere.
Follow @djlilmeowmeow for more details!
No cover, free parking, outdoor seating, drink deals, dogs allowed, and good times.
You couldn’t get enough the first time, and you’ve been requesting it every year since! Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” brought together icons Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley for one unforgettable night. Featuring over 20 rock ‘n’ roll hits including: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Down By the Riverside,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and many more. Don’t miss Nat Zegree returning as Jerry Lee Lewis! Tickets will fly away fast, so don’t miss your chance to see this exceptional musical feast.
This “theatrical landmark has transformed theater and the way we think about history” (The New York Times)
Hamilton is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography. It has won Tony®, Grammy®, and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.
|
|
Drumroll…
50th LEAF Festival Tickets —————————————– Get early bird ticket access with membership! —————————————– June 1 – Membership tickets June 15 – General public tickets |
- Bricks-And-Mortar
- Public Education
- Planning, Survey and Designation
|
|
|
You couldn’t get enough the first time, and you’ve been requesting it every year since! Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” brought together icons Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley for one unforgettable night. Featuring over 20 rock ‘n’ roll hits including: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Down By the Riverside,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and many more. Don’t miss Nat Zegree returning as Jerry Lee Lewis! Tickets will fly away fast, so don’t miss your chance to see this exceptional musical feast.
Jobi Riccio is a songwriter and performer originally from Denver, Colorado, now based in Nashville,TN. Inspired by artists ranging from George Jones to Joni Mitchell, and the bluegrass community she came of age in, she writes songs that meld classic country sounds with modern sensibilities, aiming to turn classic tropes of the genre on its head.
She has received acclaim for her writing, including being awarded the 2019 Lee Villiare Scholarship from her alma mater Berklee College of Music, winning the 2019 NewSong Music Competition and being named a finalist in the 2018 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter’s Showcase. She is currently working on her debut full length album, “Whiplash”. Her 2019 EP, “Strawberry Wine”, is an ode to the women of country music she grew up singing along to in her bedroom, and is streaming everywhere now.
Sadie Gustafson-Zook is a versatile singer, intricate guitar player, and contagious songwriter. Her pure voice and hummable melodies balance with witty lyrics to create charmingly honest and relatable music. Indiana-grown, Boston-nurtured, and Nashville-based, Sadie has brought her lovable stories and songs to audiences in intimate homes, renowned listening rooms, and festivals across the country. A two-time Kerrville New Folk finalist and 2022 NewSong + LEAF Singer-Songwriter competition finalist, Sadie been featured on the Folk Alley and the Basic Folk podcast. On her 2022 album “Sin of Certainty,” Sadie explores the process of questioning all that she had taken for granted, through finding a new community in the roots scene of Boston, studying jazz, and coming out as queer.
Join us for a weekly mountain music JAM with players in a round, where the session is focused on regional fiddle tunes and songs! You are welcome to come and listen or to learn and join in. This event supports the Henderson County Junior Appalachian Musician (JAM) Kids Program. Free but donations are accepted. Weekly event takes place at Oklawaha Brewing Company.
RAIN OR SHINE
On The War On Drugs’ 2017 album A Deeper Understanding, Adam Granduciel sang about wanting to “find what can’t be found.” In a way, the history of this band has been a chronicle of their frontman’s ongoing search for greater meaning. Along the way, they’ve grown with each record. In the aftermath of A Deeper Understanding, they won a Grammy for Best Rock Album. The New Yorker called them “the best American ‘rock’ band of this decade.” Even The Rolling Stones recognized Granduciel’s talents, inviting him to remix their long lost collaboration with Jimmy Page, “Scarlet,” which was previously an unreleased gem from Goats Head Soup.
By any metric, The War On Drugs have made it. They are now firmly embedded in the classic rock lineage. And yet the quest for that ineffable something continues. In practical terms, Granduciel was facing a familiar quandary as work began on the new War On Drugs album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, in early 2018: What next?
Looking ahead, he was staring down his 40th birthday. He was on the verge of starting a family. And then there was the extended brotherhood of The War On Drugs, who had just spent many months on the road gelling into an excellent live act, as documented on 2020’s Live Drugs. In the 2010s, they had put out three classic studio albums in a row. But now it was time for a new statement for a new decade.
When he reflects on the making of I Don’t Live Here Anymore, Granduciel is quick to talk about the contributions of his bandmates as well as his trusted co-producer and engineer, Shawn Everett. That doesn’t exactly square with how we normally talk about this band. Granduciel typically is portrayed as the loner studio genius diligently pursuing the creation of heartland rock masterpieces. Think back to the cover of their 2014 breakthrough Lost In The Dream, in which we see the band’s leader standing in profile, looking pensive but determined.
But the moments that stand out most from the creation of I Don’t Live Here Anymore aren’t the solitary ones. For Granduciel, the new songs brought him back to the very community he had forged with his band.
“It just reminded me of all the things I love about making music,” he says, “collaborating with my friends, and letting everybody shine.”
As Granduciel sings in “Harmonia’s Dream” — one of the most anthemic tracks from an album positively bursting with them — “sometimes forwards is the only way back.” For The War On Drugs, the path forward started with paring back to the core of Granduciel, bassist Dave Hartley, and multi-instrumentalist Anthony LaMarca. As winter turned to spring in March of 2018, the trio retreated to upstate New York to jam, demo new songs, and deepen their bond.
“Sometimes you have to just get away from the predetermined roles that each member plays in the live setting,” Granduciel explains. These sessions proved highly productive, turning out early versions of some of the catchiest and most immediate songs on I Don’t Live Here Anymore, including the jangly “Change” and the pop-banger-in-waiting “I Don’t Wanna Wait.”
It was the start of an odyssey that lasted about three years. I Don’t Live Here Anymore was made in New York City and Los Angeles from 2018 through the early part of 2021, and included stopovers at iconic studios like Electric Lady in Greenwich Village and Electro-Vox in
Hollywood. (Granduciel, as always, is a loyal patron of some of rock’s greatest sonic workshops.)
One of the most memorable sessions occurred in May 2019 at Electro-Vox, in which the band’s entire line-up — rounded out by keyboardist Robbie Bennett, drummer Charlie Hall, and saxophonist Jon Natchez — convened to record the affecting lead-off track and first single from I Don’t Live Here Anymore, “Living Proof.” Typically, Granduciel assembles War On Drugs records from reams of overdubs, like a kind of rock ‘n’ roll jigsaw puzzle. But for “Living Proof,” the track came together in real time, as the musicians drew on their chemistry as a live unit to summon some extemporaneous magic. The immediacy of the performance was appropriate for one of Granduciel’s most personal songs to date.
The songs on I Don’t Live Here Anymore were not written specifically about the pandemic. But at a time when we’re all starting to finally reunite with friends and family members, this record feels extra resonant. Who doesn’t feel right now like they’re entering a new phase of life? Who isn’t looking toward the horizon with a mix of fear and excitement?
The joy of this album is that The War On Drugs aren’t just exploring these themes lyrically. The sound of I Don’t Live Here Anymore also captures the exhilarating uncertainty of dusting yourself off and taking your first steps into a larger world. Musically, this is the most rousing and upbeat War On Drugs album yet. The kind of music you want to play with your friends, arm and arm, as you steel yourselves against whatever’s coming. It’s medicine.
Of course, there are also the sort of introspective ballads the band is known for, like the folkie “Rings Around My Fathers Eyes” and the gorgeous “Occasional Rain,” which Granduciel considers his personal favorite. But the bulk of I Don’t Live Here Anymore unfolds like a
collection of future greatest hits. “Victim” is an electro-pop killer that could put The War On Drugs in dance clubs. “Wasted” slams like a lost Born In The U.S.A. outtake. The title track, which is littered with Dylan references, sounds like it was designed in a lab to shake the rafters in an arena.
As always, Granduciel is a master of crafting singular moments that take your breath away. The guitar solo in “I Don’t Wanna Wait.” The mammoth synth hook in “Harmonia’s Dream.” The stunning piano coda from “Change.” The sultry backing vocals from special guest stars Lucius in “I Don’t Live Here Anymore.”
And then there’s “Old Skin.” I don’t want to spoil it for first time listeners, so I’ll just say this: Wait for when the drums come in. It’s the best and most uplifting moment on the record.
Or maybe it’s the final verse of “Old Skin” that deserves such a distinction. It’s where Granduciel seems to find that special something:
Well there’s a price for everything
That tries to pull us all apart
So take control of anything
That tries to kill you from the start
But I ain’t sure of nothin’ babe
Till I can feel it in my heart
“I keep coming back to it as a record of movement,” Granduciel concludes, “of pushing forward, of trying to realize that version of our most fulfilled life, in spite of forces at every turn pushing down and trying to break you.”
Sometimes you hear a record that makes you feel — if only for an hour or so — that nothing can break you. I Don’t Live Here Anymore is that kind of record.
— Steven Hyden, June 2021
You couldn’t get enough the first time, and you’ve been requesting it every year since! Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” brought together icons Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley for one unforgettable night. Featuring over 20 rock ‘n’ roll hits including: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Down By the Riverside,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and many more. Don’t miss Nat Zegree returning as Jerry Lee Lewis! Tickets will fly away fast, so don’t miss your chance to see this exceptional musical feast.
This “theatrical landmark has transformed theater and the way we think about history” (The New York Times)
Hamilton is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography. It has won Tony®, Grammy®, and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.
|
|
Drumroll…
50th LEAF Festival Tickets —————————————– Get early bird ticket access with membership! —————————————– June 1 – Membership tickets June 15 – General public tickets |
- Bricks-And-Mortar
- Public Education
- Planning, Survey and Designation
Dates: July 11 – 16, 2022
Application: Available now through MyBMC
Cost: A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets. Spots are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Please note: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for all students, faculty, and summer staff for the 2022 season. Please see our FAQ page for more information.
Program Summary
Brevard Music Center (BMC) presents The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programming, a six-day intensive seminar and think-tank on orchestral programming intended for professionals and influencers in the orchestral field. Presented by Brevard Music Center in partnership with Bard College, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the South Dakota Symphony, the University of Michigan School of Music, and Project Director Joseph Horowitz, The Brevard Project takes place July 11-16, 2022. The central goals of The Brevard Project are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire.
Curriculum
The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programing complements Brevard Music Center’s week-long “Dvořák’s Prophecy” festival from July 11-16 and is inspired by Joseph Horowitz’s acclaimed new book Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. Part think-tank, part seminar, this inaugural Project gathering equips practitioners and scholars alike to begin to answer questions about the dense nexus of culture and race, of historical, political, and moral reckonings surrounding the story of American orchestral music. The central goals of this program are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire. The Brevard Project is designed for conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and engaged orchestra Board members.
Moving forward requires a fresh and closer look at our musical past – and to the lagging formation of an American symphonic canon. A new narrative of American classical music will be proposed that explores timely and topical issues that impact present and future orchestral programming. Why did our repertoire remain so stubbornly Eurocentric? What can we learn from this history? What can be mined from the treasure trove of long-hidden indigenous and Black music that can help to pave the future?
Classroom sessions will be highly interactive, drawing upon first-hand accounts of humanities-infused approaches to programming and community engagement. Topics of exploration include creating a “new paradigm” for American orchestral repertoire, rethinking the concert experience, and redefining the role of the music director. Participants will be challenged to envision programming and organizational initiatives to promote symphonic events grounded in the American experience, past and present.
The Faculty
A remarkable faculty has been assembled for this groundbreaking exercise.
*virtual participant
Joseph Horowitz, Project Director
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College; Music Director, American Symphony; Founder, Bard Festival and The Orchestra Now
Lorenzo Candelaria, Dean, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University
Mark Clague, Music Historian, University of Michigan
JoAnn Falletta*, Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Christopher Gibbs*, Music Historian, Bard Conservatory; Artistic Co-Director, Bard Festival
Delta David Gier, Music Director, South Dakota Symphony
Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO, Chicago Sinfonietta
Keith Lockhart*, Artistic Director, Brevard Music Center
Douglas McLennan, Founder/Editor, ArtsJournal
Jason Posnock, Chief Artistic Officer, Brevard Music Center
Jesse Rosen, Former CEO, League of American Orchestras
Larry Tamburri, CEO, Newark School of the Arts (former CEO, Pittsburgh and New Jersey Symphonies)
The Performers
Lara Downes, Pianist, producer, arts advocate
Sidney Outlaw, Baritone/pedagogue, Ithaca College
George Shirley, Tenor/pedagogue, University of Michigan
Enrollment Information
Conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and Board members are all encouraged to apply for The Brevard Project.
Capacity is limited. A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets for the week. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply now through MyBMC.
A R I Z O N A Green Room Experience includes:
- One GA Ticket
- Personalized Tour Credential
- Pre-Show Backstage Green Room Hang – Light Bites provided
- Opportunity to join the Pre-Show Roundup
- Intimate Meet & Hang with members of A R I Z O N A
- Individual Photo with members of A R I Z O N A
- One Exclusive VIP Merchandise Item
- One Autographed Commemorative VIP Laminate
- Early Entry
- First-Access Merchandise Shopping
A R I Z O N A Meet & Hang Experience includes:
- One GA Ticket
- Intimate Meet & Hang with members of A R I Z O N A
- Individual Photo with members of A R I Z O N A
- One Exclusive VIP Merchandise Item
- One Autographed Commemorative VIP Laminate
- Early Entry
- First-Access Merchandise Shopping
|
|
|
Join us at Eliada Home’s campus for a small group guided walking Farm Tour. Tours last approximately 1 hour. Participants will learn about outdoor and greenhouse growing practices, aquaponics, hydroponics, market gardening, corn maze production, and learn about our Animal Therapy program.
We will be meeting at the PARC building and walking to the different greenhouses, garden site, and a visit with our animals. Reservations required, tickets are $10 each visitor (to be collected at the time of the tour).
We recommend bringing the following: comfortable shoes for walking on pavement and grass, hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. This tour is not handicap accessible and will require participants to climb stairs and walk on uneven ground.
We will begin out tour promptly at the starting time, so please arrive 5-10 min early to allow for parking and check-in. If you are running late or cannot make your tour, please email [email protected] or call #828-348-2287.
All proceeds from ticket sales from your farm tour go directly back to helping the Campus Farm Program grow more food for the children of Eliada!
Click above photo to sign up for a time slot and number of people in your group. Payment for tour will be collected when you arrive. Cards accepted.
This tour is best suited for school age children ages 10+ and adults.
You couldn’t get enough the first time, and you’ve been requesting it every year since! Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical inspired by the true story of the famed recording session where Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” brought together icons Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley for one unforgettable night. Featuring over 20 rock ‘n’ roll hits including: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Down By the Riverside,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and many more. Don’t miss Nat Zegree returning as Jerry Lee Lewis! Tickets will fly away fast, so don’t miss your chance to see this exceptional musical feast.
The Neverwhere Trio is a collaboration of original music with Carrie Morrison, Andrew Thelston, and JamieLeigh Bennett. Combining heartfelt harmonic vocals, piano, cello, and acoustic guitar, Neverwhere is a unique class act with symphonic leanings and solid, inventive songwriting.
Carrie Morrison’s music will break your heart – in the best way. Melodic and memorable, her songs make connections. The singer/songwriter/pianist, a native of Louisville, Ky., has been playing piano since age seven. She moved to WNC in 2004, and has been a popular act in the area for more than 15 years. Morrison is known for melodically strong songs with personal, pithy, lyrics, ranging from the deeply emotional to the slightly silly. Her EP “Carolina Blonde” was released in 2013 and produced by the late Terry Wetton. Album “Miles and Miles” was produced by Chris Rosser, of award-winning ensemble Free Planet Radio, released in 2017. Her latest project, EP “The Neverwhere Sisters,” produced by Andrew Thelston and Daniel Nisbet, featuring cellist JamieLeighBennett, was released summer 2021. Morrison has had airplay on WTZQ and WNCW, and enjoys collaborations with several local artists onstage and in studio. Morrison is a teacher of Exceptional Children at Brevard High School. She is married to Mike, the love of her life, her champion, and best roadie.
Andrew Thelston is known for his unique blend of guitar-heavy rock, big grooves, soaring vocals, and passionate live performances. For the past two years, his power trio has been mesmerizing crowds throughout the Southeast with his brand of high energy rock-n-roll. In 2019, Andrew’s music was featured on the hit Netflix show “Lucifer.” In addition to songwriter and performer, Andrew is a producer for Ginger Bird Studios. His songs and videos are streaming worldwide.
Jamie Leigh Bennett is a cellist and flutist living in Hendersonville, NC. A native of NJ, Jamie Leigh has also lived in CT, WV, GA, UT, NV, and moved to WNC in July of 2014. She received her Bachelor’s in Music Therapy from the University of Georgia and her Master’s in Flute Performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Upon moving to WNC, Jamie Leigh began performing with Hope Griffin and can be heard on cello and flute on Griffin’s albums, “Where the Soil and the Stars Meet” and “And the Lights Will Shine.” She has also recorded with other artists in the area, including Andrew Thelston and Debbie Jackson.
Jamie Leigh performs with Carrie Morrison in the duo The Neverwhere Sisters. The unique combination of piano, cello, flute, and vocals really captures an audience. Jamie Leigh enjoys traveling locally and around the country in pursuit of her music career. She also teaches flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone and cello at the WNC Music Academy and out of a private studio at her house. She will be starting a MusicTogether program for children ages 8 weeks-5 years at the Academy in June 2021 and will be heading up a new instrument rental program through NEMC. Jamie Leigh lives in Hendersonville with her husband Rob, sons Kyllian and Ronen, two dogs and two cats.