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, January 3, 2020
Life Like Water Black Sea Beat Society
Jan 3 @ 8:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

Life Like Water (Album Release Show)

Spamilton: An American Parody
Jan 3 @ 8:00 pm
Peace Center

Brace yourself for a Singing, Dancing, Comedy Revolution that is chock-full of references to the wonderful world of Broadway!

From the creator of Forbidden Broadway comes the parody of the most talked about Broadway musical phenomenon of the 21st century. Not simply a send-up of the original, this story is interspersed with outrageous references to Chicago, West Side Story, The King And I, Sweeney Todd, and more! Even the stars of the original cast are comically eviscerated and joined by caricatures of living Broadway legends like Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, and Bernadette Peters.

Whether you’re a Broadway aficionado or just like to laugh, there’s something for everyone in this fresh, new musical parody!

Saturday, January 4, 2020
Spamilton: An American Parody
Jan 4 @ 2:00 pm
Peace Center

Brace yourself for a Singing, Dancing, Comedy Revolution that is chock-full of references to the wonderful world of Broadway!

From the creator of Forbidden Broadway comes the parody of the most talked about Broadway musical phenomenon of the 21st century. Not simply a send-up of the original, this story is interspersed with outrageous references to Chicago, West Side Story, The King And I, Sweeney Todd, and more! Even the stars of the original cast are comically eviscerated and joined by caricatures of living Broadway legends like Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, and Bernadette Peters.

Whether you’re a Broadway aficionado or just like to laugh, there’s something for everyone in this fresh, new musical parody!

Opening reception: Ancient Stones Speaking—Petroglyphs & Storytelling—Pastels on paper & mixed media by John Baumann
Jan 4 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Flood Gallery Fine Art Center

John Baumann of Black Mountain will display his natural and native American spiritual artwork, petroglyphs, walking sticks, dream catchers, and nature art. This is a mixed media exhibition with primarily pastels on paper.

John Baumann was a professional rock climber for most of his adult life and has lived in the Black Mountain area for the past 9 years. Baumann traveled and climbed in over 37 states and on 3 continents, and has seen his fair share of ancient rock art. As an artist and creator for the past 25 years, Baumann draws on those encounters to create artwork from Chalk and Paper.

After moving to the Black Mountain area from the Triad in 2011, Baumann has been blessed by this area’s creative culture and energy. The result is evident in the pieces that make up this exhibit. Ancient styles from the Inuit, Pacific NW, the desert South West, and the Eastern North American tribal styles will be represented in the show.

For opening night on Jan. 4, 6-9pm, the gallery will be transformed into a cave & we will have drumming, music, storytelling, food & drink!

Through February 22. Gallery hours are 11am-5pm Mon-Sat; 1-5pm Sun. Call 828-273-3332 to confirm.

Spamilton: An American Parody
Jan 4 @ 8:00 pm
Peace Center

Brace yourself for a Singing, Dancing, Comedy Revolution that is chock-full of references to the wonderful world of Broadway!

From the creator of Forbidden Broadway comes the parody of the most talked about Broadway musical phenomenon of the 21st century. Not simply a send-up of the original, this story is interspersed with outrageous references to Chicago, West Side Story, The King And I, Sweeney Todd, and more! Even the stars of the original cast are comically eviscerated and joined by caricatures of living Broadway legends like Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, and Bernadette Peters.

Whether you’re a Broadway aficionado or just like to laugh, there’s something for everyone in this fresh, new musical parody!

Mindshapefist Aittala: Broad River Nightmare
Jan 4 @ 9:00 pm – 11:30 pm
The Grey Eagle

MindShapeFist + Aittala

Sunday, January 5, 2020
Spamilton: An American Parody
Jan 5 @ 1:00 pm
Peace Center

Brace yourself for a Singing, Dancing, Comedy Revolution that is chock-full of references to the wonderful world of Broadway!

From the creator of Forbidden Broadway comes the parody of the most talked about Broadway musical phenomenon of the 21st century. Not simply a send-up of the original, this story is interspersed with outrageous references to Chicago, West Side Story, The King And I, Sweeney Todd, and more! Even the stars of the original cast are comically eviscerated and joined by caricatures of living Broadway legends like Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, and Bernadette Peters.

Whether you’re a Broadway aficionado or just like to laugh, there’s something for everyone in this fresh, new musical parody!

Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Jan 5 @ 3:00 pm
Jack of the Wood

 

Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session 

Sundays

1 till who knows when?

Traditional Irish music is kept alive at Jack of the Wood with our unplugged Sunday session.

Jack of the Wood

95 Patton ave

Asheville, NC 28801

(828) 252.5445

http://www.jackofthewood.com/

Spamilton: An American Parody
Jan 5 @ 6:30 pm
Peace Center

Brace yourself for a Singing, Dancing, Comedy Revolution that is chock-full of references to the wonderful world of Broadway!

From the creator of Forbidden Broadway comes the parody of the most talked about Broadway musical phenomenon of the 21st century. Not simply a send-up of the original, this story is interspersed with outrageous references to Chicago, West Side Story, The King And I, Sweeney Todd, and more! Even the stars of the original cast are comically eviscerated and joined by caricatures of living Broadway legends like Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, and Bernadette Peters.

Whether you’re a Broadway aficionado or just like to laugh, there’s something for everyone in this fresh, new musical parody!

Nightrain – A Guns N’ Roses Tribute Experience
Jan 5 @ 8:00 pm – 11:45 pm
The Grey Eagle

Nightrain - A Guns N' Roses Tribute Experience

Monday, January 6, 2020
Carl Sandburg Story Slam
Jan 6 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Main Library Kaplan Auditorium

Storytellers from across the region will share true five-minute stories reflecting the theme of “movement” with a live audience. If you would like to tell your own story, arrive by 4:30 pm to register, names will be placed in a hat at check-in and picked randomly to determine order, for up to 12 storytellers. A panel of judges will rate the stories and monetary prizes will be awarded.

LGBTQ Book Club
Jan 6 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Malaprop’s Bookstore

Join host Alex Ruiz to discuss a wide-ranging selection of fiction and non-fiction focused on the LGBTQ community.  Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at Malaprop’s the first Monday of every month at 7:00 pm.

Event date:
Monday, January 6, 2020 – 7:00pm
Monday, February 3, 2020 – 7:00pm
Monday, March 2, 2020 – 7:00pm
Monday, April 6, 2020 – 7:00pm
Remembering Mikey: WSP Live At Oak Mountain Viewing Party
Jan 6 @ 7:00 pm
The Grey Eagle
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Mark de Castrique launches Murder in Rat Alley
Jan 7 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Murder in Rat Alley Cover Image

Iraq War veteran Sam Blackman with his prosthetic leg and his no-nonsense private eye partner Nakayla Robertson love their investigations which always carry a thread from the past–and they love each other. An interracial couple in the new South, the Asheville, NC, pair has surrounded themselves with a terrific support team including an unorthodox lawyer and a veteran cop. They deploy humor both to bind them together and to deflect insults. Plus, it helps deal with the tragedies their work uncovers.

Such a tragedy interrupts a meeting between the PIs and the neighboring law office when a body is unearthed from the grounds of the nearby Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. During the Cold War it monitored developing space programs. Today it plays a vital role gathering weather and climate data. The body has been in the ground a long time. Why would its discovery spark off a new murder in Asheville’s mountain music scene, the victim found amid the garbage of dark, dank Rat Alley?

She was the fiancée of the man murdered long ago. But surely this case is more than a domestic drama playing out over time….

The Blackman Agency Investigations excel at merging past and present, bringing little-known history to light, and are perfect for fans of James Lee Burke, Stephen Mack Jones, Margaret Maron, and Robert B. Parker.

Mark de Castrique grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where many of his novels are set. He’s a veteran of the television and film production industry, has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte teaching The American Mystery, and he’s a frequent speaker and workshop leader. He and his wife, Linda, live in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.markdecastrique.com

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club
Jan 7 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Battery Park Book Exchange

Join former Malaprop’s General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett for this woman-only book club that seeks to have fun by reading books (fiction & non) by women writers. Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at 6:30 P.M. on the first Tuesday of the month at the Battery Park Book Exchange.

Event date:
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, February 4, 2020 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 6:30pm
Adult Book Discussion “How to Walk Away” by Katherine Center
Jan 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Enka-Candler Library
An Evening with the Author: Robin Russell Gaiser presents ‘Open for Lunch’
Jan 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Fairview Library

An Evening with the Author: Robin Russell Gaiser presents 'Open for Lunch'

The Friends of Fairview Library welcome Robin Russell Gaiser, author of ‘Open for Lunch’, on Tuesday, January 7th at 7pm.

In her book, Gaiser writes of her encounters with a dozen strangers in casual lunch spots from upstate New York to Asheville, North Carolina. She began these encounters almost by chance when she invited someone in line with her at a Subway restaurant to share her table. But as she pursued such encounters over the years, she gradually became “the reporter reporting on myself. Soon the stunning stories of my lunch mates took me deeply into my own narrative.”

Please join us for this lively discussion. Books can be signed and purchased at the event.

Refreshments to be served after by the Friends of Fairview Library.

Book Discussion Weaverville Library
Jan 7 @ 7:00 pm
Weaverville Library
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio
Jan 7 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

72nd & Central
Jan 7 @ 9:00 pm
The Pulp

tickets at the door

Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Malaprop’s Book Club
Jan 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe

The Malaprop’s Book Club, hosted by Jay Jacoby, explores a diverse selection of fiction and nonfiction books determined by member suggestion. Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club will meet at 7:00 PM in the cafe. This is a special date. The club usually meets the first Wednesday of every Month.

 

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven
Jan 8 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

Cracker + Camper Van Beethoven

The Justin Ray Big Band CD Release
Jan 8 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Isis Restaurant & Music Hall

On holiday break from a 100-city world tour, Justin Ray is home in Asheville for the release of his first big band recording. Join us for this live performance from Justin & his 18-piece orchestra!

The Justin Ray Big Band plays original music deeply rooted in the swing of Ellington and Basie, with lyrical themes that are both current and timeless.

Justin Ray started his musical career as a bebop trumpet player, performing in venues all over the country. In 2003, he began to tour the world with the Michael Bublé band as the trumpet soloist. While with Bublé, Justin was given the opportunity to perform the works of some of the great composers/arrangers of the big band genre (Nelson Riddle, Quincy Jones, etc.), and he began working for Bublé in that capacity as well, becoming the primary orchestrator for the band in 2008. In 2015, Justin founded Elephant Sword Studios. The studio’s initial focus was to produce and record original big band arrangements of the standard American songbook repertoire, but that focus changed in 2017. Elephant Sword is now dedicated to original music for big band. Style and swing are still at the center, but no musical or lyrical influence is out of bounds. This is big band music for the millennium.

DirtyBoys, 10 Cellphones, Kill Marqo, Lil Connie
Jan 8 @ 9:00 pm
The Pulp

Tickets at the door.

Thursday, January 9, 2020
Dr. Kathleen Smith presents Everything Isn’t Terrible
Jan 9 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Everything Isn't Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down Cover Image

In the spirit of You Are a Badass and The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, a helpful and humorous guide to shedding our anxious habits and building a more solid sense of self in our increasingly anxiety-inducing world.
Licensed therapist and mental health writer Dr. Kathleen Smith offers a smart, practical antidote to our anxiety-ridden times. Everything Isn’t Terrible is an informative and practical guide — featuring a healthy dose of humor — for people who want to become beacons of calmness in their families, at work, and in our anxious world. Everything Isn’t Terrible will inspire you to confront your anxious self, take charge of your anxiety, and increase your own capacity to choose how you respond to it. Comprised of short chapters containing anecdotal examples from Smith’s work with her clients, in addition to engaging, actionable exercises for readers, Everything Isn’t Terrible will give anyone suffering from anxiety all the tools they need to finally…calm…down.
Ultimately, living a calmer, less anxious life — one that isn’t terrible — is possible, and with this book, you’ll learn how to do it.

Kathleen Smith is a licensed therapist and mental health writer who lives in Washington, DC. She has written for popular publications such as Slate, Salon, New York Magazine, Lifehacker, Bustle, and Counseling Today, among many others. She is an associate faculty member at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family and hosts the show Family Matters, a production of the University of the District of Columbia. She will be in conversation with Joanne O’Sullivan, author of Between Two Skies.

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

An Evening with Patrick Davis & His Midnight Choir
Jan 9 @ 7:00 pm
The Peace Center

Patrick Davis is a Tennessee-born, South Carolina-raised, Nashville-based singer-songwriter who has had quite the musical run over the past decade. His musical prowess grew from modest beginnings inside his father’s Camden, SC, guitar shop to establishing a name for himself on Nashville’s Music Row. A prolific and versatile songwriter, Davis has penned songs recorded by an array of major artists including Lady Antebellum, Jimmy Buffett, Guy Clark, Jewel, Imelda May, Robert Randolph, Darius Rucker, and many others. After a decade of writing for other voices, he found his own sound and style with the 11-piece band he formed and dubbed his Midnight Choir. The group is currently recording a debut album and will be on the road in 2020 bringing their musical message to the masses.

Davis is also the founder of Songwriters In Paradise, a uniquely crafted singer-songwriter festival designed to bring together the world’s top songwriting and performing talent in the world’s most exclusive and awe-inspiring destinations. Additionally, he is a co-founder of Whiskey Jam Whiskey with South Carolina’s world-renowned Firefly Distillery.

JessLee
Jan 9 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

JessLee

Friday, January 10, 2020
Gypsy & Me at Triskelion Brewing Co.
Jan 10 all-day
Triskelion Brewing Co.

Gypsy & Me is comprised of Carolina-based duo, Mike Moore and Kyzandrha Zarate. Together, they bring us original Americana | Folk | Country | Acoustic music. They celebrate the release of their album Get Busy Livin’ with a tour through the Carolinas, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, & Tennessee. Catch this duo on Friday, January 10th at Triskelion Brewing Co. from 7-9PM. Show is FREE!

David Bromberg Quintet
Jan 10 @ 8:00 pm
Diana Wortham Theatre

 For Americana godfather David Bromberg, it all began with the blues.

His incredible journey spans five-and-a-half decades, and includes – but is not limited to – adventures with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jerry Garcia, and music and life lessons from seminal blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis, who claimed the young Bromberg as a son. A musician’s musician, Bromberg’s mastery of several stringed instruments (guitar, fiddle, Dobro, mandolin), and multiple styles is legendary, leading Dr. John to declare him an American icon. In producing John Hartford’s hugely influential Aereo-Plain LP, Bromberg even co-invented a genre: Newgrass.

Enrage Against The Machine
Jan 10 @ 9:00 pm
The Orange Peel

A Tribute To Rage Against The Machine