Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Saturday, January 11, 2020
2nd Saturdays Concert Series at Flood Gallery Featuring Danger Hatt
Jan 11 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Flood Gallery Fine Art Center

oin us for this energetic duo from Black Mountain! Danger Hatt consists of Randy Sarton on acoustic finger style guitar and vocals, and Bill Hattori on his booming cajon drum and various other percussion assaults. So as to the unusual name, Bill often describes Randy as dangerous on guitar, and while they do wear hats, the two T’s signify Bill Hattori’s last name. Danger Hatt is known for a style of music rooted in folk, blues, and rock. In one moment, you may be touched by the emotional tone, the next moment you are up foot stomping and fist pumping. You might say their highs and lows mirror the scenic mountain foothills where we live.

Be dangerous!

There will be a suggested donation.

The Changing Seasons Greenville Symphony Orchestra
Jan 11 @ 7:00 pm
First Baptist Church Greenville Fellowship Hall

Barber: “Summer Music”
Copland: Two Threnodies
Gould: Duo for Clarinet and Bass
Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12
Florence Price: Selections from “Five Folksongs in Counterpoint”

An eclectic cornucopia of music as diverse as the changing seasons awaits at our mid-winter offering.

Abbey Road LIVE! 50th Anniversary of “Abbey Road”
Jan 11 @ 8:00 pm
The Orange Peel

Ward Davis and Charles Wesley Godwin
Jan 11 @ 9:00 pm – 11:45 pm
The Grey Eagle

Ward Davis

Sunday, January 12, 2020
Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Jan 12 @ 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/

Andrew Clark launches Jesus in the Trailer
Jan 12 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Jesus in the Trailer Cover Image

Join Andrew Clark, Eric Nelson, Meagan Smith Lucas, and Benjamin Cutler, as they celebrate the launch of Clark’s book, Jesus in the Trailer. They will be joined by event MC, Lockie Hunter.

Jesus in the Trailer is an intimate and sobering look at the South, at faith, at youth and aging. Clark’s poems are as tangible as red clay, with an appreciation for the rustic and reverence for time. From start to finish, this is a truly captivating collection. You’ll return to it again and again. ~Ariel Felton, writer and editor in Savannah, Georgia

This is a work about moths, Savannah, teeth, Prince, lipstick, churches, tombstones and everything in between. This is a poetry book that will take you places you don’t expect, with precise language. This is an author at the top of his talent, in beautiful form. This is a book for you. For us. Thank you, Andrew. ~Marcus Amaker, award-winning graphic designer and Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC

Andrew K. Clark is a writer and poet whose work has appeared recently in Out of Anonymity–The UCLA Writing Project, Good Juju, Zingara, and NO:1, Number One journals. He is the recipient of the Georgia Southern University Roy F. Powell Creative Writing Award. He grew up in the small town of Alexander, North Carolina, outside of Asheville, where he now resides. An excerpt from his forthcoming novel, The Day Thief, was selected to appear in the Blue Mountain Review in March 2019.

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.

Monday, January 13, 2020
Mystery Book Club
Jan 13 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Join host Tena Frank for Malaprop’s Mystery Book Club! 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 on the second Monday of every month at 7:00pm.

Event date:
Monday, January 13, 2020 – 7:00pm
Monday, February 10, 2020 – 7:00pm
Monday, March 9, 2020 – 7:00pm
Monday, April 13, 2020 – 7:00pm
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Discussion Bound Book Club
Jan 14 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Hosted by the Asheville Art Museum, this monthly discussion is a place to exchange ideas that relate to artworks and the art world. The club typically meets the second Tuesday of every month at noon at Malaprop’s. Click here to view important news and find the selection for this month.

 

Event date:
Tuesday, January 14, 2020 – 12:00pm
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 – 12:00pm
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 – 12:00pm
Ransom Riggs launches The Conference of the Birds
Jan 14 @ 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs returns with a hotly anticipated new book in the blockbuster series, “Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children.” The new arc of the Miss Peregrine series launched readers into the previously unexplored world of American peculiars, one bursting with new questions, new allies, and new adversaries. Now, with enemies behind him and the unknown ahead, Jacob Portmans story continues as he takes a brave leap forward into The Conference of the Birds.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY and make sure to provide an email address where you can receive reminders and updates from Brown Paper Tickets’ automated system.

There will be a TIERED TICKETING SYSTEM for this event, with three available options:

*GOLD TICKETS SOLD OUT: GOLD TICKETS will be issued to the FIRST 20 people to purchase tickets to this event. These tickets include a copy of THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS. Gold ticket holders are invited to a special meet and greet with author Ransom Riggs, and will receive a swag bag, have access to the activity stations, the event, and first priority in the signing line. (Gold ticket holders admitted at 5:40 p.m. for meet & greet.)

*SILVER TICKET holders gain access to the activity stations, receive a swag item, and are admitted to the event with second priority in the signing line. Silver tickets also include a copy of THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS. (Activities for Gold/Silver ticket holders start at 6:00 p.m.)

BRONZE TICKETS are free and do not include a copy of the book. Bronze tickets are for admission to the author presentation and third priority in the signing line. (Doors open at 6:30 for general admission.)

Badfish: a Tribute to Sublime
Jan 14 @ 8:00 pm
The Orange Peel

 

The phenomenon known as Sublime, arguably the most energetic, original and uniquely eclectic band to emerge from any scene, anywhere, ended with the untimely death of lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Brad Nowell in May of 1996. But encompassing the sense of place and purpose long associated with Sublime’s music, Badfish, a Tribute to Sublime continues to channel the spirit of Sublime with a fury not felt for some time. What separates Badfish from other tribute bands is that they have replicated Sublime’s essence, developing a scene and dedicated following most commonly reserved for label-driven, mainstream acts. Badfish make their mark on the audience by playing with the spirit of Sublime. They perform not as Sublime would have, or did, but as Badfish does!

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Citizen Cope
Jan 14 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

Citizen Cope

Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Elwood Watson, PhD: Keepin’ It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America
Jan 15 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Keepin' It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America Cover Image

The past decade has been one of the most racially turbulent periods in the modern era, as the complicated breakthrough of the Obama presidency gave way to the racially charged campaigning and eventual governing of Donald Trump. Keepin’ It Real presents a wide-ranging group of essays that take on key aspects of the current landscape surrounding racial issues in America, including the place of the Obamas, the rise of the alt-right and White nationalism, Donald Trump, Colin Kaepernick and the backlash against his protests, Black Lives Matter, sexual politics in the black community, and much more.
America’s racial problems aren’t going away any time soon. Keepin’ It Real will serve as a marker of the arguments we’re having right now, and an argument for the changes we need to make to become the better nation we’ve long imagined ourselves to be.

Elwood David Watson is professor of history, African American studies, and gender studies at East Tennessee State University.

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 Branford Marsalis
Jan 15 @ 7:30 pm
Peace Center

The Branford Marsalis Quartet, first formed in 1986, remains Marsalis’ primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range and a continuity of personnel. The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, recorded in the spring of 2018, contains the mix of challenging original and classic compositions, and the range of moods from the tender to the explosive that has defined the group. With its focus on melodic strength and extrasensory interaction, the album confirms that the Branford Marsalis Quartet remains a paragon of uncompromising jazz excellence.

Emporium Presents Jesse Cook
Jan 15 @ 8:00 pm
Diana Wortham Theatre

“I want to take people to places they haven’t been.” Jesse Cook, Juno winning master guitarist, known for his intoxicating fusion of world music, has travelled the globe looking for sounds that resonate with him. “I like finding common ground for different music traditions, a space where music from around the world can come together,” Cook explains. “A place where modern sounds can mix with ancient timbres.”

He was born in Paris, to Canadian parents. After moving back to Canada, Cook started guitar lessons. “My teacher played flamenco. Then, when I’d visit my dad in France, he was living next door to Nicolas Reyes, the singer of the Gipsy Kings. I saw gipsy kids on the corner playing that way too.” It was as if the world conspired to get me interested in this style and I was hooked.” It was when he heard the Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin album, Friday Night in San Francisco that the die was cast. “I was captivated by the sheer virtuosity and freedom, that people could play whatever they wanted, creating in that space between jazz and flamenco.”

Thursday, January 16, 2020
Appalachian Fire Bluegrass Concert
Jan 16 @ 6:00 pm
Hendersonville Library

Celebrate the new year with live bluegrass music at the library.

 

Free

Ponderers Cafe – The Four Agreements – The Second Agreement
Jan 16 @ 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Kenilworth Presbyterian Church

Meet and greet at 6pm, Pondering starts at 6:30.

Please enter the church through the front door. There is ample parking on the street in front of the church. There will be a $2 per person offering for the use of the church facilities and I think this is very fair. This is in addition to any donation you may wish to give for the expenses of the meetup itself. Feel free to bring any reasonable food or drink for yourself or to share.

RSVPs go live every Friday at 5pm.

Notorious HBC (History Book Club)
Jan 16 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across different periods of history. The club tackles challenging subjects, hence “NOTORIOUS.”  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 on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm.

Event date:
Thursday, January 16, 2020 – 7:00pm
Thursday, February 20, 2020 – 7:00pm
Thursday, March 19, 2020 – 7:00pm
Thursday, April 16, 2020 – 7:00pm
The Black Market Trust
Jan 16 @ 7:00 pm
Diana Wortham Theatre, Asheville

The Black Market Trust

Combining the soulful sounds of legendary American crooners with the fire and energy of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, The Black Market Trust have found their niche in the world of American pop and vocal jazz, melding two distinctly different vibes into a single cohesive, stylish sound. Hailing from Los Angeles, these five world class musicians travel the globe recording with music’s most renowned artists and delivering high-energy, crowd-pleasing performances filled with material from The Great American Songbook, infusing some of the greatest songs ever written with jazzy romance and flavor.

 

Chris Smither
Jan 16 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

An Evening With Chris Smither

Friday, January 17, 2020
DOLLY DAY 2020: A birthday tribute to Dolly Parton
Jan 17 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

DOLLY DAY 2020: A birthday tribute to Dolly Parton

Hiss Golden Messenger Lilly Hiatt
Jan 17 @ 9:00 pm
The Orange Peel

Describing the Durham-based Hiss Golden Messenger is like trying to grasp a forgotten word: It’s always on the tip of your tongue, but hard to speak. Songwriter and bandleader M.C. Taylor’s music is at once familiar, yet impossible to categorize: Elements from the American song book – the steady, churning acoustic guitar and mandolin, the gospel emotion, the eerie steel guitar tracings, the bobbing and weaving organ and electric piano – provide the bedrock for Taylor’s existential ruminations about parenthood, joy, hope, and loneliness – our delicate, tightrope balance of dark and light – that offer fully engaged contemporary commentary on the present. And then there’s an indescribable spirit and movement: Hiss Golden Messenger’s music grooves. There’s nothing else quite like it.

hissgoldenmessenger.com

Saturday, January 18, 2020
Too Many Zooz
Jan 18 @ 9:00 pm – 11:45 pm
The Grey Eagle

Too Many Zooz

Sunday, January 19, 2020
Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Jan 19 @ 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/

NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic
Jan 19 @ 3:00 pm
Peace Center

The National Forum of Music Wrocław Philharmonic is at the heart of the Polish music scene.

Founded in 1945 as both a symphony and an opera orchestra, it became the State Opera Orchestra in 1949 and held symphonic concerts sporadically until 1954, when it became an independent symphony orchestra. In 2016, the city of Wrocław (pronounced VRA-Slav) was hailed as the European Capital of Culture, and the orchestra’s performances accompanied the celebrations that season.

The NFM Wrocław Philharmonic regularly performs works commissioned by the National Forum of Music and has a growing international presence presenting classical and romantic masterworks, 20th and 21st century symphonic repertoire, and contemporary Polish composers. The orchestra has worked with all of Poland’s great 20th century composers including Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Mykietyn, Krzysztof Penderecki, Elżbieta Sikora, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, and Agata Zubel. Promoting Polish music is a special focus of the orchestra, which regularly performs in prominent venues in Poland and throughout Europe and the United States.

Program (Subject to Change)
Szymanowski: Concert Overture in E major, Op. 12 [14′]
Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra [28′]
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ‘From the New World’ [40′]

Writers at Home
Jan 19 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Join us for the monthly reading series featuring work from UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and The Great Smokies Review.

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.

Event date:
Sunday, January 19, 2020 – 3:00pm
Event address:
Monday, January 20, 2020
Bailen
Jan 20 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

Bailen

BRB with Circle Verse
Jan 20 @ 8:00 pm
The Pulp

Tuesday, January 21, 2020
John Russell presents All the Right Circles
Jan 21 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

All the Right Circles Cover Image

Fans of Pat Conroy will enjoy John Russell’s long-awaited second novel, a rich, multi-generational story of money and morals, power and race, sex and sanity, set in a changing America.
Jack Callahan is an outsider in his adopted hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. A successful lawyer, he’s spent years trying to move in all the right circles. But with his literary mother in a sanitarium, his society marriage on the rocks, and his biggest client–Raleigh’s family-owned newspaper the Criterion–facing a hostile takeover, he’s beginning to wonder if it’s really worth it.
Step by step readers are drawn into the “non-secret secrets” of an elite that wields power founded on intricate manners and unsolved crimes. Jack’s mentor, World War II hero Hugh Symmes, is haunted by family misdeeds during the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. His client, Ward Forrest, third-generation newspaper heir, portions out liberal duty against riches amassed during the Jim Crow past. His friend, African-American judge Kai-Jana Blount, weighs the call to higher office against deals with men her civil rights crusading family had opposed.
Together they face a threat from Wall Street raider Victor Broman, Jack’s former client, who is hell-bent to acquire the Criterion for shadowy patrons. Jack tries his best to “do the hero-ing”–but questions the costs. Eventually, he takes counsel from his friend Lowry, a mysterious Native American mystic, who unveils a different path, away from all the right circles.

John Russell is the author of the award-winning novel Favorite Sons, which the New York Times heralded as “…a novel of ideas sweeping grandly through more than 40 years of Southern history.” A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he was educated at the University of North Carolina, Columbia University, and Harvard Law School. He and his wife divide their time between North Carolina and Mexico.

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.

Spanish-speaking Book Club
Jan 21 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe

Join host Susan Hills to read and discuss books in Spanish. The club meets on the third Tuesday of every month. The pick for January is Que Nadie Duerma by Juan Jose Millas.

Event date:
Tuesday, January 21, 2020 – 7:00pm
Que nadie duerma / Let No One Sleep Cover Image
Cory Wong
Jan 21 @ 8:00 pm
The Orange Peel

Music motivates at the most primal level.

You instinctually hum a tune in order to get pumped up in the morning, for fuel on the treadmill, to soundtrack your commute, or as the pre-game to a big night out. As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power.

Moreover, he consistently translates motivation into seismic six-string transmissions throughout his independent third full-length record, Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul.

“For me, it’s all about the listener’s experience,” he explains. “I want them to have a visceral response like: ‘I feel better,’ ‘That was really fun,’ or ‘I got to escape for an hour.’ You’ll hear my voice through the guitar, but I’m just a hype man. To uplift audiences with instrumental music that has no singing or lyrics is a fun challenge. I’m trying to solve the riddle. If I can get one person to feel good this way, it’s a success. So, I’m giving you Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul.”