Calendar of Events

Free concert thanks to the generosity of Friends of Carl Sandburg and the Arts Council of Henderson County featuring a musical tribute to Lillian Sandburg, her love story with Carl and pastoral themes.

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/

This recital, which is free and open to the public, will feature a young promising singer and it has the added
purpose of raising funds for his brother’s Memorial Fund.

David Weigel has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “heroic” and “stentorian” possessing an
“imposing mahogany voice” (Opera News). He is a recent graduate of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric
Opera of Chicago. On May 21, Mr. Weigel will perform art songs in several languages, opera arias and some
well-known music theatre selections.
A native of Asheville, Mr.Weigel holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Furman University. He pursued
graduate studies at UNC-Greensboro, A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the UNC School of the Arts, and
Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Michigan.
“We are thrilled to present Mr. Weigel in concert and recognize that he is destined for a significant career,”
said Dewitt Tipton, Organist, Director of Music for St. John in the Wilderness and creator of Friends of
Music. “We are also pleased to be able to offer this event as a way to contribute to his brother’s Memorial
Fund through the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.”
We cannot adequately express how much we appreciate this effort.  It touches our hearts deeply, and we are
so grateful to you all,” said Larry Weigel, Eric’s and David’s father.
Donations are encouraged. Checks should be made out to St. John in the Wilderness with Eric Weigel
Memorial Fund in the memo line.

– ALL AGES
– SEATED SHOW
– LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE

GEORGE TROUBLE AND THE ZEALOTS CELEBRATE BOB DYLAN’S 82ND BIRTHDAY

The Zealots and friends will pay tribute to Bob Dylan ahead of his 82nd birthday at the Grey Eagle, Sunday, May 21st at 7pm.

A tight ensemble with electrifying soul sound, Alabama’s St. Paul & The Broken Bones deliver captivating live performances with impassioned vocals, which has garnered an avid following. Founded in Birmingham 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 band made their recording debut in 2014 with Half the City, an album that introduced an ideal recording as a counterpart to their frenetic shows – including the platinum hit “Call Me.” The group has continued to expand their sound with every record, branching out well beyond old-school soul into sleek summertime funk, with a few glimmers of straight-up disco on albums such as 2018’s Young Sick Camellia. In 2022, their fine arts-inspired album The Alien Coast incorporated synths, psychedelia, samples, to create an “inventive, exciting, and compelling album that deserves and rewards multiple listens.”- PopMatters.

St. Paul & The Broken Bones have shared stages with The Rolling Stones, Lizzo, The Black Pumas and played renowned festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and more. With critical acclaim abounding, they caught the ear of Sir Elton John, and gave a riveting performance at his Oscar party. The band is a sonic powerhouse, delivering a genre-bending convergence of rock & roll, soul, R&B, psychedelia and funk.

– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE 

Formed in 1995 by Makoto Kawabata at the same time as the Acid Mothers Temple Soul Collective. The group released its debut album in 1997 on PSF Records (Japan), and it was selected as one of the year’s best albums in the The Wire magazine (UK). In 1998 the group played their first tours of the US and Europe. Since then the group has released a huge number of albums on labels from many different countries. As of 2017, the group has released around 80 albums. Every year since 1998, they have toured extensively in the US and Europe, and more recently have started performing around Asia and in Japan too. The group has performed in collaboration with many musicians including psychedelic originators Gong and Guru Guru, Simeon (Silver Apples), Nik Turner (Hawkwind), and the Occitanian trad sinder Rosina de Peira. Japanese collaborators have included Afrirampo, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), Maso Yamazaki (Masonna), Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms), Jun Kuriyama (The Ox), and many others.

To begin with the group had a floating line-up with contributions from many members of the AMT Soul Collective. But as tours became more frequent, the group began to coalesce around a core touring line-up. Other bands were created with Acid Mothers Temple as part of their name (AMT & The Cosmic Inferno, AMT SWR, AMT & The Space Paranoid, AMT & Infinity Rising Zero, Acid Mothers Gong, Acid Mothers Guru Guru, Acid Moon Temple, etc.), but AMT & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. has continued to function as the mothership and main lineage for all our activities.

In 2016, 21 years since the group’s founding, there was a major shift in the line-up and “Next Generation” was added to the name. We now view the first 20 years as chapter one in our story, and we are now turning the page to start chapter two.

The group played more than 100 shows in each year, toured in Europe, North America, South America, Oceania and Asia, also Japan. They also played many festivals (Glastonbury Festival in UK, Levitation in US and France, Rock In Opposition in France, Standon Calling in UK, Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival in Malaysia, LUC fest 貴人散步音樂節 in Taiwan, etc).

During pandemic, they launched their official Bandcamp, have released more than 60 albums (including many unreleased materials), and have toured in Japan in each year. And they played the streaming festival “Levitation Sessions”. They organized “Acid Mothers Olympic 2021” against “Tokyo Olympics 2021”, they originated and played a new style of “music sports”. Autumn 2022, Finally the group will go to the first European tour after pandemic.

The current touring line-up is: Kawabata Makoto (the founder member), Higashi Hiroshi (the founder member), Satoshima Nani, Jyonson Tsu and Ron Anderson.

ST37
Since their formation in January of 1987, Texas psych/space rock legends ST 37 have released 12 CDs, 4 double LPs, 4 LPs, 5 7″ 45s, 1 12″ 45, 8 CDRs, 3 double CDRs, 9 cassettes, and have appeared on over 45 compilations and collaborations on labels ranging from Emperor Jones and RRR to Cleopatra and Noiseville. They’ve played over 500 shows and toured extensively all around the United States and Canada.

SOME SHOWS YOU SEE. THIS SHOW YOU FEEL.

Joy, love, heartache, strength, wisdom, catharsis, LIFE—everything we’ve been waiting to see in a Broadway show— is here in the exhilarating, fearless new musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music.

Directed by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Waitress, Pippin, upcoming 1776) with a Tony-winning book by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Grammy-winning score, this electrifying production about a perfectly imperfect American family “vaults the audience to its collective feet” (The Guardian). “Redemptive, rousing and real, JAGGED LITTLE PILL stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway” (The New York Times).

You live, you learn, you remember what it’s like to feel truly human… at JAGGED LITTLE PILL.

Broadway Peace Talks give audiences a deeper dive into the history, inspiration and people who bring our shows to life on stage.  Join Dr. Kristin Pressley (Dr. Broadway) and other Broadway lovers every month at the Peace Center for these presentations.

SOME SHOWS YOU SEE. THIS SHOW YOU FEEL.

Joy, love, heartache, strength, wisdom, catharsis, LIFE—everything we’ve been waiting to see in a Broadway show— is here in the exhilarating, fearless new musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music.

Directed by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Waitress, Pippin, upcoming 1776) with a Tony-winning book by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Grammy-winning score, this electrifying production about a perfectly imperfect American family “vaults the audience to its collective feet” (The Guardian). “Redemptive, rousing and real, JAGGED LITTLE PILL stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway” (The New York Times).

You live, you learn, you remember what it’s like to feel truly human… at JAGGED LITTLE PILL.

 ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY

AUSTIN MEADE

On Black Sheep, Austin Meade delivers songs and stories that, like the young singer/guitarist himself, are contradictory yet cohesive. His influences—musical and otherwise—are as varied and rich as the small-town Texas soil that nurtured his talent, yielding 12 stellar songs ranging from the insinuating multi-layered musicality and storytelling of “Déjà Vu” to the dark alt-pop of “Happier Alone,” and on further to the new-age, Sabbath-inspired “Dopamine Drop.”

Thanks to his metal- and classic-rock loving dad, Meade got to see bands like Judas Priest and worshipped Whitesnake. In junior high he related to the intense emo-rock of Paramore and Fall Out Boy, and the power of songwriters like John Mayer. Yet, thanks to plainspoken but deep heartland songwriters like Tom Petty, and cutting his teeth touring in the Texas and Oklahoma Red Dirt scene, Meade’s music overflows with wide-open soulfulness. He was a drummer for years, even teaching to pay the bills, but Meade found his true voice when he began playing guitar as a teen in his pastor-father’s church. Those experiences lend both a gravitas and rebelliousness to Meade’s songs and self.

The songs on Black Sheep, produced by Taylor Kimball (Koe Wetzel, Read Southall, Kody West) are instantly memorable, but far from simplistic. Meade challenges the status quo, both musically and lyrically. “I like to question those standard math formulas,” he explains. “What if we just add two more lines and make somebody feel uncomfortable here,’ because the song itself is about being uncomfortable?” And within a song—and video—like “Déjà Vu,” Meade explores the cyclical, Groundhog Day-like nature of a month—or lifetime—of Sundays.

Throughout school, “I was one of the weird kids who actually liked writing class. I would describe ridiculous stuff, and in elementary school I was a Harry Potter nerd. I’d get lost in those books,” he remembers. Soon, though, records became his new sanctuary. “I started to hear songwriters that were telling stories in three to five minutes; concepts and ideas that were not only spanning just that one song. One of my favorite lyricists is Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys; the way he describes things, you can almost touch it or smell it.”

Likewise, on Black Sheep, Meade’s vivid descriptions are palpable and immersive. They paint a picture the listener can step into, like taking a journey through “two-lane highways and speed-trap towns” that Meade traverses in “Déjà Vu.” “That’s my goal,” he explains. “To make people feel like they’re in the room with the stories in my songs; they’re within that experience.”

Meade’s carefully crafted songs manage to be profound and provocative, sonically suited for both dive bars and arenas. From the seismic guitars and painfully honest lyrics of a song like “Dopamine Drop” to the mournful, lilting nostalgia and hard reality of  “Settle Down” and on through the fantasy of “handwritten letters, candle-wax seal, Midwest American feel” in “Cave In,” it is clear Meade’s ambitions and dreams are weighty.

THE JARED STOUT BAND

– ALL AGES
– LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

MOON WATER

The mother/daughter duo whose tight blood harmonies drive the music, came to be during the covid-19 pandemic when Jenny Renee, a single mom, moved her two kids, Blu Belle and Bud, to The Appalachian Mountains from Manhattan, New York. Having grown up in the south, Jen got reconnected to her roots and started playing old hymns and mountain music with her kids. They began posting videos and getting positive feedback.

Without much work due to the pandemic and being free of the bustle that is NYC, Jen had time on her hands to write more music and contemplate what’s important in life. As a cancer survivor, she found new joy and appreciation for life and nature on the mountain top and began singing about it. Blu started experimenting with fiddle, lap steel and bass when Moon Water was born.  Bud sits in occasionally on drums as well.

Why Moon Water? A month after arriving in Western North Carolina, Blu collected rain water before the Flower  Moon and then sat it out the night of the full moon. There the water became moon water and they keep it  in a mason jar as their positive energy force for musical inspiration.

Their new album Deep Medicine, recorded at Citizen Studios and featuring Matt Smith on pedal steel and Lyndsay Pruett on fiddle, is available on all streaming platforms.

Our live jazz series featuring host, pianist, and composer Michael Jefry Stevens returns to the Enka-Candler Library on Thursday, May 25 at 6 p.m.! Musical guests will be accompanying Michael for an hour of live outdoor jazz, at the side of the library building. This free program is for all ages and no registration is required.

We will have some seats outside, but you are welcome to bring your own blanket or lawn chairs, and you can even pack a picnic if you’d like. In case of inclement weather, the program will take place in the library community room.

The incredibly talented duo of Jilly Martin and Ryan Brooks Kelly have become the next must-see act from New England to Nashville. Over the years, they’ve been featured as support acts for many traditional, and mainstream country artists. Standouts in today’s crossover country music scene, Jilly & Ryan’s songs bridge the boundary between traditional and new country. They’ve made their mark with highly-acclaimed original music and are winning over audiences each and every time they perform. Jilly and Ryan’s compelling songwriting, dynamic vocal harmonies, and stunning musicianship have them poised for a breakthrough in the music industry.

Christian Lopez is not merely riding the wave of Americana Music, the West Virginia native, is bending it to its knees. With the will of his voice and the stomp of a steady beat, Christian Lopez is pioneering his own brand of Alt. Folk Country Rock.

On Thursday, May 25, singer-songwriter and archivist Greg Cartwright will host a songwriter showcase, featuring Amanda Anne Platt, and Wes Pearce.

6:30 pm doors / 7 pm show

$16 tickets in advance / $20 at the door

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 21.

Amanda Anne Platt has been writing and performing her original songs in front of live audiences for almost two decades. With her band The Honeycutters she has released nine albums of her own original material and toured extensively in the US and Europe. Her last five studio albums have landed in the top five of WNCW’s annual listener voted top 100 releases, most recently at #4 with her double album, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea in 2022. Platt won second place in Merlefest’s Chris Austin songwriting competition in 2011 with her song “Little Bird”, and has been privileged over the years to share the stage with such songwriting greats as Guy Clark, Amy Ray, Billy Joe Shaver, Tift Merrit, and Radney Foster. She lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina, with her husband and daughter.

Asheville-based Wes Pearce sings sweet and melancholic originals which blend contemporary-folk songwriting and finger-style guitar playing, with ’60s doo-wop and pop influences. Born and raised in New Hampshire, Wes left home as a teenager and found himself amongst a world of traveling folk-singers and string bands with whom he cut his musical teeth. On April 14th, 2023, almost 15 years since leaving home and finding musical community, he has released his debut EP of original songs titled Death & Darlins — truly a blending of his story and influences.

Greg Cartwright is a Memphis-born singer and songwriter who has called Asheville home since 2004. He’s an avid music fan and archivist with a passion for the singer, the song and the story. You may see him at Harvest Records curating the 45 section or volunteering at events for local community radio station 103.3FM where he was a host and on-air DJ until 2019.

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

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

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

Amanda Anne Platt has been writing and performing her original songs in front of live audiences for almost two decades. With her band The Honeycutters she has released nine albums of her own original material and toured extensively in the US and Europe. Her last five studio albums have landed in the top five of WNCW’s annual listener voted top 100 releases, most recently at #4 with her double album, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea in 2022. Platt won second place in Merlefest’s Chris Austin songwriting competition in 2011 with her song “Little Bird”, and has been privileged over the years to share the stage with such songwriting greats as Guy Clark, Amy Ray, Billy Joe Shaver, Tift Merrit, and Radney Foster. She lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina, with her husband and daughter.

Asheville-based Wes Pearce sings sweet and melancholic originals which blend contemporary-folk songwriting and finger-style guitar playing, with ’60s doo-wop and pop influences. Born and raised in New Hampshire, Wes left home as a teenager and found himself amongst a world of traveling folk-singers and string bands with whom he cut his musical teeth. On April 14th, 2023, almost 15 years since leaving home and finding musical community, he has released his debut EP of original songs titled Death & Darlins — truly a blending of his story and influences.

Greg Cartwright is a Memphis-born singer and songwriter who has called Asheville home since 2004. He’s an avid music fan and archivist with a passion for the singer, the song and the story. You may see him at Harvest Records curating the 45 section or volunteering at events for local community radio station 103.3FM where he was a host and on-air DJ until 2019.

SOME SHOWS YOU SEE. THIS SHOW YOU FEEL.

Joy, love, heartache, strength, wisdom, catharsis, LIFE—everything we’ve been waiting to see in a Broadway show— is here in the exhilarating, fearless new musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music.

Directed by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Waitress, Pippin, upcoming 1776) with a Tony-winning book by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Grammy-winning score, this electrifying production about a perfectly imperfect American family “vaults the audience to its collective feet” (The Guardian). “Redemptive, rousing and real, JAGGED LITTLE PILL stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway” (The New York Times).

You live, you learn, you remember what it’s like to feel truly human… at JAGGED LITTLE PILL.

-Featuring Breweries just “outside” of Asheville such as Big Pillow, HomePlace, Innovation, & Newgrass
-All breweries featured on tap
-Breweries invited to table and pour samples, sell merch, and share their passions for brewing and what makes them unique
-live music

Wanna hear the best local music ​and​ drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.

• Join us for an evening of live Jazz and our Featured Monthly Wine Tasting!

  Jazz Guitar w/ Chris Norred

  About the musician: Chris Norred is a multifaceted guitarist who received a BA in Jazz Performance from VCU. Originally from Virginia, he now resides in Asheville, NC where he continues to develop a unique solo guitar style. Chris writes his own arrangements of select titles by Japanese composers of popular video games such as The Legend of Zelda and Chrono Trigger amongst others. He performs exciting takes on popular Swing and Bossa songs from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. His repertoire is not limited to Jazz as he will also tap into the realm of Appalachian Fiddle Tunes and Folk music.

Womansong, Asheville’s longest-running women’s community chorus, invites you to join us in our spring concert, “Love Your Mother (Earth)” a tribute to the beauty of our world. Under the direction of Artistic Director Dr. Allison Thorp, along with Assistant Director Claire Lemke and former Director Althea Gonzalez, this concert will focus on songs celebrating, caring for, and advocating for Mother Earth. The first half of our program will highlight music that expresses love for the earth – appreciation, reflection, connection and joy. The second half will feature music that expresses love for the earth in action – doing, moving, and making change. Among the many inspiring songs are Carrie Newcomer’s If Not Now, Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi, Elise Witt’s My Salsa Garden, and the world premiere of Lytingale’s call-to-action composition, Together We Can Change the World. From choral anthems to contemporary pop tunes, there’s
something for everyone – music to make you laugh, cry and dance. Accompanying the choir on piano, flute, violin, and percussion will be Lytingale, Georgia Pressman, Jane Snyder, and Sarah Rubin. Womansong concerts are accessible to the hearing impaired through musical sign language interpretation by Shiner Antiorio.
The concert will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, One Edwin Place, Asheville 28801, on Friday, May 26, at 7:30 PM, and Saturday, May 27, at 3:00 PM. Womansong celebrates the unity diversity, and empowerment of women through musical expression as we sing for joy, social justice, and community. Our concerts help fund the operation of our nonprofit organization, including the choir’s New Start Fund, a provider of scholarships and emergency funds to women in need.

Hendersonville Theatre proudly presents Asheville Americana band, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters as May’s intimate Hometown Sound concert. The band’s nuanced music brings insight and wit to the stories Platt tells through songwriting. Lyrically driven, the band’s 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 Platt’s songwriting. She has a knack for accessing a deep well of emotion and applying it to her story-telling, whether she is writing from her own experiences or immersing herself into 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 2/25/2022 on Organic Records.