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.
Directed by Candice Dickinson & Kelly Jackson
Fangmeyer Theatre
Join Candice Dickinson and a bevy of incredible HART couples for our 2nd annual Valentine’s Day Cabaret! Enjoy intimate cabaret table seating with wine by the bottle and desserts for sale. Snuggle up to your valentines date as you enjoy some of the regions most talented singers serenading you.
Rated PG-13, mild language and suggestive content
Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville
The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.
Reflecting on Community Resolve
Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.
Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.
Follow the Trail
Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.
There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville! Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
Tour Highlights include . . . Downtown Asheville | Montford Historic District | The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District | Thomas Wolfe District | Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum | Grove Arcade | River Arts District | Biltmore Village
Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts . . .
Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.
Tour Duration: The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes. There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.
Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops. If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option. The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.
Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.
And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!
Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.
Included:
- Round trip transportation*
- Three vineyard visits
- Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
- Time commitment = up to 5 hours
Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!
Enjoy an evening of live music in the Museum’s Windgate Foundation Atrium featuring Elizabeth McCorvey. Elizabeth is a multi-instrumentalist and singer. She performs as a solo artist and with several bands across Western North Carolina that encompass a variety of genres including rock, Americana, blues and Latin folk.
THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE
On select Thursdays, local musicians enliven our spaces with music to complement your visit. As you stroll the galleries, a variety of tunes adds new dimensions to your viewing experience.
BLUEGRASS JAM
Hosted by Drew Matulich
Don’t miss your chance to check out some of the best pickers from all over WNC at our amazing Bluegrass Jam curated by the talented Drew Matulich — every Thursday starting at 7:00 pm! A real show-stopping performance only at Jack of the Wood! Open jam starts at 9:30 pm.
Join us for Jazz Jam Thursday every Thursday from 7-10. There is a suggested donation of $10 and local craft beer and wine for sale. Come as you are or bring an instrument! Open jam starts at 8 after a House Band set guaranteed to fill your soul with groove and joy.
Public parking is available at Marjorie Street, across from Packs Tavern.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena is pleased to announce that we will host iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli February 15, 2024 as part of an eleven show tour hitting major cities across the U.S. and Canada. The show will honor Valentine’s Day and mark Bocelli’s first time performing in South Carolina. Greenville Symphony Orchestra will accompany Bocelli for the performance conducted by Maestro Steven Mercurio.
2024 officially marks 30 years of Andrea Bocelli’s iconic career as well as his 65th birthday. As one of the most recognizable voices in the entertainment industry and revered by fans internationally, Andrea Bocelli has sold 90 million records worldwide. In addition to his sold-out arena-sized concert events and record-breaking live-streams, Bocelli has shared his talents at many major events including the Olympic Games, the World Cup, and Global Citizen. He has earned a Golden Globe, seven Classical BRITs and seven World Music Awards, plus a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The tour will feature performances from Bocelli’s beloved repertoire, including music to celebrate Valentine’s in February. All newly announced dates will feature selections from his uplifting solo album Believe, as well as a selection of arias, his beloved crossover hits, and famed love songs.
The Brook & The Bluff is perfectly poised between the past and the present, at an unexpected crossroads where indie rock and folk-rock have found new frontiers and possibilities online. Their new album Bluebeard feels like a modern classic, shaped by the past but very much of and for right now. The first song from the album titled “Long Limbs” is a song about the highs and lows of being in love and the work that goes into a relationship but also a reminder to just be present and let yourself be with someone that makes you happy.
In recent years, The Brook & The Bluff’s incandescent harmonies, winning arrangements, and observational acumen have unexpectedly put them upon a different on-ramp for success: streaming stardom. They are now, by far, one of the most successful young bands at folk-rock’s amorphous contemporary edge, fusing the craft of the past with the ideas and avenues of the present.
The Brook & The Bluff have already made a name for themselves on the live circuit playing electric sets at Bonnaroo, Hangout, Firefly and Wonderfront. Having previously toured with Mt Joy, Noah Kahan, Rainbow Kitten Surprise amongst others, this fall the band will embark on their most ambitious North American headline tour yet.
The Brook & The Bluff is perfectly poised between the past and the present, at an unexpected crossroads where indie rock and folk-rock have found new frontiers and possibilities online. Their new album Bluebeard feels like a modern classic, shaped by the past but very much of and for right now. The first song from the album titled “Long Limbs” is a song about the highs and lows of being in love and the work that goes into a relationship but also a reminder to just be present and let yourself be with someone that makes you happy.
In recent years, The Brook & The Bluff’s incandescent harmonies, winning arrangements, and observational acumen have unexpectedly put them upon a different on-ramp for success: streaming stardom. They are now, by far, one of the most successful young bands at folk-rock’s amorphous contemporary edge, fusing the craft of the past with the ideas and avenues of the present.
The Brook & The Bluff have already made a name for themselves on the live circuit playing electric sets at Bonnaroo, Hangout, Firefly and Wonderfront. Having previously toured with Mt Joy, Noah Kahan, Rainbow Kitten Surprise amongst others, this fall the band will embark on their most ambitious North American headline tour yet.
Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville
The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.
Reflecting on Community Resolve
Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.
Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.
Follow the Trail
Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.
Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits & spies, ghosts & goblins, hauntings & hoodlums and mountain-made murder & mayhem.
Hear stories of . . .
The legendary PINK LADY at the Grove Park Inn
The GHOST of Church Street
The 1936 UNSOLVED MURDER that shook Asheville
The CHILD SPIRITS at the haunted hospital
The architect walled into his own church!
The KILLING SPREE of 1906
NAZI AGENTS based in Asheville
ARSON at hospital that claimed Zelda Fitzgerald
There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville! Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
Tour Highlights include . . . Downtown Asheville | Montford Historic District | The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District | Thomas Wolfe District | Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum | Grove Arcade | River Arts District | Biltmore Village
Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts . . .
Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.
Tour Duration: The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes. There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.
Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops. If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option. The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.
Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.
And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!
Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.
Included:
- Round trip transportation*
- Three vineyard visits
- Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
- Time commitment = up to 5 hours
Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!
Plan to collaborate with other musicians at Sideways Farm & Brewery in Etowah. Bring your instruments and voices and enjoy making music and networking with other artists, while enjoying the beautiful scenery. Food truck is on site and beverages available for purchase from Sideways (small
batch craft beers, hard jun, ciders, wine, and non alcoholic drinks). Family, fans, friends, and leashed dogs are all welcome!
During winter months enjoy playing under the covered, sheltered, heated porch! And during the summer months enjoy
collaborating in the fields, on the stage, or under the patio
This exclusive performance promises to be an evening of musical brilliance, showcasing Waymon’s extraordinary talent and his eclectic fusion of classic R&B, rock, soul and funk with infusions of blues and jazz. Supporting artists, who are well known in their own right in WNC include, Reggie Headen, Kelle Jolly, Will Boyd, Duane Simpson, Derrick Gardner, Connor Law, Quint Lange and Jason DeCristofaro.
Waymon, a celebrated figure in the world of music, has a career spanning decades, marked by his innovative approach to the piano and his ability to seamlessly blend various genres. Dr. Samuel Waymon is an award-winning film composer, songwriter, performer, singer, pianist, and brother of the late Nina Simone. Sam co-wrote many of Nina’s popular songs and toured with her band for her first 25 years as her manager, confidante and organist. He has shared the concert stage with such greats as Miles Davis, Odetta, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway, Phyllis Hyman, Max Roach and many more, along with his sister Nina.
In celebration of Black History Month, Dr. Sam Waymon will give a concert in Kittredge Theater.
Musical director Dr. Samuel Waymon is an award-winning film composer, songwriter, performer, singer, pianist, and brother of the late Nina Simone. Sam co-wrote many of Nina’s popular songs; and toured with her band for her first 25 years as her manager, confidante, and organist. He has shared the concert stage with such greats as Miles Davis, Odetta, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway, Phyllis Hyman, Max Roach and many more, along with his sister Nina.
The WWC Advanced Jazz Ensemble will open the concert at 6:30 in the Kittredge Lobby.
There are a limited number of WWC student tickets available at no cost. Please email [email protected] to reserve your seat.
Hosted in collaboration by Jason DeCristofaro, WWC Music Department, Amy Ager Office of Strategic Ventures, and Alumni Board member George Whitman IV.
Interested in Sponsoring this event? Visit this page. Please note Sam Waymon in the comments.
Explore the dark side of Beer City on LaZoom’s Ghosted Tour!
Duration
1 hour
About
Come enjoy our most popular Asheville tour!
About
Bachelorette/Bachelor Parties are not permitted on this tour. The Fender Bender Bus is bachelorette/bachelor friendly!
Learn about Asheville’s strange, sometimes sordid past from our ghoulish guides. You’ll laugh! You’ll scream! You’ll discover mysteries and chilling tales of scandal and murder on the blood-stained streets of this picturesque town!
Ghosted runs approximately 60 minutes. Beer and wine are welcome onboard, but no open containers, and absolutely no liquor, please! All beer and wine must be purchased from the LaZoom Room. (Passengers must be at least 21 years old to drink on the bus, and must have valid ID.)
Age Restrictions
17 and up. No exceptions.
What’s Included
A bunch of bus seats
History of murders, ghosts and tragedies in the Land of the Sky
Tongue-in-cheek comedy
A live (not dead) tour guide
What’s Not Included
Bathroom breaks (It’s 60 minutes long – plan accordingly!)
Beer or Wine (Purchase at our bar, the LaZoom Room, and take on the bus)
Laughing (we’ll give you the funny, but it’s up to you to laugh)
Gratuity (guides only accept dead president currency)
Waitlist
If your desired time and availability is full, then please give us a call to be added to the waitlist.
Raised in Michigan and now based in Nashville, GRAMMY Award-winning Billy Strings is known as one of music’s most compelling artists. Most recently, he unveiled “California Sober,” a collaboration with legendary artist Willie Nelson—his first release since partnering with venerable label, Reprise Records.
The collaboration follows Strings’ most recent full-length album, Me/And/Dad, which was released last fall and features Strings alongside his dad, Terry Barber. The product of a longtime dream, the record features new versions of fourteen bluegrass and country classics that the two have been playing together since Strings was a young child.
Since his 2017 debut, Strings has been awarded Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, Artist of the Year at the 2022 and 2023 Americana Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Best New Headliner at the 2022 Pollstar Awards, Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic at the 2021 Pollstar Awards and has performed on the 64th GRAMMY Awards, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” PBS’ “Austin City Limits,” “Bluegrass Underground” as well as countless sold-out tour dates world-wide.
– ALL AGES
– DANCING ROOM ONLY
– YOUR BEST/WORST 90’S ATTIRE IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED!
Remember the 90’s? Well we certainly do and we kinda loved ’em, so we’re giving you the opportunity to relive (y)our glory days (or in some cases your parents’ glory days) with a 90’s THROWBACK PROM style dance party. Your favorite classics from the golden era of music (nah?)….THE NINETIES…played by two live bands, Smashing Mouths and The Boderline Band!! More details will be announced soon, but we promise you don’t want to miss out on this action!
SMASHING MOUTHS
In a time machine crafted from a used Honda Accord, a Trapper Keeper covered in No Fear stickers, and strawberry-banana Sobe, Smashing Mouths is here to party like it’s 1990-something!Covering the hits and forgotten singles from the decade of grunge, alternative, pop, and R&B, Smashing Mouths is the perfect medicine to cure those nostalgic feelings.At a Smashing Mouths party, the 90’s are alive and well even if our backs and hairlines are long gone. There’s no age limit to sing and dance to the music that defined a generation!So throw on that flannel, lace up those Doc Martens, and tell your responsibilities to talk to the hand because there ain’t no party like a Smashing Mouths party cuz a Smashing Mouths party don’t stop!
THE BORDERLINE BAND
Blake and Amanda Yoder have been playing music their entire lives. Borderline Band is an homage to the music they grew up on. Cheating, drinking and lying songs. Pure country.
BRISTON MARONEY: ULTRAPURE TOUR
Hailing from the picturesque landscapes of Asheville to the peaks of Arrowtown, New Zealand, Ashes & Arrows have been captivating audiences across the country with their powerful vocals, thoughtful lyrics, and on-stage charisma. The band’s unique sound, drawing inspiration from musical influences like NEEDTOBREATHE, Jason Isbell, and Patrick Droney, is presented in an authentically original form, enhanced by mesmerizing 3-part harmonies.
The journey of Ashes & Arrows began when Ciaran, Jonathan, and Ben, each at a musical crossroads, found themselves at an open mic in downtown Asheville in 2021. The meeting sparked an immediate connection, reigniting their joy and inspiration to write and perform music as a band. The chemistry between the members is evident in every note, creating an immersive experience for their audience.
Their debut EP, ‘Forward,’ produced by the world-renowned Greg Haver, was released on October 7, 2022. One of the lead singles, ‘Gold in the Mountain,’ garnered attention and was featured on BBC2 radio late last year, further establishing Ashes & Arrows as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
Ashes & Arrows’ upcoming performance at Asheville Music Hall promises to be a night of musical enchantment, showcasing their talent and the magnetic energy that defines their live shows. Fans and music enthusiasts alike are encouraged to secure their tickets now for an evening filled with soulful tunes and unforgettable moments.
Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville
The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.
Reflecting on Community Resolve
Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.
Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.
Follow the Trail
Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.
Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits & spies, ghosts & goblins, hauntings & hoodlums and mountain-made murder & mayhem.
Hear stories of . . .
The legendary PINK LADY at the Grove Park Inn
The GHOST of Church Street
The 1936 UNSOLVED MURDER that shook Asheville
The CHILD SPIRITS at the haunted hospital
The architect walled into his own church!
The KILLING SPREE of 1906
NAZI AGENTS based in Asheville
ARSON at hospital that claimed Zelda Fitzgerald
There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville! Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
Tour Highlights include . . . Downtown Asheville | Montford Historic District | The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District | Thomas Wolfe District | Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum | Grove Arcade | River Arts District | Biltmore Village
Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts . . .
Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.
Tour Duration: The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes. There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.
Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops. If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option. The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.
Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.
And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!
