Jake Blount is an award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer and ethnomusicologist based in Providence, RI. He is half of the internationally touring duo Tui, a 2020 Strathmore Artist in Residence and a board member of Bluegrass Pride. He is a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. Blount specializes in the music of Black communities in the southeastern United States, and in the regional style of the Finger Lakes.

A versatile performer, Blount interpolates blues, bluegrass and spirituals into the old-time string band tradition he belongs to. He foregrounds the experiences of queer people and people of color in his work.

Tickets on Sale now – Please Call the Venue at 828-575-2737

Joe Bonamassa is one of today’s top live performers. His enthusiastic shows are one of the biggest parts of his career and a favorite for music lovers worldwide. Hailed internationally as one of the best guitar players of his generation and cited by Guitar World Magazine as “the world’s biggest blues guitarist,” Bonamassa has almost single-handedly redefined the blues-rock genre and brought it into the mainstream.

Backed by a stellar band of legendary musicians, the set list for this show will feature new songs alongside career-spanning favorites. By exceeding his own exceptionally high artistic goals, Bonamassa has shattered all expectations with 24 #1 Billboard Blues Albums (more than any other artist in history)! Bonamassa’s career in the music industry has built steadily over the years and is only gaining more momentum.

The ‘Queen’ Boys are back with The Music of Tom Petty. You filled the houses in 2019 for their Eagles/Beatles concert, 2020’s The Music of Queen, and their 2021 SOLD OUT outdoor Stadium Concert. Now they’re back to bring you the iconic music of Tom Petty. “American Girl,” “Free Fallin,” “Breakdown,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” and so many more will fill the Leiman Mainstage! Join us for a rockin’ night with these enduring tunes and the incredible artists that will have you swooning and hungry for more!

French-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Pierre Bensusan, surnamed “Mister DADGAD”, has taken his unique sound to all corners of the globe.

Winner of the Independent Music Award for his triple live album “Encore”, voted Best World Music Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine reader’s Poll, winner of the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his debut album, Pierre is recognized as one of the greatest guitar players of the 21st century.

Reserved Seat Tickets are available with Dinner reservations – You must call the venue at 828-575-2737 to make dinner reservations and secure those tickets.

General Admission Tickets are available for the main stage balcony only. Seating in the balcony is first come, first serve. Dinner service is NOT currently being offered for general admission tickets.; drink service is available at the downstairs bar on the main floor.

You must call the venue at 828-575-2737 for Reserve Seat Tickets and to make dinner reservations.

Proof of Vaccination or Negative Covid Test w/i 48 Hours :: Masks are Required

All ticket sales are final.

The Grateful Brothers pay tribute to two of the richest catalogs of music in American history: The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band.

Formed in early 2016 by Zach Thigpen and Brad Crowe, The Grateful Brothers combine the catalogs of The Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead. Often intertwining songs through segues and transitions, they carry out the improvisational spirit of the two groups in their own space. They use the songs as more of a template rather than adhering to strict album-style covers, creating a unique, high-energy, and genuine crowd experience at every performance. The seven musicians making up the band have known each other and played in various outfits with one another for upwards of twenty years. The camaraderie between them is obvious and the familiarity leads to the ease of musical exploration.

Zach Thigpen – Guitar and Vocals

Brad Crowe – Guitar and Vocals

Adam McFarlane – Keys and Vocals

Jeff Holland – Percussion

James Hall – Drums and Vocals

Samuel Kruer – Bass

Larry Williams – Drums

Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor

Narrator, David Bean

Featuring dancers from International Ballet

STRAVINSKY “The Soldier’s Tale”

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/

Like most of our events, this event is free. If you decide to attend and purchase the authors’ books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!

Alexis V. Jackson is a Philadelphia-born, San Diego-based writer, poet, and teacher whose work has appeared in Poetry Magazine, Jubilat, The Amistad, La Libreta, Solstice Literary Magazine, and 805 Lit among others. Jackson earned her MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Messiah University. She is a 2021 finalist for the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship. Her debut poetry collection, My Sisters’ Country (2022), won the Koré Press’ first book prize. Jackson has served as a reader for Callaloo and Bomb Magazine, and lectures in the University of San Diego’s English Department. For more, visit https://www.alexisvjackson.com

In My Sister’s Country, Alexis Jackson artfully braids together a multi-vocal chorus of Black women’s voices across, over, under, and through time. From Gwendolyn Brooks to June Jordan to the Book of Genesis, Jackson’s poetry sizzles and samples with mischief. It’s gutbucket, daredevil, Double Dutch, next-generation sass. A mixtape of mothers and daughters, blood and beat, this book dances with ghosts. Jackson bends and breaks forms like the sonnet, pantoum, and zuihitsu and introduces the playlist poem as she explores the makings of Black girlhood and womanhood. Staying true to the beauties, traumas, moans and undoings found there, the poet invites readers to consider the ways Black women, who were once considered countryless property, made country out of and in one another, and asks the questions: What are the consequences? How terrifying and beautiful are they? How terrifying and beautiful is the rebuilding, the renaming, of country? Jackson confronts expectations put on Black women through time, family, patriarchy, and religion. “Christ is supposed to give me salvation for my soul,/ but what about my thighs, and my mouth, and my pancreas,” she writes. This is a book of the body, unbound by convention while creating entirely new ones.

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Komal Mathew is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and Sarah Lawrence College. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Diode Poetry Journal, Beloit Poetry Journal, Crazyhorse, Narrative,The New Republic, and others. She lives with her family in Smyrna, Georgia, where she is the co-founding editor of Josephine Quarterly. For more, visit https://www.komalmathew.com

For Daughters Who Walk Out Like Sons: In this spectacular debut, notions of what it means to be beautiful–both inside and out– get complicated with a refreshing vulnerability. Komal Mathew makes captivating poems bubbling over with uncommon wisdom and grace. Mathew’s poems yield a faith of transparency and yearning, a lyric pulse arisen from the longing of our souls to be clothed with eternity, our heavenly home: “Though my love for you didn’t end / because the singing ended, the lullaby / moved to a wind that promised a nest…” This lovely book is a festival of light infused with love, bejeweled by the elemental truths in this earthbound life of family, motherhood, and human desire: “Blessed be the one who hears you cry out / like a million pressed stones – / jasper, turquoise, emerald with gold – / and uncovers your breath of bees.

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Marianne Worthington is a poet, editor, and cofounder of Still: The Journal. She lives and teaches in southeastern Kentucky. Her work has appeared in Oxford American, CALYX, Grist, Cheap Pop, Appalachian Review, Feed, Ethel, Chapter 16, and other outlets. With Silas House she co-edited Piano in a Sycamore: Writing Lessons from the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop, and is author of a poetry chapbook Larger Bodies Than Mine, which won the Appalachian Book of the Year Award. For more, visit https://marianneworthington.com

Skillfully divided into three distinct yet harmonious parts, cantillating local, familial, and personal histories, The Girl Singer is a collection of lyrical and descriptive poems that offer unique insight on famous and infamous Appalachian tales from this life and the next. Part family history, part music, and part nature walk, The Girl Singer beautifully weaves Feminism, Appalachian culture, and country music into one thread. Worthington’s attentive eye and heart are reflected in the starkly striking and painful images she paints in the poems. Every poem, whether describing a connection with Appalachian wildlife, retelling the lyrics of a classic country tune, reflecting on the speaker’s bloodline, or giving voice to famous musical figures of the past, strikes a powerful chord and creates a sisterhood for singing old songs in new ways.

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Mildred Kiconco Barya is a writer and poet. She has written short-stories and essays for various publications, features and travel articles for newspapers. Her first collection of poetry titled: Men Love Chocolates But They Don’t Say won the National Award for poetry publication 2002. She is also the author of the poetry collections The Price of Memory and Give Me Room to Move My Feet. Barya is Assistant professor of Creative Writing and World Literature at University of North Carolina-Asheville. Learn more at http://mildredbarya.com/.

Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros formed in 2018 by Weir along with Don Was and Jay Lane.

WORTHAM CENTER PRESENTS

Asheville’s own Justin Ray has has earned a reputation as a fiery and compelling trumpet soloist, comfortable in a wide variety of styles. He has toured 45 countries, appeared on Grammy-winning recordings, and has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Justin received a scholarship after high school to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston where he graduated with a Degree in Music Education and performed with a number of different ensembles. He completed his Masters Degree at the University of Southern California and fast became one of the most in-demand jazz trumpeters in the region, performing with artists including Bill Cunliffe, Alan Pasqua, Joe LaBarb

Reserved Seat Tickets are available with Dinner reservations – You must call the venue at 828-575-2737 to make dinner reservations and secure those tickets.

General Admission Tickets are available for the main stage balcony only. Seating in the balcony is first come, first serve. Dinner service is NOT currently being offered for general admission tickets.; drink service is available at the downstairs bar on the main floor.

You must call the venue at 828-575-2737 for Reserve Seat Tickets and to make dinner reservations.

Proof of Vaccination or Negative Covid Test w/i 48 Hours :: Masks are Required

All ticket sales are final.

There are few artists capable of appealing to music fans of all stripes, and Alan Doyle is one of them. From the moment he burst onto the scene in the early 1990s with his band Great Big Sea, Canadians fell in love with the pride of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, whose boundless charisma and sense of humour was eclipsed only by his magnetic stage presence.

His influence is now being heard in a new generation of artists as his solo work continues to endear him to roots music fans everywhere. That’s clearly evident on Alan’s new EP Rough Side Out, which finds him collaborating with Canadian country music superstars Dean Brody and Jess Moskaluke, while at the same time offering his own distinctive interpretation of contemporary country.

The seeds for Rough Side Out were planted in 2012 when Brody asked Great Big Sea to record the song “It’s Friday” with him for the Platinum-selling album Dirt. For Alan, that was the moment he realized the door to the country music world was open for he and other east coast Celtic-leaning artists, and since then he’s warmly embraced building closer ties. “My personal journey with the whole thing has been very organic,” Alan says. “When my parents weren’t listening to traditional folk music, they were listening to country music on the radio. So, when I began creating my own musical identity, I was inspired by artists who were able to blend those two worlds.”

The same could be said of the songwriting and production team on Rough Side Out, which includes Alan’s frequent collaborators Donovan Woods and Todd Clark. Both have been bringing a new sensibility to Nashville, in part due to their individual backgrounds within the Canadian independent music scene, making Rough Side Out a natural progression of their past work with Alan.

“The songs on this record all have strong personal meaning to me,” he says. “I believe the best songwriters in any genre are the ones who can look in their own backyard and find something they want to sing about. In a way, that’s why I wanted to call this record Rough Side Out. It’s a Newfoundland expression I love and have used before that refers to clapboard that’s only sanded on one side. Houses in Newfoundland always have the rough side out because it holds the paint better, but it’s also a metaphor for who we are as people. Most of us have the rough side out— in the best possible way, of course.”

Fittingly, the EP’s first single is a reunion with Dean Brody, “We Don’t Wanna Go Home,” a rousing ode to having the perfect night out at your favourite watering hole. It’s a theme that carries on from Rough Side Out’s opening track, “We’re Gonna Love Tonight,” a celebration of freedom that bears all the hallmarks of an Alan Doyle anthem aimed at bringing people together. And what country music excursion would be complete without a classic duet? That was the basic idea behind recording “What the Whiskey Won’t Do” with Jess Moskaluke, a thrilling first-time experience for Alan.

“I’ve always wanted to do this kind of duet,” he says. “I’d written songs like that for other people but never for myself. I had the title in my back pocket for a while, and it was a case of just waiting until the right circumstances came along. And being such a fan of Jess, she was the perfect person to sing it with, mainly because her voice has so much more range than mine!”

The song describes a couple turning to the bottle in order to get over each other and serves as a reminder of the dangers of overindulgence. Along with the EP’s other great ballad, “It’s OK,” “What the Whiskey Won’t Do” underscores Alan’s long-time work in support of addiction and mental health organizations. However, in a purely musical vein, Alan felt a lot of personal satisfaction in capturing a note-perfect cover of John Mellencamp’s “Paper in Fire,” led by his renowned fiddle player Kendel Carson.

“I think in some ways that song really tied the whole project together,” Alan says. “First off, it’s a song I’ve always loved and always wanted to record. But to do it justice, you really need the right players, and the people we had for these sessions could absolutely nail it. The song also shows the change in how country music is perceived. I think if Mellencamp released The Lonesome Jubilee today, it would be regarded as a country album.”

Listening habits have indeed changed dramatically and looking back it’s incredible how the humble group of Newfoundlanders who formed Great Big Sea—with a simple goal of bringing their modern take on the music of their home province to mainstream ears—made such an indelible mark on a national scale. But with songs like “When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down),” “Ordinary Day,” and their cover of R.E.M.’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” now ingrained upon the Canadian consciousness, there can be no disputing Great Big Sea’s status as one of the country’s most influential bands of the past three decades.

Now as we enter a new decade of music, the notion of genres feels even more antiquated. Connecting with as many listeners as possible continues to be Alan’s top priority, and he cheekily admits he tried to stack the deck in his favour with the EP’s final track “I Gotta Go.” It’s a tailor-made concert staple if there ever was, containing the soon-to-be immortal line, “20 songs if they love me, only 18 if they don’t.” At this point, it would be hard to find any Alan Doyle fan who would choose to leave a show until he’s expended every ounce of energy on stage.

Ultimately, Rough Side Out is an Alan Doyle record, which remains a category all its own.

Shiner formed in 1992 and soon found themselves signed to DeSoto Records, (owned by Jawbox’s Kim Coletta and Bill Barbot). The band began a creative high and a busy touring schedule that endured for years, with their final album in 2001 The Egg a critical success. Pitchfork said, “Shiner’s six-string bloodletting beats the crap out of anything you’ll hear on commercial FM these days” and All Music noted, “The songs themselves bask in an epic splendor, replete with the kind of arrangements that reward repeat listenings” Along the way countless tours of the US, Europe and Japan, and 4 full-length albums gave them a fiercely loyal set of diehards. Comparisons with their contemporaries of HUM, Jawbox, Failure, and Swervedriver were unavoidable, but Shiner carved a path of their own with a dedication to song-craft and musicianship wrapped in darkly sugared hooks.

Shiner broke up in 2002 but 10-years later re-released The Egg on vinyl and played sold-out shows in New York, LA, KC and Chicago. Those were some of their biggest shows ever and many in the audience were new to the Shiner fanclub. In 2018 the 4 of them – drummer Jason Gerken, bass player Paul Malinowski and guitarists Allen Epley and Josh Newton decided they were not quite finished, there was another life for Shiner they could not ignore.

After a few recording sessions that took place over a year and a half, the band have emerged with 8 solid songs that make up Schadenfreude. The LP was self-produced, engineered, and mixed at Malinowski’ own Massive Sound studio in Shawnee, KS. “We’ve always been extremely hands-on, even when working with someone else technically ‘producing,’” says Newton, “with The Egg we ended up remixing and adding things to almost half the record on our own. At this stage in our existence, we know what we should sound like.”

Despite the hiatus, Shiner have not missed a beat Gerken is still a drummer’s drummer and his heavy right foot is tied to Malinowski’s distorted-symphony bass. Epley and Newton hew left and right in the mix and worked in lockstep counterpoint throughout the proceedings and leave room for the vocals to enter the mix without overtaking, and instead working as a whole within the strings and skins.

The songs on Schadenfreude are not so much an answer to The Egg as some properly timed follow up might, but instead stand on their own. It’s the sound of a 4 piece band with each player finding his place in a book as though he just left the room an hour earlier and picked up on the next paragraph upon return. Epley says, “a lot of themes on the album are pretty dark but always with a silver lining around the edges. The title itself is a commentary on the most common human trait of enjoying your rivals’ demise. Or your apparent enemies.”

After their extended break from the studio and life on the road Shiner is once again looking forward with the May 8 release of Schadenfreude and a North American tour planned for 2020.

Intro to Guitar with Melissa McKinney – Students will receive a solid foundation in beginner rhythm guitar for vocalists. Chords, Rhythm patterns, and basic theory will be introduced while learning songs with an uplifting message. Students will also learn to play the song that the Songwriting Class will be writing and will record it in the One Mic Studio.

Tuesdays from 4pm-5pm at LEAF Global Experience (19 Eagle St, Asheville, NC, 28801)

*Dates/times subject to change – interested in attending this class but unsure if it works with your schedule, or if it suits your student’s skill level? Reach out to us at [email protected]! We are always looking to adapt and expand our class schedules to accommodate new students!

Intro to Ukulele with Melissa McKinney – Students will receive a solid foundation in beginner Ukulele skills for vocalists. Chords, Rhythm patterns, and basic theory will be introduced through songs with an uplifting message. Students will also learn to play the song that the Songwriting Class will be writing and get to record it in the One Mic Studio.

*Dates/times subject to change – interested in attending this class but unsure if it works with your schedule, or if it suits your student’s skill level? Reach out to us at [email protected]! We are always looking to adapt and expand our class schedules to accommodate new students!

For over two decades, Grammy^® Award-winning master trumpeter and composer Chris Botti has amassed a spectacular variety of honors, including multiple Gold and Platinum albums, to become the largest selling instrumental artist in the United States. His success has led to a broad audience, including those typically reserved for pop music. His ongoing association with PBS has led to four #1 jazz albums, five Grammy nominations for his album Impressions, which won Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2012.

In addition to his solo work, Botti is a prolific collaborator. He has recorded and performed with a stunning array of legends such as Sting, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Yo-Yo Ma, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, and Andrea Bocelli. Some of them are featured on his latest disc, which puts his uniquely expressive sound and soaring musical imagination at the center.

With Impressions and the albums that preceded it, Botti has established himself as one of the important, innovative figures in the contemporary music world.

Official Website

Jeff Sipe Trio is a compelling example of the endless possibilities of the improvising trio. “That the power of the melody comes through matters more than anything to me,” reflects drummer, composer, and bandleader Jeff Sipe. His selfless dedication to the song at hand – to elevating it, enriching it, and propelling it – is why Sipe has long been considered a leading light in a vital, unique musical landscape that expands to encompass elements of jazz, rock, country, and funk. It’s a landscape he helped to create over his three-decade career, and one he brings to life here with guitarists Mike Seal and Taylor Lee.

Option 1:  Classic Rock for acoustic guitar

Join beloved Polk County musician Woody Cowan and learn YOUR favorite tunes.  In this setting, the students pick the songs, and Woody leads the teaching.  This friendly class is full of peer-to-peer encouragement and collaboration.  Artists covered included Janis Joplin, Neil Young, Old Crow Medicine Show, & Grateful Dead.  Whether you know a lot of chords or just a couple, this class will move you forward musically while taking you back through the best era of radio-played folk music.

Option 2: Beginner/Intermediate Folk Jam

World-class musician Gaye Johnson leads this class, gently raising your comfort level to play freely in a group setting.  Rooted in traditional folk music, aspiring mandolin, and guitar students will join together to gain more comfort and self-assurance in a group setting, while also diving into rhythm techniques and ornamentations.

Option 3: Intermediate/ advanced band

Bob and Amy Buckingham guide adults on all instruments (guitar, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, mandolin, ukulele, & bass).  Several songs are picked by the group at the start of the semester, and over the 10 week semester, the musicality and “setlist” grow exponentially.  Adults love this format for
guided jamming.

Wednesday 

 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

All beginning students receive 45 minutes of group instruction and 45 minutes of singing/storytelling.

Group song & story:  Gaye Johnson (known for having the sweetest voice in the region) gives students the strong foundation they need for learning an instrument.  To learn music most effectively, students must know the songs before they play them on an instrument – then the learning becomes intuitive.  This fun class equips students with the classic songs and stories of the region and helps launch their musical abilities.

Instrument options:

Age ranges are suggestions.  Please email Julie if your child is outside the age range for the class they wish to take.

Option 1: Beginning ukulele, ages 6-8

Option 2:  Instrument Survey, ages 8-14

Continuing from last semester, this instrument survey class will focus on clawhammer banjo, plus one additional instrument to be chosen by the students.

Option 3:  Beginning guitar, ages 8-14

Option 4: Beginner mandolin ages 8-14

Option 5: Beginner fiddle ages 8-14

*Please be sure to select the student’s 1st and 2nc\d instrument choices when registering.