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.
Jack’s Bluegrass Brunch kicks off every Sunday at 12 noon — with lively bluegrass tunes courtesy of The Jack of the Wood Bluegrass Brunch Boys from 1-3pm. Sip a Bloody Mary or Mimosa or a warm Irish coffee. Tasty brunch specials alongside our regular menu and 18 taps of rotating craft brews! Sláinte, y’all!
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!
All aboard, sisters! The hysterical sequel to the smash-hit Menopause The Musical® is finally here! Five years after their chance encounter in a department store, we set sail with our beloved ladies for more high jinks on the high seas. Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through ‘The Change’® is a hilarious and heartfelt look at the joys of menopause and friendship — plus hot flashes, mood swings, and memory lapses! Join us on a trip of self-discovery, backed by a new soundtrack of toe-tapping parodied hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s. For these four ladies, menopause was not the end, but the beginning of a beautiful friendship where love conquers all, and friendships never fail.
MILESTONE MUSICAL EVENT RECREATED AT UNC ASHEVILLE
On February 4, 2024, at 3 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville’s Music Department celebrates the 100th anniversary of the debut of George Gershwin’s American classic, “Rhapsody in Blue,” with a concert titled “Rhapsody 100 (The Experiment Continues).”
A crown jewel of the 2023-2024 UNCA Loves Piano concert series, this once-in-a-lifetime event features a full orchestra, a jazz combo and distinguished soloists and conductors.
The first set reprises, note-for-note, several concert pieces played at the February 12, 1924, concert at Aeolian Hall in NYC called “An Experiment In Modern Music” — the concert that debuted George Gershwin’s immortal “Rhapsody In Blue.” These selections will be directed by Asheville’s ”godfather of jazz” Russ Wilson, with the Rhapsody piano part played by Dr. Hwa-Jin Kim.
Jack’s long-running Traditional Irish Music Session is the perfect way to enjoy the Celtic-influenced sounds of talented pluckers from all over WNC & further afield! Stop in to enjoy a pint or afternoon Irish coffee with the music! Sláinte!
JLloyd & Jim Arrendell present: A Birthday Tribute to Bob Marley featuring musicians from Culture, Midnite, Mishka, Dubconscious, Cadillac Jones, Empire Strikes Brass & More!
JLloyd (of the JLloyd MashUp) and long time Asheville curator/ musician, Jim Arrendell, come together to present this amazing cast of musicians honoring the music of Bob Marley. Marley’s Birthday is February 6th and would be 79 this year.
The full casts is made up of:
Jim Arrendell (The Business) – Vocals
Jonathan Lloyd (JLloyd MashUp/Dubconscious/Cadillac Jones) – Vocals/ Trombone
Kneah Francois from St. Lucia (Midnite/Rocksteady Revue) – Guitar/Vocals
Ryan Wilson from St. Croix (Culture/Rocksteady Revue) – Bass/Vocals
Juhanis Darroux from Dominica (Mishka/Rocksteady Revue) – Drums/Vocals
James Keane (Dubconscious) – Guitar
Debrissa McKinney (Empire Strikes Brass/Free Radio) – Vocals
Reggie Headen (Artist at large) – Vocals
Will Scruggs (Cadillac Jones/Rocksteady Revue) – Sax
Lenny Pettinelli (Empire Strikes Brass) – Keys
Jonathan Cole (Dirty Logic/Electrolust) – Sax
“Sing your heart out every Sunday with Lyric Jones at our laidback basement bar. Whether you’re a classic crooner or want to relive your glam metal glory days, find your moment to shine between 8pm and 11pm. Remember: what happens at karaoke night, stays at karaoke night.
People in the biz get half off select appetizers and burgers all night!”
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!
“BOB DYLAN’S SONGS HAVE NEVER SOUNDED SO HEARTBREAKINGLY PERSONAL AND UNIVERSAL.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY is the Tony Award®-winning new musical that the Chicago Tribune declares is “a Broadway revelation!”
Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award®-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From the North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
Adult Classes
Wednesdays
2:45-3:45 pm & 6:15-7:15 pm
Afternoon adult classes are for fiddle, beginning guitar, and beginning mandolin. Evening adult classes are for bluegrass jam, and beginning clawhammer banjo.
“If you don’t let things develop, it’s like keeping something in a bag and not letting it out to fly”
— Earl Scruggs
It’s never too late to learn to play and/or enjoy being part of the synergy that is created by adult PacJAMMERs!
Adult classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the 14-week session.
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!
Sing with our Choir at a progressive church
Come join us! Contact Mark Acker for more information ([email protected]).
Rehearsals on Wednesday’s, 3:30-4:45
Beginning & Intermediate youth music classes on traditional and ol’ time instruments including but not limited to, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and guitar. Students will attend 40 minutes of music enrichment, including multiple flat-footing sessions led by Alice Kexel, story-telling, visits from guest musicians, as well as learn about the heritage of the music and the region. They will have 40 minutes of group music classes, and 40 minutes of singing or JAM rehearsal.
Advanced students will have 40 minutes of group instrument lessons, followed by 30 minutes of advanced singing including harmony and shape-note singing, and finish with 50 minutes of coached, small-ensemble rehearsal.
Classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the first student, and a 20% discount of $168 for each additional sibling. Parents may choose to split payments when registering. Inquire with Julie Moore at [email protected] or 864-420-6407 about scholarships.
Youth Classes
Wednesdays, 4-6 pm
Sing and dance your way through an entire mini musical! This high-energy, low-pressure virtual class explores the plot and characters of a Broadway musical as young actors learn songs and dances from the show. With fun activities and games emphasizing creative play, movement, voice, and improvisation, this process-based class will build theatre skills and allow a fun outlet for your bite-sized Broadway star. No experience is necessary. We will end the semester with a performance for family and friends at our end of session Spring Fling on Saturday April 20!
Dates: February 7-April 17
Grades: 6th-8th Grade
Day & Time: Wednesdays 4:30-6:00
Instructor: Lauren Hopkins & Lenora Thom
Grab some dinner and a pint while enjoying our long-running Old-Time jam! Featuring many talented musicians from the local WNC area, our traditional Appalachian mountain music jam runs from 5-9pm every Wednesday night at Jack of the Wood!
Join us for Citizen Swing, our new twice-monthly Wednesday jazz nights. Come through for a night of excellent, curated local jazz talent and classic cocktails. The fun starts at 6pm when we spin up some cool, old jazz vinyl, and then continues at 7pm with live sets by Connor Law and Thomson Knoles. Free!
CONNOR LAW: Connor Law is a freelance bassist, bandleader and composer based in Asheville, NC. He got his start in the music business after graduating from UNCA in 2017 by going on the road as a tour manager for the progressive bluegrass band, Jon Stickley Trio. After leaving that position he realized his passion was in performance, and more specifically, jazz performance. He began working as a full time musician in Asheville in 2018 and has been performing with many of the top musicians in the area since then.
THOMSON KNOLES: Thomson Knoles is an accomplished jazz pianist, seamlessly blending instrumental hip-hop and funk into his repertoire. His passion for music ignited at age 8, growing stronger over the years. Operating from his fully-equipped home studio, this Berklee College of Music graduate (’16) specializes in enriching projects with masterful keyboard, organ, and synth contributions. He recently scored the music to Nike’s Fathers Day appreciation campaign for their US website and has been producing music under his name, thommyknoles, since 2020.
Weekly mountain music JAM with
players in a round, where the session is focused on regional fiddle tunes and songs, You are welcome to come and listen or to
learn and join in. This event supports the Henderson County Junior Appalachian Musician (JAM) Kids Program, Free but
donations are accepted.
The Music of Linda Ronstadt
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hosted by the Asheville Guitar Bar, a discussion series
provides deeper understanding and greater enjoyment of classic albums and recording artists.
Led by Asheville speaker, author and music journalist Bill Kopp, Music to Your Ears is an
interactive experience that shines a light on important music and people. Music to Your Ears is
a 90-minute conversation, held at the Guitar Bar, a music magnet in Asheville’s historic River
Arts District. The February 7 event is a listening party and discussion focusing on the music of
Linda Ronstadt, the 1970s’ most popular female singer.
Linda Ronstadt is a renaissance woman of popular music. The Arizona-born interpretive singer
is best known for her prominent role in the folk-rock and country-rock movements of the 1960s
and ‘70s, but her artistry has always been too expansive to fit neatly into the confines of those
scenes. Her chart success underscores Ronstadt’s genre-spanning commercial appeal: more than
20 Top 40 hits on the US pop chart, nearly 30 on the Adult contemporary chart, 10 on the
country singles chart and 5 on the Latin singles chart.
But chart success and raw numbers only tell part of the story. Ronstadt has made compelling and critically-acclaimed forays into Cajun,
jazz, rock, opera, roots, traditional pop and other styles. A 13-time Grammy winning artist (with at least 16 additional nominations),
Ronstadt’s myriad accomplishments include her status as the most successful female singer of the 1970s.
A 2019 Kennedy Center Honoree, Ronstadt retired from music in 2011, but her importance endures. A Grammy-winning documentary,
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice premiered in 2019. She remains busy today: her memoir, Feels Like Home: A Song for the
Sonoran Borderlands was published just over a year ago.
In 2017 – with longtime friend and musical collaborator Paula Hanke – Asheville-based singer Peggy Ratusz launched a popular concert
series, Women Who Make Music History. The two vocalists – both of whom have musical careers in their own right – chose the life and
music of Linda Ronstadt at the subject of the first entry in that series. Describing the concept in an interview at the time, Ratusz said, “We
want the subtleties of our message in each song to be heard, because we tell the story of these women while we’re singing.”
Join host and music journalist Bill Kopp for an evening in discussion with Peggy Ratusz about Linda
Ronstadt. We’ll listen to key tracks and encourage questions from the audience. The evening is the latest
installment of the popular “Music to Your Ears” discussion series, hosted by Asheville Guitar Bar and
sponsored by AshevilleFM.
ABOUT THE DISCUSSION SERIES
Music to Your Ears is Bill Kopp’s monthly discussion series hosted by Asheville Guitar
Bar and co-sponsored by AshevilleFM. On the first Wednesday of each month, music
enthusiasts gather to discuss an important album, artist or musical movement. An
interactive evening, MTYE isn’t a lecture; it’s a discussion led by experts and designed to
enrich the listening experience.
ABOUT BILL KOPP (blog.musoscribe.com)
With over 500 bylines in regional publications (Mountain Xpress, Bold Life, WNC Magazine and more), Asheville-based speaker, author
and music journalist is an acknowledged expert on popular music. Author of two books – Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to
The Dark Side of the Moon and Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave – Bill Kopp writes for publications across
the country and abroad. A contributing editor at Goldmine Magazine, he has authored more than 30 album liner note essays and conducted
more than 1000 interviews. He regularly hosts discussions on artists and albums of historical importance, and is a frequent guest on music-
focused radio programs and podcasts.
ABOUT PEGGY RATUSZ (https://shorturl.at/jmnG5)
Peggy Ratusz has been a professional musician for decades; her career stretches back to her late ‘70s days in a Tucson-based folk-rock
trio. More recently, her work in blues, pop, soul and other styles has brought success and critical praise: with collaborator Aaron Price,
Peggy has been a semi-finalist in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge no less than three times: in 2008, 2010 and 2016.
Her advocacy for women in music has been recognized by a Mountain Xpress readers’ poll and exemplified by her successful Women
Who Make Music History concert series. And of course she can be seen and heard regularly in Asheville’s finest live music outlets.
“BOB DYLAN’S SONGS HAVE NEVER SOUNDED SO HEARTBREAKINGLY PERSONAL AND UNIVERSAL.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY is the Tony Award®-winning new musical that the Chicago Tribune declares is “a Broadway revelation!”
Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award®-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From the North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
On a small corner lot in southeast Portland, Oregon, Jeffrey Martin holed up through the winter recording his quietly potent new album Thank God We Left The Garden. Long nights bled into mornings in the tiny shack he built in the backyard, eight feet by ten feet. What began as demos meant for a later visit to a proper studio became the album itself, spare and intimate and true. Recorded live and alone around two microphones, Jeffrey often held his breath to wait for the low diesel hum of a truck to pass one block over on the busy thoroughfare. During the coldest nights, he timed recording between the clicks of the oil coil heater cycling on and off.
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!
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.
LaDonna Smith and Susan Hefner
Her work often grows from visual wit and ironic images, intended to deliver an irreverent message of freedom while lampooning societal rigidities. Zany images are brought to life through a feminist lens, and the dance language is drawn from physical manifestations of human emotions. Through a process of improvisation and revision she seeks a range of authentic expression, human and vulnerable. Susan and LaDonna will come together for one of a kind collaborative performance at BMCM+AC.
John English is an improviser and photographer from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Kris Gruda is an avant-garde guitarist, sound experimenter, and songwriter based in western North Carolina. He plays in solo and group contexts on electric or acoustic with or without electronics. His guitar-in-car album, Kris Gruda Plays for You, was released on Palilalia Records in 2023. FreeJazzRockSoulNoise.etc.
“BOB DYLAN’S SONGS HAVE NEVER SOUNDED SO HEARTBREAKINGLY PERSONAL AND UNIVERSAL.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY is the Tony Award®-winning new musical that the Chicago Tribune declares is “a Broadway revelation!”
Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award®-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From the North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
Celebrate the Timeless Music of John Denver with this Spectacular Tribute Concert, featuring national tribute artist, Ted Vigil. An unforgettable evening of music and nostalgia honoring the legendary singer-songwriter, and you won’t believe the uncanny resemblance to the legend! From classics like “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “Annie’s Song,” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” this concert will showcase the breadth and depth of John Denver’s musical legacy.
With over 500 shows performed since its inception in 2014, Runaway Gin is the World’s Most Notable Phish Tribute Project. They have been voted the Best Phish Tribute in the World two years in a row and 2022 Charleston Jam Band of the Year. On July 4th, 2015, after the second show of the Grateful Dead GD50 run, Runaway Gin sold out the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago and catapulting them from a Southeastern regional act onto the National scene. The band has also made numerous festival appearances including Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival, Resonance Music and Arts Festival, the Woodlands Music and Arts Festival, Nextival (headliner), Hidden in the Hollow Festival and has headlined top national venues such as: the Norva, the National, Jannus Live, and the Georgia Theater.
The members of Runaway Gin have united with the goal of creating musical moments inspired by Phish. The band’s song list is constantly growing and their improvisational and communication skills are constantly developing independently and together. Like Phish, Runaway Gin will never play the same show or jam the same way twice making every show a unique experience and every moment pure artistic creation.
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!
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
Empire Strikes Brass is a dynamic BrassFunkRock band hailing from Asheville, North Carolina. Their music resonates with a powerful message delivered through a captivating and larger-than-life sound. Fueled by a thumping rhythm section that sets the groove, the band’s rich horn arrangements, performed by a robust horn section, add an extra layer of depth to both their original compositions and compelling covers, showcasing the evolution of ESB.
Formed in 2012, Empire Strikes Brass started as a group of friends who loved playing New Orleans-inspired second-line and funk tunes infused with elements of rock and jam. Over time, they have transformed into a collective of incredibly talented musicians, singers, songwriters, and producers. The result is a fresh and authentic sound that seamlessly combines their diverse musical influences while staying true to their roots.
The band boasts a remarkable lineup of artists, each bringing their own unique contribution to the table. From the rich vocals, and harmonious saxophone of Grammy Award-winning artist Debrissa McKinney (known for her work with Secret Agent 23 Skidoo) to the masterful keyboard and production skills of Lenny Pettinelli, the thunderous beats of drummer Nik Hope, the solid bass lines of JP Furnas, the melodic guitar riffs of Chris Porter, the soulful trumpet sounds of Alex Bradley, and the sky high notes of Tim Morgan on trumpet, the smooth trombone of Jacob Bruner, the vibrant saxophone of Pauly Juhl, and the versatile keyboard and percussion talents of Sean Donnelly, every member of ESB plays a crucial role in the band’s success.
Since their inception, Empire Strikes Brass has become a staple at various festivals across the USA, leaving a lasting impression with their infectious energy and electrifying performances. Their horn section has also had the honor of sharing the stage with esteemed acts like Shpongle Live Band, Umphrey’s McGee, Papadosio, and many more iconic names in the funk and jam scene.
Whether performing live or working on their studio recordings, Empire Strikes Brass emanates a strength and cohesiveness that is undeniable. Their debut album, “Theme For A Celebration,” was recorded at the renowned Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville and received acclaim as one of the top 100 releases of the year by WNCW 88.7 radio in 2017. Following that success, their fierce follow-up release, “Brassterpiece Theatre” (2019), was also recorded at Echo, showcasing their continued growth and artistic prowess. Both albums are available on all major music distribution, streaming, sales, and listening platforms, allowing listeners to experience the band’s exceptional musicality.
As they continue to tour and captivate audiences, Empire Strikes Brass is diligently working on their highly anticipated third studio album. Between shows, they are crafting and mastering new sounds that will undoubtedly leave their fans craving for more. Keep an eye out for this remarkable band on the road and at festivals near you. Their unforgettable performances are not to be missed.
