Paul Thorn
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE PAUL THORN When it comes to songwriting, less is more, and simplicity is strength. Just ask Paul Thorn, who’s spent three decades turning soulful grooves and small syllables into songs that pack a big wallop. Maybe he learned the power of minimalism from his years as a pro boxer; maybe it just comes naturally. But whether he’s targeting heads, hearts, hips or the occasional funny bone, he somehow manages to condense large nuggets of wisdom into tight little mantras, the kind embroiderers stitched onto pillows before internet memes existed. Thorn’s new album, Life is Just A Vapor, contains some beauties: “Life is a vapor, let’s live it while we can”; “tough times don’t last, but tough people do” (from “Tough Times Don’t Last”); “any mountain up ahead is just a hill” (from “Old Melodies”). They’re words of advice, comfort, support, encouragement, often meant to uplift, especially in times of struggle. “I like for people to be touched by music and get something from it, something that they can take with them throughout the day,” Thorn says. “Every song on this album, there’s a message in it of some sort about how to live life.” American Blues Scene writer Don Wilcock calls Thorn “an everyman (who) addresses things we all think about, but few can articulate with the kind of candor, humor and folksy truth that immediately endear him to almost everyone lucky enough to hear his music.” Whether he’s expressing love in “I Knew,” warning an ex’s new conquest about the dangers ahead in “She Will,” extolling the value of holding off on sex in “Wait” or listing the ingredients for making a marriage work in “Courage My Love” (“a half-acre on your daddy’s land / and a little luck / a load of white gravel in our driveway / so we don’t get stuck in a rut /a 3-horsepower lawnmower and courage my love”), Thorn delivers his messages with consummate skill — and pinpoint precision. One minute, he’ll unwind an outrageous tale full of wild characters (often accompanied by his own cartoonish illustrations); the next, he’ll tug at heartstrings with confessions of love, loss or failed dreams, balancing wit and pathos with an ease only the best storytellers can pull off. One of Thorn’s favorites was his friend and mentor John Prine, who inspired the title tune.
Ashley Heath & Her Heathens w/ Matthew Parsons
ALL AGES STANDING ROOM ONLY Ashley Heath & Her Heathens Ashley Heath is often described as “Velvet Soul” with her prolific songwriting, strong and airy vocals, bluesy guitar playing, and has garnered national and international attention with her latest album “Something to Believe” released by Organic Records in Asheville, NC in 2022. She also has two previous albums; “Where Hope Never Dies” recorded with her full band Ashley Heath and Her Heathens and “A Different Stream” recorded solo. She has been voted Best of WNC by Mountain Xpress voters several years in a row for Vocalist, Songwriting, Blues, and Americana/Country and also winning Merlefest band competition in 2018. Heath has opened for headliners Pat Benatar, Anders Osborne, Black Joe Lewis, and many more acclaimed artists. Matthew Sidney Parsons Matthew Sidney Parsons is a songwriter, poet, and educator from Olive Hill, Kentucky. He wrote the title track on Bronwyn Keith-Hynes’ 2025 Grammy-nominated album I Built a World. Raised in a bluegrass family, Parsons performs solo and with his band Whistle & Fish and has taught songwriting and traditional music across Appalachia through Morehead State University, Berea College, and Hindman Settlement School. He has performed at events including The Bluegrass Jamboree in Germany, Kentucky Arts & Letters Day, WDVX Blue Plate Special, and Bernie Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy Tour, touring with acts like Sarah Kate Morgan, The Local Honeys, and The Berea College Bluegrass Band. He has shared stages with Peter Rowan, Tim Stafford, Dale Ann Bradley, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. Parsons is the author of Mountain Roosters and Holy Land, and creates character-driven performances that celebrate mountain culture while addressing universal human experiences.
Patio Show: Christina Chandler
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE Christina Chandler Christina Chandler is a Memphis-born music machine that has been writing, playing, performing, booking, and jamming since her earliest memories. Now based in Asheville, NC, she flows in and out of folk, soul, Americana and rock n roll, smoothing it all together with a rich, buttery voice, nimble fingers on a red Telecaster Thin Line, and a tambourine on her boot. In addition to playing solo shows, her current music projects include No Man’s Band, FUN SIZE!, and Ghost Pipe Union.
Sam Shackleton
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY SAM SHACKLETON Sam Shackleton’s music is greatly inspired by the rich inter-connected musical oral traditions of Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. Strongly influenced by the 1960s folk revival, his unique sound is a mix of country, old time, traditional, folk, and blues with a Scottish spirit. He was born in Stirling and raised all over Scotland, from the Borders to the Highlands, and his music is deeply inspired by the oral tradition, musical culture, and landscapes of Scotland. Sam also holds a Research Masters degree with distinction in Scottish Ethnology from the renowned academic folk music institution, the School of Scottish Studies, specializing in folklore and ethnomusicology. Sam burst onto the global folk and country scene after being discovered busking on the streets of his hometown, Edinburgh, Scotland, by filmmaker Anthony Simpkins. Sam was then featured on Nashville based YouTube channel GemsOnVHS alongside artists such as Sierra Ferell and Benjamin Tod, with his popular video Cuckoo Bird connecting him with a large North American and global audience. In the years since, Sam has had major viral success with his hit singles on Spotify, such as The Lone Prairie, The Overgate, and Wild Bill Jones, and his numerous viral videos on Instagram and TikTok from where he has developed a large, passionate, and dedicated global audience. He was subsequently invited to open major international tours across the world for artists like The Mary Wallopers, Pokey LaFarge, Lukas Nelson, Willi Carlise, and Oliver Anthony. Sam has also built up an impressive headline resume of his own, having sold out all of his own headline shows in the UK, and recently selling out a majority of the shows on his 20-date debut USA tour in prestigious venues such as Zebulon in Los Angeles, Tractor Tavern in Seattle, and Swallow Hill Music in Denver.
PATIO SHOW: Woody Wood & Abe Reid of The Blue Rags
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE WOODY WOOD Asheville’s own Cosmic Appalachian Soul / Musical style that doesn’t fit neatly into any one style but is a genre-bending fusion of rock, blues, and soul. ABE REIDAbe Reid is a North Carolina musician and one of the modern keepers of the Piedmont roots music tradition. Born in Forsyth County and raised in Statesville, Reid began playing guitar at a young age, developing a deep connection to the region’s historic finger-style traditions. His musical education came directly from the source. As a young player, he spent time with legendary Carolina musicians Guitar Gabriel and Cootie Stark, learning not only guitar technique but also the storytelling and spirit behind traditional American music. In the 1990s, Reid immersed himself in the life of a working musician, busking on the streets of New Orleans before returning to North Carolina’s music scene. He later helped form the roots band The Blue Rags, known for energetic performances and traditional sounds. Reid gained international recognition when he won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis—becoming the first solo performer to win the competition. Today, Abe Reid continues to perform, teach, and share the music of the American South, passing on knowledge learned from older musicians and decades on the road.
PATIO SHOW: Woody Wood & Abe Reid of The Blue Rags
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE WOODY WOOD Asheville’s own Cosmic Appalachian Soul / Musical style that doesn’t fit neatly into any one style but is a genre-bending fusion of rock, blues, and soul. ABE REIDAbe Reid is a North Carolina musician and one of the modern keepers of the Piedmont roots music tradition. Born in Forsyth County and raised in Statesville, Reid began playing guitar at a young age, developing a deep connection to the region’s historic finger-style traditions. His musical education came directly from the source. As a young player, he spent time with legendary Carolina musicians Guitar Gabriel and Cootie Stark, learning not only guitar technique but also the storytelling and spirit behind traditional American music. In the 1990s, Reid immersed himself in the life of a working musician, busking on the streets of New Orleans before returning to North Carolina’s music scene. He later helped form the roots band The Blue Rags, known for energetic performances and traditional sounds. Reid gained international recognition when he won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis—becoming the first solo performer to win the competition. Today, Abe Reid continues to perform, teach, and share the music of the American South, passing on knowledge learned from older musicians and decades on the road.
PATIO SHOW: Woody Wood & Abe Reid of The Blue Rags
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE WOODY WOOD Asheville’s own Cosmic Appalachian Soul / Musical style that doesn’t fit neatly into any one style but is a genre-bending fusion of rock, blues, and soul. ABE REIDAbe Reid is a North Carolina musician and one of the modern keepers of the Piedmont roots music tradition. Born in Forsyth County and raised in Statesville, Reid began playing guitar at a young age, developing a deep connection to the region’s historic finger-style traditions. His musical education came directly from the source. As a young player, he spent time with legendary Carolina musicians Guitar Gabriel and Cootie Stark, learning not only guitar technique but also the storytelling and spirit behind traditional American music. In the 1990s, Reid immersed himself in the life of a working musician, busking on the streets of New Orleans before returning to North Carolina’s music scene. He later helped form the roots band The Blue Rags, known for energetic performances and traditional sounds. Reid gained international recognition when he won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis—becoming the first solo performer to win the competition. Today, Abe Reid continues to perform, teach, and share the music of the American South, passing on knowledge learned from older musicians and decades on the road.
Eddie 9V
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY EDDIE 9V Eddie 9V has an endless stockpile of cool stories – and you’ll find twelve of them on his most recent studio album Saratoga, released in November 2024 on the fabled Ruf Records label. A thrilling mix of Southern soul, blues, rock, and funk, Saratoga proved to be a gamechanger: a road trip-ready record filled with razor-sharp observations, vintage textures, and raw humanity. It also marked a major career milestone: Eddie 9V’s soulful sound began reaching hundreds of thousands of new fans across the globe. Now signed to Easy Eye Sound — the Nashville-based label founded by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys — Eddie 9V is preparing to release a brand-new album in 2026. And the momentum keeps growing. Since Saratoga dropped, Eddie’s monthly listeners on Spotify have exploded from 8,000 to peaking at over 800,000.. Songs like “Halo,” “Saratoga” and “Love Moves Slow” have become SiriusXM Spectrum-certified tracks, gaining steady spins and major audience love. But this rise is years in the making. From the day he first slung a guitar on a local Georgia stage, Eddie 9V (born Brooks Mason) has been an artist to watch. First cutting his teeth in cover bands and regional blues circuits, he made the leap to full-time frontman with a name that couldn’t be ignored. “I wanted to start from scratch – and I ain’t never heard of no bluesman named Eddie 9V.” That leap paid off. His early albums Left My Soul In Memphis (2019) and Little Black Flies (2021) turned heads for their wild energy and vintage flair. 2022’s Capricorn was a breakout moment, earning rave reviews from Classic Rock, The Guardian, and more. It debuted at #1 on the blues charts before being dethroned by Bonnie Raitt — “a cool story to be able to say,” Eddie laughs. By the time Saratoga arrived, Eddie 9V had evolved into a full-spectrum songwriter, tapping into deep wells of soul and storytelling alongside his brother and longtime collaborator Lane Kelly. Much of the album was recorded at their Echo Deco Studio in Atlanta, with some sessions at Denver’s Crown Lanes Studio. From the disco-tinged horns of the title track to the fuzzed-out dreamscape of “Delta,” it’s a record that widened the lens without losing the grit. Now with a major label partner, national tours, SiriusXM airplay, and streaming growth that shows no signs of slowing, Eddie 9V is poised for the next chapter. A new album is on the horizon. The band is sharper than ever. And if Saratoga was the ignition, what’s coming next is the open highway. “I’m already writing new songs,” he says. “You never stop.”
Jake Blount
ALL AGES FULLY SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE JAKE BLOUNT Jake Blount is a performer and scholar of Black folk music based in Providence, RI. Initially recognized for his skill as a string band musician, Blount has synthesized his scholarly and artistic pursuits into a diverse performance practice that has taken him to Carnegie Hall, Newport Folk Festival, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and beyond. His albums, released on Free Dirt Records and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, have been featured in best-of lists from NPR, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone. His scholarly publications include “Jail the Zombie: Black Banjoists, Biopolitics, and Archives,” published in Modern American History. He also served as a music consultant for the movie Sinners, and performed on the soundtrack of Ken Burns’s The American Revolution. Blount holds an A.M. in Musicology and Ethnomusicology from Brown University, where he is working toward a Ph.D. in the same and a second master’s degree in Anthropology. A new string band record is forthcoming in September 2026.
PATIO SHOW: Morgan Geer
ALL AGES – LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEMorgan Geer of Drunken Prayer Drunken Prayer transcends the bounds of Americana music. Morgan Geer writes songs that could emerge from a highly blissed-out biker bar or a swampy ashram. The new Drunken Prayer record, Thy Burdens, is an homage to the fiery music of the church. Partnering with Drive-By Truckers’ Bobby Matt Patton, the pair recorded this album in North Mississippi with some of their friends from Appalachia and the Delta including members of MJ Lenderman’s band, Band of Heathens, Jimbo Mathis’ group, and Wednesday. In 2026 The Deslondes from New Orleans included Geer’s “Cordelia” on their covers album of influential songs. Alongside like minded artists as Johnny Cash, Swamp Dogg, and Clifton Chenier, Glide Magazine says ”That song alone justifies this album’s existence.” Morgan Geer’s poignant and wickedly funny music is revered across the fringe of Americana. Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family said “Morgan Geer is the real thing – a songwriter with a heart as deep as the Marianas Trench and sensitive as the wet hands of a raccoon.” Geer also plays guitar in the pioneering alt-country band Freakwater and collaborates with members of Butthole Surfers, Melvins and Ween. He started using the moniker “Drunken Prayer” after a chance conversation about rats with Tom Waits. Drunken Prayer is now a stalwart of the burgeoning scene in Asheville, NC. Morgan Geer has recorded and toured with some of the cornerstones of what we call modern Americana music.