Celebrating Justin Townes Earle: ‘What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome’ Book Reading and Signing
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW FREE EVENT!! The Grey Eagle will host a special conversation with Jonathan Bernstein, author of What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome: The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle, on Wednesday, March 18, at 6 p.m. Bernstein will read excerpts from his book and chat with local writer/musician Jay Moye about Earle’s life and career, with a focus on the acclaimed singer/songwriter’s Asheville legacy. This free event will precede the March 2026 edition of the Golden Folk Sessions songwriter series, which will begin at 7:15 p.m. Copies of What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome will be available for sale, and the Grey Eagle taqueria and bar will be open. Photo taken by Sandlin Gaither before Earle’s first Grey Eagle show on Feb. 1, 2008.
ABSFest Friday FanDom Nerdlesque
AGES 18+ SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP TICKETS AVAILABLE ABSFEST FRIDAY FANDOM NERDLESQUE We’re bringing back our Friday Nerdlesque show for our 17th year, bringing together national burlesque, sideshow and variety artists! See your favorite Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Music and Pop Culture FanDoms flying their freak flags. Hosted by Atlanta’s stunning Lady of Leg-i-Tude, Lola LeSoleil! VIPs enjoy Preferential Seating, VIP goodies, AND a special VIP show with doors at 7pm. General Admission doors at 7:30pm. Raffle benefits Sister Kitten animal rescue.
ABSFest Brunch: Church of Decadence
AGES 18+ SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP TICKETS AVAILABLE ABSFEST BRUNCH: CHURCH OF DECADENCE The brunch show is BACK and hosted by Padre Pavlvs, aka international juggler and comedian Paolo Garbanzo! Join us for a breakfast buffet of empowered debauchery with burlesque, sideshow, and creativity galore. Guaranteed to be uplifting, sexy AF, and more fun than your usual churchgoing experience. Feel free to wear your Sunday best, party hats, or your pajamas. Raffle benefits Sister Kitten animal rescue.
Neil Hamburger w/ Chris Crofton
ALL AGES FULLY SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE NEIL HAMBURGER America’s Funnyman Neil Hamburger is the hardest working comedian in existence, performing up to 399 shows a year internationally to critical acclaim and audience bewilderment. He has toured as the hand-picked opener for Tenacious D, Tim & Eric, and Faith No More, appeared on TV shows ranging from Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and worked extensively with Tom Green on his internet talk show. Among his dozen or so albums and DVDs is the new LP release Neil Hamburger Present: Seasonal Depression Suite. “A phlegm-filled sack of putrid self-loathing, Neil Hamburger is the perfect satire of a slick, professional nightclub comedian. If you’ve ever suspected that behind the glossy veneer of fake bonhomie of those perma-smile acts lies an ugly, embittered, grotesque soul — well Hamburger is that demon made flesh. In some living Sisyphean hell, every night he dons his tuxedo, greases down his hair and ploughs through the vile set that disgusts even him, just so he can earn a three-piece chicken dinner. His contempt for his own pitiful existence is surpassed only for his contempt for the audience who compel him trudge through his despicable cavalcade of jokes. And my, these gags are certainly not for the faint of heart, as he plumbs the depths of depravity for the sake of a laugh.” — Chortle (UK) “Neil Hamburger remains the greatest comedian I’ve seen the greater majority of an audience walk out on…. No one was leaving their seats this evening though, as this peerless performer shocked and delighted in equal measure…. On the road for 12 years with scarcely a day off, Hamburger is a condemned showbiz lag, doomed to perform his antagonistic anti-comedy to potential hostility forever.” — The Scotsman (UK) “A brilliantly awful persona of an old-school, C-list funnyman — the kind with an ill-fitting tuxedo and an enormous, greasy combover — on a very bad night. Neil Hamburger toys with an audience’s expectations (and patience), and indeed his act is a kind of rude commentary on stand-up comedy altogether.” — New York Times CHRIS CROFTON There is a dedicated cult of fans who love Crofton for his work as an edgy stand-up comedian. Vulgar, acutely analytical, swaggering, and self-deprecating – as a comic Crofton takes on topics ranging from bad sex, political and cultural decline and gluten-fueled urban gentrification. His razor-sharp wit and trademark curmudgeonly delivery have seen him sharing stages with party rockers Deer Tick and fellow funnymen like Neil Hamburger, Scott Thompson and Bob Odenkirk. He’s acted as well, onstage in NYC experimental theater ptoductions, and in TV and film roles for projects as diverse as CMT’s sitcom Still the King and director Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers. AND Crofton has a regular gig as the advice columnist for Music City alternative weekly publication the Nashville Scene.
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “NEW LEAF” (1st timers night)
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is… NEW LEAF: Never told a story on a Moth stage? This SLAM is for you! First-timers who have never told a story on any Moth stage will be prioritized tonight. Prepare a five-minute story about a new chapter. Bold beginnings, fresh starts and the mess we had to leave behind. Whether you pack up your life to move cross-country, cut ties with a partner to find yourself, or woke up one day and chose a different career. Tell us what it takes to begin again and what still lingers in the rearview. Doors Open: 6:30 PM Show Starts: 7:30 PM Tickets for Asheville StorySLAMs go on sale 3 weeks prior to the show date at 3 PM ET. Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis. With special thanks to our sponsor, BPR.
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “LOVE HURTS”
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is… LOVE HURTS: Prepare a five-minute story about a love that made you go OUCH. The agony of deferred love, the misery of good love gone bad, or the anguish of unrequited love. Situationships, friend break-ups, bad romances. The good, the bad, and the ugly that you survived…or you inflicted. A love that “Hurts So Good.” Doors Open: 6:30 PM Show Starts: 7:30 PM Tickets for Asheville StorySLAMs go on sale 3 weeks prior to the show date at 3 PM ET. Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis. With special thanks to our sponsor, BPR.
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “FUMBLES & FOULS”
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is… FUMBLES AND FOULS: Prepare a five minute story about the moment you dropped the ball. Oops, I did it again or did I do thaaaat? Tryouts, rehearsals, interviews, or dates. The highest of stakes or the lowest of lows. The failures you’ve learned from or the wrongs you won’t admit. The times you let your team down or compared yourself to the GOAT on the court. Shoot your shot! Doors Open: 6:30 PM Show Starts: 7:30 PM Tickets for Asheville StorySLAMs go on sale 3 weeks prior to the show date at 3 PM ET. Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis. With special thanks to our sponsor, BPR. By purchasing a ticket, you are opting in to receive email messages from The Moth on local events, membership news, donations, and general information about Moth stories and storytelling workshops.
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “SUS”
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is… SUS: Prepare a five-minute story about deception or sus(picion). Counterfeit handbags, messages from unknown phone numbers, or skeletons in the closet. Raising an eyebrow or calling someone out. Acting shady or being played a fool. Was your gut feeling right or wrong? A deal too good to be true. I smell a rat! Doors Open: 6:30 PM Show Starts: 7:30 PM Tickets for Asheville StorySLAMs go on sale 3 weeks prior to the show date at 3 PM ET. Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis. With special thanks to our sponsor, BPR. By purchasing a ticket, you are opting in to receive email messages from The Moth on local events, membership news, donations, and general information about Moth stories and storytelling workshops.
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “I GOT IT FROM MY MAMA”
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is… I GOT IT FROM MY MAMA: Prepare a five minute story about what runs in the family. From memorized sunday sauces to generational trauma wrapped in questionable traditions. Fashion tips and whispered warnings. Sharp tongues and sharper cheekbones. Tell tales of inherent humor, proud features, warm embraces and the advice only a matriach can deliver. Explore our motherly ties and those before them that shape our worldview and makes you you. Doors Open: 6:30 PM Show Starts: 7:30 PM Tickets for Asheville StorySLAMs go on sale 3 weeks prior to the show date at 3 PM ET. Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis. With special thanks to our sponsor, BPR. By purchasing a ticket, you are opting in to receive email messages from The Moth on local events, membership news, donations, and general information about Moth stories and storytelling workshops.
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “AMERICAN DREAMS”
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is… AMERICAN DREAMS: Tell us a five minute story about your lifelong aspiration. Pulling off the impossible or failing in spectacular fashion. Overcoming the odds, shirking expectations, forging your own path come hell or high water. Give us your big swings, your wildest flights of fancy, your most epic home runs or your dreams dashed and deferred. Does the American Dream still exist? You tell us. Doors Open: 6:30 PM Show Starts: 7:30 PM Tickets for Asheville StorySLAMs go on sale 3 weeks prior to the show date at 3 PM ET. Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis. With special thanks to our sponsor, BPR. By purchasing a ticket, you are opting in to receive email messages from The Moth on local events, membership news, donations, and general information about Moth stories and storytelling workshops.
