Option 22 w/ Old Soul Reunion
-ALL AGES -STANDING ROOM ONLY Option 22 The music of Option 22 is inspired, uplifting, and thoroughly eclectic—a fusion spanning roots rock, Americana, and points in between—woven together with heartfelt lyrics that call for change and carry messages of love, hope, and healing. It’s music that moves—both the body and the spirit. Their live performances are immersive, spontaneous, and raw, channeling energy that flows through them and into the crowd, creating a shared, uplifting experience. Music isn’t just what they do—it’s the heartbeat of everything they’ve built. Option 22 is more than a band; it’s a movement, a call to awaken, and a force for creative transformation. Their music laid the foundation for The RiffRaff Arts Collective, Culturefest World Music & Arts Festival, and the thriving cultural district they helped ignite in Princeton, West Virginia. Old Soul Reunion Based in Princeton, WV, Old Soul Reunion is a powerhouse Appalachian soul, blues, folk, jam, and rock band built on soulful songwriting, deep grooves, 3 part harmonies, mind-expansive jams, and the kind of chemistry that can only come from years of creating together. James Hart, Robert Blankenship, Jordan Furrow, Ryan Perkins, and Lori McKinney.
Patio Show: Sonia Leigh & Friends
DOORS: 4:30 PM SHOW: 5:30 PM ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE Sonia Leigh & Friends w/ Sally Jaye & Kimberly June Sonia Leigh’s musical abilities are boundless, effortlessly spanning country, rock, pop, and hip-hop. Her meticulously crafted lyrics tell stories that transcend genres, leaving listeners feeling engaged and empowered. Leigh catapulted onto the country music scene in 2011 with her major label debut, 1978 December, released under Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Records. Her single, “My Name Is Money,” landed at #36 on the 2011 Billboard Hot 100 charts. Produced by Brent Cobb, Sally Jaye’s forthcoming album, You’ll Be Okay, Baby, marks a defining moment for the Nashville-based singer-songwriter, placing her squarely in the lineage of modern Americana’s most thoughtful storytellers. The record showcases her cinematic songwriting, emotional precision, and gift for crafting characters that linger long after the last note fades. Performing solo or with a band, she brings a quietly commanding presence to the stage — intimate, literate, and deeply human. A respected songwriter among her peers, she has notable cuts with Brent Cobb, Leah Blevins, Shannon McNally, and Brian Wright. Kimberly June (“KJ”) is an indie-folk singer-songwriter with roots in Hawaii, Nashville and Oregon. Her music has been featured on major TV shows including ABC’s Nashville, Love Is Blind, The Rookie, The Ultimatum and Degrassi High. In 2024, KJ toured the U.S. as a supporting act for Nahko and Medicine for the People, performing in 15 major cities, and has opened for artists such as G. Love, Donovan Frankenreiter, Kimie and Mike Love. She signed her first publishing deal in Nashville at 22, and continues to write and release new songs frequently. Follow her music and adventurous spirit on Instagram @Justkj.love
Patio Show: Ben Musser
-ALL AGES -LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE Ben Musser Ben Musser plays indie soul with some rock n roll. His new album ‘Sentimental Fever’ (Blackbird Record Label) has just been featured on NPR, CMT, EARMILK, Grateful Webb plus charting on AAA radio stations across the country. He is thrilled to return to NYC on his 2026 album release tour. Performances on this tour will feature Ben’s one-man band approach to songs, where he plays kick drum, hihat, shaker, while performing guitar, singing, and sometimes the piano and harmonica.
Patio Show: ANZA
-ALL AGES-LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEANZA ANZA is a high vibe sister duo consisting of 14 yo Anzi & 17 yo Anna Rivers. Song writing and composing has been a life long passion. Born in Colorado and raised between the high mountain desert landscapes of the Rockies and the lush, ancient mountains of Western North Carolina, the sisters draw deep inspiration from the natural world and the communities that have shaped them. Their musical journey began in the womb into childhood with weekly ecstatic dance, nightly improvised lullabies, bedtime stories sung instead of read, family dance nights and conscious summer music festivals. Their lives have been filled with backyard campfire jam sessions, conversations that reach beyond cultural norms, and impromptu performances in living rooms, art galleries, and community gatherings. Since the age of five, Anna and Anzi have studied with Jeremy Dittus at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies, cultivating a deep musical foundation that led them to piano, guitar, composition, and performance. Their educational journey has included Waldorf education, homeschooling, forested Co-ops and inner city high schooling. This has allowed them to explore a wide range of artistic, cultural, and academic studies. ANZA has performed throughout Western North Carolina at venues including Ayuprana Listening Room, LEAF Global, White Horse Black Mountain, Grey Eagle, and Salvage Station. They have shared their music at festivals, ceremonies, retreats, and around countless campfires and stages with artists such as Max Ribner, Paul Izak, Tubby Love, Shylah Ray Sunshine and The Freedom Family Band. ANZA has sung alongside MaMuse, Samara Jade, Aimée Ringle, and Micaela Kingslight during Circle Revival Gatherings, an immersive six-hour musical ceremony attended by over 1,100 participants. They have spent significant time recording in professional studios with Max Ribner and Roots Grown Deep and have received encouragement and praise from Grammy Award-winning songwriter Jim Lauderdale and acclaimed songwriter Marty Dodson. A UK radio station recently described their debut album, Break Through, as: “With a clear ’60s influence, reminiscent of the style and storytelling associated with Joni Mitchell, which is surprisingly rare in artists of this age. The harmonies are a real standout, and the vocals have a warmth and confidence that genuinely evoke that era rather than simply imitate it. It feels timeless rather than retro for the sake of it.”
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.
The Lemon Twigs
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY THE LEMON TWIGS The Lemon Twigs’ two previous Captured Tracks albums, A Dream Is All We Know (2024) and Everything Harmony (2023), certainly indicated something of a ground zero in their then five album career. “It was the beginning of making records that we would listen to ourselves,” says Michael D’Addario, the younger Twig brother, now aged 26. By the time of A Dream Is All We Know and the future Michael classic “My Golden Years”, The Lemon Twigs’ new era had truly begun. And now comes the third Lemon Twigs album for Captured Tracks, Look For Your Mind!, which underneath its poppy exterior contains an undercurrent of paranoia and suspicion. Opening with title track “Look For Your Mind”, a jangly Michael number, the listener is introduced to the guitar-driven harmony sound that is the centering theme of the album. Much of what was achieved on A Dream Is All We Know is here, just more laser focused. It’s classic Twigs, indebted to the golden age of guitar pop, but in no way slavish. New to this album is the inclusion of live Twigs Reza Matin (drums) and Danny Ayala (bass), as well as Eva Chambers of Tchotchke, to the rhythm section. With the brothers previously having handled everything in the studio themselves, this shows a newfound sense of freedom. “Gather Round” is one of Look For Your Mind!’s bigger productions. A Brian song with joyous orchestrations, it feels like a turn of the century campaign song. The writer is looking for an uncorrupted leader, but resolves that collective action is the only way forward. Musically it’s ornate and delightfully 1967, but the mood and sentiment is distinctly 2026. “Every time we try to write something that’s completely straightforward, we can’t help adding an element which comes out of left field.” explains Brian. Brian’s “Fire And Gold” starts off with a ringing power pop riff before turning everything inside out. It’s also the first song on the album to feature the powerhouse drummer Reza Matin, whom the brothers favorably compare to Big Star’s Jody Stephens, The Raspberries’ Jim Bonfanti, and The Move’s Bev Bevan. Closing side one on the vinyl record is Michael’s beautiful ballad, “Mean To Me”, with vocals The Beach Boys would be happy to have committed to wax 60 years ago, care of Michael, Brian and Danny. The closer of the second side, “Your True Enemy”, completely throws a spanner in the works. “We at first approached the song as a simple rock arrangement, but it didn’t fit the moodiness of the lyric,” states Brian. “So that’s when we started to get more experimental.” The Lemon Twigs sixth studio album may at first seem like a direct continuation of the previous two, but it is also a lot more, with nods to the earlier records, a new found collective spirit, and most importantly great songwriting.
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.