Golden Folk Sessions
ALL AGES 6PM DOORS / 7PM SHOW FULLY SEATED SHOW GOLDEN FOLK SESSIONS Golden Folk Sessions (formerly Open Folk AVL) offers an intimate, carefully curated listening experience that celebrates the art of original music. Each event showcases six handpicked artists, performing three-song sets in a quiet, seated environment where the music takes center stage. To add a sense of surprise and discovery, the lineup is revealed only when the show begins. Running from 7–9 PM, these early shows create the perfect evening for music lovers who value live performances and a good night’s rest. With over 100 shows hosted and extraordinary artists from around the globe gracing our stage, Golden Folk Sessions is entering an exciting new chapter. Under a new name and with a new home at The Grey Eagle—one of the Southeast’s most iconic venues—we’re thrilled to continue fostering community through music. Staying true to our values of accessibility, we aim to make music available to everyone. Presale tickets guarantee your seat and support both Golden Folk Sessions and The Grey Eagle. For those attending on the day of the show, our “pay what you can, if you can” option ensures that all are welcome to be part of this unique and meaningful experience. • $10 General Admission (presale) • $0-$25 Day-of-Show (no minimum) We can’t wait to see y’all there.
PATIO: Beth Snapp
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BETH SNAPP Beth’s “Pop-Alachian” sound is a cross-over blend of country, bluegrass, pop and folk, a colorful variance where each element shines. Her silken, jazzy vocals are as delicate as a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, softly lilting over lush, acoustic instrumentation and stirring echoes of Southern hills into the smooth, caramel creamer of an uptown latte.
Eyes Up Here Comedy: Supporting Survivors
SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE (guaranteed seating in rows 2-4) LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM ULTRA SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE (guaranteed seating on 1st row and thank you gift) Join Modelface Comedy and Eyes Up Here Comedy for a special benefit show for the Asheville based organizations OurVoice and Helpmate at the Grey Eagle. Eyes Up Here Comedy started over 10 years ago in Raleigh to help provide stage time for women and queer identifying comedians and work to fix the imbalance of too many men on comedy shows. In the last 10 years EUH has partnered with Asheville based Modelface Comedy to run shows, workshops and fundraisers to inspire more women and LGBTQ+ members of our community to try stand up comedy and just fall in love with the art form. Not to mention bringing tons of talented performers and headliners to town for everyone to enjoy. All joking aside, this is the second fundraiser show that Eyes Up Here Comedy has produced in protest of headlining comedians who are also known sexual predators. It will be a night to recognize and celebrate the kind of comedy that is safe and inclusive for survivors of sexual assault and those who stand with them. A mix of your favorite local and regional femme comedians will be taking the iconic Grey Eagle stage along with a few surprise guests!!
William Elliott Whitmore
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMIITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEWILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE A man armed only with a banjo and a bass drum can be a formidable force, especially if his name is William Elliott Whitmore. With his powerful voice and honest approach, Whitmore comes from the land, growing up on a family farm in Lee County, Iowa. Still living on the same farm today, Whitmore has truly taken the time to discover where his center lies, and from that he will not be moved. Whitmore has repeatedly carved his own path, honoring the longstanding tradition of folk music throughout his nearly 20 year career, while always allowing his blues, soul and punk rock influences to shine through. Getting his first break opening for his friend’s hardcore band with just a banjo in hand, he would discover bands like The Jesus Lizard, Bad Brains, Lungfish and Minutemen and soon learn to play his own brand of rural, roots music with that same DIY ethic. William Elliott Whitmore has been back and forth across the United States and to cities around the world. He’s toured with such diverse acts as Frank Turner, Trampled By Turtles, Clutch and Chris Cornell to name a few. He’s appeared on some of the biggest stages around the world including Stagecoach Fest, Byron Bluesfest (Australia) and End of the Road Fest (UK). His willingness to take his show to any playing field has proved invaluable as he turned strangers to diehards with every performance. DYLAN WALSHE Dylan Walshe is an Irish folk music singer-songwriter. Born and raised in southeast Dublin, he is based in Black Mountain, North Carolina[ He has toured with Flogging Molly, Avatar, The White Buffalo, The Mahones and recorded with James Fearnley of The Pogues.
PATIO: Pleasure Chest
– ALL AGES – LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE PLEASURE CHEST Pleasure Chest is a high energy Blues, Soul, Rock and Roll band hailing from Asheville NC. With the humor of Bo Diddley and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to the swampy, dirty grit of Slim Harpo and Elmore James they’re guaranteed to please and get your booty shaking!
PATIO: Reed Turchi World on Fire Album Release Show
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE REED TURCHI Hailed by the Oxford American as an artist “beyond genre constraints,” Reed Turchi is a GRAMMY Award Winning, EMMY Award Nominated musician from Swannanoa, North Carolina, who first learned to play guitar in North Mississippi from RL Burnside’s longtime sideman Kenny Brown.Turchi’s signature “slide guitar & kudzu boogie” sound has been described as “a burst of blues rock…both spontaneous and crafted” by Rolling Stone and as “vital, live, and essential” by Living Blues Magazine. WORLD ON FIRE, Turchi’s latest album, was declared “a striking exercise in inspired simplicity” by No Depression, and explored a more intimate atmosphere, somewhere between Muddy Waters’ “Folk Singer” acoustic album and Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska.” American Blues Scene hailed the album as “a hypnotic blend of slide-guitar andsnare-brush rhythm,” while Pop Matters said listening to it is “like listening to an old 78rpm blues recording without the scratches and static.”
AJ Lee & Blue Summit + East Nash Grass
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY Bluegrass is hot, and AJ Lee & Blue Summit and East Nash Grass are two of the hottest collections of young bluegrass talent you’ll find anywhere in America. Part of bluegrass’ fourth wave, these are musicians who’ve grown up at the feet of the bluegrass masters, but see the genre through a wider lens, incorporating not just Americana and stringband sensibilities, but rock, pop, R&B, and other flavors that take their music far beyond traditional bluegrass fare, without losing the essence of what gives bluegrass its heart. Best of all, when you put two groups like this together on the road, you can be sure they’ll cook up something special for every show — musicians of this caliber just can’t help but be inspired by each other. Might as well start getting excited now. AJ LEE & BLUE SUMMIT AJ Lee & Blue Summit are an award-winning, energetic, charming, and technically jaw-dropping band — and one of the most exciting and fast-rising Bluegrass / Americana bands on the scene today. Based in the California Bay Area, the group met as teenagers, picking and jamming together as kids at local bluegrass festivals. Currently made up of AJ Lee on mandolin, fi ddler Jan Purat, guitarists Scott Gates and Sullivan Tuttle (younger brother of Molly Tuttle), and bassist Sean Newman, the band still carries that youthful, festival-parking-lot energy with them, yet there’s a genuine ease and confi dence to their music making. A breakout year for the band, 2024 saw them release their critically acclaimed album, “City of Glass,” their fi rst label release on Signature Sounds recordings, combined with becoming one of the most in-demand bands in the Bluegrass scene. In 2025, the band continues to pack major venues around the country, along with major festival plays, and the release of “Cover to Cover V1,” an EP of cover songs being released throughout the year. EAST NASH GRASSEast Nash Grass exemplifi es the best of what bluegrass has to off er — as being named the 2024 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) New Artist of the Year would suggest. But their talent as singers, instrumentalists, and composers is just the beginning. The secret to East Nash Grass lies in their unfl inching ability to be themselves. It certainly helps that they are a veritable supergroup of award-winners who have been performing longer than some might guess they’ve been alive, with experience working with Dan Tyminski, Tim O’Brien, Sierra Hull, and Rhonda Vincent, as just a start. After hundreds of sets (and countless late-night jams) in Nashville, East Nash Grass has coalesced into the hair-raising ensemble of Harry Clark (mandolin), Cory Walker (banjo), James Kee (guitar), Maddie Denton (fi ddle), and Jeff Partin (bass/dobro). Their love of both bluegrass and the absurd can be felt in both their live shows and on their new album “All God’s Children” (Mountain Fever, 2025), which keep listeners on the edge of their seats, marveling at irrefutable mastery and wondering just what might come next.
Pet Sounds Live
ALL AGES**SEATED SHOW!!** PET SOUNDS LIVE Pet Sounds Live is the premier Beach Boys album experience celebrating Brian Wilson’s iconic masterpiece that altered the course of rock & roll. Pet Sound Live transports you back in time inside the studio and behind the glass as you experience the creation of some of the greatest and most beloved music in rock & roll history performed right before your eyes and ears. This is far more than a tribute and much more than just a band. Pet Sounds Live is rock & roll history come to life on stage like no other show before. In addition to the complete Pet Sounds album, the show also features many other Beach Boys classics like; “California Girls”, “Don’t Worry, Baby”, “I Get Around”, “Help Me, Rhonda”, “In My Room”, “Surfin’ USA”, “Do It Again” and the legendary pocket symphony, “Good Vibrations”among others. Relive the magic of Pet Sounds through live music, narration and visual multi-media with fascinating historical facts all through the lens of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys’ masterpiece, PET SOUNDS! Experience the iconic masterpiece album LIVE in its entirety along with all of The Beach Boys greatest hits and Good Vibrations coming soon to a venue near you.
Jodi John EP Release Show + Asheville Songwriters Showcase
ALL AGES STANDING ROOM + LIMITED SEATING, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED JODI JOHN EP RELEASE SHOW + ASHEVILLE SONGWRITERS SHOWCASECelebrate the release of Jodi John’s debut EP, Sybelia – a collection of true coming-of-age songs. Jodi leads the Asheville Songwriters Association, whose mission is to nurture the art and craft of songwriting in Western North Carolina and beyond. Most of her songs reflect a narrative lyric style on top of strong melodies. She believes that stories lead us to understand others and ourselves alike, both when we are the teller, and the listener. The second half of the evening will be a showcase of Asheville area songwriters involved in the Sybelia project, who will each share songs of their own. Come enjoy an evening of creative performances and joyful collaboration. FEATURING: Thomas Kozak Thomas Kozak is a singer-songwriter based in Asheville, NC. With a focus on lyricism and structure that stretches convention, he looks to bend an ear beyond the expected. His writing pulls myth and religion through the split-open skull of an obsessive-compulsive, anchoring the past to a new body and giving it voice through and beyond the conventions of folk and Americana. Old Sap Old Sap, poet from Chicago, rambled out to Montana, cut a banjo from a tamarack, strings across the country, foot like a freight train, voice rushing down over lush Appalachia, sings a thrush tune through the rush hour and into your long-forgotten prairie dreams. Melissa Hyman Melissa Hyman is a multi-instrumentalist and educator calling Asheville home since 2007. She plays in several local bands including The Moon and You, Tina and Her Pony, and Cowboy Judy. Will Hartz Will Hartz is best known for his ability to grab the attention of any and all audiences with his refined stylistic performances. Raised in a rural farming town south of Asheville, you can almost hear the mountain thunder and sweet streams rolling through his southern drawl. Will started playing piano at the age of 8, later translating into years of musical theatre and a BA in musical performance. https://www.willhartzmusic.com/ Jack Victor Jack Victor is songwriter, recording musician, and music educator based in Asheville, NC. He writes songs for the band Slow Packer (2018-present), and wrote songs for the band Midnight Snack (2011-2017). As an active member of the Asheville music scene since 2015, Victor also collaborates with many other bands and songwriters in the western NC area.
PATIO: 81 Drifters
– ALL AGES – LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE 81 DRIFTERS Hailing from the scenic mountain landscapes along Highway 81, the 81 Drifters weave a tapestry of sounds ranging from fearlessly raw singer-songwriter originals to western swing, jamgrass, blues, and Appalachian folk. They captivate audiences with their infectious energy, lyrical depth, and powerful harmonies that take listeners on a journey that transcends time and tradition. The band exudes a remarkable chemistry that brings the songs to life as they improvise around each other, exploring melodies in new ways with each performance.The band features multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Nick Colavito (Guitar/Banjo/Harmonica), Kristina Miller (Fiddle) and Hunter Andrus (Guitar).
