Free Throw: Those Days Are Gone 10 Year Anniversary Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY FREE THROW FREE THROW’s debut album, THOSE DAYS ARE GONE, took the underground by storm when it was released in September 2014, with Brooklyn Vegan hailing lead single “Tongue Tied” for its ability to “successfully bring together Tell All Your Friends dual vocals with American Football’s shimmering guitars.” The sepia-toned emotional resonance of songs like the 6/8 “Two Beers In,” loud/soft dynamism of “Hey Ken, Someone Methodically Mushed the Donuts” and riff-ready “Pallet Town” painted a portrait of the uncertainty and growing pains of life in your 20s: a Groundhog Day of bad luck, bad love, and bad habits, set atop inventive rhythms, Midwestern-inspired guitars and tightly wound catharsis. It’s this unfiltered honesty that helped the Nashville-based quintet immediately connect with a new generation of listeners, spawning tens of millions of streams and tours with the likes of New Found Glory and The Wonder Years. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Those Days Are Gone, Free Throw will embark on a U.S. tour in early 2025, performing the record in full alongside fan favorites from their five-album catalog – melding these timeless songs with their reputation for raucous live sing-alongs. “We didn’t quite know Those Days Are Gone was going to be as special as a lot of people consider it today, but we thought that we had something really good,” singer/guitarist Cory Castro says. “ There’s been so much that’s happened since then, but in some ways, it still feels like yesterday.” ## BEN QUAD Although the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is something that Oklahoma four-piece Ben Quad knew before they began making their new EP, Ephemera, they decided to wholeheartedly ignore it. Since forming in 2018, the band—Sam Wegrzynski (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Henry Shields (backing vocals/bass), Edgar Viveros (lead guitar) and Isaac Young (drums)—have released three split EPs and their 2022 debut album, I’m Scared That’s All There Is. Those records, alongside tours with Hot Mulligan, Arm’s Length and Forests have helped establish Ben Quad as one of the emo/indie/punk bands around—a hybrid all those scenes and sounds that works incredibly well, both live and on record. HARRISON GORDON
Eric Hutchinson (full band show!)
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY ERIC HUTCHINSON For the past decade, Eric Hutchinson has been mastering the art of his unique, personal songwriting while exploring diverse musical genres like pop, soul, Americana, folk, alt-rock, and jazz. Now, the platinum-selling singer-songwriter is releasing CLIFF NOTES – The Best of 2014-2024 – an essential collection of Hutchinson’s ever-evolving discography. Pulling from fan-favorite albums including “Pure Fiction”, “Easy Street”, and “Sing Along!”, the new double-disc vinyl release showcases all the varied and dynamic music Eric has spent the past ten years exploring.To celebrate his new Best Of release, Eric is hitting the road in 2024 to perform all his most popular songs from the past ten years – pop anthems like “Tell The World”, “A Little More”, and “Dear Me”, as well as cult-classics like “Forget About Joni” and “a million bucks on a queen motel bed”. In addition to playing his more recent hits, Eric will also be sprinkling in songs from his landmark album Sounds Like This, including his instant-classics “Ok, It’s Alright with Me” and “Rock & Roll”. The “Best Of Eric Hutchinson” Tour is sure to be a memorable and uplifting night of music in an intimate setting. For each show, concert-goers will get to vote on the setlist, ensuring a unique and special show in every city. All of the evenings will be packed with music, soul, energy, and Eric’s signature dry sense of humor and storytelling. Plus, Eric will always be staying after his performances to meet fans, sign items, and take pictures. “Saying hello to people after the show has gotten to be my favorite part of the night,” Eric says. “I love getting to hear people’s stories and their personal connections to my songs.” “A lot has changed for me since 2014”, Eric reflects. “I became a dad, I lost my father, I started taking anti-depressants, I lived thru COVID. Throughout it all, I’ve processed my feelings the only way I know how – through my songwriting. I know people are busy living their lives and don’t always have time to keep up with what I’ve been making. CLIFF NOTES is a streamlined way that listeners can explore my work from the last decade and maybe play a little catch up.” CLIFF NOTES is jam-packed with 22 of Eric’s best-known songs, plus two new originals that find a return to his soulful pop sound. “JOMO” is an infectious acoustic pop tribute to being an introvert, while “Spirit and Soul” is a sentimental, upbeat pop reflection on self-love and embracing aging. The two new songs come from an older, wiser person, but feel directly connected to the beginning of Eric’s independent recordings. Taken as a whole, CLIFF NOTES is an exciting distillation of a decade of work from Eric Hutchinson, an artist and songwriter who refuses to be pinned down to one musical genre or attitude. It’s a diverse collection of songs that captures Eric Hutchinson growing up and continuing to search to understand his place in the world.
Dylan LeBlanc + David Ramirez
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY 9:00 PM DOORS / 9:30 PM SHOW DYLAN LEBLANC (full band) Dylan LeBlanc is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who often finds himself flirting with the edge — or “dancing on a razor,” as he calls it — as it is all he has ever known. A verdict vagabond since he was a little boy tossed between Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, LeBlanc thrives on the precipice, never staying in one place for too long. It is that nomadic spirit that drew him not only to a life as a touring musician, but also to the beast that titles his newest record: ‘Coyote.’ LeBlanc says he has always related to the insatiable, scavenging nature of the wily coyote. Much like the animal, LeBlanc is a wanderer who knows when to trust his instincts, musically and otherwise. It is a spiritual kinship that runs deep, but he credits one particularly hair-raising face-to-face instance with solidifying his bond with the animal. LeBlanc was in Austin, Texas, climbing the face of a 100-foot cliff, gambling with Mother Nature’s good graces as he pulled himself up by tree branches. Once he reached the top, all that laid ahead of him was a lush treeline. There was a breath of stillness, then the sound of a thunderous rustling that drew closer and closer to him. In a blink, LeBlanc watched as a frenzied raccoon came speeding out of the treeline, trailed by an animal that stopped and stared at him with striking intensity: a coyote. ‘Coyote’ is LeBlanc’s first self-produced release, boasting a cherry-picked lineup of what he calls “killer session players,” such as drummer Fred Eltringham (Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow), pianist Jim “Moose” Brown (Bob Seger), and bass player Seth Kaufman (Lana Del Rey). Though ‘Coyote’ covers familiar ground for LeBlanc of living on the edge of danger and its many consequences, the record is both autobiographical and a concept album built around the character of Coyote, a man on the run. DAVID RAMIREZ (trio) Venerated singer/songwriter David Ramirez has announced the March 21st release of All The Not So Gentle Reminders (Blue Corn Music), his most ambitious album to date. The twelve-song collection is an eclectic musical journey, featuring richly textured arrangements, ethereal acoustic balladry, sweeping choruses and hints of cabaret. All The Not So Gentle Reminders may be the most liberating album in Ramirez’s body of work. The album, his sixth LP, is a creative revelation. “I love all the records I’ve made in the past,” says Ramirez. “But in making them, there was always the thought in the back of my mind of where and what it could get me…This time it was all about just the joy of making it, about having fun with it.” All The Not So Gentle Reminders is a wide-ranging musical tour-de-force with Ramirez’s remarkable voice as the constant thread spinning stories and painting poetic imagery throughout. Whether through a faint whisper, a smooth croon or belting at the apex of a song, David Ramirez has a gift for conveying passion and emotion with each and every track. All The Not So Gentle Reminders is a reminder of the power music has to bring out many different emotions, often in the same song.
The Get Right Band & Supatight: Summer in the Winter BEACH BASH!
ALL AGESSTANDING/DANCING ROOM ONLY BEACH ATTIRE ENCOURAGED! THE GET RIGHT BAND The Get Right Band is a psychedelic indie rock group committed to relentlessly following their muses to honest self-expression, to whatever excites them and pushes them into unexplored territory, to capturing some version of truth. American Songwriter writes that the Asheville, NC based group, “filters 60’s/70’s psychedelia and 90’s alternative rock through a modern lens–as if Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana co-wrote an album produced by Danger Mouse and Dan Auerbach.” The Get Right Band formed in 2011, built around the musical brotherhood that guitarist/singer/songwriter Silas Durocher and bassist Jesse Gentry have formed playing music together since middle school. Durocher, who is a trained composer and has been commissioned to write for symphonies and chamber groups, has guitar chops that can soothe or rage, with a charismatic swagger as frontman and singer. Gentry’s virtuosic bass playing “catapults from elastic to nasty” (The Mountain Xpress). Completing the team is drummer extraordinaire Jaze Uries, who is also a singer, songwriter, producer, photographer, and DJ, and keys legend Chuck Lichtenberger, whose incredible playing has been a staple of the Asheville music scene for years. GRB has defined their sound through constant evolution, building to the hook-driven, synth-heavy pop/rock/psych band they are today. The Huffington Post writes, “their songs are infectious and take you immediately to a place. The lyrics are smart and bear weight.” The Get Right Band has shared the stage with Dr. Dog, Everclear, Cracker, UB40, Rusted Root, Smash Mouth, and Lifehouse; been featured on NPR’s World Cafe, Paste Studio, and WTF with Marc Maron; and performed at major venues and festivals including The Fillmore, Brooklyn Bowl, Theatre of the Living Arts, The Orange Peel, FloydFest, Bristol Rhythm & Roots, and Riverbend Fest. They have released four studio albums and a live album, and their latest LP, iTopia, dropped on April 7, 2023. The Get Right Band has been compared to other modern indie rock bands with a psychedelic bent such as The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Gorillaz, Tame Impala, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and MGMT. SUPATIGHT
1st ANNUAL CHORDS FOR CALLUM (Benefit Concert for Callum Stickley)
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY (VERY) KID FRIENDLY! FREE ENTRY FOR KIDS UNDER 5. 🚨 Chords for Callum Update! 🚨Due to the weather forecast, Chords for Callum will move from Hatch Amphitheater to The Grey Eagle. We’re sorry for the last-minute switch, but we want to make sure this incredible event still goes on, rain or shine. 🌦️ Thanks for your flexibility and support—let’s make it a day to remember! ❤️ 1ST ANNUAL CHORDS FOR CALLUM! @ GREY EAGLE HATCH AMPHITHEATER – 45 South French Broad A benefit concert for Callum Stickley to raise money to pay for intensive physical occupational and speech therapy Callum has a rare genetic condition called STXBP1, and needs these therapies to help him thrive! FEATURING: JON STICKLEY SAM GRISMAN LYNDSAY PRUETT MATT SMITH TAYLOR MARTIN JOSH PHILLIPS AND MANY MORE, TBA! Details about a SILENT AUCTION coming soon!
Nefesh Mountain: “Beacons” Album Release Show
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE NEFESH MOUNTAIN The latest album from Nefesh Mountain, Beacons emerged from a bold and wholehearted attempt to transform the world around them. Soon after wrapping up a whirlwind tour booked with the mission of spreading their newfound message of radical love, co-founders Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg immersed themselves in the feverish writing of songs that turned their frustrations and fears into irrepressible hope, all while reaching far beyond their bluegrass roots and forging a fiercely joyful sound unbound by genre convention. By the time they’d completed that process of musical alchemy, the New York-based husband-and-wife duo had profoundly refined the band’s vision and voice and arrived at the unfettered radiance of Beacons: an epic double album affirming Nefesh Mountain as a singular musical force—one whose deeply impassioned songwriting awakens us to new ways of navigating an endlessly troubled world. Self-produced and mainly recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, Beacons expands on the soulful intentionality Nefesh Mountain has brought to their music since forming a decade ago. “We live in such strange and divided times, and while we wanted this album to be a full-on celebration of American music, one of our main goals was to bring love, hope, and positivity into a world that sorely needs it,” says Lindberg. “In the end we made a choice: instead of getting angry, we just made music.” Although much of the album stemmed from their rumination on the political landscape (political polarization and division throughout the U.S., the Israel–Hamas War, and Russo-Ukrainian Wars), its spirit of purposeful optimism is made all the more potent by Nefesh Mountain’s willingness to speak about their most intimate struggles and triumphs, including the birth of their now-three-year-old “miracle baby” Willow, and Zasloff ’s journey with sobriety. “This is definitely the most revealing and personal album we’ve ever made, which was a big leap for us,” says Zasloff. “At some point it became obvious that if we’re going to really open our hearts, we need to talk about things we’ve never shared before, with the hope that it will end up helping others.” The result: a selection of lived-in and truly revelatory songs, each providing a beacon-like transmission of uplift and light. The follow-up to Songs for the Sparrows—a 2021 LP praised by Rolling Stone as a “master class in string music”—Nefesh Mountain’s fourth full-length effort, encompasses two distinct discs, the first of which blurs the lines between Americana, blues, country, and psych-folk, offering up an electrified sound created with the help of their longtime live band and guest musicians like pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Beck, Joni Mitchell, Ray LaMontagne, Willie Nelson). Meanwhile, the second disc to Beacons finds the duo working again with legendary roots musicians Jerry Douglas (on Dobro), Sam Bush (mandolin), Rob McCoury (banjo), Cody Kilby (guitar), Mark Schatz (bass), and Stuart Duncan (fiddle), and serving up an all-acoustic lineup of songs spotlighting their boundary-pushing form of bluegrass. “Bluegrass has an energy that’s so intense and invigorating, and for this album we wanted to take that even further,” says Zasloff.
Abby Bryant + Dr. Bacon
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY ABBY BRYANT A music minister’s daughter turned fierce frontwoman on the festival scene, Abby Bryant found her true love for performing while attending Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Quickly forming a touring band and playing the Southeast and beyond, Bryant released her debut album Not Your Little Girl which garnered critical acclaim and Americana chart success with themes of growing up, leaving home, and finding her own identity outside her traditional upbringing. Produced by Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, Bryant’s highly anticipated upcoming album Glowing is slated for release in September 2024 and includes a cast of heavy-hitting session musicians including Adam MacDougall (Circles Around the Sun, Chris Robinson Brotherhood) and John Kimock (Mike Gordon Band, Oteil Burbridge & Friends). Glowing features a collection of even more mature and contemplative tracks that highlight Bryant’s artistic growth and the evolving sonic landscapes she is exploring. DR BACON DR. BACON is a 6 Piece touring Appalachian Funk, Grass and Rock &Roll band. Wielding a diverse instrumentation with broad, deepmusical influences allows the band to perform a plethora ofenergetic, accessible, and danceable music.The Dr. Bacon LiveExperience is truly a spectacle to behold, bringing the audience on amusical journey that lulls and spikes in energy, caressing ears withlush beauty and whipping crowds into a tribal romp, shaking bootiesand shedding inhibitions. This manic versatility ensures that nomatter what genre of music you identify with most, you will hearsomething that resonates at a Bacon show. Dr. Bacon startedplaying together in 2012 on King Street in Boone, NC as a 3 piecebusking with acoustic bluegrass, folk, and 90s pop/rock/hip-hopinfluenced party music. Several lineup changes over the years and arelocation to Asheville, NC have refined, redirected, electrified, andmatured the band’s sound, incorporating funk, rock, soul,psychedelic and world music to their bedrock of Appalachianinfluences. The blending of several elements of these genres (oftenwithin the same song) along with a unique & shiftinginstrumentation is the real Dr. Bacon flavor, and Bacon goes with everything!
East Nash Grass + Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY EAST NASH GRASS East Nash Grass is one of the hottest young bands in Bluegrass, picking up this year’s International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Best New Artist and stacked with IBMA Best Instrumentalist winners: Grand Master Fiddle champion and AMA Instrumentalist of the year nominee Maddie Denton, Cory Walker (banjo), and Harry Clark (mandolin). Put them alongside charismatic frontman James Kee and bassist Jeff Partin (Rhonda Vincent, etc.) and you’ve got a powerhouse leader of the next generation in bluegrass excellence. WSLR in Fogartyville calls them “a balance of undeniably hard-driving bluegrass alongside surprisingly introspective songwriting and earnest narration.” They are far more than a group of impressive instrumental technicians. As a group that came together organically via set after set on Nashville’s East Side, playing tiny stages for the love of it between tours backing bigger acts, they have a hard-forged bond that’s reflected in their stage chemistry. Audiences freak out over how much fun these guys have. As they work on the follow up to 2023’s “Last Chance To Win” — look for a release in the spring of 2025 — they now find themselves one of the most in-demand groups in Americana, fanning out well beyond the traditional bluegrass spots. BRONWYN KEITH-HYNES Bronwyn Keith-Hynes has long been renowned as a prolific instrumentalist, earning two IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards as well as a Grammy for her work with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. But on her latest album I Built a World, the Charlottesville native unlocks an impressive new sound: her voice. “This is the first album I’ve ever sung lead on. Singing is something I’d always thought I’d do at some point and in 2020 I had the time and space to finally find my voice,” Bronwyn says. Even as the pandemic halted touring and so much else, vocal lessons kept her focused. “It’s funny,” she jokes of the timing, “you put a mask on me and suddenly I want to sing.” I Built a World marks her first vocal album, but Bronwyn has been a musician since before she can remember. “Apparently, I saw two girls busking on the street playing fiddles when I was three,” she explains with a laugh, “and I pointed to them and said, ‘I will do that.'” As a child, music lessons gradually transitioned into public performances, with a particular emphasis on Irish music after her family relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia. And her lifelong musical education continues to shape her work today. A background in dance makes her a captivating and energetic live performer. An on-stage collaboration with fellow Charlottesville native Dave Matthews taught her how a crowd could feed your energy. And attending Berklee during the early years of its American Roots Music program offered inspiration from classmates like Sierra Hull and Alex Hargreaves—as well as an introduction to Tuttle and most of Bronwyn’s Golden Highway bandmates. “My favorite bluegrass musicians today are the ones who are rooted in traditional music, but don’t really see any boundaries,” she says. “It’s as if they draw from a traditional bluegrass vocabulary, but use it to say what they want to say.”
Golden Folk Holiday Special
ALL AGES 6PM DOORS / 7PM SHOW FULLY SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE GOLDEN FOLK HOLIDAY SPECIAL Open Folk Avl has rebranded to Golden Folk! Beyond the name change and the occasional addition of non-musical performing artists, everything else remains pretty much the same. You can still expect a silent audience, great sound, hand-picked artists, a fair amount of goofin, and a whole lot of heart. One of the most beloved traditions over the past three years has been the Holiday Special, and by popular demand, we’re bringing it back! Eight artists will each perform a holiday-inspired original and a holiday classic. For this very special event, we’ll be celebrating at one of the most iconic music venues in the Southeast: The Grey Eagle. Staying true to our values of accessibility, we’re offering tickets in three pricing tiers. The first two tiers guarantee entry and are available for presale only. Day-of-show tickets will be “pay what you can if you can.” with no one turned away for lack of funds. Here’s the breakdown: • $25 for Priority Seating (first three rows) • $10 General Admission (presale) • $0-$25 Day-of-Show (no minimum) We can’t wait to see y’all there
Jolly La La La ft Pleasure Chest + Brody Hunt & The Silent Knights
– ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLY – GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATION CONTEST – OYSTERS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Holiday hangs + oyster roast with your favorite Asheville bands — Pleasure Chest (9pm) + Brody Hunt & The Silent Knights (7pm)! Bring in your finest gingerbread house decorated to the nines for our not-so-serious contest with prizes and more! FREE entry to gingerbread house competitors. PLEASURE CHEST Blues, Soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll from Asheville, NC. BRODY HUNT & THE SILENT KNIGHTS An Asheville-area honky-tonk band playing classic holiday tunes!
