Golden Folk Sessions
ALL AGES 6PM DOORS / 7PM SHOW FULLY SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE 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. • $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
Golden Folk Sessions
ALL AGES 6PM DOORS / 7PM SHOW FULLY SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE 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. • $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
PATIO: Paint Rock
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE PAINT ROCK Paint Rock is a rock and roll band that embodies an old and wild spirit. Their sound is one of loud driving rhythms and raw vocals. With intensity and authenticity, Paint Rock weaves old rock, mountain ballads, and punk to create a powerful noise. Their music explores struggle and resilience, as well as joy and recovery. In the shadows of the Bald Mountains and in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Paint Rock roars loudly and unapologetically.
PATIO: Luke Henry
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE LUKE HENRY Luke Henry is a Colorado-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter blending Americana, folk, and pop influences into honest, storytelling-driven songs. With heartfelt lyrics and a sound inspired by artists like James Taylor, Noah Kahan and Bob Dylan, Luke’s music explores themes of connection, nostalgia, and the search for meaning. His stripped-back acoustic set invites listeners to slow down, reflect, and connect through shared stories. Luke’s debut album is set to release later this year.
PATIO: The Moon Unit
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE THE MOON UNIT The Moon Unit is a high-energy jazz fusion trio based in Durham, North Carolina, made up of musicians who have performed alongside some of the country’s most popular neo-jazz and jazz fusion artists. Drawing from a rich tapestry of musical styles—from traditional jazz and modern funk to rock and experimental pop—the trio brings a unique, genre-defying sound to every performance. Rooted in a lifelong friendship, The Moon Unit has honed their craft through years of exploring complex rhythms, melodies, and intense improvisation. Their performances are an invitation into an ever-evolving sonic journey where the boundaries of musical genres dissolve, leaving listeners with a transformative experience. Whether you’re a jazz enthusiast or a lover of bold, genre-blending sounds, The Moon Unit offers a live performance like no other. INSTANT ALTER INSTANT ALTER is a new project formed by saxophonist Emilio Modeste and vocalist Natasha Agrama. INSTANT ALTER features drummer Miguel Russell and bassist Ryo Takenaga. INSTANT ALTER is a reorientation into a new way. A new aesthetic and a new story. These four virtuosic artists join together in service of the art of storytelling, creating a new thread of music as super-bands of the past have done – such as Return to Forever – while integrating grounded Earth Songs that call to the Brazilian Tropicália movement. Within this musical vessel lies an engine room fueled by a powerful and inimitable Bass-and-Drum connection.
Balu Brigada
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY BALU BRIGADA Balu Brigada craft multi-dimensional alternative pop layered with levels of lush live instrumentation, cinematic production, and festival-ready hooks. Henry and Pierre Beasely—the Auckland, NZ-born duo of brothers, co-vocalists, co-writers, and co-producers Balu Brigada—effectively step through a sonic doorway with their music. Since high school, they independently honed their chops for years until landing a deal with Warner Music Australia, Atlantic Music Group and ARRO Records in the United States. The group cultivated their signature sound with the I Should Be Home EP [2022] and Find A Way EP [2023]—highlighted by the fan favorite “Designer” which amassed 26 million Spotify streams and counting. Along the way, they also incited the applause of everyone from Rolling Stone, Coup de Main, i-D, and OnesToWatch to People who christened them “Best New Artist.” Twenty One Pilots even notably selected Balu Brigada as special guests on their massive “Clancy Tour” across North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the UK. The duo reached critical mass with their track “So Cold.” It not only gathered 34 million total streams and counting, but it also notched their very first #1 at radio in the US, claiming the top spot at Alternative. They made their late-night television debut on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! with a stunning performance of the song. Plus, it claimed a coveted spot on the FIFA 2025 Official Soundtrack, and SiriusXM spotlighted it as a “Critical Cut.” After piling up hundreds of millions of streams and selling out shows, the band elevate to another stratosphere altogether on their full-length debut album, Portal, introduced by the single “Backseat.”
The Dave Matthews Tribute Band – Sun’s Embrace Summer Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY THE DAVE MATTHEWS TRIBUTE BAND DMTB is a celebration of the music of the Dave Matthews Band – a time machine to a funky tea party in the 90’s, a boisterous time of tape trading, sing-alongs, and exploration into a new sonic landscape spearheaded by complex guitar riffs, soaring violin melodies, smooth sax lines, and explorative-explosive drumming. Dedicated to recreating that moment in musical history, the DMTB has been honing their craft for over 20 years. Since 2004, the band’s ruthless touring schedule has been unparalleled, playing over 2000 shows in 46 states and 10 countries. The Buffalo, NY based band has successfully paid tribute to the Dave Matthews Band, with heartfelt recreation of DMB’s musical spirit. The DMTB aims to transport the listener back in time. The band takes inspiration from the classic DMB sound, with immense respect for the original quintet. While including material from the bands later and current catalogs, the goal is to create a well rounded and authentic tribute. The attention to details, love for the music, and sense of community creates an atmosphere that causes concert goers to say “…wow, if I close my eyes, it’s like I am there!”
Five Eight LIVE: Weirdo Movie Screening + PINKEYE Album Release Party
ALL AGES FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM FIVE EIGHT & PINEYE, PLUS A SCREENING OF WEIRDO & Q&A WITH THE BAND FIVE EIGHT Hailing from the legendary music town of Athens, Georgia, Five Eight is a band that has turned personal chaos into cathartic rock anthems for over three decades. Fronted by the fearless and emotionally raw Mike Mantione—a self-described manic depressive whose songwriting pulls no punches—the band became a cult favorite by channeling raw nerves into razor-sharp emo-infused rock. Formed in the late ’80s, Five Eight first made waves with their 1989 cassette Passive-Aggressive, a fitting title for a debut that blended ferocious energy with deep introspection. Alongside Mantione, the band’s long-standing core included bassist Dan Horowitz, guitarist Sean Dunn, and drummer Patrick “Tigger” Ferguson—a lineup that would help shape their early, incendiary sound. Through lineup changes, personal battles, and shifting scenes, Five Eight has remained a band of uncompromising honesty and sonic fire—a lifeline for misfits, poets, and anyone who finds beauty in the wreckage. WEIRDO: THE STORY OF FIVE EIGHT is a feature documentary about Mike Mantione and his band Five Eight’s rollercoaster ride of a career from mental institution to touring with their heroes, R.E.M. and beyond. Director Marc Pilvinsky (editor of TORN ASUNDER: WAGING ALEX GARLAND’S CIVIL WAR and director of many music videos) spent nine years chronicling the Athens, Georgia band’s ups and downs in an attempt to figure out how a band this good, for this long, can remain relatively unknown. PINKEYE PINKEYE is a raucous punk band out of Asheville, North Carolina, born in the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a garage project in Black Mountain quickly evolved into a full-throttle, no-holds-barred force of rock. The trio—Scott Sturdy (bass), Chad Clay (drums), and Joe Hooten (guitar)—harnesses the untamed energy of ‘70s punk, with all three members sharing lead vocal duties and songwriting duties, crafting a raw, gritty sound. Influenced by the likes of The Stooges, Dead Boys, and MC5, PINKEYE blends old-school punk swagger with their own fierce edge.In the years since, PINKEYE has become a fixture on the Southeast punk circuit, lighting up venues and building a reputation for their relentless live shows. They’ve shared stages with legends like Agent Orange, Pylon Reenactment Society, and Soul Asylum, spreading their wild punk gospel to anyone who’ll listen. With a DIY attitude and a relentless passion for their craft, PINKEYE’s no-frills approach to music is unapologetically punk—always loud, always in-your-face, and always ready to rock.PINKEYE is set to release their highly anticipated second album on August 22nd, 2025. Recorded live in the studio and produced by Kevin Boggs at Loc Level Sound in Arden, NC, the album captures the band’s raw energy and unfiltered spirit with uncompromising authenticity. This release features standout collaborations with Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers, Myles Dunder from Dr. Bacon, and the queen of the NC underground-Hope Nicholls of Fetchin’ Bones & It’s Snakes, adding bold new dimensions to PINKEYE’s gritty sound. To celebrate and support the release, PINKEYE will hit the road on tour this Fall, bringing their explosive live show to fans across the region and beyond.
TOPS: Bury the Key Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY TOPS has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket goes to Chez Doris and their work supporting and empowering any woman in precarious situations to achieve her full potential. TOPS TOPS — musicians David Carriere, Jane Penny, Marta Cikojevic, and Riley Fleck — write timeless music that reliably threads immediacy and depth. Bury the Key, their first full-length since 2020 and with new label home Ghostly International, is a captivating reintroduction for the Montréal band: ever refined, undoubtedly masters of their melodic craft yet unafraid of evolving and testing themselves against different, at times darker tones. The album faces feelings once locked away, engaging the give-and-take between happiness, hedonism, and self-destruction. While often inhabited by fictional figures, their glowing, grooving, self-produced songs draw from personal observations: intimacy (both inside and outside the band), toxic behavior, drug use, and apocalyptic dread. When recording started, they noticed a shift and leaned in, jokingly dubbed “evil TOPS,” says Penny. “We’re always kind of seen as a soft band or like naive or friendly in a Canadian way, but we made it a challenge to really channel the world around us.” Through the lens of a looming epoch and the clarity that comes with age, TOPS dip into a more sinister disco realm with Bury the Key, giving their soft-focus sophisti-pop a sharpened edge.
Night Tapes
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY NIGHT TAPES Night Tapes’ debut album portals//polarities is a deeply immersive, genre-blurring journey shaped by place and emotion. Created by London trio Iiris Vesik, Max Doohan, and Sam Richards, the album weaves global field recordings—from Estonian swamps to Mexican mountains—into dreamy, electronic soundscapes. Originally recording quietly in a shared house, the group embraced their constraints, crafting music that became time capsules of their surroundings. Their process blends traditional instruments with laptop production, drawing from synth-pop, shoegaze, trip-hop, and ambient music. Songs often shift unpredictably, blurring the line between band and studio project. Much of the album was made on the road, in Airbnbs and hotels between gigs, emphasizing creativity within limitation. Their use of tapes and spontaneous sampling adds raw, human imperfections that digital methods lack. For Vesik, the album explores inner dualities and personal freedom, with emotional depth conveyed more through sound than lyrics. portals//polarities is a bold debut—personal, political, and vibrantly alive. The band’s previous releases have been supported by DIY, Clash, NME, Future Music, Gorilla vs Bear, BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and many more.
