OUTPOST: The Pinkerton Raid
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE Go see a live show with The Pinkerton Raid, and songwriter Jesse James DeConto might share stories about the history and architecture of his native New England, or forest legends from the Nordic region, or Broadway-showtunes-turned-football-fight-songs from Liverpool. It’s all quite beatnik and granola, steeped in the mysticism of STAR WARS and Celtic lore, the existentialism of Kerouac, the naturalism of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Standing Rock and Laurel Canyon, and the liberation politics of Woody Guthrie, Karl Marx and Black Lives Matter. There is a fair number of songs about trees. “A fine blend of Beatles-esque dreamy folk,” says AMERICANA HIGHWAYS. The band has opened for Illiterate Light, The Ballroom Thieves, TopHouse, Eliot Bronson, Driftwood, The Collection and Noah Gundersen. They’ve slotted at festivals like Shakori Hills, Albino Skunk, Beacon Bonfire and AVL Fest with artists such as River Whyless, Sunny War, Watchhouse, Amythyst Kiah and Tall Heights.Opening sets by The High Divers and Julia SandersAmericana artist Julia Sanders’ unfolds a meticulously arranged musical landscape anchored by transfixing vocals and a compact but thoughtful narrative style that calls to mind forebearers like Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris. On her most recent album, Morning Star, Sanders explores the complexities of transitions: from woman to mother, partners to parents, and freewheelin’ musician to an adult with roots and responsibilities. The album is a poetic, often dark, yet silver-lined portrait of transformation and growth. With each track, Sanders explores a different facet—a career, a partner, a child—and the range of emotions they carry with them, from joy and pleasure to struggle, loneliness and self-doubt. Unafraid to address the complexities that walk hand in hand with the bliss of having children—such as the loss of autonomy and the fracturing of identity—Morning Star provides a much-needed soundtrack to the experience of matrescence—the physical, emotional and social transition to motherhood
OUTPOST: Snake Oil Medicine Show
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE From Asheville, North Carolina, Snake Oil Medicine Show is a dedicated group of artists and musicians who love and respect tradition in acoustic music, but who also share an even stronger passion to shape its future. Snake Oil’s goal is to convey positive energy and ideals to their audiences through music and art. Fantasies become three-dimensional, technicolor props and mysteriously gargantuan puppets at festivals and larger shows. Improvisation rules as guest musicians, rappers, freestylers, artists, puppeteers, dancers and jugglers often grace the stage. Snake Oil Medicine Show features some of the hottest talents around, no two performances are ever the same! Snake Oil was founded by Guitarist and guru songwriter George Pond in 1993, whose witty, Dr. Suess-like lyrics explore everything from the golden rule to quantum physics. This sheriff now plays the electric as well as upright Bass and is considering attending Clown College where he will use the power of Humor to promote World Peace Through Music and Art! The group has been playing across the globe for 3 decades as Psychedelic Bluegrass-Rock Pioneers!
OUTPOST: Will Overman
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE Will Overman is a Virginia singer-songwriter based in Nashville TN, whose music can be best described as Country-Americana, but it’s not your typical Country-Americana sound. Sonically it is restless by nature, always searching for something new, and with Will’s heart-worn lyrics and dynamic vocal delivery, it makes for a memorable mixture that is hard to place but easy to love. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Will began writing songs after picking up the guitar in high school. He quickly built a regional following, forming the Will Overman Band. The Southern Rock ‘n Roll influenced Americana project released two EPs and an LP, playing bar gigs and festival slots (Merlefest, Appaloosa Music Festival, Rooster Walk) up and down the East Coast until going their separate ways in the spring of 2017.Although he was unsure what to do next, Will began working on his first solo release – 2017’s Crossroads EP with a studio band of some nationally known musicians (Johnny Stubblefield – Parachute, Sam Wilson – Sons of Bill) and good friends from the central VA music scene. Following a hiatus, Will returned to Virginia in mid-2019 and went back into the studio to record the songs that would form his debut LP The Winemaker’s Daughter.Following the successful and well-received release of the debut single “Something to Hold” from The Winemaker’s Daughter on February 14, 2020, Will hit the road on his first major solo tour two weeks later – just as the pandemic started shutting down the world. Canceled and indefinitely postponed gigs quickly piled up, but rather than stop making or releasing music Will continued on, dropping singles from the album while garnering international media attention and radio play. Since breaking the ice on his own return to live shows in April 2021 to celebrate the release of The Winemaker’s Daughter in February 2021 (almost a year to the day after the release of the initial single), Will has put tens of thousands of miles on his van while traveling from shows anywhere from Savannah to Minneapolis to Boston and everywhere in between. The miles and days away have been hard, but good for Will, as he gained inspiration and experience that led to the recording and release of three brand new singles in 2022 called “Spend it All” “Heart Pine” and “Dotted Line”Whereas Will’s older work was extremely personal and reflective, Will’s singles tell his own story, while also incorporating other perspectives and experiences, all with a similar thread or vein running through them. Will’s Heart Pine EP (released Nov. 10, 2022) began putting a light on some of his darkest moments in recent memory (“Heart Pine”) and looking at other people’s mental health struggles (“Spend It All”) and how to move past them (“Dotted Line”). The next chapter in Will’s career though is the major uncovering who he actually is and what he wants – a chapter that is still being written, but has already come to the forefront through his newest single “Virginia Is For Lovers” (released 2/20/2024). Armed with a powerful voice and powerful convictions, Will Overman is slowly but surely building a name for himself performing throughout the US headlining clubs and supporting artists across genres from David Nail and Grady Spencer & the Work to Joe Pug and Town Mountain. Regardless of whether you get a first listen of Will at the next show or song on shuffle, you can be sure that it won’t be long before you know his songs by heart.Opening sets by Darby Wilcox and Jackson Grimm
Mannequin Pussy
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYMANNEQUIN PUSSYMannequin Pussy’s music feels like a resilient and galvanizing shout that demands to be heard Across four albums, the Philadelphia rock band that consists of Colins “Bear” Regisford (bass, vocals), Kaleen Reading (drums, percussion), Maxine Steen (guitar, synths), and Marisa Dabice (guitar, vocals) has made cathartic tunes about despairing times. “There’s just so much constantly going on that feels intentionally evil that trying to make something beautiful feels like a radical act ,” says Dabice. “The ethos of this band has always been to bring people together.” Their latest I Got Heaven, which is out March 1 via Epitaph Records, is the band’s most fully realized LP yet. Over 10 ambitious tracks which abruptly turn from searing punk to inviting pop, the album is deeply concerned with desire, the power in being alone, and how to live in an unfeeling and unkind world. It’s a document of a band doubling down on their unshakable bond to make something furious, thrilling, and wholly alive.Following the 2019 release of their critically acclaimed third album Patience, Mannequin Pussy returned in 2021 for their EP Perfect. They toured that release relentlessly and added guitarist Maxine Steen to the band’s official lineup. Where the band members’ personal lives were in transition with breakups, changing living situations, and periods of self-reevaluation, their time together on the road was a grounding and clarifying force. “There was so much going on in our lives that it was the perfect opportunity to recalibrate who we were as people and musicians,” says Regisford. The band changed their entire formula, choosing to write together in Los Angeles with producer John Congleton over slowly crafting tracks at home. “When I’ve written songs, it’s usually a very solitary process,” says Dabice. “So this was shedding a lot of those hermit-like qualities to do something intensively collaborative. Your best work comes when you allow other people into it.”By December 2022, the band had 17 new songs written with Congleton in Los Angeles. “Everyone felt empowered to speak up about their own ideas to make this thing the best it could possibly be,” says Regisford. New member Maxine Steen, who has made music with Dabice for years including their side project Rosie Thorne, was especially essential to the writing sessions. The album opener “I Got Heaven” initially started as one of Steen’s demos. “When she showed it to me I knew it was going to be fun because the verses have this hard-hitting and aggressive approach but the chorus allows for a really soaring melody,” says Dabice. The result is electric. Over walloping guitar riffs, Dabice defiantly yells, “And what if I’m an angel? Oh what if I’m a bore? And what if I was confident would you just hate me more?I Got Heaven is a visceral and stunning album for people who aren’t content with the status quo, made by people who challenged themselves and got out of their comfort zone. ”We’re supposed to be living in the freest era ever so what it means to be a young person in this society is the freedom to challenge these systems that have been put on to us,” says Dabice. “It makes sense to ask, what ultimately am I living for? What is it that makes me want to live?”MARGARITAS PODRIDAS
PATIO: Whitehall
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEWHITEHALLWhitehall is an indie rock four-piece from Charleston, SC. They merge a dancey demeanor with an insatiable desire for more out of life, making for an incredibly energetic and heart opening live experience. When they aren’t shotgunning La Croix, Whitehall tours the east coast.
Sam Lewis w/ Elana Brody
ALL AGESSEATED SHOWLIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE (guaranteed seating in first 3 rows)SAM LEWIS Sam Lewis has collaborated with everyone from Leon Russell to The Wood Brothers. Chris Stapleton dubbed him “a modern Townes Van Zandt”. He’s often labeled with some form of the word ‘soulful’ (some comparing his voice to molasses), Lewis’ style meets at a juncture of many different genres however he’s discovered what most musicians spend lifetimes working for; the place where feel-good music meets vital social commentary. A decade worth of touring his studio efforts (mostly solo) he has captivated audiences all around the world with his songs and stories that are glued together with a unique stage banter he’s developed from performing in numerous music halls, clubs, theaters, festivals, music cruises and the occasional living room. SOLO (2020) is a solo-acoustic album featuring new songs as well as reimagining previously released songs. Recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville in front of a live audience SOLO is an intimate snapshot that captures Lewis in his element and is certain to be a fan favorite for years to come. ELANA BRODY Atop the West Allegheny mountains, in the least populated county east of the Mississippi, Elana Brody grew up on a farm surrounded by untamed forests as far as the eye could see. Every season, she’d see new plants and animals appear. Rhododendrons, mountain laurel and wild orchid lady slippers. Beavers in the pond and barred owls in the spruce forests. Brody’s family kept a reverential practice of going on quiet walks where she learned to keep her eyes and ears wide open, like a tracker. She brings this kind of attunement to her music—listening for the new, noticing the earthly details and staying agile in every moment. On her forthcoming album, The Garden, Brody brings us back to her childhood homestead, with its fireside harmonies and songs to celebrate the earth’s glory. With no sonic stimulation outside of the winds and wild animals, Brody began making music early. She sang folk songs with her sisters and strung together lines of ecstatic poetry at age four. With the nearest grocery store an hour and a half away, they would listen to, memorize and re-enact musicals on the long drives over the mountains in their gold Ford Explorer. When her family moved to the small town of Staunton, Virginia, she went to the local performing arts high school where she honed her piano skills and learned to catch the wild melodies that flew through her imagination. Brody has remained a prolific songwriter with her honeyed vocals at the center of songs that bloom in a musical ecosystem full of pop, folk, cabaret and gospel sounds.
The JLloyd MashUp: A Tribute to Paul Simon
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYJ LLOYD MASHUP PRESENTS A TRIBUTE TO PAUL SIMON On Sunday, June 16th, The JLloyd MashUp is paying tribute to Paul Simon with a full orchestration of his songs from various points in his career. Ben Falcon will be leading the Vocals along with Debrissa McKinney and Pam Jones. This 12 piece band consists of some of Asheville’s top musicians in the scene boasting a full rhythm section, horn section and vocal choir! Asheville’s JP & Peggy kick things off! The full band for the night consists of: Ben Falcon – Vocals (The Lumpy Heads) Debrissa McKinney – Vocals (Empire Strikes Brass) Pam Jones – Vocals (Dirty Logic) Jonathan Lloyd – Vocals/Trombone (The JLloyd MashUp) Vic Stafford – Drums (Toubab Krewe/Donna The Buffalo) Duane Simpson – Guitar (Dirty Logic/Pimps of Pompe) Jonathan Pearlman – Guitar (Alien Music Club) Thommy Knoles – Keys (The Fritz/Felix Pastorius) Ben Bjorlie – Bass (Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band) Tyler Housholder – Percussion (The Broadcast) Jonathan Cole – Saxophone (Dirty Logic/Electrolust) Justin Ray – Trumpet (Michael Bublé) The JLloyd MashUp explores different genres of music including Acid Jazz, Funk, Soul, Afro Beat, Reggae, Break Beat, Latin and world music. Led and curated by Jonathan Lloyd (Dubconscious/Cadillac Jones), the band is made up of some of Asheville’s busiest and hardest working musicians on the scene. The group features special guests with different material every show. JP & PEGGY Peggy “Chanteuse” Ratusz & Jonathan “JP” Pearlman have been performing together for 15+ years in various configurations and productions. It’s apparent from the get-go that their musical chemistry is fluid and fun. Their playlist is a mashup of Jazz and Blues Standards, Swing, Pop, Roots, Classic Country and originals. JP’s talents as guitarist, vocalist, arranger, producer and composer have made him a sought after musician. Asheville has fallen in love with his self-produced shows via his production house Alien Music Club, paying tribute to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and The Doors. His original show, “And Now for Something Completely Different” is scheduled to debut in 2024 and is made up of some of the best players on the scene including his son Jaron on drums. He is an avid Paul Simon fan, and has performed material by his hero since childhood. He continues to pay homage by doing his best to capture the essence of these quintessential tunes. The “ruby throated” Ratusz is a seasoned, emotive and powerful vocalist and songwriter who has won numerous awards and accolades from The Mountain Xpress, Citizen-Times and The Blues Foundation. Co-producer of many popular and consistent sell-out shows through her Women Who Made Music History LLC, she honors icons Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Etta James, Emmy Lou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Rosanne Cash.
OUTPOST: The Pearl Snap Prophets and Chris McGinnis
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE Jack Marion and The Pearl Snap Prophets bring a youthful-exuberance and high-country swagger to the doorsteps of modern country music. The North Carolina-based band has spent the past 6 years in honky-tonks, bars, and mountain roadhouses, collecting fodder for songs along the way. There are songs about living; written in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They are straight-from-the-hip and straight-from-the heart. No bull-honky. All truth. But they are just as catchy as any songwriting-factory-formed mega hit that will ever curse your ear. “If young country-based bands like Jack Marion and The Pearl Snap Prophets keep raising the standards of what songs can be, maybe we can turn the tides.”- NC Music MagazineOpening set by Chris McGinnis
The Lemon Twigs
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYTHE LEMON TWIGS Following the release of Everything Harmony, which garnered acclaim from Questlove, Iggy Pop, Anthony Fantano, The Guardian, and countless others, The Lemon Twigs—the New York City rock band fronted by brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario—have once again captured the attention of the music listening public. They are in their premature “comeback” stage, and coming back this early has its benefits; the brothers have the energy of 24- and 26- year-olds, plus the experience and songwriting chops of seasoned musicians, having recorded their first album, Do Hollywood, nearly a decade ago at ages 15 and 17. Set for release less than a year after their last album, A Dream Is All We Know is a joyous affair. As the title suggests, it’s less of a sober look at the darker side of life, and more a hopeful sojourn into the realm of dreams. The tone has shifted away from dreary melancholic ballads and moody power pop. Brian and Michael are revisiting their “1968” sound. This album feels closely related to Do Hollywood, but their songwriting and recording techniques have vastly improved over the course of five albums. The brothers combine elements of the Merseybeat sound, the California Beach Boy harmony sound, and Bubblegum to create a unique collection of pop nuggets. (They say it’s part of a new “Merseybeach” movement, sure to catch on, though that fact remains to be seen.) While the album is chock full of progressive pop ideas, it closes with an ode to early rock and roll on“Rock On (Over and Over).” “Rock On” contextualizes the band as part of a lineage of rock and roll that’s never really stopped. In every decade there have been bands that have put their own spin on the music and “push(ed) it on down to the line.” But none have done it with the attention to detail and raw talent of these brothers. For The Lemon Twigs, it took almost a decade for critics and audiences alike to present them with the major accolades they’ve earned this past year. While their initial records were appreciated for the musical proficiency they displayed, the brothers’ past few records have communicated their ideas with more clarity and emotional resonance. In other words, “It took too long to say ‘rock on.” SLIPPERS Slippers’ debut album is called So You Like Slippers?. It’s a cheeky title that feels akin to the kind of scrappy, winking power pop and garage rock that Slippers mastermind Madeline BB is both inspired by and a master of. But if there’s a nit to pick, it’s with the question mark–because there’s really no question about it: you like Slippers. The songs are short but lasting, the sound is raw but punchy, the melodies seem to be precisely calibrated to immediately stick in your brain and stay there, but it all feels fun and effortless in the way that good guitar pop should. This is some of the most downright likable music you will hear this year. So maybe you don’t even know it yet, but you like Slippers.
PATIO: Stephen Evans & the True Grits
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVESTEPHEN EVANS & THE TRUE GRITS After many years of vacillating between being a professional musician and building a nest in Asheville, NC, Stephen Evans finally asked his friends, Brian Shoemaker (bass), Sam Hess (drums), and Woodstock (mandolin), to form the True Grits and make some music together in 2014. The very next year, Stephen Evans & the True Grits released their first LP “Something to Bleed”. Inspired to release more music, they followed two years later with their EP “Under the Bridge.” Both records received local and regional praise for their passion and creativity. Stephen’s strong melodic songwriting style is a blend of vivid imagery, darkness, and hopeful optimism. There’s no denying the feeling that shines through with his evocative vocals and lyrics. Songs like ‘Ghost Among the Trees’, ‘The Garden’, ‘Cherokee Hills’, ‘Shining Star’, and ‘Buzz of Bees’ are beacons of his folk rock song craft. With radio play on Western North Carolina radio stations, as well as shows around the region, Stephen Evans & the True Grits are becoming a local favorite. “Buzz of Bees” is their latest album, released in December of 2022, of folk rock with some songs dipping their toes into other styles like Americana, Latin Folk, and Vaudeville. Singles from the LP, ‘Ghost Among the Trees’, ‘Winning the Day’, and ‘Estefania’, are already receiving radioplay on local stations as well as national online radio and music podcasts. Look for Stephen Evans & the True Grits playing fun live shows all around the area to support this beautiful album. “…overall, I highly recommend this album for those who enjoy folk rock, poetic lyricism, and an engaging sense of fun. The album is a journey through different stages of life, confusion, heartbreak, revelation, and acceptance.” – Alison Price of WNC Original Music Podcast
