John R. Miller with special guest Erika Lewis
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY JOHN R. MILLERJohn R Miller is a true hyphenate artist: singer-songwriter-picker. Every song on his thrilling debut solo album, Depreciated, is lush with intricate wordplay and haunting imagery, as well as being backed by a band that is on fire. One of his biggest long-time fans is roots music favorite Tyler Childers, who says he’s “a well-travelled wordsmith mapping out the world he’s seen, three chords at a time.” Miller is somehow able to transport us to a shadowy honkytonk and get existential all in the same line with his tightly written compositions. Miller’s own guitar-playing is on fine display here along with vocals that evoke the white-waters of the Potomac River rumbling below the high ridges of his native Shenandoah Valley. Depreciated is a collection of eleven gems that take us to his homeplace even while exploring the way we can’t go home again, no matter how much we might ache for it. On the album, Miller says he was eager to combine elements of country, folk, blues, and rock to make his own sound. Recently lost heroes like Prine, Walker, and Shaver served as guideposts for the songcrafting but Miller has completely achieved his own sound. The album is almost novelistic in its journey, not only to the complicated relationship Miller has with the Shenandoah Valley but also into the mind of someone going through transitions. “I wrote most of these songs after finding myself single and without a band for the first time in a long while,” Miller says. “I stumbled to Nashville and started to figure things out, so a lot of these have the feel of closing a chapter.” Miller grew up in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia near the Potomac River. “There are three or four little towns I know well that make up the region,” he says, name-checking places like Martinsburg, Shepherdstown, Hedgesville, and Keyes Gap. “It’s a haunted place. In some ways it’s frozen in time. So much old stuff has lingered there, and its history is still very present.” As much as Miller loves where he’s from, he’s always had a complicated relationship with home and never could figure out what to do with himself there. “I just wanted to make music, and there’s no real infrastructure for that there. We had to travel to play regularly and as teenagers most of our gigs were spent playing in old church halls or Ruritan Clubs.” He was raised “kinda sorta Catholic” and although he gave up on that as a teenager, he says “it follows me everywhere, still.”ERIKA LEWISKnown for her lengthy tenure touring and busking with beloved New Orleans jazz band Tuba Skinny, prolific songwriter and singer Erika Lewis has been churning out American originals all her own for the past several years. From classic country to cosmic Americana to dreamy indie folk, Lewis continues to dip her toes more deeply into an ever-expanding pool of roots music styles. Her new record A Walk Around the Sun is a testament to Lewis’ songwriting prowess and exceptional vocal ability. Produced by John James Tourville (The Deslondes), A Walk Around the Sun features 11 all-original songs exploring the gray areas between love and loss, joy and grief, longing and contentment. Though her songwriting shines brightly, it’s never at the cost of melody or arrangement; complete with sweeping strings, pedal steel, and even the occasional fuzz of a psych-rock guitar solo, Lewis’ voice soars with emotion and texture throughout.
Mountain Grass Unit: Summer Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYMOUNTAIN GRASS UNITThe Mountain Grass Unit consists of three Birmingham pickers: Drury Anderson (mandolin and vocals), Luke Black (acoustic guitar and banjo), and Sam Wilson (upright bass). The Mountain Grass Unit has played music festivals, private functions and multiple music venues, playing bluegrass tunes and adding a bluegrass touch to country, jazz, funk, rock, and even metal. With the addition of Luke Black and Sam Wilson on harmonies, The Mountain Grass Unit has established the firm foundation to take on not only the vocal harmonies of traditional bluegrass tunes, but also the freedom to adapt songs from various genres to an all-acoustic format. Aside from their original songs, all three are equally comfortable restyling a Tony Rice number, a classic Grateful Dead tune, or covering contemporary acoustic masters like Billy Strings. The youthful exuberance and energy they bring to the stage is always remarkable. Their competency at what they do was best described by Birmingham music promoter Steve Masterson when the boys performed at his Acoustic Café festival: “They don’t just play good for their age, they play good. Period”. Sam, Luke, and Drury are excited to share with their audiences this new and exciting musical chapter.
The Grateful Brothers
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYTHE GRATEFUL BROTHERS The Grateful Brothers pay tribute to two of the richest catalogs of music in American history: The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band. Formed in early 2016, The Grateful Brothers combine the catalogs of The Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead. Often intertwining songs through segues and transitions, they carry out the improvisational spirit of the two groups in their own space. They use the songs as more of a template rather than adhering to strict album-style covers, creating a unique, high-energy, and genuine crowd experience at every performance. The seven musicians making up the band have known each other and played in various outfits with one another for upwards of twenty years. The camaraderie between them is obvious and the familiarity leads to the ease of musical exploration.FERN
OUTPOST: Kevin Daniel & The Bottom Line
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE Kevin Daniel & The Bottom LineHas been described as “radio and TV ready with enough darkness creeping in around the edges to appeal to fans of Jason Isbell & Langhorne Slim.” Daniel showcases a masterful ability as a songwriter to seamlessly incorporate bits of rock, soul, country, blues, roots and Appalachia into thoughtful examination of pain and awakenings, visceral and spiritual. A big-voiced crooner with a heart of gold, Kevin strikes a chord with “his raw and soulful, Chris Stapleton-esque timbre.”Melissa McKinney writes songs about the trauma and pain that every person inevitably experiences in their lives. She sings these songs as a cry for hope, healing, and inspiration. She is passionate about creating community and hopes to create Joy through music in a way that makes a positive impact on the world.
OUTPOST: Dirty Dead
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEDirty Dead Began in the fall of 2016 as a Grateful Dead tribute band based in Asheville NC. Since they have earned a large local and regional fan-base for their live performances of unique, grungy, and up-tempo versions of the Dead & JGB catalog. In the years following, they have expanded from Asheville NC, and regularly appear in Knoxville TN, Greenville SC, and other cities and mountain towns surrounding their home base.
OUTPOST: Dirty Dead
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEDirty Dead Began in the fall of 2016 as a Grateful Dead tribute band based in Asheville NC. Since they have earned a large local and regional fan-base for their live performances of unique, grungy, and up-tempo versions of the Dead & JGB catalog. In the years following, they have expanded from Asheville NC, and regularly appear in Knoxville TN, Greenville SC, and other cities and mountain towns surrounding their home base.
OUTPOST: Dirty Dead
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEDirty Dead Began in the fall of 2016 as a Grateful Dead tribute band based in Asheville NC. Since they have earned a large local and regional fan-base for their live performances of unique, grungy, and up-tempo versions of the Dead & JGB catalog. In the years following, they have expanded from Asheville NC, and regularly appear in Knoxville TN, Greenville SC, and other cities and mountain towns surrounding their home base.
OUTPOST: Dirty Dead
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEDirty Dead Began in the fall of 2016 as a Grateful Dead tribute band based in Asheville NC. Since they have earned a large local and regional fan-base for their live performances of unique, grungy, and up-tempo versions of the Dead & JGB catalog. In the years following, they have expanded from Asheville NC, and regularly appear in Knoxville TN, Greenville SC, and other cities and mountain towns surrounding their home base.
PATIO: Carpal Tullar
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVECARPAL TULLARCarpal Tullar is a compelling rock/art pop band based in Asheville, NC. Chris Tullar has been making Carpal Tullar albums for nearly 25 years, so the band plays a wide variety of originals and also some covers. The music is infectious, lyrically captivating, and spattered with influences from the greats of the 1960s and 70s.The current live band has been active since 2016, and consists of Chris Tullar (lead vocals, keys, guitar), Dave Baker (backing vocals, guitar, keys), Rob Heyer (bass), and Troy Crossley (drums, vocals), whom you may recognize from The Lefties, Ska City, or Modern Strangers.Carpal Tullar has been played on 98.1 The River, WNCW, Asheville FM, appeared on NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast, opened for Tiffany, and even made a musical appearance on the popular NPR radio show Car Talk. In 2022, Carpal Tullar’s song, TSA, was chosen by Holy Crap Records as a top ten song of 2021. The video for that song was chosen for the Crowd Favorite award at the 2022 Music Video Asheville awards.
PATIO: Country Brunch w/ Charles Latham & The Borrowed Band
– ALL AGES (free admission for kids) – LIMITED SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED Country Brunch at The Grey Eagle – a music series for early birds. Country Brunch showcases a goldmine of local country bands that can usually only be found playing late nights in local and regional venues, and brings them out into the light of day for lovers of an early matinee show. The series runs monthly with a different band each month. Spring/Summer Lineup: APR 14- Laurel Lee and the Escapees MAY 12 – My New Favorites JUNE 9 – Charles Latham & The Borrowed Band JULY 7 – Brody Hunt and the Handfuls Show runs 11am-2pm on the patio stage. Food and drink available from The Grey Eagle Taqueria. Family friendly show! Kids get in free. Come fill your Sunday day with food, drink, fun and some of the best live music Asheville has to offer – all in one place.
