PATIO: George Shingleton
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEDGEORGE SHINGLETON Generations of Shingleton men have played an amalgam of bluegrass and the Appalachian “hill country” music familiar in their area of rural West Virginia, but George Shingleton was the first to make the move from the local church choir to Nashville. Despite a childhood spent with music at the forefront, however, he didn’t seriously begin writing songs until he was an adult. Shingleton’s second full-length album, 2020’s Out All Nighter, proved him “a skilled song craftsman and a talented vocalist… straddling the line between outlaw country and southern rock in his own original style” (Glide Magazine), and his Shot or Two EP, released in January 2023, paired him once again with dear friend Dave Pahanish as his producer. Shingleton is working on more new material, to be released later this year, and is committed to maintaining authenticity and integrity within his stories and sound — a move that has, throughout his career, garnered him the respect of artists such as Bucky Covington, Charlie Daniels, John Michael Montgomery, Darryl Worley, and others who have invited Shingleton to share the stage.
OUTPOST: Indigo De Souza
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE This is a benefit show for a dear friend’s medical bills and needed procedure.Indigo De Souza – indigodesouza.comAstoria – facebook.com/astoriamusicofficial
Eliza McLamb
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYELIZA McLAMBListening to Eliza McLamb lilt her vivid, carefully-placed lyrics rife with empathy, emotion, and sensitivity, you get the sense that this is an artist who takes her time. Her earliest releases were recorded in a laundry shed, with little else but her voice and a guitar. Now, with the help of producer Sarah Tudzin (aka illuminati hotties), her sound has opened up into gut-wrenching riffs and lush, full soundscapes — but that original intimacy remains, unwavering and unshakeable even as the sonic world around her expands. While her audience connects deeply with the experiences and emotions put forward in her work, McLamb isn’t performing for the observer: her creative process is a personal practice that borders on spiritual. She’s been writing songs since she was six, and never really expected anyone to listen except herself. Even as her work spread to millions of viewers online, she never divested from her belief in art as a personal — almost therapeutic — act. The fact that her intimate anxieties and experiences can resonate so deeply with so many strangers only confirms the philosophy that runs through her oeuvre: that strong emotions are what connect us all to each other, and that we’re all a lot more connected than we may think. McLamb doesn’t write her music to be gospel — to her audience, it’s something more like a mirror. When you connect with what she writes, you’re really using her writing as an intermediary to connect with yourself. Her work encourages you to self-reflect, accept sensitivity, embrace connection, and perhaps most of all, feel as deeply as you possibly can. MINI TREES Lexi Vega, better known by her stage name Mini Trees, is an American indie rock musician based in Los Angeles. She has toured with Julien Baker as well as Tasha, Briston Maroney, Hovvdy, and Deep Sea Diver. Lexi Vega.
Sam Barber – Till I Return Tour
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYSAM BARBERSam Barber was raised on a farm in a small town in Southeast Missouri surrounded by a supportive family and an abundance of friends. Most of his childhood was devoted to athletics where he learned many lessons such as the importance of a team, practice, discipline, respect and hard work. Music has not always been his passion and as a child, he never participated in music class or music performances. Sam’s music journey has been completely unplanned and his success continues to astound him. When he was 16, Sam picked up his great grandfather’s Gibson, out of tune with 5 strings and fell in love with the art of playing. He soon learned that he also had the God-given talent to sing along. Sam’s vision is to continue to grow and become stronger as a vocalist and songwriter. He wants to deliver songs that people feel in their soul. Above all, he wants to stay true to his faith, the man he truly is, and the type of music he wants to make without boundaries or conforming. Since releasing Straight and Narrow in November 2022 Sam’s social reach has soared past a million followers and garnered over 4.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Sam has hit the Global viral charts and reached #1 in UK, Aus, Ire and more.LILY FITTS At the age of 22, Lily Fitts showcases a musical artistry that is distinguished by the delicate nuances and infectious raspy quality of her voice. Her alternative country folk compositions resonate with a rare balance, where the fragility of her delivery intertwines seamlessly with a captivating and contagious tone. Her music reflects her Boston roots, creating songs that feel warm and relatable. The authenticity in her lyrics adds a deep and genuine touch to her compositions. Lily has been singing since childhood and started sharing her music on YouTube and Vine at just 9 years old. Over the past year, her acoustic renditions, showcased on TikTok and Reels, have garnered commendable attention from distinguished artists such as Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan, The Lumineers, Sam Barber, Mt. Joy, and others. In August 2023, Lily made her debut performance at Zach Bryan’s sold-out Crypto Arena show in LA, singing “Oklahoma City.” Lily is gearing up to unleash a series of singles at the start of 2024, paving the way for the unveiling of an EP in late spring. She looks forward to hitting the road for more frequent touring, strategically timed around the release of her singles and EP to connect intimately with her fans.
Andy Shauf at Asheville Masonic Temple
– ALL AGE- SEATED SHOW – AT ASHEVILLE MASONIC TEMPLE (80 BROADWAY ST) ANDY SHAUF Andy Shauf’s latest album, Norm, out now on ANTI-, and presents its lead single/video, “Wasted On You.” In conjunction, Shauf announces a 2023 Norm Tour including some of his biggest shows to-date (tickets are on sale this Friday). Hailed as “a gifted storyteller” (NPR Music) for 2016’s The Party and 2020’s The Neon Skyline, Shauf writes albums that unfold like short fiction, full of colorful characters, fine details and a rich emotional depth. With Norm, however, Shauf has slyly deconstructed and reshaped the style for which he’s been celebrated, elevating his songwriting with intricate layers and perspectives, challenging himself to find a new direction. Under the guise of an intoxicating collection of jazz-inflected romantic ballads, his storytelling has become decidedly more oblique, hinting at ominous situations and dark motivations. Shauf had planned to be touring around The Neon Skyline but, like many of us in the early days of the pandemic, he spent a lot of time alone instead. He sequestered himself in his garage studio, self-producing and playing every instrument on Norm, a collection of more conventional songs written predominantly on guitar, piano and synths. The latter was essential to creating the more spacious and tactile sounds he sought. Shauf’s goals were uncomplicated: create something melody-driven rather than chord-driven, and make it modern. Shauf recruited Neal Pogue (Tyler, the Creator, Janelle Monae, Outkast), a prodigious shaper of genre-and-time-defying tracks, to mix the album, further building on the gently levitating, synth-laden atmospherics. During this period, he was captivated by David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, which seemed to validate Shauf’s instinct to mix perspectives and tinker with shadowy narratives. He even rewrote all of the album’s original lyrics, recreating the story, and enlisting Nicholas Olson as a story editor – it was only after writing the title track that Shauf decided to build a narrative around the character Norm. “The character of Norm is introduced in a really nice way,” Shauf says of the pleasant songs that precede the album’s centerpiece. “But the closer you pay attention to the record, the more you’re going to realize that it’s sinister.” After gaining indie notoriety with The Party and a Polaris Music Prize nomination, performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and CBS This Morning: Saturday, and praise from the likes of Pitchfork, ESQUIRE, NPR Music, Stereogum, The Atlantic and beyond for The Neon Skyline, Shauf has left the realm of things he’s known on his third album, pivoting away from the semi-autobiographical, and pushing himself to grow as a songwriter in an entirely different way. With Norm, he recreated his idea of a concept album, and also made it about faith and fatalism. But Shauf has realized he doesn’t need to moralize. He’s assigned that task to us, the listeners. At once narrators and investigators, we fill in the blanks.LUTALOAfter releasing their 2022 debut EP, Once Now, Then Again, the 24-year-old born Lutalo Jones emerged as a rising presence in the indie world, catching the attention of Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, who invited the young musician on tour. Along with the vinyl release of that breakthrough project, they are releasing its companion EP, AGAIN, which reveals their prenaturally masterful range in sonic expression and philosophical thought.
Robin Plemmons – Spread Eagle
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEHearts & Buttholes presents: Robin Plemmons – Spread EagleIt’s a comedy thing about Crohn’s. This shit isn’t funny (but sometimes it totally is). Hearts & Buttholes is the love child of Robin Plemmons & Melanie Losacco. It’s like if Brené Brown was R-rated, depressed, & had a busted asshole.As the show opener, Melanie will be warming us up in more ways than one.And Robin will be coming in strong with amusing visuals & insightful commentary on her journey through all of the literal & emotional shit that comes with chronic illness.
COVERFEST III: A Benefit for Asheville Middle School
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM- PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT ASHEVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOLCOVERFEST IIISunday January 14th, the Grey Eagle will host Coverfest III: “A Benefit for Asheville Middle”. This special community event will raise funds for Asheville Middle School’s annual 8th Grade capstone trip to Washington DC. Several of Asheville’s amazing bands will donate their time & talent to perform mini-sets of covers throughout the day. Come hungry and get dinner at the Grey Eagle Taqueria as this year’s Coverfest promises to be a uniquely entertaining night of music & community all for a great cause. Doors 4pm, show 5pm till 10pm. FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM:Drunken PrayerDulci EllenbergerFashion BathHearts Gone SouthJeff Santiago y Los GatosKid BillyKrave AmikoScott Stetson’s Stink Bug BandTin Roof EchoUpland Drive
Princess Goes
ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLY PRINCESS GOES Michael C. Hall: Vocals Matt Katz-Bohen: Keyboards Peter Yanowitz: Drums “We’re a weird band,” states Princess Goes drummer Peter Yanowitz. He’s not wrong. But weird like David Bowie, Bjork and Brian Wilson’s Smile might be termed “weird.” In other words: unconventional and quite possibly irresistible. Princess Goes’ second full-length album, the 12-song Come of Age, is the trio’s most accessible work to date, yet it’s still chock-full of innovative songs that traverse a thrilling and often surprising sonic and lyrical landscape. The first single, “Shimmer,” highlights Michael C. Hall’s powerful, ethereal vocals atop quietly propulsive rhythm lines, and features Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as guest guitarist. “Shimmer”’s equally stunning and expansive video was directed by Tim Richardson (Elton John, Billie Eilish, Givenchy). “Take Me Home” serves up a soaring emotive trippiness that morphs into headbanging moments worthy of the heaviest metaller or your favorite Zeppelin album, while the haunting “Jetpack” showcase Hall’s poignant lyrics and penetrative voice, at once bell-clear and diaphanous, as the song builds to a wild and harrowing conclusion. The 12 songs on Come of Age are by turns foreboding, mystical and danceable, Ray Bradbury- meets-the-Jetsons in its galactic aural scope. The ominous semi-drone beginning of “Blur” morphs into synthwave spectacularness, the song’s dynamics suiting Hall’s lyrics about “an illicit formative encounter.” Some of Hall’s most pointed writing is on the title track, “Come of Age,” the irresistibly bouncy musicality cut by the singer’s trenchant words: “Godzilla goggles seeing nothing but King Kong makes it hard to get along,” he sings, before deadpanning, “did you really mean it when you told me I was good / or are you just a devil spitting Hollywood.” “Come of Age,” explains Hall, is neither a command that the audience come of age, nor a suggestion that Princess Goes has reached some adulting milestone. As with much of what the trio does, it just intuitively felt right. It was likewise an easy decision to include a remixed version of a previously released song, the fan favorite “Let It Go.” Princess Goes felt the cut, as originally written, was sort of an outlier. It started with Yanowitz. Katz-Bohen took it home, sped it up and it became a little more EDM, but also fun, poppy, and anthemic. The LP’s mixer and frequent collaborator Brandon Bost (HAIM, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga) worked on the song with the Princess Goes (and also plays some bass and keys to the album), and now the band can hardly wait to play the new, slightly more expeditious incarnation of “Let it Go” live. Hall, Katz-Bohen and Yanowitz are seasoned performers forging new creative ground together in PG: Hall is best known for playing moralistic serial killer Dexter Morgan from Showtime hit Dexter as well as David Fisher from HBO’s revered Six Feet Under. Katz-Bohen has played with Blondie since 2008, while Yanowitz is a veteran of the Wallflowers and his own group, Morningwood. Exclamation Pony
The Record Company
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYTHE RECORD COMPANY At 2pm on December 19, 2022 — the dreaded final day of the year in the music business — The Record Company got a telephone call from the, um, record company. It was the head of the label, who’d been sitting on their new demos for months, while the band sat in limbo. It was a scene out of a movie about the bad luck bands sometimes have with big record labels: a pleasant “hello” led to a Charlie Brown’s teacher murmur that amounted to “you’re dropped from the label, Happy Christmas, fellas.” Apparently, the label was going “in a different direction” — Hollywood code for “The Record Company’s many radio hits and Grammy nomination are no guarantee that you’re going to push further into their idea of mainstream, or that you’re great at TikTok.” “It was tough to swallow,” says bassist Alex Stiff, “because we had already set out to write the most stripped-back and raw record we’d done in years, and they had demos of this new music, and ultimately dropped us. Combine that with some new economic realities, a canceled tour, and we really felt like everything was crashing down at once.” On The 4th Album, The Record Company see that rejection as a rite of renewal, a way to cleanse themselves, to start over. They head back to their roots: creating the raw, self-produced, blues-based music that in past years earned them multiple Billboard #1 AAA songs, a Grammy nomination, and brought them from playing small clubs to arena tours supporting John Mayer and Bob Seger. These “roots” would include half-working dumpster guitars, no-name drum sets from garage sales, no click tracks or studio tricks, all recorded in the bass player’s living room. “Almost every band you love at some point tends to drift away from that raw spark that made them unique in the first place,” says drummer Marc Cazorla. “They search for bigger sounds, bigger budgets, more expensive instruments, producers, mixers, etc. We’ve been subject to that as well, but now we’ve come back full circle to what matters most: making raw, honest music that moves peoples’ souls.” The band titled the new collection “The 4th Album” to signify the start of a new chapter. When the needle drops, we hear TRC lead singer Chris Vos spit out an offhanded quip: “I ain’t ever givin’ up,” an impromptu line that is an instant touchstone for anyone who’s ever seen their dreams fading, and then been able to regain hope. That line quickly became a call-to-arms for the band and a rock-solid theme for this album. The 4th Album finds the band at peace with themselves operating as outsiders in an ever- changing musical landscape. “You’re not going to find us posting goofy videos, salad recipes, or telling the internet what every song is about,” says Chris. “We’ve had some ups and downs, but we’ve managed to find a way through it, and put it all back into the music.” JESSE AHERN When Jesse Ahern walks onstage, he looks like a regular guy-albeit one with a six string strapped across his body and an anchor tattoo under his right eye. As he tears through his set, easily rousing brand new crowds to shout his choruses back in his face, it’s clear Jesse could be everybody’s friend.
Big Freedia’s Christmas in Central City Tour
– ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLYBig Freedia has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold will go to The Ally Coalition’s work to support homeless and at-risk LGBTQIA+ youth. Asheville and Knoxville are rescheduled dates and will not be participating in the PLUS1 partnership, but ticket buyers should keep an eye out for ways to work with The Ally Coalition on getting involved in local LGBTQIA+ organizations in their city!BIG FREEDIA New Orleans icon Big Freedia is dreaming of the future of bounce music. Over the past two decades, the Queen of Bounce has expanded the booming sounds of Southern rap on a string of high-energy, twerk-inducing projects, while showcasing her inimitable charisma on blockbuster hits by Drake and Beyoncé. But where some might rest on their laurels, the Queen Diva still sees plenty of opportunity to expand her empire. “Bounce has been through many iterations—from Triggerman to Sissy to Cash Money Bounce—but my new single is something I call Bigga Bounce,” says Freedia, heralding this new chapter for the genre. “Welcome to Central City, y’all, where I pay homage to my city, my roots, hip-hop, and to the art of creating a new sound.” The tireless mogul broke into television in 2013 with Fuse’s Big Freedia Bounces Back, released her memoir Big Freedia: God Save The Queen Diva in 2015, launched a cannabis line called Royal Bud in 2022, and is on track to open her very own Hotel Freedia in New Orleans in 2024. In addition to promoting Central City Freestyle, and $100 Bill Ft. Ciara, the Queen Diva is gearing up to launch a new original series, Big Freedia Means Business, which will explore her prolific entrepreneurial endeavors. Visuals and even more new music are already in the works too. But in the greater scheme of things, Big Freedia hopes her voice and platform as an unapologetically authentic artist will inspire, especially at a time when the rights of LGBTQ+ people are under constant attack. “We gotta keep pushing, and I hope this album speaks to my community and everyone who feels they don’t have a voice,” she adds. “I am living proof of why you don’t let yourself get dragged down. We keep going. We keep fighting.”HAIKU HANDSANJELIKA “JELLY” JOSEPH
