Pierce Edens Album Release Show
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYPIERCE EDENS A Life In Trade, the fifth studio album from Asheville-based Pierce Edens, is due September 15, 2023. Come help us celebrate with his Album Release Party, here at the Grey Eagle! Edens’ artistic nature spans multiple disciplines. A veteran touring musician, he has alternated seamlessly between a breakneck life on the road and long stints at his idyllic family homestead for the better part of a decade. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic halted almost all aspects of daily life, Edens embraced solitary living on his multi-acre property, tending religiously to the land before an enthusiastic digital audience. For months on end, Edens would share raw, unprompted videos of solo porch-picking sessions, farm tours, and heartfelt sit-down conversations with his social media fans. Through his relatability, he colored beautifully those things that were difficult to find at the time – a sense of belonging and purpose, humor, and normalcy. Despite the abysmal nature of the time, creative inspiration was in generous supply. The therapeutic act of shepherding his land not only rewarded Edens in harvest, it uncovered a rich garden bed of imagination, sprouting seeds for new song ideas and rogue lyrics that would eventually make up A Life In Trade. Honoring the magic of collaboration, the title A Life in Trade harkens back to a business deal that Edens made with Mike Savino of the bands Tall Tall Trees and Kishi Bashi. Savino, in search of a carpenter to help him build a recording studio, called on Edens, whom he knew had the skills and experience to bring his vision to life. In lieu of payment, the musicians traded time for time: building for recording; trim for tracking; flooring for mixing; soundproofing for sound making. The byproducts of such an agreement reached further than either one of them could predict. Memorializing a unique chapter of uncertainty and estrangement in our global fabric, the 40-minute listen underwrites the beauty and long-lasting impact of connection in spite of the hurdles such an era presents. With acceptance and appreciation for the cards dealt before him, Edens offers his contribution to the tapestry of today, sewing heirloom seeds to be enjoyed by future generations. A Life in Trade will be available for streaming, download, and purchase on September 15, 2023. Listen to the first single, “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” now wherever you hear music. For more information on Pierce Edens, visit pierceedens.com/. MOSES ATWOOD
OUTPOST: Krave Amiko
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEAsheville-based 5-piece Krave Amiko was formed by Rob Walsh in 2019 alongside singer Stephanie Barcelona, guitarist Nestor Teran, drummer Jonanthan “Chato” Harwood, and bassist Sam Barker. With a focus on lyrical storytelling, catchy melodies, and strong hooks, Krave Amiko have created their own eclectic and unique blend of genres dubbed “indie-alternapop.”
LATE SHOW: Dinosaur Jr
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- LATE SHOW (9:30PM DOORS / 10:00PM SHOW)DINOSAUR JR Here is Sweep It Into Space, the fifth new studio album cut by Dinosaur Jr.. during the 13th year of their rebirth. Originally scheduled for issue in mid 2020, this record’s temporal trajectory was thwarted by the coming of the Plague. But it would take more than a mere Plague to tamp down the exquisite fury of this trio when they are fully dialed-in. And Sweep It Into Space is a masterpiece of zoned dialing. In the decades since the release of Dinosaur Jr.’s original triptych of foundational albums, it has become clear that their sound — once hailed as a sort of almost-tamed noise — is/was/always-has-been fully functioning pop music of a sort. The subsequent generations of bands who grew up breathing Dino’s fumes managed to tinker around with the edges of their original post-hardcore song-forms enough for listeners to realize there had always been melodies at the center of everything they did. What Dinosaur Jr.. produces is nothing but a beautiful new version of the rock continuum — riff, power, beat and longing, created with an eye on the infinite future. Recorded, as usual, at Amherst’s Biquiteen, the sessions for Sweep It Into Space began in the late Autumn of 2019, following a West Coast/South East tour. The only extra musician used this time with Kurt Vile. J Mascis says, “Kurt played little lead things, like 12 string one at the beginning of ‘I Ran Away.’ Then I ended up just mimicking a few things he’d done. I was listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy, so I was trying to get some of that dueling twin lead sound. (laughs)” “But the recording session was pretty well finished by the time things really hit the fan. So I just ended up doing more things by myself. Like the mini digital mellotron on ‘Take It Back.’ Originally I’d thought I’d have Ken Mauri (who has done keyboard work for Dino in the past) come in and play piano. But when the Lock Down happened in March, that meant I was on my own. But it was cool.” Indeed, Sweep It Into Space is a very cool album. As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album’s dozen tunes and Murph’s pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. Lou’s songs here are as elegant as always. “Garden” is a mid-paced ballad with genteel guitar filigree giving it a ’60 Brit feel in spots. And the album’s closer, “You Wonder,” is a strangely excellent answer to the question — “How would Blue Oyster Cult handle a country tune?” J’s tracks flow and flower in the different directions he often follows. Some are guitar howlers, like “I Met the Stones,” with a string sound midway between Hendrix and Asheton. Some are power ballads, like “And Me,” its lyrics atomized in a manner invented by Mascis, then famously borrowed by Kurt Cobain. And there are anomalies, like “Take It Back,” which starts with a blue-beat rhythm putting one in mind of Keith Richards’ Jamaican explorations (at least for a little bit.) But there are very few moments where you wouldn’t know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr.. in blindfolded needle drop. They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with Sweep It Into Space, without ever losing their central core. So if you ever do find yourself swept into space (hey, who knows?), I just hope these tunes are on your playlist. — Byron Coley
Mapache
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYMAPACHE Roscoe is a road dog. The 14-year-old Boston Terrier has been there for the whole ride of Mapache, Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci’s band, which has grown from being the casual project of two longtime buds to one of the most formidable cosmic-folk acts around. “Roscoe’s been through a lot of shit,” says Blasucci, the dog’s formal owner. “He’s been all around the country, come on tour a little bit.” With some bemused pride, Finch points out that, for a few years, he and Blasucci bunked together in a room in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that was just big enough to fit two twin beds. “It was the two of us and the dog,” he laughs. Naturally, Roscoe has found himself the subject of a good handful of Mapache songs in the past—and on Roscoe’s Dream, the band’s third LP of originals, he takes center stage. (That’s him in quilt form on the album cover.) “I Love My Dog” opens up the album with a blissed-out stack of acoustic guitars and a lyrical explanation of one of Roscoe’s many talents: “I love my dog / Keepin’ the policeman out.” Just as much an easygoing trip with Gram Parsons into the desert as a mad dash with the Grateful Dead away from the law, Roscoe’s Dream is the purest distillation yet of the distinct Mapache sound, which has been brewing for many years now. Finch and Blasucci first met as students at La Cañada High School, just north of Los Angeles: “There wasn’t much supervision or anything,” remembers Blasucci. “It was really nice. And we got to just play guitars together.” So when it came time to record Roscoe’s Dream, they didn’t mess with the formula. The band booked some time at Horne’s Lone Palm Studio and called in a handful of friends to play additional parts, including Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwood Sparks on melodica and lap steel on a couple tracks. The family affair has always been how the band likes to work, but this time they approached it on a grander scale than before, recording live as a full group in some cases, as opposed to working over Finch and Blasucci’s initial guitar/vocal parts. “It was a bit more of a band experience,” explains Finch. The finished product is an ode to the past as well as a bridge forward. Covers of songs like Bo Diddley’s “Diana” and Gabby Pahinui’s “Kaua‘i Beauty” act as nods to heroes of theirs while originals like “Man and Woman” and “Pearl to the Swine” take the template of golden-age rock and lovingly deconstruct it in a modernist lens. “(They Don’t Know) At the Beach” was inspired by the idea of what trailblazing oldies DJ Art Laboe might like—but the gentle ripper of a song would fit right in at a backyard party in 2022.JOHNNY PAYNE Johnny Payne is in it for the music. He’d much rather be in the public ear than the public eye. So we’ll just introduce him to you and let his new album speak for itself. Johnny spent much of his 20’s in The Shilohs. He wrote and produced more than half of the band’s material that contributed to 3 full length albums and an assortment of other releases. Since leaving the group a few years ago, he has been producing, recording for film and quietly releasing his own music. One such release was the much loved “Johnny” EP, which was recorded and co-produced by Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley of Tennis.
PATIO: Will Overman (solo)
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDWILL OVERMAN Making a living in music isn’t easy, especially when it seems like listeners’ tastes change with the wind and algorithms are updated constantly, teasing artists with catching the elusive dollar. Central VA based singer-songwriter Will Overman however; has found a way to thrive in a seemingly constant state of transition. Will Overman’s 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, and despite taking time to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail and move to Vermont for a semester of college, he capitalized on his move back to Virginia the following spring by 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 in the spring of 2017, when Will graduated from UVA and the band decided to go their separate ways.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. Though proud of the final product, following its release, Will took a step back from music for over a year as he re-evaluated whether he could build a sustainable career as a writer and touring musician. Even while putting distance between himself and music, Will couldn’t keep himselffrom writing new songs, and following a return to Virginia in mid-2019, Will 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. Armed with a powerful voice and powerful convictions, Will Overman is slowly but surely building a name for himself performing throughout the east coast at venues and festivals such as (The Jefferson Theater, Fall for Greenville, The Basement) and supporting artists like (Joe Pug, Christian Lopez, Dead Horses, Grady Spencer & the Work, etc.). 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.
OUTPOST: Rooster
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEAsheville band Rooster is Annie Myers and Erin Kinard and was formed in 2016 around a campfire, but the two had performed separately for many years prior. Since then, they have performed throughout Western North Carolina, creating new songs and arrangements of beloved Americana. They perform an energetic combination of folk-country and classic Americana, driven by their powerful vocal harmony and soulful drum/guitar instrumentation. Rooster’s debut album ‘Bloodroot’ was recorded in Swannanoa in 2019, released in March of 2020 and made it on WNCW’s top 100 albums of that year. Their orchestrations are clean and uncluttered but with a raw, gritty edge. They seem right at home in a coffee house, wine bar, brew pub, honky-tonk or at a backyard barbecue.
OUTPOST: Rotations AVL
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEEVERY (taco) TUESDAY come down to The Outpost for some music presented by Rotations AVL DJ group, outdoor games, and tacos from Dirty Gertie’s Taco Stand!! 6-9 pm.
PATIO: Will Easter and the Nomads w/ Zach Warren
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDWILL EASTER AND THE NOMADS Will Easter has always been a creator. “I love seeing something come from nothing” he states as if it’s the most true thing he knows. Art, construction, or music, Will’s hands have alway been creating. Though raised in a musical family, Will wasn’t always set on being a musician. It was once he began writing and performing his own songs, that Will found his calling. Songwriting in the throughline between Will’s raising in a porch picking family and his love of bringing something new into the world. Will’s music doesn’t neatly fit in any genre. His songs range from rollicking dance tunes like “River Song” that leave a crowd on its feet, to “Nostalgic Search” which feels like a gospel song being belted in a mountain church, to “Carolina Home” where he works through the complicated emotions of leaving home. Will writes in a straight, plain english, that fully captures his emotions and leaves the listener feeling surprised at the emotions contained in such simple statements such as “Though I might be gone for quite some time, the only things separating us will be miles.” Much like Will himself, his writing is stripped of embellishments and flair. “I just want to tell the truth. Even if it’s messy.” states Will, and he does just that. His style of writing is specific enough that you can feel his exact emotions, but vague enough that it calls your own memories of those emotions to the front of your mind. Will’s live shows (especially with his full band, The Nomads) are electric. A front man through and through, WIll knows how to connect with his audience. You can feel him weaving a thread through each member and pulling them closer together, closer to his music. He has shared the stage with acts synonymous with Folk and Bluegrass like the legendary Jim Avett, David Childers, Time Sawyer, Brooks Forsyth, The Kruger Brothers, Rhonda Vincent and Danger Muffin. He is the 2022 winner of the prestigious Merlefest band competition. An accomplishment on its own, this was made even more joyous for Will, who attended Wilkes Community College, whose grounds host Merlefest each April. Will Easter is an artist on the rise. Go catch him live while his venues are still intimate. ZACH WARREN Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Zachary Warren at his core, is a songwriter. As a teen, he began remedially filling journals and finding melodies to match. Now, after amble incubation, is prepared for the next step: offering. Growing up in a home with close quarters, his music naturally settled into a place of gentleness: light finger-picking and hushed singing, so as not to disturb his sleeping family. His style began taking shape during nightly front-porch listening sessions, where he learned the power of dynamics from Sam Cooke and the almost-hypnotic effect of clever storytelling from Tom T. Hall. Eventually, he came across songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, and Karen Dalton who taught living intentionally for song’s sake and poets like William Carlos Williams, who emphasized a grounded perception of the local. Emerging from necessity, centered by family, propelled by restlessness, Zachary hopes his songs encapsulate sincere, relatable narratives.
Noah Gundersen
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- LIMITED NUMBER OF “MOMENT LIKE THIS” VIP EXPERIENCES AVAILABLE, INCLUDING: One General Admission ticket to see Noah Gundersen live Private pre-show acoustic performance (2-3 songs) Moderated Q&A with Noah Signed photograph Exclusive VIP merch including tote bag, personalized journal and pen Commemorative VIP laminate Early entry to the venue NOAH GUNDERSENIn November of 2021, we started this record at Sage Arts Studio in Arlington, Washington. The south fork of the Stillaguamish River runs through the property – a rapid, churning force. There is a deep, smoldering green and gray that envelops the Pacific Northwest in the winter. The sun sets around 4:30 p.m. It’s the perfect time to make an album.Andy Park, Dave Dalton, Sean Lane, Harrison Whitford, Dave Dawda, and I learned and tracked 11 songs in five days. Most of it was done live, with all of us playing together in the same room. These guys are incredibly talented musicians and it was a privilege to make this record with them. This is the third record Andy and I have made together and I am continuously grateful for his guidance. My sister, Abby, contributed beautiful string arrangements and harmonies, once again playing an integral part as she has on all my records.These last several years have been ones of significant personal change. I got married to my lovely wife, Misha, taking a deeper step into the uncharted territory of building a life with another person, pushing past my former limits of commitment. We bought a little house in a small town in Washington with our two (now three) dogs and our cat. It’s a quiet life, but a good one.For a while, I stopped actively pursuing music and took a job working construction. I found myself disillusioned with the industry and no longer knew my place in it. The world around me has changed rapidly and I sometimes have difficulty grasping it. There were moments when I felt I had lost the wind from my sails – but I still love creating music and I love these songs. It’s been a challenging but rewarding period of my life, which I feel throughout this record. A lot of regret and failure, but also hope and the transformative power of love. Acceptance of the way things have been, and the way they are, and how little control we really have – acceptance that everything is transient. My hope is that these songs will find you in the ways you need. Here’s another message in a bottle – I hope it washed up on your shore at just the right time. – NoahCASEY DUBIE
SUPERCHUNK
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYSUPERCHUNKLike every record Superchunk has made over the last thirty-some years, Wild Loneliness is unskippably excellent and infectious. It’s a blend of stripped-down and lush, electric and acoustic, highs and lows, and I love it all. On Wild Loneliness I hear echoes of Come Pick Me Up, Here’s to Shutting Up, and Majesty Shredding. After the (ahem, completely justifiable) anger of What a Time to Be Alive, this new record is less about what we’ve lost in these harrowing times and more about what we have to be thankful for. (I know something about gratitude. I’ve been a huge Superchunk fan since the 1990s, around the same time I first found my way to poetry, so the fact that I’m writing these words feels like a minor miracle.)On Wild Loneliness, it feels like the band is refocusing on possibility, and possibility is built into the songs themselves, in the sweet surprises tucked inside them. I say all the time that what makes a good poem—the “secret ingredient”—is surprise. Perhaps the same is true of songs. Like when the sax comes in on the title track, played by Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, adding a completely new texture to the song. Or when Owen Pallett’s strings come in on “This Night.” But my favorite surprise on Wild Loneliness is when the harmonies of Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley of Teenage Fanclub kick in on “Endless Summer.” It’s as perfect a pop song as you’ll ever hear—sweet, bright, flat-out gorgeous—and yet it grapples with the depressing reality of climate change: “Is this the year the leaves don’t lose their color / and hummingbirds, they don’t come back to hover / I don’t mean to be a giant bummer but / I’m not ready / for an endless summer, no / I’m not ready for an endless summer.” I love how the music acts as a kind of counterweight to the lyrics.Because of COVID, Mac, Laura, Jim, and Jon each recorded separately, but a silver lining is that this method made other long-distance contributions possible, from R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Sharon Van Etten, Franklin Bruno, and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, among others. Some of the songs for the record were written before the pandemic hit, but others, like “Wild Loneliness,” were written from and about isolation.Wild Loneliness is becoming part of my life, part of my memories, too. And it will be part of yours. I can picture people in 20, 50, or 100 years listening to this record and marveling at what these artists created together—beauty, possibility, surprise—during this alarming (and alarmingly isolated) time. But why wait? Let’s marvel now.SLUICESluice is the recording project of Durham based musician/engineer Justin Morris (Fust, Weirs, Aunt Sis). Radial Gate, the second release as Sluice, features a wide collection of local talent including Avery Sullivan (Fust, Indigo De Souza), Oliver Child-Lanning (Fust, Weirs), Luke Norton (HC McEntire), Frank Meadows (Fust, Tomberlin, Bellows) and Natalie King (Toss) to name a few. Radial Gate continues the Sluice theme of nature’s intersection with industry, and lyrically explores the ideas of isolation and depression giving way to community and personal growth. ‘Could you pass me a beer, oh no it fell in the river. Hey man that’s all right, goodnight.’
