AJJ
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYAJJAJJ frontman Sean Bonnette can summarize the band’s new album, Good Luck Everybody, in a single sentence: “Sonically, it’s our least punk record, and lyrically, it’s our most punk record.”And indeed, Good Luck Everybody (January 17, 2020), the Arizona band’s seventh album, stands out in their already diverse catalog. While still rooted in the folk-punk sound AJJ has become known for, the album is unafraid to delve into new territories that test the limits of what the band is capable of. “I think it explores some of the weirder sides of AJJ, the more experimental leanings that we’ve had in the past,” says bassist Ben Gallaty. Good Luck Everybody draws from a wealth of sonic inspirations, from Laurel Canyon folk-rock of the 60s and 70s to avant garde artists like Suicide, as well as some orchestral pop. There is even a piano ballad, the tragic “No Justice, No Peace, No Hope.”Lyrically, Good Luck Everybody is a change of pace from the idiosyncratic songwriting style Bonnette has honed over more than 15 years fronting AJJ. It still features his wonderfully weird turns of phrase and oddball word pairings, but this time, his thematic lens is more directly focused on the inescapable atrocities of the world around him. Longtime fans will recognize the album’s social commentary as a return to their 2011 release, Knife Man, but this time it’s fueled by a more radical urgency.“I usually try for a timeless effect in songwriting, so that you can hear a song and generally not think about the context under which it was written,” says Bonnette. “But for this one, I was trying to write, and all the bad political shit just kept invading my brain and preventing me from writing that way. So I decided to fully embrace it and exorcise that demon.”Much like Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs pulled their songs straight from newspaper headlines, Good Luck Everybody feels like a long scroll through social media feeds on a particularly volatile day.with special guests….OPEN MIKE EAGLESAD PARKFOOT OX
PATIO: Vince Junior Band
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDVINCE JUNIOR BAND “Vince Junior Band makes music that we’d like to hear when we go out to wind down, dance, or throw a few back,” says guitarist and singer Vince Junior of Vince Junior Band. “I love that Muscle Shoals sound of bass, drums, Fender Rhodes, and a Fender guitar. Simple, soulful, and funky. We just try to make that sound our own” Vince Junior Band has been together since 2014, playing around the Asheville area. “I think we have a unique blend of genres. You’ll hear the flavors of blues, funk, Louisiana, and Soul, coupled with some unusual topics.” Indeed, at a recent Vince Junior Band show, the audience heard a surf version of a Jimi Hendrix song, an original song about a 69 Camaro, and another original tune that could double as a pasta recipe. And surprisingly, they all sound like they belong together. “I try to write about topics that I don’t hear people write about,” says Junior. “The hardships of parenting, getting older, working all day and pursuing the dream with little fuel left.” Vince Junior does have some credentials under his belt. He’s shared the stage with Robert Cray and Paul Geremia, won a Parents’ Choice award for his CD of children’s music, and was a finalist in the Cape Fear Blues Competition. With a voice that some have compared to Tom Waits and Greg Brown, Vince Junior has some pretty impressive guitar skills. “I’ve always played with my fingers, and with a Stratocaster through a tube amp, that can get a pretty sweet sound,” says Junior. “And with this new band, I’m working on bringing in some of that Steve Cropper, Cornell Dupree, and James Burton styles.” The band is rounded out by Noah Pitts on keyboards. “He can get a groove going that just makes the sound so soulful,” says Junior. “He finds these really interesting riffs that just make the song sound familiar and new at the same time. Sort of like new shoes that feel already broken in.” The rhythm section of Robert George and Wayne Kirby is tight, simple but interesting. “We work hard on getting really cohesive arrangements. This is not a band that just jams to three chords. Every measure, every note, every lyric has to serve the groove and melody of the song. We all are constantly trying to make the arrangements unique and swinging so hard you’d have to get up and dance,” says Junior.
OUTPOST: Mama & The Ruckus
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEMama & The RuckusThe Ruckus is an intergenerational project with a big sound and an even bigger heart. They recently represented the Women in Blues Foundation in Memphis at the International Blues Competition. Inspired by The Allman Brothers, Janis Joplin, and Etta James, The Ruckus is led by Mama who 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 to others and you hear that in every note that the band plays. With soaring guitars, wailing vocals, screaming harmonicas, and funky bass, keys, and drums, the Ruckus has a sound that is undeniably unique.
CANCELED: Damien Jurado at Asheville Masonic Temple
Unfortunately the remaining Damien Jurado tour dates from 9/15 to 9/28 have been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. You will be refunded at your point of purchase. Thanks so much for your support and see you down the road!- ALL AGES- FULLY SEATED SHOW- AT ASHEVILLE MASONIC TEMPLE (80 Broadway St) DAMIEN JURADO
Blue Dogs
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYBLUE DOGS Since 1987, South Carolina’s The Blue Dogs have been blending the genres they grew up with – bluegrass, country, rock & soul – “turning bluegrass on its ear by creating what’s now referred to as ‘Americana’ or ‘alternative country’ before those terms were commonplace” [Charlotte Observer]. More than 30 years later, The Blue Dogs continue to perform unpredictable and upbeat live shows with original songs that capture a country-rock vibe. Acoustic guitarist Bobby Houck and upright bassist Hank Futch, leaders and lead singers of the band, met in Cub Scouts and reconnected musically during their college years. Based in Charleston, their partnership with songwriter Phillip Lammonds in the 1990’s contributed significantly to The Blue Dogs’ three major studio recordings, Blue Dogs (1997), Letters from Round O (1999), & Halos and Good Buys (2004), produced respectively by world class producers John Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer)), David Lowery (Cracker, Counting Crows), and Don Gehman (John Mellencamp, REM). The Blue Dogs have spent over three decades sharing the stage with a range of artists that includes Willie Nelson, Hootie & the Blowfish, Cracker, Bruce Hornsby, and Widespread Panic, and in recent years at their own annual Homecoming with guests such as Jerry Douglas, Drivin n Cryin, Radney Foster, The Connells, and many more. Along with longtime drummer Greg Walker, the band in 2022 consists of Dan Hood (guitar) and Charlie Thompson (pedal steel), often joined by a bigger lineup which includes mandolin, fiddle, keyboards, and a three-piece horn section.
Chris Pureka
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLECHRIS PUREKA It’s rare for an artist to bridge the divide between critical acclaim and dedicated fan engagement. Chris Pureka is a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose body of work has resonated deeply with these seemingly disparate milieus. Her music has straddled the folk, americana and indie rock genres over the course of her 20 year career, and over that time, her bold vulnerability in processing the intimacies of life in song has struck a chord with those listeners who crave authenticity and depth. Chris’s elegant emotionality as a vocalist and her flair as a lyricist have garnered her favorable comparisons to Chan Marshall, Bruce Springsteen, and Patty Griffin. Over many years of touring on both sides of the Atlantic, she has shared the stage with such diverse and esteemed artists as The Lumineers, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Cowboy Junkies, Haley Heynderickx, and Ani DiFranco. She has had her songs featured on such television shows as Brothers and Sisters, Covert Affairs and Shameless and well as a song featured in the Sundance featured indie film, The Royal Road. Along the way, Chris has remained truly independent, selling nearly 50,000 albums through her own label, Sad Rabbit Records.KYM REGISTER (OF MELTDOWN RODEO) Sometimes the process of mining for melody in words eviscerates the raconteur, gutting them like a tornado through a trailer park. Sometimes, “the truth” is a revival of shit rather forgotten, igniting a coward’s desire to look away. With “Meltdown Rodeo,” Kym Register foregoes such consolatory diversions for visceral scrutiny and unbroken stares. The result is a body of tunes that forages the American south, dislodging its ducked bullets from pearly white sand. According to Register, “Scottsboro,” the album’s opener, was years in the making. It recounts the little known history of “The Scottsboro Boys,” nine Black men falsely accused of raping a pair of white women in hyperpyrexic 1930’s Alabama. One accuser eventually admitted the allegations were bullshit, but, for Black men in the Jim Crow south (as it is now), any assumptions of guilt are soon proven a permanent brand. Register wails against America’s foremost refrains –jury and peers and whole truths– in lyrics hefty with reconciliation and metaphor. “A blind eye, A blind eye is all justice knows/ Of the truth of what happened in Scottsboro/ Come on now, this story’s not that old.” Contrary to Register’s demand for account, the American south knows no shame.Whether grappling with the constrictions of gender expressions on dating apps (“How Do You See Me”), evoking the semi-autobiographical loneliness of Dorothy Allison’s Carolina bastards (“Maureen”), or daring white folks to “get right with their history of compliance in racial capitalism” (“Loamlands”), Register affirms that songwriting, at its best, is a gross but necessary confrontation.Ultimately Register and Meltdown Rodeo (both the newly named band and album) have achieved in eleven songs something the south has only half-heartedly attempted – undoing generational curses by retiring “bless your heart” lip service.Damn if we can’t all benefit from a little melting down.
Emo Night Karaoke
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY Setlist on Spotify: https://bit.ly/emonightkaraoke6:30 PM doors & signupsSong sign ups are first come first serveEMO NIGHT KARAOKE features a live band with members of Just Surrender, Freshman 15, Southcott & Thieves and Villains playing your favorite songs from back in the day on stage live with you on lead vocals!ENK has a setlist of 75+ pop punk/emo songs + the band is also known for doing random throwback album nights. Signups are first come first serve on the iPad, and there are several TVs scrolling the lyrics to help you on stage! Link up with ENK online! http://facebook.com/emonightkaraoke and https://www.emonightkaraoke.com/ and follow instagram.com/emonightkaraoke to stay up to date with your band!
Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers w/ Rebirth Brass Band
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY – LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP TICKETS AVAILABLEVICTOR WOOTEN & THE WOOTEN BROTHERS Victor, bass guitar/vocals; Joseph, keyboards/vocals; Roy, percussion/vocals; and Regi, guitars/vocals. For over four decades the Wooten Brothers have been recognized as some of the most innovative musicians in existence and are collectively known as one of the most talented and dynamic band of brothers the world has ever known. Since they were young, the five brothers have been a musical tour-de-force redefining the limits of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass. Sons of military parents, their early years were spent living in different states including Hawaii, California, and Virginia where they shared stages with the likes of Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Ramsey Lewis, Stephanie Mills, War, and other artists. In the mid 80’s, the brothers released an album as The Wootens for Clive Davis’ Arista Records. This will be the brother’s first tour together as a band since the untimely death of their saxophone-playing brother Rudy a few years ago. Victor Wooten, a five-time Grammy Award-winning artist, has graced the cover of Bass Player Magazine five times. He is a founding member of the eclectic group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and is recognized as one of the greatest living bassist today often drawing comparisons to Jaco Pastorius, and was named one of the “Top ten bassist of all time”by Rolling Stone Magazine. He is also an award-nominated author, naturalist, and music educator and has been running his unique music/nature camps since the year 2000. Wooten’s camps are held at his own Wooten Woods, which is just outside of Nashville. In 2010, he started his own record label, Vix Records, which has released a series of acclaimed recordings over the last few years. REBIRTH BRASS BAND “just saw THE REBIRTH BRASS BAND, unbelievable. hard as hell, free as a ray of light, there is not a band on earth that is better. stunning.” – Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers For almost 4 decades, the Grammy winning Rebirth Brass Band has been “stunning” fans with a fiery live show and a rich musical catalog. Their trademark sound pays homage to the New Orleans brass band tradition while weaving a tapestry that combines elements of jazz, funk, soul, R&B and the sounds from the streets they grew up on. From their legendary 25+ year run of Tuesday nights at the Maple Leaf to stages all over the world, Rebirth is the soundtrack of the Crescent City and her premier musical ambassador. Founded by brothers Phil and Keith Frazier over 35 years ago, Rebirth began their career playing on the sidewalks of the French Quarter, and quickly landed gigs at second line parades. Those auspicious beginnings have led to thousands of shows to music aficionados everywhere, including heads of state and royalty. The bands unique “soundtrack of New Orleans” has also garnered admiration from artists of all genres. They’ve shared the stage and collaborated with everyone from the Grateful Dead to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maceo Parker, Green Day, U2, James Brown, 311, G-Love, MuteMath, Juvenile, Train, Big Freedia, Ani Difranco, Galactic, Allen Touisant, Neville Brothers, Quincy Jones and Trombone Shorty.
Robbie Fulks + Slaid Cleaves
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEROBBIE FULKS Robbie Fulks is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. His current release, Bluegrass Vacation on Compass Records, returns him to his bluegrass roots, with a large group of masterful musicians including Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Justin Moses, Ronnie McCoury, Alison Brown, David Grier, Tim O’Brien, Todd Phillips, John Cowan, Brennen Leigh, Randy Kohrs, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, Shad Cobb, and Chris Eldridge. Across 11 new original songs (and one freewheeling interpretation of the Delmore Brothers), Robbie covers themes like small-town blues, the endurance of childhood memory, inebriation, love, divorce, the role of music in strengthening family bonds, losing a loved one to Alzheimer’s, and bluegrass itself. His most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations, for folk album and American roots song (“Alabama At Night”). Besides country and bluegrass music, Robbie is fiercely fond of Charles Mingus, P.G. Wodehouse, quantum mechanics, his wife Donna, comedy in almost all forms, cooking, swimming laps, the past, Arthur Schopenhauer, Universal horror movies, his grandson and even his sons, coastal towns in the off-season, and rye whiskey, though in nothing like that order. SLAID CLEAVES Twelve new songs amid the 100,000 that get uploaded to Spotify every day (according to hypebot.com). Will any of them rise above the din enough to be heard? So far, a few of them have been hanging out with the likes of young Americana superstars Charlie Crocket and Margo Price on the Americana Music Association album and singles charts, as well as the popular Spotify playlist, The Pulse of Americana. It’s Cleaves’ second release on Candy House Media, which consists of himself and his wife and manager, Karen Cleaves, with hired gun Angela Backstrom promoting to Americana radio. It’s one of the rare self-releases on the charts, and the early success of the first few singles is a testament to the consistent quality of Cleaves’ output over the past 25 years, and to the bond he’s built and maintained with the dedicated music lovers at Americana radio since its inception in the mid 1990s. Slaid teamed up with producer Scrappy Jud Newcomb for the third time in early 2022 to record a new batch of songs, Slaid’s first in five years. Familiar themes of struggle and resilience will be a surprise to no one. TOGETHER THROUGH THE DARK digs into the crucial moments and experiences that shape our journeys. A kind word when it’s needed most, the effort to act honorably in dark and violent times, the wisdom of a barfly, the majesty of rock and roll, the dignity of work and the enduring grace provided by true love.
Margo Cilker
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEMARGO CILKER Margo Cilker’s sophomore album, Valley of Heart’s Delight, refers to a place she can’t return: California’s Santa Clara Valley, as it was known before the orchards were paved over and became more famous for Silicon than apricots. In this 11-song follow-up to 2021’s critically acclaimed Pohorylle, family and nature intertwine as guiding motifs, at once precious and endangered, beautiful and exhausting. Cilker and Pohorylle producer Sera Cahoone brought most of that record’s highly-acclaimed crew (studio players for The Decemberists, Band Of Horses, and Beirut) back to the studio with additional contributions from acclaimed Northwest traditionalist Caleb Klauder. Valley of Heart’s Delight, Cilker’s second record on Portland, Oregon label Fluff & Gravy Records, follows a year busily reaping the fruits of Pohorylle’s success, with festival appearances at Pickathon, Treefort, and End Of The Road, and tours supporting American Aquarium, Hayes Carll, Drive-By Truckers, and Joshua Ray Walker. Margo Cilker lives near the Columbia River in Goldendale, Washington with her husband, songwriter and working cowboy Forrest VanTuyl, as well their dog and some horses.HUMBIRD Inspired by the crystalline chill of the north country she calls home in Minnesota, Humbird combines a wintry longing with the warmth of a familiar folktale. Humbird’s music moves between experimental folk and environmental Americana to embrace the unexpected. The music invites a refreshing dissonance into the house. It leaves bread crumbs along the path and reflects light back at the stars.Siri Undlin witnessed the power of storytelling in her childhood home and began writing music and performing in church choirs and in Irish ensembles from a young age. Her voice, which contains the unwavering fortitude of hymnal melodies, reveals her traditional background.Humbird’s latest album, Still Life (2021) was born of the time when the days melted into weeks during the pandemic. Written in her yellow bedroom during a time of isolation and strangely distant togetherness. The release follows Humbird’s debut full-length album, Pharmakon (2019) which introduced Humbird’s songcraft and harmonic style. Atwood Magazine described it as music wrapped in “gentle rebellion”. The release garnered millions of online streams and a wide range of accolades, including 89.3FM The Current’s “Best Local Albums Of The Year”, one of City Page’s “Picked To Click” Awards, “Best Minnesota Albums” from the Star Tribune, and as an official showcasing artist at SXSW in Austin.
