PATIO: Kim Smith
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDKIM SMITHKim Smith is a singer-songwriter/collaborator based out of Asheville, North Carolina. “Songwriting is not just a passion, it’s an expression and extension of myself in the most vulnerable and strongest times.” Kim continues to record and release songs produced by Asheville-based Chris Rosser as well as Nashville-based Dean Miller.
PATIO: Fo Daniels
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDFO DANIELSFo Daniels combines the raw intensity of a rock and roll band with a songwriter’s attention to lyrical and emotional detail. His debut LP, “Imitation Roses” was cut completely live in his home base of Charleston, SC, all in one day. Since its release, he has been tirelessly releasing new music and touring the east coast, quickly gaining renown for his dynamic performances and unforgettable songs.
Drivin N Cryin
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYDRIVIN N CRYINCelebrating their 35th Anniversary together, Atlanta-based folk rock act, Drivin N Cryin, have spent most of their career on tour. In October 1985 Drivin N Cryin played their first show at Atlanta’s famed 688 Club. The band quickly gained attention for their blistering live shows, and amassed a rabid fanbase in the fertile soil of the late-1980s Southeast music scene.Now, 35 years later, and after releasing four full length albums on Island Records and one on Geffen Records, founding members Kevn Kinney and Tim Nielsen find themselves enjoying a milestone anniversary for the band, having survived the pressures of fame, a shifting musical landscape, multiple lineup changes, and miles of back roads and highways to arrive here.After a gold record, 9 full-length albums, and a handful of EPs to their credit, the band still refuses to rest. In 2012, a documentary about the band, entitled Scarred but Smarter: Life n Times of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, was produced. In 2015, a collection of 10 choice cuts from the band’s 4-EP “Songs” series, entitled Best of Songs, was released on Nashville’s Plowboy Records. Additionally, the band was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame the same year. The following year, Drivin N Cryin released a vinyl-only album, entitled Archives Vol One, with a collection of basement recordings from the years 1988 to 1990. With Dave V. Johnson on drums, and the band’s newest member, Laur Joamets, (originally Sturgill Simpson) added to the lineup, Drivin N Cryin continues to tour the U.S. to great acclaim.A quote from the band’s lead singer, Kevn Kinney, gives a little insight into what Drivin N Cryin is all about: “We are a band that’s like your record collection.” Drawing influence from a wide array of musical elements, Drivin N Cryin has developed a unique sound over the years. Their name derives from the eclectic nature of this sound: a little drivin’ rock n roll and a little country twang. Comfortable with their past and confident in their future, the band has an arsenal of songs, a full tank of gas, and no plans of stopping any time soon.LAUREN MORROWAfter over a decade as the centerpiece of popular Americana band The Whiskey Gentry, Lauren Morrow packed her bags, her dogs, her cats, and husband and moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a solo artist and grow her craft as a songwriter and performer. Within months, she released her first solo EP to widespread critical acclaim and landed on many Best Of year ends lists from Rolling Stone to Garden & Gun, quickly launching her already budding career and sending it into hyperdrive. Over the next year, Morrow filmed an episode for PBS’ Bluegrass Underground and toured the US playing festivals such as Pickathon and Bristol Rhythm & Roots to name a few. Morrow recently wrapped recording her first solo, full-length album at the legendary Nashville studio, Sound Emporium. Mixed by Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White, Phish) and Jaquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Shania Twain) set to release in 2023, Morrow’s new album, People Talk, showcases her flawless vocals and intricate songwriting, but also her willingness to take risks — an edge that makes her stand out from the Nashville norm. Whether she’s singing an alternative/indie rock banger, a classic-country crooner, or a traditional lovesick ballad, there’s a unique impression she leaves that lingers and is unlike anything you’ve heard before.
PATIO: Taylor Knighton
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDTAYLOR KNIGHTONSinger-songwriter Taylor Knighton grew up on the Gulf Coast but now calls the mountains of Western North Carolina home. Her musical stylings reflect her southern roots, with plenty of twang, a big heartfelt voice, and a sweet pop influence. She likes to incorporate her love of mythology and folk tales into her songwriting, telling timeless stories with a fresh, fun spin.
Deerhoof
– STANDING ROOM ONLY- ALL AGES- “MASK REQUESTED,” PER DEERHOOF DEERHOOF MIRACLES WANTED! (EVERYTHING IS A MIRACLE EXCEPT WAR AND GASOLINE) PHASE-OUT ALL REMAINING NON-MIRACLES BY 2028 (LUCKILY THERE AREN’T THAT MANY ANYWAY) WE NEED ONLY *LOVE* SONGS (YES, THIS WORD GETS USED OFTEN) BUT I MEAN HIGH-LEVEL I MEAN MIRACLE LEVEL LET’S WASH OUR DIRTY HANDS WITH LOVE LET’S LIVE LET’S WALK CLOSELY TOGETHER I CAN HOLD AN UMBRELLA FOR YOU FOR A LONG TIME Deerhoof’s new album, Miracle-Level, was produced, recorded, and mixed by Mike Bradavski at No Fun Studios in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It’s the band’s 19th album and the first to be produced, recorded and mixed entirely in a recording studio. All of the songs are in Japanese.FLYNT FLOSSY & TURQUOISE JEEPTurquoise Jeep Records is an independent record label founded by rappers Flynt Flossy and Whatchyamacallit. It is best known for its YouTube videos including “Lemme Smang It” (by Yung Humma featuring Flynt Flossy) and “Did I Mention I Like to Dance.” Currently, the label has three albums, titled Keep the Jeep Riding, Existing Musical Beings, and Eclectic Catapilla, as well as four singles.
OUTPOST: The Pinkerton Raid
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEThe Pinkerton Raid is “a towering forest of indie rock with a timbre of folk that shadows Langhorne Slim, Cold War Kids and The Killers,” says THE SPILL. 2022’s THE HIGHWAY MOVES THE WORLD begins two decades ago in Jesse James DeConto’s childhood basement, where he learned The Beatles and first turned a songwriter’s eye on his own rich and complicated family life. “Radiant,” says AMERICAN SONGWRITER. “Poignant,” says ROLLING STONE. “Anthemic,” says AMERICANA-UK. Since the lockdowns, Jesse is back on the road with a totally new lineup, but, as always, a gang of friends with a full-band sound. The Durham, NC-based band has played at festivals from Georgia to Ohio, sharing stages with Liz Cooper, The Bones of JR Jones and The Nude Party. “A sound for dreamers around a campfire,” says GHETTOBLASTER. “Folksy indie rock,” describes FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE, “threads of the quilt of American folklore.” —–Annabelle’s Curse is an electrified indie-folk band from Bristol, TN/VA. The band has developed a reputation for high energy live shows and immersive studio albums. They have released five full-length albums and one EP. Since forming in 2010, Annabelle’s Curse has toured extensively throughout the southeast and mid-Atlantic, developing a devoted fan base. They have had the privilege of supporting acts such as Blues Traveler, Sam Bush, Langhorne Slim, Anderson East, Paul McDonald, The Hackensaw Boys, and Birds of Chicago. The band has been a staple at Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, most recently taking the stage for their 10th year, and have been featured at numerous other music festivals including Floydfest, Rooster Walk, Fall for Greenville, Rhythm N’ Blooms, and North Carolina Brewers Fest. The band has also appeared on PBS’s Music City Roots and Song of the Mountains. —–Hailing from North Carolina, two sisters and friends of the Maggie Valley Band came together in the town they now identify themselves with. Each member learned their trade of music in the beautiful mountains of Maggie Valley, NC. Sisters Whitney & Caroline Miller grew up in a home where playing the piano was a daily requirement. Daily requirements turned to passion as they hit the streets to street busk. After years of busking, The Maggie Valley Band was officially formed and decided to take it inside-to venues. TMVB released their album “The Hardest Thing” in 2018 under under the direction of Grammy & Emmy nominated producer, David Mayfield. TMVB comes together to produce a sound affectionately referred to as “Dark Appalachian”, ranging from folk rock to indie rock.
PATIO: Paul Edelman
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDPAUL EDELMAN Nearly born on the airplane from Columbus to Philly, The Jangling Sparrow has cultivated a passionate, loyal following with provocative lyrics and moving performances. To date, Paul has shared bills with Scott Miller, Robert Earl Kean, James McMurtry, Neko Case, Big Sandy, Langhorne Slim, Patty Larkin, Drive-by Truckers, The Sadies, Slim Cessna, Bottle Rockets, Grayson Capps, among many others. Paul Edelman has worked with some of the industries greatest names, he has recorded with Jimmy Johnson (founder Muscle Shoals Studio), Nashville session staple drummer, Martin Parker (Ricky Scaggs, Alison Krauss, Patti Loveless) and keyboardist Steve Fordham (Mavis Staples). Paul relocated to Asheville, N.C. In 2008 where he quickly grabbed winner of the Flat Rock Music Festival songwriter competition
Generationals
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYGENERATIONALS Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer knew they had balked before they even got home. In the Fall of 2021, Joyner and Widmer—for a dozen years, the beguiling garage-pop pair known as Generationals—wrapped the second of two sessions in Georgia for a new EP. They’d opted out of the process of file-sharing they had used for years. Choosing instead to cut songs straight to tape in Athens, a spiritual epicenter for their brand of twinkling tunes. The results sounded great, but they didn’t think their songs were actually that exciting or up to snuff. Why busy everyone else with the rigamarole of releasing a record when they weren’t convinced by it themselves? Joyner and Widmer scrapped the sessions, relieved. The decision, after all, did not represent some existential crisis for Generationals, some what-are-we-doing-here panic; it was, instead, a validation of trusting their process and respective enthusiasms, of releasing great records rather than churning out substandard “content.” Before the veto was final, Joyner and Widmer were working on songs they already knew passed that test. Heatherhead is the winning result of that restart. Effortless and endearing, as settling as a long hug from an old friend, Heatherhead is not only the best Generationals album yet but also the one that, after all these years, finds Joyner and Widmer at last epitomizing their sound. These 11 songs are no-fuss, no-filler manifestations of Generationals’ bittersweet beauty, of would-be rock anthems made to feel like cozy sweaters. Maybe it’s the way the thick riff of the indelible “Dirt Diamond” frames a vulnerable admission or how the taut rhythm section of “Hard Times for Heatherhead” buoys a smitten plea, but this record at large feels like Joyner and Widmer digging deeper into the juxtapositions that have long made Generationals so compelling—distinct but familiar, wry but warm, soft but pointed. Heatherhead is the record Joyner and Widmer have been pursuing from the start. All was not lost down in Georgia, it seems, as the act of recording in the same room seemed to shake something loose for Joyner and Widmer. With Joyner still in the band’s hometown of New Orleans and Widmer now in Wisconsin, they’d grown comfortable passing ever-evolving tracks back and forth, adding parts or offering suggestions to one another as albums steadily cohered. They’d done compelling stuff that way, too. But after abandoning those in-person sessions, they decided to commingle ideas earlier this time. Joyner escaped the Louisiana heat in June 2022 by heading north, the two rendezvousing in Madison with loads of demos. They augmented one another’s takes in real time, shaping songs that fell together like puzzle pieces. When a tornado ripped through Widmer’s front yard and left them without power for days, they took it not as a sign to stop but as an invitation to just enjoy still being the buds in Generationals, drinking warm beer and listening to an emergency radio together.mmeadowsIntimacy rears its powerful head in the world of mmeadows. A true collaborative duo, Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green complement and balance one another in a way that speaks to the depth of their musical connection. On the auditory spectrum, the sounds they create are purposefully close and exposed.
Jack Marion and The Pearl Snap Prophets w/ Lord Nelson
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYJACK MARION AND THE PEARL SNAP PROPHETS 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 4 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 MagazineLORD NELSONThis year saw Lord Nelson release their third full length album, Transmission to strong press and reviews. Thanks to radio play across the country, it cracked the Billboard Americana Top 100 and the band toured nationally to share the songs with the road. It is a rowdy, rock-forward record that intends to bring people together. Dance, sing in the car, hum under your breath, crank up on the stereo, don’t take life too seriously for a few minutes. Thanks for tuning in.
OUTPOST: Frances Eliza
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINEFrances ElizaOriginally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Asheville-based singer-songwriter Frances Eliza blends her love of songwriting with her passion for jazz, indie-folk, and pop music. Her jarring, unexpected lyrics and intricate melodies delve into the challenges of human relationships from the perspective of an independent-minded young woman and musician. Jammerzine Magazine describes Frances as “A storyteller who invites the listener into her private life as she shares and explores experiences of love, loss, and pain in the hopes that sharing in these experiences will bring some measure of comfort to those listeners.” Frances’ bittersweet music and raw vocal timbre first came to life in her debut EP “Sleepwalking,” released in late 2019 (currently only available on Bandcamp and Soundcloud). Her most recent seven-track project, “No Longer Mine” was released in January 2022. Kathryn O’Shea Recognized as that Asheville-native vocalist with the banjo and all the feelings, Kathryn O’Shea can’t seem to figure out how to write a song that doesn’t make anybody cry. Since releasing her solo LP January 9th, a vulnerable portrait of grief, she has now assembled a band and begun leaning into bolder, broader soundscapes. With masterful vocal play and poignant lyricism riding on dynamic and delicate arrangements, Kathryn O’Shea’s music feels like the light at the end of the tunnel, aiming to remind listeners of the imperative necessity of liberating ourselves from the prison of our own shame.Kassidy BlountKassidy Blount is a singer-songwriter currently based in Asheville, NC. She combines her love for jazz, pop and acoustic-folk to create music with an emphasis on lyricism and storytelling. When she isn’t performing by herself or with local band Serotina, Kassidy teaches music to elementary students in WNC. Kassidy is passionate about connecting with her audience through the shared emotions and experiences her music brings into view.
