EARLY: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo w/ Street Creatures Puppet Collective
ALL AGESKIDS 3 AND UNDER FREESTANDING/DANCING ROOM ONLYSECRET AGENT 23 SKIDOO Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a Grammy winning, internationally touring, purple velvet tuxedo wearing family funk phenemenon. Combining the positive, primal power of hip hop with the surreal storytelling of science fiction, 23 Skidoo has concocted a potent potion that wows family crowds across the planet. The ingredients of his magic spells include reverence for the boundless mindstates of young children, respect for the culture and DNA of hip hop, funk and soul music, and a deep belief in the power of the imagination to change the world in positive ways, both personal and universal. If you can imagine a band with Jim Henson on guitar, Shel Silverstein on bass and PIXAR as the lead vocalist, you’ve pretty much got it. And if George Clinton and Q Tip stopped by the party, that might clarify things even more. Basically, if Dr. Seuss and Dr. Dre had a baby, it would be the music of Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Nuff said. STREET CREATURES PUPPET COLLECTIVE Welcome to a world where we create things we wish existed, out of cardboard and community! The Street Creature Puppet Collective is a group of puppeteers, artists, performers, musicians and tinkerers based in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We work in the traditional territory of the Cherokee (Tsalagi) people and honor them with gratitude for their stewardship of the land for countless generations. Founded in 2012, we make puppets and pageants for parades and festivals including LEAF Global Arts, the Asheville Holiday Parade, and Asheville Mardi Gras. We host work parties, workshops, and visiting artists. We do field trips, school visits, and performances for families. We support and collaborate with other performing arts groups in town, including Brass Your Heart Band, Asheville 2nd Line Marching Band, Daydreamz Theater, the Magnetic Theater, and Asheville Creative Arts.
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
Rah Digga & Sa-Roc
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYRAH DIGGA Rah Digga (born Rashia Fisher) is an american rapper, writer, actress, and activist. Well known as a long time member fo the Flipmode Squad, a Hip Hop group led by Busta Rhymes, she parted ways amicably with the group in 2007 and continued to have a prosperous solo career. She has been called “one of rap’s most prominent women MC’s” by Allmusic and has been deemed “one of Hip Hop’s most skilled female MC’s” in the book How to Rap. You can catch her on the weekly podcast she hosts with Lord Jamar titled the “Yanadameen Godcast”. Rah Digga is a resident of Newark, NJ. Early on, Rah Digga was a member of the Outsidaz, a group that included Eminem. She went on to join Flipmode Squad after being handpicked by Q-Tip fro A Tribe Called Quest where he spotted her performing eight months pregnant at a Lyricist Lounge showcase. After recording a series of projects with her new crew, Rah went on to achieve success in Hollywood making movies including Joel Silver’s blockbuster sci-fi hit “Thirteen Ghosts” and MTV Hip Hopera “Carmen” starring Beyonce. After a nice stint on the west coast, she came back to Newark to pursue her true passion by combining her first and second loves, music and working with kids. SA-ROC Sa-Roc is arguably one of the most vibrant MCs in the world today. Her crisp articulation, fiery delivery, and her elevated and insightful lyricism have often placed her within the same conversation as some of Hip Hop’s most notable artists. Once dubbed by Okayplayer as “one of the most formidable microphone mavens in the game,” and recently heralded by NPR as “a modern day griot whose aura radiates calm in a world of chaos,” she is an artist for a socially conscious generation. Sa-Roc grew up in Southeast D.C. at the height of the crack era, with neighborhoods plagued by poverty and disaffection. Her early experiences shaped her understanding of the world around her, deepened her emotional sensitivity and cemented a social consciousness that would later feature heavily within her work. She was born three-months premature and didn’t make a sound during the first fourteen months of her life. This struggle to find a voice—both literally and creatively—would later be critical in shaping her lyrical expression.In 2020, Sa-Roc embarked on the national A Black Woman Created This Tour with rapper Rapsody and performed on NPR’s world-renowned Tiny Desk series, leading viewers to describe her as simply “the truth” and “the best lyricist in recent times.” Shortly thereafter, she released her newest project, The Sharecropper’s Daughter, the title of which pays homage to her father’s experience growing up sharecropping tobacco. The album is, in her own words, “a sonic reflection on the generational inheritance of trauma and triumph that shapes our humanity and influences the way we see the world.” Following a warm critical reception, Sa-Roc returned with a deluxe version of the album in 2021, featuring the addition of six powerful new songs including the sagely affirming “Wild Seeds” and the poignant closer, “The Rebirth”, a transcendent collaboration with the late MF DOOM. At a time where people all around the globe are calling for social change, Sa-Roc is an MC whose energy and conscious lyrics are poised to shake up the rap game and remind us all that Hip Hop was always about giving a voice to the people.
C.Shreve the Professor and ILe Flottante
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYC SHREVE THE PROFESSOR & ILE FLOTTANTE Back in 2020, longtime collaborators C.Shreve the Professor and ILe Flottante decided to make an album together with plans of touring their work throughout both the U.S. and Europe. Despite being unable to tour properly, the duo forged ahead and made the album anyway—releasing ILE.Pro in late December 2020. After both resuming with live performances and touring in 2022, ILe Flo decided to make the leap and book a flight for a U.S. tour. The pair are delighted to bring their work to The Grey Eagle on 11/28!C.Shreve the Professor (Boone, North Carolina)Chris Shreve is a North Carolina based MC/producer & founder of the hip-hop collective Free The Optimus. The Asheville based, 2-time Carolina Music Award winners (2015 & 2016 Best Hip Hop Group) developed their following & relevance through an unrelenting tour & release schedule, driven primarily by Shreve’s vision. The Professor moniker references his 12 year career at Appalachian State University teaching biostatistics, which he left to pursue music full-time. He defines Free The Optimus as “a call to action—to set free our optimal ability & our optimistic perspective & to transform the world around us.”From the writers at Earmilk: “C.Shreve’s lyrical prowess is undeniable. FTO is known for bringing positive & poetic lyrics that flow over jazz influenced hip hop beats that bring in a hint of soul. Their lyrical talent goes above & beyond what is expected in rap music these days.” Since 2009, FTO has helped to define Carolina music & continues to set the bar for hip hop in the live space.Shreve has toured & shared stages with The Pharcyde, Big Boi, The Hieroglyphics, Lupe Fiasco, Raekwon, Gift of Gab, Cannibal Ox, Camp Lo, Nappy Roots, Talib Kweli, Guilty Simpson, Lespecial, Planet Asia, Jarv, Tanya Morgan, Spose, Zion I, Rapper Big Pooh & many more. He’s performed at Hopscotch, Blue Plum, LAAF, Beats & Bars, Boone in Blossom, Drink Durham, Spring in the City, Harvest Boone, Brooklyn Wildlife & GURP Fest. His work has been featured on Shade 45, Hip Hop DX, Earmilk, Revolt TV, I Still Love HER, INDYweek, & has been spun by both DJ Premier & Chuck D.ILe Flottante (Bristol, England)While growing up in a small Welsh town called Aberystwyth, ILe Flottante (aka ILe.Flo) immersed himself in music and skating, followed by relocating to Leeds at the age of 10. From there he became involved in alternative music scenes where he went on to develop and burnish his sound at the Leeds College of Music. He then moved to Bristol, ensconcing himself in the city’s energetic hip-hop scene. Releasing music on labels like Soulful Chemistry, Vinyl Digital, Hip-Dozer, Yogocop Records, and X3i Records, he promptly amassed more than 2 million streams. He probes the potential of the MPC & the SP 404 — as well as other music production centers — amalgamations of drum machines and samplers, which enable artists to manipulate sounds and rhythm. Blending elements of jazz, old-school hip-hop, Phonk, and soul, Ile Flottante delivers deliciously low-slung beats topped by melancholic savors of jazz invested with lush sonic blemishes — authentic and tantalizing, especially in live form.MIKE MARTINEZHOUSEPLANTZ
