Datrian Johnson & The Family Tree’s Annual Soulful Christmas
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY Datrian Johnson & The Family Tree’s Annual Soulful Christmas feat Sasha Brown, Daniela Risquez, Doug McElvy, Melissa McKinney + Special Guests Join us on December 21 at The Grey Eagle for Datrian Johnson & The Family Tree’s 4th Annual Soulful Christmas. This year’s celebration will feature Sasha Brown (formerly of Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds), Daniela Risquez, Doug McElvy (of Red Clay Revival), Melissa McKinney + Special Guests! As always, the show will feature holiday favorites and soul classics for the whole family to enjoy. DATRIAN JOHNSON Prepare to be captivated by the unstoppable force of Datrian’s innate talent and boundless energy. From his earliest days, he commanded attention with his soul-stirring vocals resonating through the halls of the church. By the tender age of 12, he had already made his mark, gracing the stage of BET’s prestigious Bobby Jones Gospel.Hailing from North Carolina, Datrian has become one of the most sought-after vocalists, his magnetic presence transcending boundaries. He has commanded stages alongside musical luminaries such as the North Mississippi Allstars, The Word, and the electrifying Funk You. Collaborating extensively with icons like Luther Dickinson and John Medeski, Datrian’s artistry knows no bounds.His ventures with Saint Disruption, including a breathtaking rendition of “Imagine” featuring Warren Haynes, showcase his ability to breathe new life into classics. Datrian effortlessly steals the spotlight when sharing the stage with heavyweights like Steve Kimock, Oteil Burbridge, Vernon Reid, DJ Logic, and Brian Jackson.Not content with resting on his laurels, Datrian has embarked on his own journey with the launch of Datrian Johnson & The Family Tree.As he prepares to unveil his debut album, Datrian Johnson is poised to redefine the musical landscape, leaving an indelible mark on the world stage. Get ready to be swept away by the sheer brilliance of his artistry.
Ondara Presents The Jet Stone Conspiracy
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY FULL BAND SHOW ONDARA PRESENTS THE JET STONE CONSPIRACY Every artist’s journey is a quiet revolution. For some, there comes a moment when Robert Zimmerman becomes Bob Dylan, when Reginald Dwight becomes Elton John, when David Robert Jones becomes David Bowie, when Ali Ibrahim becomes Ali Farka- it’s a moment, when such an artist leaves behind the comforts of history in search of boundless expression- a moment when they metaphorically move out of their home, stepping into the unknown, and surrendering to the wild embrace of their muse. This chapter of my journey mirrors that kind of transformation. My new band, The Jet Stone Conspiracy, is the culmination of my rebirth- It’s a surrender to the currents of free expression- an invitation to explore new realms of sound, movement, and poetry. The first mission of this new chapter is to come visit you with my band and share the songs from Tales of America, Tales of Isolation, and Spanish Villager No:3– all brought to life for the first time in a full-band setting. This will be my first time touring with a band– an invitation to experience with you the music that has led us to this point, in an expanded and dynamic form, and to hear the new material I’m exploring for the upcoming debut release of The Jet Stone Conspiracy. Much love,JS Ondara Announces Special Winter Run: Introducing His New Band Project — The Jet Stone Conspiracy Some transmissions don’t come through a radio. They arrive in a dream, unannounced, and crystal clear. Born in Nairobi and reborn in America, J.S. (Jet Stone) Ondara’s path has always been one of restless searching — from discovering Bob Dylan in a teenage dispute to teaching himself guitar after moving to Minneapolis alone, eventually earning a Grammy nomination for his debut album Tales of America and sharing stages with Neil Young, The Lumineers, and Lindsey Buckingham. After years of quiet searching and restless wandering, Ondara returns to the stage transformed. Following his Rebirth Tour, he stepped away from the spotlight, journeying across continents in pursuit of new personal and creative horizons. From that search, he emerges as Jet Stone — his true name — stepping into a new chapter with his new band project, The Jet Stone Conspiracy. This fall, Ondara will embark on the first full-band tour of his career. This special run is more than just a series of concerts; it’s an invitation into a world rebuilt from the ground up. A chance to witness a rare moment of transformation in real time. Each night, Ondara, now performing as Jet Stone, will breathe new life into beloved songs from his catalog while offering a first look at new material from his upcoming debut as The Jet Stone Conspiracy. For longtime fans, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with the music that started it all — now charged with a fresh, urgent energy. For new listeners, it’s an entry point into an evolving story of transformation, reinvention, and artistic freedom.
New Belgium’s Battle of the Bands
– FREE SHOW w/ SUGGESTED DONATION – ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLY NEW BELGIUM’S BATTLE OF THE BANDSFour acts featuring New Belgium coworkers battle it out on a night of friendly musical competition and fundraising for the River Arts District Artists Foundation!
Mustache The Band: The World’s Most Powerful ’90s Country Party Band
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY MUSTACHE: THE BAND Mustache The Band is the ’90s Country Party Band that’ll grow on you. Mustache delivers a powerful performance of all of your favorite country hits from the 1990s. With well over 125 songs under their buckles, you are guaranteed to have a non-stop party on your hands. Mustache The Band will take you on a journey back into the 90s….when sleeveless tanks, high-tops, cowboy boots, two-paneled button downs, and mustaches ruled country music. In order to set the tone at every show, fans are provided with their very own mustaches to enjoy. If the crowd is ready to get down on the farm, Mustache The Band will take them there.
HARMONIES FOR HOMES: A Benefit for Homeward Bound of WNC
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY HARMONIES FOR HOMES Join us on Sunday, October 26th at The Grey Eagle from 3 to 10 PM for Harmonies for Homes, a special evening of music and community in support of Homeward Bound of WNC and their mission to end homelessness in Asheville. This family-friendly fundraiser brings together some of the region’s most dynamic bands, including Coconut Cake, Las Montañitas, Rahm Squad, Eleanor & Friends, King Garbage, After Ours, Hype Machine, and Dr. Funky Squirrel. With genres spanning funk, jazz, soul, Latin, and beyond, it’s a celebration of the diverse sounds that make Asheville’s music scene special. In addition to an incredible lineup, guests can take part in a silent auction featuring unique items and experiences generously donated by local businesses, with all proceeds directly supporting Homeward Bound’s vital housing programs. Food and drinks will be available from The Grey Eagle’s renowned taqueria, making it a perfect night out for families, friends, and music lovers alike. Harmonies for Homes is made possible through the support of our presenting sponsors: Fred Anderson Subaru, McKibbon Hospitality, Moxy Hotel, Aloft Hotel, Infinity Wealth Management, and Town Mountain Realty. Come enjoy great music, bid on great local items, and help create lasting solutions to homelessness in our community.
Bywater Call
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY BYWATER CALL Bywater Call, is a powerhouse seven-piece Southern soul, roots rock band from Toronto, Canada, made up of Meghan Parnell (vocals), Dave Barnes (guitar), Bruce McCarthy on drums, Mike Meusel on Bass, newest member, John Kervin on Keys, Stephen Dyte on Trumpet and Julian Nalli on Tenor Sax. Bywater Call has received multiple Independent Blues and Maple Blues Award nominations including Entertainer, Electric Act and Best Female Vocalist for the 2024 Awards Season. They have toured extensively in Europe where shows have been praised by Dutch, German and UK media, with references to Meghan as one of the best female voices in blues and roots today. In August 2023, the band participated in Joe Bonamassa’s third Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean Cruise alongside headliners Blackberry Smoke and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and were invited to perform at the All-Star Jam on the mainstage with Bonamassa himself. Guitarist Dave Barnes was also asked to join legendary blues artist Jimmy Vivino (Conan O’Brien’s Basic Cable Band) on stage. Bywater Call have commanded festival stages in Canada and around the world, often referred to as the “find of the fest”. In May of 2023, they opened for Canadian Award-winning band White Horse at the inaugural Smokestack Music Festival in Hamilton, Ontario. In July, Meghan joined renowned pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph on stage at his request, at the Briggs Farm Festival in Nescopeck, PA. On October 24, 2023, Bywater performed a live stream performance for the famed German TV show and festival Rockpalast. In 2023 alone, the band played a total of 96 shows in 10 countries, 89 Cities, 19 US States and 3 Canadian Provinces. This is not including a month long duo tour in Europe and the UK where Meghan and Dave opened for Southern California rockers Robert Jon & The Wreck, who have recently partnered with Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. The band’s music is an exploration of life’s highs and lows. From intimate ballads that lay bare the complexities of human emotion to electrifying anthems that demand to be played at full volume, their catalogue is a journey through the human experience, incorporating influences from the likes of The Band, The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Otis Redding, Little Feat, Sly and the Family Stone, among others.
Save UNCA Woods Benefit Show
ALL AGESIF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, YOU CAN ALSO DONATE BY CLICKING HERE UNC Asheville’s 45-acre urban forest has been a cherished community resource and wildlife habitat for decades. It’s now under threat of development despite its status as one of the last remaining urban forests in Asheville. This show is a benefit for Friends of the Woods, a group of concerned citizens, students, UNCA faculty, neighbors, and more who have the support of the Five Points Neighborhood Association and other local organizations committed to the preservation of this precious urban forest. Given the time-sensitive nature and Friends of the Woods being an entirely volunteer-run effort, we are fundraising for a campaign to seek transparency and accountability, and to positively influence the university’s use of the forest. The money raised will be used to further the campaign’s efforts. Because this is a volunteer effort, none of the members of the Friends of the Woods group will be paid from any funds collected. If any money is left after all is said and done, we will donate it to a local land conservancy. For more information, please visit www.saveuncawoods.org LEAH SONG PROJECT (featuring members or Rising Appalachia) Leah Song is a storyteller, song-catcher, musician, poet, and community builder known primarily for her role as frontwoman of Rising Appalachia, alongside her sister Chloe. As a soloist, she incorporates sultry vocals, storytelling, folklore, ballads and boleros into her laid-back troubadour performances. Her music is based in the traditions of Southern soul, the diasporic music of the Celtic Isles and her deep studies of traditional folk music from across the Americas. WILD ROOTS Wild Roots is an independent, women-led band based in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Headed by Julia Houghton and Olivia Moore, the group released their debut album, Wild Roots Rising, in 2021 and have since continued to tour, playing stages and festivals across the country. Olivia and Julia have co-created music for nearly a decade and collaborate in many areas of life; in addition to being soul sisters, the two share a deep passion for sustainable living and environmental justice. DAVID EARL TOMLINSON David Earl Tomlinson is among Asheville, North Carolina’s more soulful singers and performers.
The Steel Wheels
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY THE STEEL WHEELS The Steel Wheels have long been at home in the creative space between tradition and innovation, informed by the familiar sounds of the Virginia mountains where the band was formed, but always moving forward with insightful lyrics and an evolving sound. In 2005, Jay Lapp (vocals, guitars, mandolin) and Eric Brubaker (vocals, fiddle) joined lead singer Trent Wagler (guitar, banjo) in forming the band as a vehicle for Wagler’s songwriting. They released several albums under Wagler’s moniker, before officially adopting the The Steel Wheels name with the 2010 release of Red Wing. Quickly staking their claim as independent upstarts in the burgeoning Americana scene, The Steel Wheels followed up this release with three more self-produced albums in the next five years, before joining forces with producer Sam Kassirer for Wild As We Came Here (2017) and Over The Trees (2019). Kevin Garcia (drums, percussion, keys) joined in 2017, bringing a new level of sonic depth and polish to the outfit. Newest member Jeremy Darrow rounds out the rhythm section and grounds the band as they continue to explore deeply rooted yet fresh folk rock sounds. Having gained the experience of thousands of shows, festivals and many miles on the road, the stubbornly independent band has formed deep bonds with each other and the audience that sustains them. The Steel Wheels have responded to this time of isolation and loss by seeking to connect with their audience in new ways. In 2020, unable to perform their rootsy brand of Americana for crowds in live settings, the musicians turned their creative powers to crafting songs for individuals. Produced in isolation in the band’s home studios, the Everyone a Song albums are part of an ongoing project to collect the personal experiences of fans and forge them into that most enduring, yet ephemeral, format we call “song.” An accompanying podcast, We Made You a Song, explores the stories behind these songs, and the songwriting process itself. While each song was commissioned to honor a specific relationship or event—a birth, a wedding, a memory of home—the emotions evoked are universal. Nowhere is this shared humanity more evident than at the band’s own Red Wing Roots Music Festival, a weekend-long celebration of music, community, and the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Hosted by The Steel Wheels every summer, the festival provides a space for the band to shine, from their high energy Saturday night main stage set to their afternoon showcase with young Red Wing Academy students. At Sunday’s gospel hour you are as likely to hear Steel Wheels originals or Warren Zevon covers as you are traditional gospel fare. The weekend is rounded out by the beloved tribute set in which the band collaborates with a cadre of fellow artists to honor an influential figure in American music, with past tributes ranging from Dolly Parton to John Prine. Whether at a joyous summer festival, in their many shows across the country and beyond, or in the studio, The Steel Wheels continue their mission set out over a decade ago; shaking up traditions to see what sticks, telling stories, and joining communities through song.
Glare with Cloakroom, Jivebomb, and Destiny Bond
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY GLARE When you hear music like this—the wild, loose and woozy drags of guitar; the impossible beauty of it all—what kind of landscape presents itself in your mind? Vistas big enough to be forgotten in. Deserts which stretch back to the beginning of time. Infinite horizons melting into pink bokehs. It’s Texas, isn’t it? Formed in 2017 in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, Glare aren’t so much genre traditionalists as they are painters of wide realms and intense moods. The four-piece band has already accumulated a large audience, both in the flesh with their reputation for sell-out shows, and on the internet, a place where people go to short-circuit feelings through their screens. Sunset Funeral, the band’s debut LP, is a fog of dreamy grief, where feeling supersedes language. It’s music, as guitarist Toni Ordaz puts it, “for people who don’t know how to talk about how they feel.” An album that’s been years in the making, Sunset Funeral is a document of unspeakable grief, charting the process of mourning and how it travels through our subconscious and dreams. One of the great charms of Sunset Funeral, and of Glare overall, is how they approach such a large, celestial sound with humble materials. Among the shoegaze revivalists, Glare come to the canvas with a more resourceful, DIY perspective than many of their peers. Glare’s music is too sublime, too huge to sound like it came from any kind of manmade instrument, tiny amp box or otherwise. On first listen, Sunset Funeral—which scans as vast as desert sand—may overwhelm the senses. But look closer, and you’ll find a multiplicity of heavily crushed textures, treasures. ‘Guts’, with its sweetly chugging guitar line, dissolves the borders between bliss and despair. ‘2 Soon 2 Tell’, one of the album’s most gauzily romantic tracks, is both tense and transcendent. Nü Burn, a crunchy and lilting number, harkens back to the band’s grittier hardcore roots. But even when they deign to go hard, you can hear a softening in Glare’s sound compared to any of their previous releases, as well as an attempt to lean into more traditional pop song structures. The music drifts heavenward, to be sure, though it’s still tethered down by steady foundations. It’s beautiful. It’s humid. It’s delirious. It’s music made by people whose feelings speak louder than their words. with special guests…. CLOAKROOM JIVEBOMB DESTINY BOND
Five Eight LIVE: Weirdo Movie Screening + PINKEYE Album Release Party
ALL AGES FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM FIVE EIGHT & PINEYE, PLUS A SCREENING OF WEIRDO & Q&A WITH THE BAND FIVE EIGHT Hailing from the legendary music town of Athens, Georgia, Five Eight is a band that has turned personal chaos into cathartic rock anthems for over three decades. Fronted by the fearless and emotionally raw Mike Mantione—a self-described manic depressive whose songwriting pulls no punches—the band became a cult favorite by channeling raw nerves into razor-sharp emo-infused rock. Formed in the late ’80s, Five Eight first made waves with their 1989 cassette Passive-Aggressive, a fitting title for a debut that blended ferocious energy with deep introspection. Alongside Mantione, the band’s long-standing core included bassist Dan Horowitz, guitarist Sean Dunn, and drummer Patrick “Tigger” Ferguson—a lineup that would help shape their early, incendiary sound. Through lineup changes, personal battles, and shifting scenes, Five Eight has remained a band of uncompromising honesty and sonic fire—a lifeline for misfits, poets, and anyone who finds beauty in the wreckage. WEIRDO: THE STORY OF FIVE EIGHT is a feature documentary about Mike Mantione and his band Five Eight’s rollercoaster ride of a career from mental institution to touring with their heroes, R.E.M. and beyond. Director Marc Pilvinsky (editor of TORN ASUNDER: WAGING ALEX GARLAND’S CIVIL WAR and director of many music videos) spent nine years chronicling the Athens, Georgia band’s ups and downs in an attempt to figure out how a band this good, for this long, can remain relatively unknown. PINKEYE PINKEYE is a raucous punk band out of Asheville, North Carolina, born in the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a garage project in Black Mountain quickly evolved into a full-throttle, no-holds-barred force of rock. The trio—Scott Sturdy (bass), Chad Clay (drums), and Joe Hooten (guitar)—harnesses the untamed energy of ‘70s punk, with all three members sharing lead vocal duties and songwriting duties, crafting a raw, gritty sound. Influenced by the likes of The Stooges, Dead Boys, and MC5, PINKEYE blends old-school punk swagger with their own fierce edge.In the years since, PINKEYE has become a fixture on the Southeast punk circuit, lighting up venues and building a reputation for their relentless live shows. They’ve shared stages with legends like Agent Orange, Pylon Reenactment Society, and Soul Asylum, spreading their wild punk gospel to anyone who’ll listen. With a DIY attitude and a relentless passion for their craft, PINKEYE’s no-frills approach to music is unapologetically punk—always loud, always in-your-face, and always ready to rock.PINKEYE is set to release their highly anticipated second album on August 22nd, 2025. Recorded live in the studio and produced by Kevin Boggs at Loc Level Sound in Arden, NC, the album captures the band’s raw energy and unfiltered spirit with uncompromising authenticity. This release features standout collaborations with Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers, Myles Dunder from Dr. Bacon, and the queen of the NC underground-Hope Nicholls of Fetchin’ Bones & It’s Snakes, adding bold new dimensions to PINKEYE’s gritty sound. To celebrate and support the release, PINKEYE will hit the road on tour this Fall, bringing their explosive live show to fans across the region and beyond.
