Taj Farrant: “Chapter One” Album Release Tour
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP MEET & GREET PACKAGES AVAILABLE (see below for package details) TAJ FARRANT Taj Farrant’s debut album tour, titled “Chapter One,” marks an exciting milestone for the young Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. This album showcases his exceptional talent and eclectic musical style, blending rock, blues, and pop influences. With electrifying performances and heartfelt songwriting, Farrant captivates audiences as he embarks on this new artistic journey, solidifying his place in the music scene and promising a bright future ahead. Taj Farrant VIP ticket includes a Meet & Greet experience with Taj and the Band. Fans will have the opportunity to take photos with Taj and are allowed to bring any merch items they’d like to be signed. The Meet & Greet will take place an hour before doors open. Fans will also have first access to seating for the show. The VIP Meet & Greet ticket also includes a GA ticket to the show.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band + Eddie 9V
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND The latest album from Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band was written by candlelight and then recorded using the best technology available . . . in the 1950s. But listeners won’t find another album as relevant, electrifying and timely as Dance Songs for Hard Times. Dance Songs for Hard Times conveys the hopes and fears of pandemic living. Rev. Peyton, the Big Damn Band’s vocalist and world-class fingerstyle guitarist, details bleak financial challenges on the songs “Ways and Means” and “Dirty Hustlin’.” He pines for in-person reunions with loved ones on “No Tellin’ When,” and he pleads for celestial relief on the album-closing “Come Down Angels.” Far from a depressing listen, Dance Songs lives up to its name by delivering action-packed riffs and rhythms across 11 songs. The country blues trio that won over crowds on more than one Warped Tour knows how to make an audience move. “I like songs that sound happy but are actually very sad,” Peyton says. “I don’t know why it is, but I just do.” EDDIE 9V As far back as he can remember, Capricorn Studios was calling Eddie 9V. As a kid scanning the sleeves of his favorite vinyl records, this fabled facility in Macon, Georgia, was always the secret ingredient, adding a little grit and honey to every song born on its floor. Capricorn and the bands who blew through it urged the Atlanta guitarist to ditch school at 15, play his fingers bloody throughout the south, and turn apathy into acclaim for early albums Left My Soul in Memphis (2019) and Little Black Flies (2021). Eddie spent his first quarter-century admiring Capricorn from afar. But in December 2021, the 26-year-old finally put his thumbprint on the studio’s mythology, corralling an eleven-strong group of the American South’s best roots musicians to track his third album. “There was overwhelming excitement at being in such a legendary studio,” he says. “But we hugged and got right to work. Everyone was joyous, loving, and flat-out playing their asses off.” You don’t come to Capricorn Studios for polish. Frozen in time since its opening day in 1969, the mojo from sessions by giants like the Allman Brothers and Bonnie Bramlett still hangs in the air, while the recording philosophy remains gloriously raw. That suited Eddie, whose output has been celebrated for its warts-and-all snapshot of what went down. “In a world where everyone is trying to sound the best, I’m trying to sound like me,” he reasons. “I always want the listener to feel like they’re in the room with us. So I’d leave it in if a drum pedal squeaked or someone laughed during a take on the Capricorn album. It’s our way of putting a stamp on the song.” Eddie’s old-school ethos goes way back. Born Brooks Mason in June 1996, he acquired his first guitar aged six, “One of those with the speaker in it – the most bang for your buck, y’know?”, ignored the prevailing pop scene at Oak Grove High School in favor of local heroes like Sean Costello and studied “older cats” like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Freddie King, and Rory Gallagher “to see what made them groove and tick.” His shoot-from-the-lip lyrics adds Eddie came from family fish fries, where his Uncle Brian “taught me to make people laugh, how to hold an audience’s attention.”
Jimmy Vivino Band
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE JIMMY VIVINO BAND “Although I’m proud to say I am currently a member of Blues Rock pioneers Canned Heat and co-producer of our latest release “Finyl Vinyl”, there’s just too much to list as far as played with this one played with that one. But in the end I will list the people of importance pertaining to my growth as a musician. Yes, I’ve worked in every form of media in the business from Movies to TV to Broadway to Radio to Records to Concerts all the way down to funky little clubs. After all I always say “I’m just a Bluesman with a job.” One thing I did learn over 60 plus years as a musician was how to work. And I did and still am. Nothing beats playing in live music venues and meeting people. I’m just gonna list my close friends (who are really family) and mentors who taught me the “ways.” Levon Helm, Phoebe Snow, Al Kooper, John Sebastian, James Cotton, Joe Louis Walker, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmie Vaughan,Johnnie Johnson, Laura Nyro, Odetta, Lowell Fulson,Son Seals, Donald Fagen, Darlene Love, Felix Cavaliere, Barry Goldberg, Nick Gravenites, Canned Heat with Fito de la Parra, Warren Haynes and just about anyone else who passed through NYC and needed a band that could play the Blues, Soul, Real RocknRoll and R&B. Being involved with the Conan show for 30 years has only deepened my experience and contact with people who stepped out of my record collection and into my life and for that I am truly grateful.” – Jimmy Vivino
PATIO (FREE SHOW!): Cary Fridley & Dave Perkins
– FREE SHOW!!! – ALL AGES – LIMITED SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED Cary Fridley and Dave Perkins play roots, blues, jazz and original songs. Cary’s high lonesome singing has been echoing these hills for over 25 years, and Asheville native Dave Perkins plays incredible electric guitar influenced by legends like Warren Haynes and Stevie Ray Vaughan. FREE SHOW!! Show runs 4:00 PM-515. Food and drink available from The Grey Eagle Taqueria. Family friendly show! Come fill your Saturday day with food, drink, fun and some of the best live music Asheville has to offer – all in one place.
Ana Popovic
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE ANA POPOVIC The award-winning, hard-touring, guitar slinger blends smoking electric funk and slide guitar, jazzy instrumentals and a tight blues groove with soulful, feminine vocals. Add to the mix her incredible stage presence, all of which makes her an irresistible force in the world of contemporary blues music. Her sound simply never stands still, she’s pushing limits, bending genres, and reinventing her music and herself with each new record. Not surprisingly, she can claim any number of notable accolades and achievements from the highest quarters of the music industry. She’s shown her commitment to celebrating her guitar-driven, eclectic music style through consistent touring, awards, and recognition for the past 25 years. In the process, she’s emerged as one of the most thoughtful, dynamic, and committed performers in modern songwriting and guitar. Ana’s latest studio album, Power, released on May 5, 2023, on ArtisteXclusive Records, brings those dynamics to the fore and, in the process, turns this set of songs into both a powerful and personal tale of survival through faith, determination and tenacity. They were spawned from a decidedly tricky set of circumstances that tested Ana’s devotion to making music and her perseverance. ‘Power’ symbolizes unity. Album cover art: two holding hands, black and white, is what this world needs. It’s the power, and it’s the force that’s going to move this world forward. Without that power, there wouldn’t have been so much remarkable music today, ideas, and reforms. And indeed, not this record. This story is about friendship and embracing yourself with everything life throws at you. If that all isn’t enough, in 2023 she decided to take on an even bigger task: fronting her brand new, genre-bending, BIG BAND project ‘FANTASTAFUNK’ that showcases an excellent 11 piece band. Funk, gospel & soul extravaganza! It’s available for booking in 2024 and guarantees an amazing performance on any of the leading music festivals! Called ‘one helluva a guitar-player’ by Bruce Springsteen and nominated for seven Blues Music Awards, Ana was added as the only female guitar-player to the 2014 -’18 all star Experience Hendrix lineup; a nationwide tour celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix w/ Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and many more world renown artists. She appeared on the cover of Vintage Guitar and Guitar Player magazine. Her latest album POWER (2023) made it to #1 on the Billboards Blues Charts – THE list of best selling albums nationwide. Her albums ‘Can You Stand The Heat’ and ‘Unconditional’ where Pick-Of-The-Week by USA Today and featured on NPR Music. You’ll find Popovic in a select group of excellent modern rock-blues guitar players. One reason could be the fact that she’s always willing to work a little harder and travel a little further to master her craft. Ana and her powerful band are tirelessly touring, playing major blues, jazz and rock festivals. She is endorsed by Fender, D’Angelico, Jim Dunlop and DR strings. She has shared headlining stages with B.B. King, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr. and many others. When not on tour, she resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Kelli Baker Band featuring Noé Socha
ALL AGES SEATED SHOW LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE KELLI BAKER BAND Drawing striking comparisons to Samantha Fish and Susan Tedeschi with the stage presence of Robert Plant and Joe Cocker, Kelli Baker brings major acclaim wherever she goes. Known in some circles as “The Phoenix”, Kelli was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She moved to New York in 2012, with $500 in cash, chasing the heels of Hurricane Sandy. Learning music like so many others in the church choir, Kelli graduated to writing her own music, fronting a hard rock band, a folk duo, then honing her chops at New York’s best blues jams, solidifying her presence in the competitive blues scene. In January 2023, Kelli’s explosive live performance at the National Women in Blues Showcase in Memphis, TN, led to her immediate signing with Colorado-based Road Dawg Touring, solidifying tour and festival dates throughout the country. Kelli tours consistently around the United States. Performing with The Kelli Baker Band, she appears regularly at notable venues such as The Cutting Room, House of Blues Chicago, Knuckleheads Kansas City, The Rhythm Room, The Sand Dollar, and holds a residency at NYC’s iconic venue, The Bitter End. Kelli recently headlined both the Women of the Blues Festival in McIntosh, MN, and the Paxico Blues Fest in Kansas City, KS, which draws 5,000 people. Her show-stopping track, “Blood on the Nile” was met with critical acclaim, landing on Spotify’s coveted editorial playlist, “Blues Roots.” Kelli’s take on Aretha Franklin’s “Dr. Feelgood (Love is a Serious Business)” recently hit #1 on the Blues Rock chart, Roots Music Report, as well as #2 on the chart for Top 50 Blues Songs, days after its release. Kelli has swiftly moved through the ranks of New York’s bristling music scene to become a known name and formidable player in the game. She has been featured in Relix Magazine, Guitar Girl Magazine, and countless others. Kelli Baker has recorded at VUDU Studios with producers Mike Watts and Frank Mitaritonna, Cove City Sound Studios with Richie Cannata (Billy Joel, Lords of 52nd Street) and John Arbuckle (Justin Bieber, Jon Bellion), Milk House Studios with multi-platinum producer Philip A. Jimenez (Wheatus, Teenage Dirtbag) and Blokhed Studios with Grammy-nominated producer Tommy Stiegler. Susan Aquila (recorded and worked with Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler) appears on “Cathedral”. Kelli is endorsed by Monster Products, Fret37, ADV, Westone Audio, and Modern Vintage Guitars. She resides in New York City.
OUTPOST: Memphis & The Misfits with Party Rx
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE BIO HERE: Memphis & The Misfits: The rich musical legacy Dave Halstead grew up in undeniably helped shape him into the musician that he is. Born in a resort town in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York plus his Mom being a longtime horn player that knew everyone local in the music scene was all that was needed for the stars to align. His Mom set him up with lessons at an early age with one of the busiest drummers in the area that was playing everything from big band to rock and before you know it Dave was sitting in at rehearsals and soon at gigs. Mr. Ray, his instructor, became ill when Dave was 15 and Dave covered many of his gigs that summer. Soon enough Dae was playing 6 nights a week and was one of the most desired drummers in the area. His escapades on stage in this early part of his career put him on stage backing up noted names like Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin-even earning him the opportunity to perform at Radio City Music Hall. In addition to becoming a highly respected pararescue specialist in the U.S. Air Force as well as becoming one of the most noted minds on brain injury research in the world (no, really…..) Dave also forged a career playing and recording with bands in every genre you could imagine from his teen years to the present. Dave’s playing is fierce and relentless on stage and always cuts through with surgical precision-not too much, not too little-and this band couldn’t exist with anyone but him as the foundation. His band Memphis & The Misfits has been described as “the new sound of rootsy blues and Americana music.” Their debut album ” Halfway to Number Nine” was released October 2023, with the followup “Further Back” to be recorded in 2024. Sal Landers’ Party Rx: Multi award-winning Asheville-based indie rocker Sal Landers has been rousing audiences with her gritty, high-voltage performances for decades. Touring heavily, she’s logged thousands of miles on the road – nationally and in both Europe and Japan. Sal has shared the stage with Joan Jett, Eddie Money, Alabama, Roy Clark, Will Smith, Linda Perry, Chris Williamson, Holly Near, The Tubes, and many more. Possessing showmanship in spades, she has continued to make her mark as a fiery, impassioned performer who deftly takes command of the stage with her band Party Rx!, dishing up epic grooves, crunchy guitar riffs, and robust vocals. Sal has an easy, natural rapport with the audience and offers crowd-rousing performances that lean into raw, potent, organic sounds featuring the Woodstock era’s iconic artist’s hits and her own passionate originals!
Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYCEDRIC BURNSIDE The official credit tells it like it is. “Recorded in an old building in Ripley, Mississippi” – that’s all the info we get, and all that we need. When Cedric Burnside prepared to record Hill Country Love, the follow-up to his 2021 Grammy-winning album I Be Trying, he set up shop in a former legal office located in a row of structures in the seat of Tippah County, a town with 5,000 residents that’s known as the birthplace of the Hill Country Blues style. “That building was actually going to be my juke joint. Everything was made out of wood, which made the sound resonate like a big wooden box,” said Burnside. He called up producer Luther Dickinson (co-founder of the acclaimed North Mississippi Allstars and the son of legendary Memphis producer/musician Jim Dickinson), who brought recording equipment into the empty space. “We recorded in the middle of a bunch of rubbish – wood everywhere and garbage cans,” Burnside says. “We just laid everything out the way and recorded the album right there.” The 14 songs on the record were finished in two days, but in addition to being satisfied with the sound, Burnside believes that Hill Country Love represents real creative progress. “Every time I write an album, it’s always different,” he says. “I’m always looking to express myself a little bit better than I did on the last one and talk about more things happen in my life. I think that every day that you’re able to open your eyes, life is gonna throw you something to write about and to talk about. Certainly, plenty of things have happened in Cedric Burnside’s life since he went on the road at age 13, drumming for his grandfather, the pioneering bluesman R.L. Burnside. His two albums before I Be Trying – 2015’s Descendants of Hill Country and 2018’s Benton County Relic – were both nominated for Grammys. He has also appeared in several films, including Tempted and Big Bad Love (both released in 2001) and the 2006 hit Black Snake Moan, and he played the title character in 2021’s Texas Red. Burnside is a recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship, the country’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts and was recently recognized with the 2024 Mississippi Governor’s Art Award for Excellence in Music. He has performed and recorded with such diverse musicians as Jimmy Buffett, Bobby Rush, and Widespread Panic. To Cedric Burnside, Hill Country Love is a culmination of a career that’s already seen astonishing accomplishments and only keeps growing. What he wanted this time out was a real sense of honesty and integrity. “I compromised a little bit with my albums in the past,” he says, “and I didn’t really have to compromise with this one, because I did it by myself. “I have to be true to where I’m coming from,” he continues. “On this album, the feeling that I had was like, I’m going to write what I feel, I’m going to write what’s going on. Life gives you good and life gives you bad and you have to cope with it however you need to cope with it. My way of coping with things is through my music, so I thank the Lord for music. I really do.” ANDREW SCOTCHIE Through consistent heartfelt releases, year round touring and active charity work, Asheville N.C. native Andrew Scotchie is a celebrated creative force. His unique brand of rock n roll, blues and Americana has an unmatched sense of urgency and unifying social commentary.
PATIO: Scott Low
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVESCOTT LOW Scott Low sings songs about things he knows. Since moving from 150-200 shows a year and Athens GA, Low has founded a fly fishing art music camp, Hatch Camp and Art Farm. But Scott still sings songs in the American Folk tradition with a touch of Country and Appalachia performing solo or with his band, The Southern Bouillon. 2024 brought us The Appalachian Blues which everyone is calling Low’s best effort yet. A mash of Piedmont and Delta blues with a touch of Appalachia. With a wide ranging background stretching from jazz to punk to southern rock, Low pulls from all the things that have shaped him. From Townes and Dylan to Miles and Zappa. But what comes out on stage is an intense rendering of original songs (and a few choice covers). In the summer of 2016, Scott released THE NEW VINTAGE, a 2+ year project of songs that fall into the net of Americana and followed it with extensive touring. A more folk album came next with 2018’s BURNING TIRES, SMOKING GUNS. Then 2020 and COVID brought THE SOUTHERN BOUILLON LIVE. Initial comparisons to Jamey Johnson, Ryan Bingham, and Hayes Carll have been written by the more Americana press, but there are touches of Tom Waits, and Nina Simone that linger in the shadows. Over the years Scott has shared the tour stage/road with Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Caleb Caudle, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Sammy Kershaw, Shovels & Rope, Chris Knight, and many more. Please support original music and culture. And, please look for Scott Low music and shows near you!
Tinsley Ellis – Naked Truth Tour
ALL AGESSEATED SHOWLIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLETINSLEY ELLIS On Naked Truth (his 21st album), Ellis swaps his blistering, guitar-fueled full band workouts for equally passionate, soul-searching acoustic folk blues. His famed guitar chops and musical creativity are on full display throughout the album’s 12 songs, including nine newly written originals. Naked Truth was produced by Ellis, with the foot-stomping cover of Son House’s Death Letter Blues produced by Atlanta roots musician Eddie 9V. The album was recorded live in the studio using Ellis’ beloved 1969 Martin D-35 (a gift from his father) and his 1937 National Steel O Series guitars. Whether intricately fingerpicking the Martin or playing hair-raising slide on the National Steel, Ellis delivers each song with unvarnished intimacy. The opener, Ellis’ original Devil In The Room, comes from an expression Ellis’ close friend, the late Col. Bruce Hampton, would tell his musicians just before a show was about to begin (“We’re here to put the devil in the room,” he’d say). From the original, Skip James-inspired Windowpane to the Delta-styled Tallahassee Blues, to the humorous Grown Ass Man, Ellis goes deep, singing and playing the blues’ honest truths. The inclusion of four introspective instrumentals (including a transcendent cover of Leo Kottke’s A Soldier’s Grave On The Prairie, a song he’s been playing live for almost 50 years) adds even more depth and substance to an album overflowing with riches. Each song carries the weight, experience and hard-earned wisdom Ellis learned over four decades on the road, infusing Naked Truth with an emotional authenticity that is palpable from start to finish. Tinsley Ellis has been immersed in music his whole life. Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, he acquired his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as Southern rockers like The Allman Brothers. According to Atlanta-based blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Tinsley Ellis, his new, first-ever solo acoustic album, Naked Truth, is both “a departure and an arrival.” Ellis has been recording and travelling the world for over four decades, delivering his feral, guitar-fueled, original electric blues-rock to ever-growing audiences at concert halls, festivals, and clubs. Naked Truth is steeped in the folk blues traditions of Muddy Waters, Skip James, Son House, Robert Johnson and even Leo Kottke. To the casual fan, this might seem to be a new direction, but for Ellis, it’s an extension of his music, as he taps into the raw essence of the blues. “This is a record I’ve always wanted to make, and one that my longtime fans have been asking for,” he says, noting he’s included an acoustic mini-set in his concert performances for years. In the last 12 months, Ellis has already performed over 100 solo shows, many as co-bills with his Alligator label-mate Marcia Ball. “I’m having so much fun playing these shows,” he says.
