[CANCELED] PATIO SHOW: William Matheny
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING (FIRST COME FIRST SERVED) WILLIAM MATHENYLet me tell you an anecdote about William Matheny. And no, this is not the 5:15 AM drive to the Albany Airport when we both were drinking Genesee beer and black coffee because we were both thinking correctly at that hour. More on that later. It was before I really knew William, but the moment when I knew that he was great. Envision: A punk rock club in Washington, DC, its inhabitants and paid customers. Who knows why and how he had been booked? A songwriter from Mannington, West Virginia stepping into the lair of upper-crust, judgment-packed DC punks with their Fugazi-leftover orthodoxies in their wildly provincial scene. He had fifteen minutes, a Vox amp, a telecaster and no one interested in the audience. I live in DC and I would have fled. There was a 10,000% chance that the next band up was going to have a spiel about gentrification and then play “angular riffs.” Billy — I can call him that, you can’t — played a solo set. He played loud. He played “Out For Revenge” and “29 Candles” and “Teenage Bones” and the other great songs which you may not have heard on his debut LP. Over the course of that short set he first brought that crowd to heel and then brought the crowd around. By the end the applause was thick and the appreciation unmistakable. He did it in DC. He can do it anywhere.But let’s talk about the other thing with the beers and the coffee and Albany. You need to know that William Matheny and I have been through some things together. We’ve seen parts of the world that I was sure existed only in Elmore Leonard novels. When I needed to pull over on the Cross-Bronx Expressway to throw up in a plastic trash bag, he was my driver and bag provider. We made it to the Bowery Ballroom an hour later for soundcheck and everything went great. William Matheny is the lead guitarist in my band the Paranoid Style, in addition to his other obligations. William Matheny is a man that makes things happen.William Matheny may be the best songwriter working, and is at a minimum the best songwriter you might have never heard of. For those who haven’t had that good fortune, let’s go, as Warner Wolfe used to say, to the videotape. Consider his 2018 standout single “Christian Name,” which is like Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down A Dream” if it had been “Runnin’ Down A Nightmare.”Over the past four years, he has assembled a wondrous catalog which situates itself amongst the indelible tradition of roots-rock misfits like Guy Clark and Lowell George, with just enough Jackson Browne-craft and Springsteen-triumphalism to make the thing potentially huge. You can’t talk about Matheny without talking about West Virginia, although it is sometimes true that he would prefer not to discuss it. Matheny is from Mannington, population smaller than your average small town. Like most of the state, Mannington fought on the side of the Union in the Civil War and represented a crucial strategic stronghold as one of the stops on the B&O Railroad. The correct side, not that it helped all that much. They say history is written by the winners, but in spite of upholding the Union, history was not written by Mannington. Heavy industry: logging and coal. An oil boom in the 1910s. Comfortable lives and then the Great Depression. Bankers and foreclosures. History was written by Mannington and then history was written on Mannington. That grand old feeling, indeed.
An Evening With Enter The Haggis
ALL AGESPARTIALLY SEATED SHOWENTER THE HAGGIS”If other bands are putting out the equivalent of late-night cable-tv shows, Enter The Haggis is making IMAX films.” – Asheville Mountain Xpress For the better part of two decades, Toronto’s Enter The Haggis has combined bagpipes and fiddles with a rock rhythm section to create a distinctively eclectic sound, praised by The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and Canada’s Globe and Mail. Their songs offer singalong melodies and deep, meaningful lyrics which tell the stories of everyday hard working people, often faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Signature songs like “One Last Drink”, “Gasoline”, “Down With The Ship” and “Lancaster Gate” have had hundreds of thousands of plays on social media, appeared in Hollywood movies, and have been performed and recorded by artists around the world. Enter The Haggis is clearly comfortable on the stage and develops an easy rapport with audiences, sharing the stories behind their songs and laughing through tour anecdotes. The show is exciting and dynamic, featuring unpredictable and spontaneous moments. One song might feature drummer Bruce McCarthy taking a drum solo on Trevor Lewington’s guitar strings, while the next song breaks down into a fierce battle between fiddle and harmonica. Sometimes during an encore, the band will leave the stage entirely to perform acoustically standing on chairs in the audience. Rose Baldino has joined the band on fiddle, filling out the group’s Celtic instrumentation. No stranger to touring and the Celtic festival scene, Baldino grew up playing with her band Burning Bridget Cleary and currently tours extensively with House of Hamill. Enter The Haggis’ commitment to putting on a great show every single night has made them a favorite at festivals and performing arts centers across the US and Canada. As a result, ETH shows have become an annual tradition on some of the most prestigious stages on the continent. The band has also brought hundreds of fans on eight tours of Ireland, forging deeper friendships with their supporters while exploring ancient landmarks and natural wonders across the country. The next trip will be to Scotland in April, 2022. Enter The Haggis has appeared on “Live with Regis and Kelly” and “A&E’s Breakfast With The Arts”, and was the feature of an hour-long PBS concert special which aired for months on more than eighty affiliate stations across the US. The band’s legions of die-hard fans (the self-described “Haggis Heads”) have crowdfunded the last four ETH albums, and played a huge part in propelling the most recent full-length record to its debut at #9 on the national “Billboard Heatseekers” chart. The group’s friendly, welcoming attitude is responsible for the close relationship it has with its supporters, and all five band members truly enjoy taking time after every show to meet with people one on one. Enter The Haggis is currently touring in support of its latest album, The Archer’s Parade.
Madison Cunningham
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYMADISON CUNNINGHAM Two-time Grammy nominated artist Madison Cunningham is set to release her highly anticipated new album, Revealer, September 9 on Verve Forecast. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter-guitarist recently received her second Grammy nomination for Wednesday (Extended Edition) in the “Best Folk Album” category, previously having her debut album Who Are You Now nominated for “Best Americana Album” in 2020. Cunningham is fresh off the heels of a successful 2021, having opened for Harry Styles at his sold-out Madison Square Garden shows, toured with the likes of Andrew Bird, Bahamas and My Morning Jacket, and joined the touring band for “Live from Here.” She performed on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (alongside Courtney Marie Andrews) and penned an original song “Broken Harvest” for the NPR “Morning Edition” Song Project. Her forthcoming album Revealer finds Cunningham working once again with longtime producer and collaborator Tyler Chester, as well as Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Mastodon) and Tucker Martine (Neko Case, Sufjan Stevens). The album is full of confessions, intimations, and hard truths — a self-portrait of a young artist who is full of doubt and uncertainty, yet bursting with exciting ideas about music and life. “There’s a sense of conflict about revealing anything about yourself; not just what to reveal, but whether you should reveal anything at all,” Cunningham explains. “This record is a product of me trying to find myself and my interests again. I felt like somewhere along the way I had lost the big picture of my own life.” BENDIGO FLETCHERHailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Bendigo Fletcher are a band that blend the organic sound of folk music with a melodic sense that owes more to indie rock, making music that’s dreamlike and firmly grounded at the same time.
Margo Cilker
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOWMARGO CILKER MARGO CILKER is a woman who drinks deeply of life, and her debut record Pohorylle, released in November 2021 on Portland label Fluff and Gravy, is brimming with it. For the last seven years, the Eastern Oregon songwriter, who NPR calls one of “11 Oregon Artists to Watch in 2021,” has split her time between the road and various outposts across the world, from Enterprise, OR to the Basque Country of Spain, forging a path that is at once deeply rooted and ever-changing. As Pohorylle traverses through the geography of Cilker’s memories—a touring musician’s tapestry of dive bars and breathtaking natural beauty—love is apparent, as is its inevitable partner: loss. For what bigger heartbreak is there than to be a fervent lover who must always keep moving? Cilker seems keenly aware of the precarious footing upon which love stands, and at many turns, the record circles something that is staggeringly beautiful and slipping away. “I am a woman split between places,” Cilker sings on the album’s wistful closer, touching for a brief moment upon the vast dichotomies of her selfhood and her profession, and the negotiation that she conducts between them. “I’m just very inquisitive. I’m a very curious person. Why are things this way? Do they have to stay this way? You know, how can things change?” Cilker asks. It is this part of her nature that expands Pohorylle into the complex journey that it is: her ability to crack open a moment of desperation and lay it out on a table to catch a careful light. Pohorylle, which carries gentle nods to Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, and Gillian Welch, shines under the instincts of producer Sera Cahoone, whom Cilker first came across in 2019 while planning her first full-length. “I was trying to pin down what kind of sound I wanted and stumbled across a video of Sera and just loved how she performed. I then listened to her last studio record and thought, that’s the sound.” Cilker says. “I found out Sera had produced that record herself with John Askew. My friend put me in touch with her and she liked my demos enough to produce the album. It felt very auspicious—It was truly just a gut feeling.” Cahoone quickly got to work assembling a first-rate band: Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists) on keys, Jason Kardong (Sera Cahoone, Son Volt) on pedal steel, Rebecca Young (Lindsey Fuller, Jesse Sykes) on bass, Mirabai Peart (Joanna Newsom) on strings, Kelly Pratt (Beirut) on horns, and the album’s engineer John Morgan Askew (Neko Case, Laura Gibson) on an array of other instruments. The record also prominently features effortless harmonies from Sarah Cilker, Margo Cilker’s sister and frequent touring partner. Over the last six years, Margo Cilker has toured extensively across the US and internationally, and is a staple in the independent festival circuit. (written by Maria Maita-Keppeler)GABE LEE Nashville-based songwriter Gabe Lee is becoming increasingly known for his ability to detail the intricacies of everyday life, the small distinctions that leave some on the fringe and others in the mainstream, and the particulars that stick around long after a lover leaves.
Andy McKee
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEANDY McKEE Andy McKee is among the world’s finest acoustic guitarists. His youthful energy and attention to song structure and melodic content elevates him above the rest. He entertains both the eye and the ear as he magically transforms the steel string guitar into a full orchestra via his use of altered tunings, tapping, partial capos, percussive hits and a signature two-handed technique. McKee’s crossover success has helped him to achieve millions upon millions of YouTube viewers, underscoring his emergence as one of today’s most unique and influential artists. He has been featured as a cover story in both Acoustic Guitar Magazine in the U.S. and Acoustic Magazine in the UK, and is also the figurehead of the unique Guitar Masters tours. McKee’s tour dates have taken him through Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, including tours with legendary acts including Prince and Dream Theater. Live performances of Andy’s have become a point of fascination with his loyal followers. So, in late 2015, Andy decided it was time to release a live album. Featuring tracks from his entire catalog, Live Book was recorded live in December 2015 at The Melting Point in Athens, GA, the Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth, GA, and Workplay in Birmingham, AL. McKee went through the recordings from all three shows and selected the finest takes of each set. Reflecting on the song choices, he looks to provide current fans the chance to relive their favorite shows, and hopes that he can showcase the energy he creates for those who haven’t been able to attend a show and new fans alike. “I’ve always wanted to do a live album; for quite a few years I’ve felt it’s something that has been missing from my collection of releases,” says McKee. “This album will feature some of my YouTube hits like ‘Drifting’ and ‘Rylynn’, some songs from my 2014 EP Mythmaker, and a cover of a Michael Hedges song called ‘Because It’s There’ played on harp guitar that I haven’t released yet.” Live Book is set to be released digitally in Europe on February 12 and worldwide (digitally and physically) on April 22. The album, McKee’s first live record, will be released through CGP Sounds. In support of the new album, McKee will embark on “The Next Chapter Tour” throughout Europe in February and March, and the United States in April and May. CALUM GRAHAM Born in Fort St. John, British Columbia and currently residing in Victoria, Calum Graham has been building a name for himself across the globe for the last 12 years with his passionate solo acoustic guitar prowess and was named one of the World’s Top 30 Guitarists under 30 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Calum plays the Acoustic, Baritone, and Harp Guitar in his live set and his original melodies embraces elements of folk, world, soul, blues and jazz – all built upon the foundation of the fingerstyle technique.
Celebrating John Prine with The Knotty G’s
– ALL AGES- PARTIALLY SEATED SHOW THE KNOTTY G’S The Knotty G’s will be joined by some of the finest musicians from the “big ‘ole goofy” town of Asheville to celebrate the music and legacy of one of America’s most influential and beloved songwriters, John Prine, on his birthday, October 10th. This incredible lineup features Felix Pastorius on bass, Lyndsay Pruett on violin, Jackson Dulaney on pedal steel, Daniel Combs on organ and keyboards, Kent Spillman on drums as well as other special guests throughout the evening. The Knotty G’s- Gillian Francis H.E. Knott (vocals/guitar) and Charles Knott (vocals/guitar): The Knott’s goal is simple: to create music and an experience at their shows they feel is genuine. Gritty yet funky performances fuse with the band’s jovial nature and invite audiences to take part in the revelatory power of music while still managing to tap into plenty of fun. In the short time they’ve been a team, they have amassed an impressive list of stages and festivals, including: the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, The Blue Ridge Pride Festival, Strangecreek Campout, Wormtown Music Festival, and The Ladybug Festival. In December 2021, they released “Set Sail,” their first full length studio album recorded with award winning producer Matt Williams at The Eagle Room located just outside of Asheville. The album showcases genre jumping compositions tied together with the same singular soul-soaked thread that weaves its way through all of their music.
WellSpring: Album Release Show
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEWELLSPRING Molly Hartwell and Laura Boswell of WellSpring met in early 2019 at a brewery in Asheville, NC where Laura was performing at a songwriter’s event on International Women’s Day. Both accomplished singers, songwriters, and performers in their own right, they quickly discovered a mutual love of folk music and duo-centric, harmony-driven songs. In their own words… ”Finding our voices in harmony was like slipping on the most well-worn, comfortable pair of jeans; as natural as if we’d been doing it forever. Our singing chemistry seemed to have a life of its own and before long a committed collaboration began, deepening immensely during the onset of the pandemic and throughout 2020. We sang with no purpose but for the joy of it and to find our voices in the delicious dance of harmony that is so healing all in itself. We sang through hard days and better days, we sang to the neighbors and we sang to the birds. Mostly we sang to our own hearts, to help ourselves through the hardest year.” After sharing a few of these songs on social media, they quickly gained a loving and loyal following that requested (demanded!) more music from them. Seeds were planted for a recording project and in 2021 they launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to record their first full-length album. With the help of their amazing supporters, producer & engineer Daniel Shearin (River Whyless), and nearly a dozen exquisitely talented local musicians, WellSpring brought this album to life at Asheville studios Citizen Vinyl and Sleeping Dogs. Self-titled, the album memorializes the full spectrum of emotion that the first year of the pandemic contained, celebrates artists of many genres and eras, and has a couple of originals thrown in for good measure. Molly and Laura reside in Asheville where they plan to continue recording, writing, and sharing their music wherever there is a home for it. They look forward to premiering their album at The Grey Eagle with a full band that includes Bill Berg & Zack Page. ZACK KARDONZack Kardon is a multi-instrumentalist and song-writer that has been living in Asheville for the better part of a decade. As a sideman Kardon has collaborated with notable artists such as Indigo De Souza, The Dead Tongues and Midnight Snack. Kardon’s own music has a gentle intensity to it. He writes songs that look inward, rooted in a belief that the best way to touch upon the universal is to take a magnified glass to ones own experience. Kardon’s songs don’t seek to explain or preach, but simply, capture the essence of a feeling before it disappears into the ether.
Western Carolina Writers’ Showcase
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOWWESTERN CAROLINA WRITERSEstablished in 2019 with the purpose of showcasing local, up and coming artists in venues all around WNC, Western Carolina Writers presents this Songwriters in the Round showcase that features 9 singer-songwriters from all over the Western Carolinas. This show puts the spotlight on local songwriting and original music with a touch of tasteful collaboration between some of the most talented performers in the area. With 3 rounds of 3 different writers taking turns playing their songs, the night promises some exciting eclectic music with some beautiful, unique and spontaneous collaboration.Featuring: Dulci Ellenberger Galen Holland Troy Crossley Scott Stetson Carey Leigh Billy Litz Lillie Syracuse Melanie Ida Chopko Andrew Thelston
JigJam
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEJIGJAMWhen virtuoso Irish playing jumps the pond running naked through the wide open fields of bluegrass/Americana JigJam is born. Bluegrass and American Folk music originated from their homes and now JigJam are here to take it back!This Offaly and Tipperary born band have started The first wave of attack in the new Irish invasion of Americana! ‘Foot stomping’, ‘high energy’ and lots of badass is what you’re in for when you see this musical powerhouse live in concert.Founding members from Offaly Jamie McKeogh (Lead singer and guitar) and Daithi Melia (5 String Banjo and Dobro) were joined by Tipperary born Gavin Strappe (Mandolin and Tenor Banjo) in 2016. Scottish man Danny Hunter (Fiddle) joined JigJam in 2021 to make up this iGrass (Irish Bluegrass) Quartet.Described as ‘The best Irish band in bluegrass’ and ‘sparkling, infectious’ these lads have been hailed as ‘Ireland’s answer to New Grass Revival’ Bluegrass has it’s roots in Irish music and Irish immigration. iGrass and JigJam is what happens when the Irish find their prodigal son.
Bob Dylan’s 82nd Birthday Celebration: Hosted by George Trouble and The Zealots
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEGEORGE TROUBLE AND THE ZEALOTS CELEBRATE BOB DYLAN’S 82ND BIRTHDAYThe Zealots and friends will pay tribute to Bob Dylan ahead of his 82nd birthday at the Grey Eagle, Sunday, May 21st at 7pm. To salute the work of one of the most influential and complex artists of our times, the Zealots are drawing from their roots. Asheville based singer/songwriters and rockers George Trouble and The Zealots, with special guests, bring their exuberance, strong craft and diverse range of styles to the Dylan songbook, promising a night of celebration. Wear your leopard skin pill box hat!
