On the recent morning of Sept. 27, a handful of early fall rainstorms rolled into the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. By late afternoon, sunshine had overtaken the high peaks and valleys in this corner of Southern Appalachia — a far cry from the chaos and destruction exactly …
Read More »Warren Haynes, Dave Matthews Band to Host Hurricane Relief Concert
No stranger to charitable causes in his native Asheville, North Carolina, with his annual Christmas Jam concert, Warren Haynes will once again lend a musical hand to help out his hometown following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene last month. Haynes will host a Nov. 24 benefit concert at …
Read More »Eric Church and Luke Combs Sing 'Carolina' Together for First Time at Massive Benefit Concert
Standing in front of more than 80,000 faces, Eric Church took a moment to absorb the spectacle at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday evening. “I’ve never played a show this close to my heart,” the country singer and Tar Heel State native noted to …
Read More »Luke Combs, Eric Church to Headline Hurricane Helene Relief Benefit
The first major benefit concert to support North Carolina storm relief has been announced. Luke Combs, Eric Church, Billy Strings, and James Taylor will headline “Concert for Carolina” on Oct. 26 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. All proceeds from the concert will be split between Combs and Church …
Read More »Asheville Musicians Are Trading Guitars for Chainsaws to Clean Up After Hurricane Helene
Normally, Darren Nicholson would have a mandolin in his hands. But on this day, he’s gripping a chainsaw. High up on Utah Mountain in Haywood County, North Carolina — overlooking the Jonathan Creek valley with the Great Smoky Mountains in the distance — Nicholson is cutting through large trees that …
Read More »Sturgill Simpson Plots North Carolina Show Benefitting Hurricane Relief Efforts
Sturgill Simpson will play a special benefit show in North Carolina this month, with all proceeds going to relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene. Simpson was slated to play Asheville on Oct. 21 as part of his tour in support of Passage du Desir, but that gig was canceled …
Read More »Asheville Is a Renowned Live Music Town. Helene's Floods Devastated Its Venues
Early last Friday morning, Lance Mills was awakened by his son telling him the Swannanoa River in their backyard was coming over its banks. In just a few hours, their home in the small community of Swannanoa, located between Asheville and Black Mountain, North Carolina, would be flooded. “I didn’t …
Read More »Eric Church, 'Devastated' by North Carolina Flooding, Postpones SiriusXM Concert
When Eric Church recorded his last album, 2021’s Heart & Soul, he decamped for the mountains of his native North Carolina and created a makeshift studio in a shuttered restaurant. Over the weekend, he watched that very region being decimated by flooding from Hurricane Helene, essentially cutting off the mountain …
Read More »Blitzen Trapper, Gyasi, and All the Best Things We Saw at AVLfest 2024
As the vibration of cicadas began echoing along the French Broad River in Asheville, North Carolina, last week, the Americana/indie sounds of Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters began to join in. AVLfest, the annual celebration of Asheville music, was underway. “It’s such a windy world out there/everybody keeps on …
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