Setting Sail Again
Hope Griffin sings and plays acoustic guitar in a soulful, rootsy style, like a lot of songsmiths who settle in Western North Carolina. But…
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Chakra and Jive
Robert Johnson has a lucky name for a roots musician. But when he created his band, the musician sidestepped comparisons to the blues legend,…
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Straight from the Heart (Literally)
Five-piece bluegrass band Backline came together in 2016, playing a style of mountain music that bridges the gap between traditional and modern, between the…
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Making the World Right
In a world increasingly defined by fractiousness and divisiveness, the music and worldview of Western North Carolina multi-instrumentalist Andrew Reed is a welcome restorative….
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Béla in the Blue Ridge
A 15-time Grammy Award winner, Béla Fleck is the best-known banjo player living today. Though he often works in bluegrass, Fleck has followed…
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Home is Where the Muse Is
Based since 1996 in Western North Carolina, singer/songwriter/guitarist Nikki Talley took to the road about six years ago. With husband and multi-instrumentalist Jason…
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The Fundamental Concepts
Jason DeCristofaro has a full schedule. Looking only at his list of performances booked for the second half of 2018, one finds more…
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What’s the Frequency, Mike?
Mike Mills is best known as the bassist in R.E.M. From the band’s formation in Athens, Georgia in 1980 to its amicable dissolution in…
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The New Family Dynamo
At only 25, Andrew Scotchie has a thriving music career both on stage and behind the scenes — a Western North Carolina figurehead who…
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Pop Life
Popular musical styles come and go. But for nearly a half century, The Manhattan Transfer has been dazzling audiences with its unique brand of…
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