asheville + music + me

it’s friday night… and what am i doing? i’m sitting under a blanket, with candles lit all around the living room, sipping on some cold mountain winter ale, blogging away, + catching up on some thursday night shows. yep. the weekend is here, and i’m at home nesting. and i don’t feel bad about that for one second. i’m not feeling old or boring or lazy or anything negative because i’m staying home on a friday night. it feels pretty damn great actually.

you see, the reason i don’t feel bad is because i live in asheville… where any + every night is like friday night. just last night (thursday) my love + i went to see some live music at a local brewery about 5 minutes from our home. like many ashevillians, we do that quite often in the middle of our regular week routines. because it’s asheville. and because we can. and, in asheville, music is as much of a god as beer and art and nature and food are.

asheville’s music scene is incredible. there are music venues dotted all over the city – downtown, west asheville, east asheville. the breweries are constantly having local + not-so-local bands come to their tasting rooms to entertain the beer lovers. there are concert halls, little holes-in-the-wall, pubs and funky dives where you can find music any night of the week.

and it’s not just little, local no-name artists either. big names have played here. big names still play here. but, there are also grassroots bands and groups and singer/songwriters who play here. it’s such an eclectic mix of music opportunities. the main thing i’m trying to say is this: if you like music, asheville is a city to visit.

for me, asheville has been heaven for the past year. i have had the incredible, amazing joy of seeing three of my all-time favorite groups play here. on top of that, i’ve gotten to know other local musicians/artists, thanks to having the chance to meet so many cool, new, artist friends since moving back. basically, what i am saying is this: i’ve been both star-struck + made some sweet, dear, new friends + been inspired my music dreams all in a matter of a few months.

check out a few of the amazing acts that i’ve seen in the past year. imma lucky girl!

nickel creek

first aid kit

the avett brothers

the wilhelm brothers

these guys are good friends of ours who live in asheville – and who we are planning a european tour with in 2015. yep! lina and i will be setting up some venues across europe with them +  touring with them… me photographing, lina designing + perhaps singing. it’ll be a tour of friends + music + pure joy, i promise! these guys are total sunshine. can’t wait!

my love has even gotten in on some of the musical artistry action in asheville, meeting for a jam session + leading the group with her amazing voice singing “hallelujah”. so much fun.

whether you are looking for a big, blown-out, exciting concert, or a cozy, intimate one, you will be sure to find both here in asheville. so, friends, when you’re in asheville, here’s what you do: eat brunch downtown. visit the biltmore estate. ride on the blue ridge parkway + do some hiking. visit breweries. do a little local, fair-trade shopping. hang out in the river arts district. drink coffee (fika!) at a local coffeehouse. visit museums + art galleries. people watch. and… listen to music.

there is so much to do in asheville. so much i love about asheville. but, the music scene… it is freaking amazing. get online, book a ticket, + trust me.

peace out, man. light + love. xx