This must be the place: Where are you from, what do you do?

This past Saturday, I went on a first date. It had been a very long time since I’d actually gone…
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WOW releases 2019 charity calendar
 

WOW releases 2019 charity calendar

WOW has produced a semi-nude calendar featuring its own members for seven years and all proceeds go toward the nonprofit’s…
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This must be the place: Time don’t wait on nobody, it just keeps movin’ on

So, there I was last Saturday afternoon, sitting on a couch in the depths of country music legend Marty Stuart’s…
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Folkmoot welcomes Nashville songwriters

Renowned singer-songwriters Claire Lynch, Jerry Salley and Irene Kelley will perform on Saturday, April 6, in the Queen Auditorium at…
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HART honors Thomson

At the opening of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre’s current studio production “Venus in Fur,” the Waynesville theatre took the…
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Bringing the word to the people: Frank Stasio of ‘The State of Things’

In terms of journalism and media in North Carolina, very few names are as recognizable as that of Frank Stasio.…
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Feels like the first time: Jeff Pilson of Foreigner

When you run through the gamut of truly great rock bands, the name Foreigner tends to usually be somewhere near…
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This must be the place: Don’t shoot the messenger

Right around this time of year, journalists from across the state gather at the North Carolina Press Association awards ceremony…
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Shelton House receives honor, call for crafters
 

Shelton House receives honor, call for crafters

The Shelton House in Waynesville is proud to announce that it has been awarded an anchor position on the new…
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Over the hills and far away: Music, heritage comes alive at Stecoah Valley Center

Way out in Graham County, high up in the rugged wilderness of the Nantahala National Forest, is a lonely stretch…
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This must be the place: Haynes conjures rock spirit through symphony

Arguably the hardest working man in rock-n-roll, guitar legend Warren Haynes has never been one to shy away from testing…
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This must be the place: Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there

It was 60 years ago this past weekend (March 2, 1959) when Miles Davis’ seminal “Kind of Blue” album was…
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Something to believe in: A conversation with Citizen Cope

Since he first burst out on the music scene with his debut album in 2002, soul/rock singer-songwriter Citizen Cope has…
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Collective plans artwork in Dillsboro, sets town hall meetings

In partnership with the Appalachian Women’s Museum and the Jackson County Public Library, Western Carolina University’s LIVLAB Artist Collective will…
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Devil on my shoulder: With new live album, The Get Right Band to play Boojum

The hardest balance for a rock band is to straddle the line between honest emotions in your lyrics and also…
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This must be the place: Some people never go crazy, what truly horrible lives they must lead

In a recent New York Times article, “What Charles Bukowski’s Glamorous Displays of Alcoholism Left Out,” the piece analyzed and…
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Coming down the mountain: Whiteside Brewing impacts Cashiers culture

It’s just after 5 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 64 and N.C. 107 in the village of Cashiers. Otherwise…
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This must be the place: If I ever loved once, you know I never loved right by you

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Upstate New York in the late 1990s. Middle school and Valentine’s Day dances in that a-typical gymnasium.…
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Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet celebrates 25 years

The Sylva-based Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet will present a concert celebrating 25 years of music, travel and fun together on…
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This must be the place: Call it living the dream, call it kicking the ladder

Why does it seem we’re all so unhappy these days?  Is it that we’re just more aware of our emotions…
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Outside the bounds of time: Longtime WNC songwriter releases debut album

Tucked up along a hillside overlooking Richland Creek and the Frog Level district of Waynesville is a cozy bungalow.  The…
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This must be the place

Meandering down the desolate Route 8 in the southern Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York last weekend, my truck came…
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Don’t you know that God is Pooh Bear?

Standing in front of the ancient waterfall, I watched the lagoon sparkle like some long-lost stash of emeralds and sapphires.…
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In pursuit of the moment: Greg Ormont of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

In a day and age where everything that glistens and captures society’s short attention span is seemingly a smoke screen…
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What lies beyond the horizon: Porch 40 kicks off ‘Pour 40’ tour, new album

Coming into seven years together, the members of Porch 40 continue to hold steady and elevate each other’s craft, with…
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This must be the place: Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline

It’s like getting hit in the face with a frying pan. Stepping out of my parents’ farmhouse in Upstate New…
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WCU’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration

Tying in with Western Carolina University’s 2018-19 campus learning theme “Defining America,” the keynote speaker for this year’s Martin Luther…
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Combining the culinary arts: Mad Anthony’s pairs craft beer, fine dining

Just off Main Street in Waynesville, tucked down the hill below Bogart’s, and across the street from American Legion Post…
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This must be the place: Ode to my best gal

She’s known as “Wild Kathy.” At least, that’s what she was nicknamed while joyously roaming Bourbon Street in New Orleans…
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Out in the open: Steep Canyon Rangers to play homecoming show

Adjusting his baseball cap, Graham Sharp leans forward and takes another sip of coffee. It’s late morning at the Tastee…
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This must be the place: That time the trees all came falling down

This week marks just over 20 years since The Great Ice Storm of 1998. In early January of that year,…
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How we got here, nobody knows: The best albums of 2018

In a year of turmoil, trepidation and tragedy, thankfully we can retreat into the one thing that can shift any…
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This must be the place: 'So, I’d give this world, just to dream a dream with you’

For someone as sentimental as I am, New Year’s Eve always seems to resonate the deepest. The idea of leaving…
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HART receives N.C. Community Theatre Award

Located in Waynesville, the renowned Haywood Arts Regional Theatre received an early Christmas present when the organization was awarded the…
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This must be the place: ‘Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away’

This year has been quite the whirlwind. It felt like 2018 was a rollercoaster I either didn’t buy a ticket…
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Let my life be a light: After banner year, Balsam Range release ‘Aeonic’

Following a second “Entertainer of the Year” award from the International Bluegrass Music Association this past September in Raleigh, the…
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Patience, persistence and power chords

The core of any sincere and determined musical circle is a simple formula: camaraderie + compassion = musicianship.  Anyone who…
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This must be the place: ‘Didn’t wanna get me no trade, never want to be like papa’

So, amid the whirlwind this past week of being published by Rolling Stone — my biggest dream and top bucket…
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Choices and changes: A conversation with Sierra Hull

Though part of the scene most of her life, singer/mandolinist Sierra Hull has been making some big waves in the…
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This must be the place: ‘If everything could ever feel this real forever’

As a Rolling Stone magazine subscriber since I was in ninth grade, it has my biggest dream as a writer…
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‘Any old road will take you there’: Balsam Range reflects on successful past, a bright future

In 12 years together, Haywood County-based Balsam Range have played some of the biggest stages in the music industry, and…
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The face behind the lens: Longtime journalist to hold photo showcase

For over 25 years, journalist Quintin Ellison has roamed our region documenting the people, places and things that make up…
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This must be the place: ‘I will walk alone, by the black muddy river’

Many folks here in Waynesville knew Louie Bing as “the homeless guy with the dog.” Well, Louie and his Australian…
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This must be the place: ‘We’ll climb that hill, no matter how steep’

There was something so cozy about that navy blue 1992 Toyota Camry. With my mother behind the wheel of her…
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Fiddle instructor needed
 

Fiddle instructor needed

A fiddle instructor is needed for the Jackson County Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program. 
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Let the world decide: Travers Brothership release latest album

Just about a decade ago, on a school bus somewhere on the back roads of Black Mountain, four teenage boys…
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This must be the place: ‘Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice but to carry on’

I couldn’t believe she gave me a ticket. Thanksgiving 2001. I was 16 years old. Having just ate a quick…
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Grassroots Arts Program subgrants awarded
 

Grassroots Arts Program subgrants awarded

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), serving as a Designated County Partner of the North Carolina Arts Council, is pleased…
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Regional Artist Project grantees announced
 

Regional Artist Project grantees announced

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), administrator of this year’s Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG), is pleased to announce grantees…
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This must be the place: ‘The air was just electric. The air was quivering.’

I was handed a telephone number and told good luck. In the fall of 2007, I was 22 years old.…
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