WCU Concert Choir to perform in NYC

Performing at certain venues can be the highlight of a musical career, as if the stage itself shares a star…
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Least I got the blues: Justin Townes Earle on songwriting, Van Zandt

When two-thirds of your full name encompasses two-thirds of arguably America’s greatest songwriters, it’s pretty apparent you’ll follow suit —…
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Cry sweet tears of joy, touch the sky

Right around the point of the song “Beginnings” when Chicago singer/keyboardist Robert Lamm belted out the lyrics, “Time passes much…
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Collecting the fire within: Rising string act to headline Sylva festival

It’s one thing to play bluegrass, mountain and old-time music. It’s another thing to dig deep into the rich, intricate…
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This must be the place: Never take those mountains for granted

Standing in the midst of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one can’t help but feel refreshed, a return to…
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WCU marching band invited to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will be enjoying one of the best things about Thanksgiving Day…
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Aw, shucks: Haywood County crafter keeps heritage craft alive, vibrant

You’ve probably driven by the Red Barn Greenhouse & Garden Center on Dellwood Road between Maggie Valley and Waynesville a…
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This must be the place: Never forget what you made, what made you

It seems like a race against time. As a longtime arts and entertainment editor, I find myself in the backwoods…
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Got to keep on travelin’, movin’ on down the line: A conversation with Ronnie McCoury

The charm and allure of bluegrass music resides in its seamless ability to have one foot in the sacred, traditional…
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This must be the place: Head for the whirling sands of your soul

Standing atop an Outer Banks fishing trawler, I gazed across the high desert of northwestern Nevada.
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Greening Up the Mountains 2018

The 21st annual Greening Up the Mountains Festival is Saturday, April 28, in downtown Sylva. The festival includes more than…
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A hard life makes a good song: Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters

Hopping up on my truck tailgate one recent afternoon, fiddler/singer Jeremy Garrett gazed around the Spirit of the Suwannee Music…
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Roads that we abandon, and others that we take

A slight breeze awoke me from my slumber this past Saturday morning. Swaying in the hammock, I looked upward while…
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New Haywood Arts director
 

New Haywood Arts director

The Haywood County Arts Council Board of Directors unanimously elected Leigh Forrester as the new executive director. She will assume…
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Halfway where: Ol’ Dirty Bathtub releases debut album

What started out simply as a creative outlet has now taken on a life of its own. Based out of…
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This must be the place: Every soul has a story, every story has a face

You can’t help but smile. Watching old clips of “On The Road” with Charles Kuralt, you find yourself in a…
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The Art of Garfunkel: Musical, pop culture icon to play WNC

In conversation, Art Garfunkel is as poignant and whimsical as his music. The strong, heartfelt emotion behind his thoughts and…
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The Swag changes hands

David and Annie Colquitt of Knoxville, Tennessee, are purchasing The Swag, a popular mountain retreat near Waynesville.
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This must be the place: I know I'll see you again in the long run

Somewhere around central South Carolina my mind began to drift. 
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In his own words: Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Academy Award nominee Tony Kushner

Smoky Mountain News: When you look at American society today, what do you see? Tony Kushner: Oh, my god. [Laughs].…
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This must be the place: ‘And live the way I said I would, but somehow never did…’

As I awoke in my hammock, I could see the branches and leaves swaying above, sprinkling small bits of the…
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‘American Pickers’ return to WNC

Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team are excited to return to Western North Carolina to film more episodes of…
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Cherokee to open first brewery

In keeping with the long tradition of women within indigenous cultures crafting fermented beverages, Seven Clans Brewing is born. 
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New pictorial book on Cherokee released

Images of America: Cherokee, Anna Fariello’s new pictorial history book, will be presented during a special event at 6:30 p.m.…
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Hard times, come again no more: An evening with Scott Ainslie

Literally and figuratively, the idea of “listening” is somewhat of a lost art in our digital world. When a voice…
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This must be the place: There’s a reason you should care, seriously

Sitting in a chair on a front lawn late Sunday afternoon, the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, a…
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‘Let the freaks take back the night…’

The further you meander down the road of life, the more you come to realize just how haphazardly bumpy and…
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The gold in the mountain of our madness: A conversation with Wayne Coyne

For the last 35 years, the Flaming Lips have gone from a fringe rock act in Oklahoma to a highly-sought-after…
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This must be the place: ‘Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again’

When you’re young — full of confusion about the ways and means of a “stable adulthood,” amid a hazy sense…
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Wind on the water, carry me home

When you simply mention the name Graham Nash, a multitude of sounds, images, movements and ideas flood your field-of-vision. You…
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This must be the place: ‘There’s no such thing as truth. Everyone has their own truth.’

Now, let’s get this out of the way. What happened to U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan from within the social…
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New Yancys album strikes a chord

A southern gothic love triangle set in the age of Trump? Or maybe J.D. Vance’s bestseller Hillbilly Elegy as a…
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On your plate, on the plateau: Chef Ken Naron of Canyon Kitchen

Though the culinary and agricultural history of Southern Appalachia is as vast and robust as the tall and rigorous mountains…
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This must be the place: ‘It’s herd behavior, it’s evolution, baby’

Cape Cod. Well, to be more specific, the small seaside town of Chatham, Massachusetts, on the southeastern coast of Cape…
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Galaxy of the Stars series returns to WCU

The Galaxy of Stars Series, the only professional entertainment series in Jackson County, enters its 12th season this fall. It…
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Soul insight: A conversation with Marcus King

You find yourself frozen. Watching and listening to The Marcus King Band onstage, your feet are stuck to the floor,…
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This must be the place: ‘I ain’t getting rich now but I’m gettin’ more than by’

The solidarity was evident. Sitting onstage this past Monday at Nantahala Brewing in Bryson City, I conducted another episode of…
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Ever since you left town: Louisville honky-tonk band rolls into Waynesville

For the better part of the last four years, Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters have zigzagged to and fro every…
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This must be the place: ‘And the morning came with bells on’

Hola. I’ve been saying that an awful lot while currently down here in Cancun, Mexico. Ten days of feet-in-the-sand with…
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Meant to be lonesome: Maggie Valley Band launches new album, pushes ahead

The territory, and what comes with it. Being a traveling musician has always been a haphazard and often difficult position…
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Music classes at HCC
 

Music classes at HCC

Haywood Community College Continuing Education Creative Arts is expanding its selection of music classes spearheaded by local musicians Julie and…
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This must be the place: WNC art councils: where do we stand?

It’s like pulling teeth. As your arts and entertainment editor for Western North Carolina, I find it difficult sometimes to…
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Don’t stop the music: A conversation with Del McCoury

If there’s one singular force truly keeping the flame of Bill Monroe alive and kicking well into the 21st century,…
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This must be the place: ‘Set the gearshift for the high gear of your soul’

The time had come. Last Friday, right around noon, I received a message on Facebook. It was a fella looking…
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This must be the place: ‘Life being what it is…’

Ten years ago this week I left my native Upstate New York for my first journalism gig out of college…
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Eye of the beholder: Outdoor photographer shares love of the craft

Catch him if you can. For the last few years, Steve Yocom has made quite a name for himself as…
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This must be the place: ‘You know I’m such a fool for you’

They said it happens. When I was younger, and very much so in conversation nowadays, it was always said that…
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Grant awarded to Women’s History Trail
 

Grant awarded to Women’s History Trail

The Women’s History Trail (WHT), a project of Folk Heritage Association of Macon County, has received a $740 grant from…
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Between the lines tells the story: Waynesville woodworker carves into passion

When you are in the presence of the woodwork by Ben Grant, you find yourself captivated by the contours of…
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