Dawg days of bluegrass: David Grisman picks on WNC
He’s the common denominator. When you look back at the career of iconic bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman, you’re diving deep…
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This must be the place: We won, but what’s the real prize?
Once they announce your name, you stand up and move towards the bright lights. Meandering around a sardine can ballroom…
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Through the fingertips, echoes the history
“You know, history becomes personal,” Reggie Harris said to a silent auditorium last Sunday afternoon. “These are our stories, and…
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This must be the place: I remember you, the one in the dusty photos
It came out of the blue. Sunday morning. My smart phone dinged next to my bed. I groaned, rolled over…
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Portrait of WCU’s Belcher unveiled
A future addition to Western Carolina University’s gallery of presidential portraits was recently unveiled for the first time as the…
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The weight of desire: David Joy releases second book
What would you do? A pile of drugs. A stack of cash. More money than you’ve ever seen in your…
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This must be the place: It’s midnight, do you know where you life is?
I finally had a moment of silence. After a raucous Saturday night attending the Perpetual Groove show at The Salvage…
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HCAC elects new members
The Haywood County Arts Council has elected three new members to its Board of Directors. The new members, who will…
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Triple Threat wins in Asheville
The Competition Teams of Triple Threat Performing Arts Academy in Sylva traveled to Asheville recently to compete in the regional…
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HART’s traveling backdrops wow theaters far and wide
Haywood Arts Regional Theatre is known for is top-rate shows and high-caliber acting not typical of community theaters. But HART…
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HART’s scenic artist sets the stage for drama
Lyle Baskin is a man of high places. He’s spent most of his life on a ladder.
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Six life lessons from a backdrop artist
The Smoky Mountain News asked Lyle Baskin, the scenic artist for Haywood Regional Arts Theatre, to share the secrets of…
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Sylva welcomes fourth brewery
Though exact details are unknown, BCNC Investments in Bryson City has announced the purchase of the building that formerly held…
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This must be the place: I’m a white man, and I know nothing
It wasn’t the film that was shocking. It was the mere fact I had previously thought “I was aware,” and…
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Mountain Heritage Center exhibit on African-American community, music
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center, in partnership with One Dozen Who Care, will host a display on the cultural…
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SCC pottery chosen for NC Welcome Center
Heritage arts instructors Susan Coe and Ed McIlvaine, along with Kari McIlvaine (Ed’s wife and a heritage arts student), recently…
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Shouted, Written Down & Quoted: Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass
Within almost two decades together, Greensky Bluegrass has grown from a scrappy string band to one of the premier live…
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Sharing the craft: Jo Ridge Kelley Fine Art
With the traffic and noise of a busy Main Street in downtown Waynesville zooming by outside her window, Jo Ridge…
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This must be the place: So many miles, so many roads
I hadn’t slept that long in years. After driving up and down the East Coast for the better part of…
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‘Blackbeard’s Ghost’ wins national award
Western Carolina University’s 2016 original radio-style production of “Blackbeard’s Ghost and the Queen Anne’s Revenge” has won a “best of…
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HART welcomes Arnette, Dykes
The board of directors of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (HART) in Waynesville held its annual meeting recently in the…
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Feet in the sand, not your head
How could something so beautiful be so ugly? Standing at the edge of the ocean on the Gulf Coast of…
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Lonesome and a long way from home: John Cowan on bluegrass, life
They wanted to shake things up. In 1971, a young Sam Bush aimed to create a new kind of bluegrass…
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The love that we need: WNC welcomes Hayes Carll
Sitting in the back of his tour van in a Texas parking lot on a recent cold prairie night, Hayes…
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This must be the place: Ode to Butch Trucks, Texas sunsets
Popping the tailgate down in my truck, I jumped up, my eyes gazing straight ahead.
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Creating a community: Haywood Arts celebrates 40 years
In her short tenure, Executive Director Lindsey Solomon has righted the unknown direction of the ship that is the Haywood…
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This must be the place: You want the house, I want the road
I had just enough water left. Squeezing the last of my water bottle onto my dry toothbrush, I managed to…
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A song for young love: The Lettermen roll into Franklin
It was a 1963 station wagon with six musicians and their equipment. When Tony Butala reminisces about the beginning of…
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This must be the place: Five years ain’t nothing, darling
Has it really been that long? When I looked at the calendar this week, I realized it said 2017, which…
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What’s the value of a mural?
The Appalachian Mural Trail has developed a long-range plan to include these priceless murals and all future murals into a…
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This must be the place: In the presence of the Founding Fathers
I decided to not wear the hardhat. Standing underneath the magnificent 215-foot high ancient rock arch at the Natural Bridge…
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Winds of Change: The Infamous Stringdusters hit WNC
They are the bridge. In the bluegrass world these days, it seems there are two camps of thought and performance…
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2016 in A&E
Each year, we here at The Smoky Mountain News showcase our “Spoof Awards.” Sometimes they’re meant in good tongue-and-cheek fun,…
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One more for the good times: The Dirty Soul Revival to rock Sylva
It ain’t dead. Rock-n-roll. In an era when sugar-coated pop stars and polished country acts are atop the charts, one…
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This must be the place: Sydney to Seattle to the South
Through the strewn lights I could see the Empire State Building.
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Kephart collection at WCU
A showcase on the life and times of Horace Kephart will be on display from Oct. 11-March 31 in the…
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HCAC receives gifts
In 2016, the Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) Gallery Committee set out to improve its Gallery & Gifts retail space…
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Haywood, Jackson Arts grant recipients
The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) and Jackson County Arts Council (JCAC), co-administrating organizations of this year’s program, are pleased…
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This must be the place
Home. For me, it’s Plattsburgh, New York. Just down the road from the Canadian border, in the heart of the…
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‘All of the freaks have gone to bed…’: A conversation with Ron Gallo
It’s about time. It’s about time someone kicked us all in the ass when it comes to the power and…
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This must be the place: ‘Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy.’
But, I’m not sad either. Even with that Charlie Brown quote in the headline to emphasize my thoughts on the…
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Get on the ‘Appalachian Mural Trail’
With the help of the Blue Ridge Parkway Association, the Appalachian Mural Trail Group began accomplishing its vision on Dec.…
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This must be the place: Christmas Jam, now more than ever
“You don’t know me but I’m your brother/I was raised here in this living hell/You don’t know my kind in…
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Christmas classic comes to life
A frigid mountain wind howled through Bryson City last Friday evening as a handful of folks hurried into the Smoky…
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Under the Bright Lights: Smoky Mountain Community Theatre
It’s the heartbeat of a town. Coming into its 37th year, the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre has become a beacon…
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In their words: WCU professor and alumnus nominated for Dublin Literary Award
Novels written by a Western Carolina University professor and by his former student are among the 147 titles in the…
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This must be the place: Indonesia to Carolina and back again
“I’m glad you’re here right now.” Standing in line at the Old Europe coffee shop in downtown Asheville, I said…
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When I sing: An interview with Bear Rinehart
Heralding from just down the mountain in Greenville, South Carolina, Bear Rinehart is the front man for the rock group…
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Straight from the Source: A conversation with Marty Stuart
It’s about staying true to yourself. When you converse with country/bluegrass legend Marty Stuart, you’re speaking to the source. From…
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Lines in the Sand: Balsam Range looks ahead
The eternal struggle of bluegrass is being able to balance evolution with tradition. How does one adhere to the pickin’…
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