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: Pass the gravy, and the memories
It was right around the second beer when I began to settle in. The warm sunshine and lingering foliage of…
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Exodus of Venus: Elizabeth Cook swings through WNC
Don’t fuck with Elizabeth Cook. In a city like Nashville, where your artistic integrity and credibility can be bought and…
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This must be the place: ‘Two all-beef patties, special sauce…’
That slow walk from the car. When I was 16 years old, I entered the American workforce. I was the…
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Sense of wonder: Freeway Revival releases new album, looks ahead
They stick out. In a city like Asheville and in a region like Western North Carolina, world-renowned for bluegrass and…
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This must be the place: ‘Gonna see my picture on the cover, gonna buy five copies for my mother…’
It’s the carrot. For the better part of the last 12 years, Rolling Stone magazine has been a carrot dangling…
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New logo for Haywood Arts Council
In its 40th anniversary year, the Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) received a $4,500 grant from the Fund for Haywood…
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Only here for your love: Futurebirds to rock Highlands Food & Wine Fest
It’s about finding a balance between your creative soul and your sanity. “When you feel you’re doing what you’re supposed…
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This must be the place: ‘And it feels like heaven’s so far away’
Taken too soon. It’s the three words one person — let alone one family or one community — never wants…
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Brewing success: Two WNC craft breweries win national medals
With sunshine spilling into the taproom of Currahee Brewing Company in Franklin one recent afternoon, brewmaster Taylor Yates is all…
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New Sylva brewery opens
With its grand opening last Friday, Balsam Falls Brewing Company becomes the third business of its kind in Sylva.
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This must be the place: ‘Take me out to the ball game…’
My first love. Baseball. The quintessential American pastime. The thing of which childhood dreams are made. The playing grounds of…
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Local World War II vet honored
Paul Willis, 96, a World War II veteran from Canton, was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the French…
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Mountain Heritage Day award winners
A popular component of Western Carolina University’s annual Mountain Heritage Day are the judged and juried contests, and other competitions.…
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This must be the place: ‘It’s times like these you learn to live again’
It was right around the third song or so that the goosebumps kept appearing. Up and down my arms, the…
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Growing up in freedom: Gladys Knight performance to benefit proposed Canton community center
Just outside of a small Western North Carolina community known as “Papertown USA” sits a dilapidated 84-year old brick schoolhouse…
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This must be the place: ‘They won’t know what route I’m going…’
For a moment, I thought the dog was going to charge me. Running along the quiet back country of Southwest…
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This must be the place: ‘What a way to ride, oh what a way to go’
Three pickup trucks. One stretch of highway. Since 2005, I’ve routinely traversed a never-ending stretch of Interstate 81 from north-central…
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New director named for Lake Junaluska Singers
Mary Wannamaker Huff has been named the director of the Lake Junaluska Singers, a choral group that has been a…
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Symposium draws on tradition, looks to future
The eighth annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium at Western Carolina University brought concepts of Cherokee philosophy and living wellness…
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Time of the season: WNC falls into October
Amid the innumerable reasons we love Western North Carolina, the fall foliage of October might be the common denominator that…
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Autumn leaves must fall, but not before being a WNC tourism draw
It’s September in the hills when Western Carolina University’s fall foliage forecaster Beverly Collins attempts to quantify the quality of…
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This must be the place: ‘You never slow down, you never grow old’
Tom Petty. I can’t remember a time without him and his band’s music in my life. It’s always been there,…
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‘Where were you in ‘62?’
The Jackson County Genealogical Society, winner of Western Carolina University’s 2012 “Mountain Heritage Award,” will host its annual Cruise-In fundraiser…
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This must be the place: ‘Where do you think you’re goin’?’
It’s the internal struggle. Do you participate in life and soak it in like a sponge being dropped into a…
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The fog of war: Vietnam vet reflects on service, new documentary
You could see it in his eyes. Sitting across from James “Jim” Joyce in his office in downtown Waynesville, his…
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WCU’s Mountain Heritage Day returns
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day, a free family oriented festival that celebrates Southern Appalachian culture through concerts, living-history demonstrations,…
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Tell it from the mountain: ‘Uncle Ted’ White on bluegrass, the late Steve Sutton
What defines bluegrass music would have to be the banjo played “The Earl Scruggs Way” with the three-finger roll. If…
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This must be the place: ‘Remember me if I forget…’
He suggested two. I bought three. Standing in the small main office of the Woodsmoke Campground in Unicoi, Tennessee, I…
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Carden in the rye: WNC storyteller bridges past, present
There is no middle ground. With Jackson County storyteller/playwright Gary Carden, you either love the guy or you tolerate him,…
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Disconnected from a connected world
Ugh. The moment my girlfriend handed over my soaking wet smart phone, a shiver of isolation ran up my spine.…
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Increase in state arts funding
With a boost in state appropriations, the North Carolina Arts Council will launch two new programs this year and provide…
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New director of WCU’s School of Music
An acclaimed pianist who has performed around the world and who teaches that musical artists must be entrepreneurs and good…
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This must be the place: Feeling lucky? Cast the first stone
I ain’t perfect. And the older I get, the more I realize just how true that statement is. Along with…
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Take it or leave it: Foghat to headline Cherokee Blue Ridge Run
It’s the intersection of American blues and British rock. When you throw some Foghat onto the stereo, you’re entering a…
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When my last song is sung: A conversation with Rob Ickes
In the bluegrass world, it doesn’t get much bigger than Rob Ickes. Fifteen-time “Dobro Player of the Year” by the…
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The music of the heart: 48th annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival
It gets to the point without distraction. Folk music — the intersection of the human heart and the greater world…
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This must be the place: ‘North Country Ice Storm of ‘98’
I can still feel the cold air, the sense of hopelessness. Watching the clips of the massive rainfall and flooding…
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Play by your own rules
An iconic mandolin and fiddle player, Sam Bush has rewritten the game of bluegrass, especially when it comes to live…
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Balsam Range turns 10 atop IBMA nominations
Leading this year’s International Bluegrass Music Association awards with eight nominations, Haywood County group Balsam Range is atop the mountain…
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Chatham County Line
Formed in Raleigh in 1999, Chatham County Line has emerged as one of those unique branches of tone and approach…
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Canton Labor Day: Ricky Skaggs
Throughout the 1980s, Ricky Skaggs was the toast of country music. Twelve #1 hits, eight CMA and ACM awards, a…
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The ‘Canton Comeback’
When the Town of Canton relaunched its Labor Day Festival a couple years ago, it was in a crucial move…
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This must be the place: ‘Tired, but wiser for the time’
The trifecta. By this past Monday morning, I was running on fumes heading back to my humble abode in downtown…
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DSO returns to WNC
In their 20 years together, the members of Dark Star Orchestra have equaled — if not surpassed — the number…
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Comin’ Home: Former Black Crowes start anew with Magpie Salute
With the demise of The Black Crowes in 2015, Rich Robinson was in search of new digs.
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WNC welcomes ‘The Great American Solar Eclipse’
At 2:35 p.m. on Aug. 21, Western North Carolina residents and visitors will have the chance to watch as the…
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Prepare to shoot: Eclipse photography takes research, preparation
It’s safe to say that a good solar eclipse photo requires a bit more preparation than your average snapshot.
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