Any live music fan knows the feeling of the energy in a crowd before a show begins. And, despite its newness in only its second year of existence, that energy was in full effect at AVLfest this past weekend in Asheville. 

Hello from Room 813 of the Cambria hotel in downtown Asheville. It’s Sunday night, nearing 10 p.m. Warm air outside on the patio overlooking the skyline of a city I’ve orbited for the last 12 years, a place near and dear to my heart and soul, thoughts and visions.

With their latest album, “Songs of Our Grandfathers,” rising Asheville Americana/folk duo Zoe & Cloyd decided to take a different approach to this most recent musical endeavor. 

On Oct. 20, 1977, a plane carrying southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed into the woods near Gillsburg, Mississippi.