Early Tuesday morning. Sitting in the dentist chair, I stared blankly out onto the parking lot, only to then notice the bustling traffic on nearby U.S. 276. It was at that moment when the nice dental hygienist asked if a date and time in mid-September 2025 would be ideal for my next teeth cleaning.  

When it comes to the vast, vibrant landscape of American blues guitarists, few six-string aces have had as varied and as illustrious a career over the last 30 years as that of Jimmy Vivino. 

Hello from Room 105 at the Holiday Inn Express in Macon, Georgia. It’s 73 degrees outside with a slight, refreshing breeze. Quite the contrast from just a couple weeks ago when I was jogging down the snowy, frozen backroads of the North Country in my native Upstate New York. 

Singer-songwriter Wyatt Espalin will hit the stage at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City.

Born and raised in Hiawassee, Georgia, Espalin has been entertaining audiences since he was eight years old.

The Haywood Community Band is a welcoming haven for musicians of all skill levels rekindling their love of creating powerful music.

If you played a band instrument in the past, you’re welcome to attend rehearsals and see if the community band is where you’d like to perform in a respected music group.

Beloved Southern Appalachian Americana/bluegrass act Unspoken Tradition will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin. 

With her latest album, “Highlander,” bluegrass/Americana icon Missy Raines takes inventory of where she stands at this current juncture in her storied career — this melodic ode to her native West Virginia, which simultaneously serves as an ideal prism of time and space Raines peers through into the unknowns of tomorrow. 

When it comes to classic band formations, there’s something truly and uniquely special to the power of three — this trio of musicians coming together to create a melodic trinity of sonic exploration. 

Musical duo Brian Ashley Jones and Melanie Jean will perform from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley. 

It’s safe to say that the whirlwind sounds and vibrant tones of Town Mountain (now referred to as “Americana”) were ahead of their time when the band first came to fruition in 2005 in the mountains of Western North Carolina.