The Voices in the Laurel choirs have announced that spring registration is now open and the organization invites new/returning singers from Haywood, Buncombe, Jackson and Swain counties to be part of its 30th season. 

Ron Rash has never been to an opera. But later this month, he’ll sit down to enjoy an opus based on stories and poems he wrote about the Southern Appalachian mountains he calls home. 

“Shelton Laurel: An Appalachian Opera” takes place over a few years around the Civil War. The opera, which will see its world premiere later this month, tells the tale of farmers in Madison County’s Shelton Laurel, not far from Western Carolina University’s Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee where the work will be performed. 

Folkmoot USA will present an electrifying evening of music and cultural celebration with the Black Sea Beat Society at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. 

A regional Americana/bluegrass act, Granny’s Mason Jar will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 

A special production of “Footloose” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. July 18-19, 25-27 and 2 p.m. July 20-21 and 28 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. 

The popular Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas (CMSC) will perform at 4 p.m. July 21 and 28 at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. 

The Summer Music Series will continue with an evening of old-time and traditional music by Susan Pepper & Sarah Songbird Burkey at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 27, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 

A delighted crowd of more than 350 people responded with a standing ovation at the season’s opening concert of the Haywood Community Band (HCB).

Leonidas Lagrimas will present “Musical Storytellers: A Piano Recital” at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 12, at the First Presbyterian Church in Franklin.