Asheville offers unique musical heritage

A couple weeks ago I happened across one of Asheville's little treasures. After twenty years this town continues to impress me. I attended a meet and greet hosted at the Biltmore Estates newest attraction called Antler Hill. While roaming around to see the features of the Hill I heard the distinctive ringing of a Blacksmiths Anvil, but there was clearly a musical quality to what I was hearing. the. The Biltmore Estate still maintains an full time Blacksmith by the name of Doc Cudd. Doc is a very personable man who loves to tell the rich history and proud heritage of the Anvil. Much more than just a blacksmiths tool, but also a communication devise used by the tradesmen and is classified as an instrument that has been featured in Symphony, Opera, movie scores and more. Doc, as I discovered is one of only 5 anvil masters in the United States. Below is a video recorded during my visit of Doc explaining a little about the history of the anvil and doing his thing.




Love this town! Don't you?
AH

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Skinny Legs and All and WSNB rock the Westville Pub

Last night, the Southern Fried Blues Society sponsored a fundraiser for the bands to help them travel to Memphis, TN in February to attend the International Blues Challenge. WSNB won the local SFBS competition to be in the competition, Skinny Legs and All is the nominated band to attend the Youth Showcase. The Westville Pub was filled with music lovers, friends, and family - and they enjoyed a fantastic show put on by both the bands. The silent auction displayed beautiful art, clothing, and jewelry. Those who donated money to the fund were given raffle tickets and took home t-shirts, Cd's, gift certificates, and even a bucket of Moon Pies! Everyone who came out to support the bands had a great time - and the servers and bartenders at the Westville Pub kept the beer and food flowing. Thanks to Peggy Ratusz and everyone at the Blues Society for planning the event! There will be another fundraiser in January - so keep posted and please come out and see these fantastic bands!

Billy Jonas visits The New Classical Academy

Asheville pied piper ~ Billy Jonas ~ visited my school today and performed with the kids!

He's gearing up for his

FINAL 2008 SHOW: HAPPY ACCIDENTS CD RELEASE CONCERT / HANDS OF HOPE COMMUNITY BENEFIT SHOW: SUNDAY, DEC 21, 1 pm, THOMAS WOLFE AUDITORIUM, ASHEVILLE, NC.

Come! Make a holiday weekend of it! It’s the first night of Hanukkah, it’s Solstice, it’s practically Christmas and Kwanzaa, and it’s a good cause! Not only will we celebrate the release of the new CD, we’ll be giving away a large portion of the proceeds to 3 Asheville schools and 3 local not-for-profit service agencies. The schools (Maccabi Academy, New Classical Academy, New City Christian School) have just completed 3-month projects with the agencies (Manna Food Bank, Pisgah View Community Peace Gardens, and the Animal Compassion Network) and will have their accomplishments on display. Also, Michelle Bevans of Asheville Face Painting will be at the Hands of Hope Benefit … be sure to arrive early to get your hand, cheek, face painted! A portion of the proceeds will go to Hands of Hope. For more information, check out her website: http://www.ashevillefacepainting.com/. Get your tickets early!

"Hands of Hope" Holiday Benefit
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Civic Center Asheville, NC 28804
phone: 828-254-5660
Website: www.maccabiacademy.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=about_the_concert&category=Hands_of_Hope
First annual Hands of Hope family concert from 1pm - 2:30pm at the Thomas Wolfe auditorium. Features special guests Secret Agent 23 Skidoo and two-time Grammy Award winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer.

Update From Asheville's Barrel House Mamas

Hello from your Mamas! After putting hundreds of miles on the ole trusty Subaru with a busy summer and early fall of festivals and southeastern listening rooms, racking up hundreds of sound checks, hitting countless truck stops, scenic overlooks and seedy motels and crashing on many kind people’s couches, we are delighted to share with you that we Mamas will be returning to some of our favorite local venues this coming weekend. For our Charlotte fans, we hope to see your faces at the Evening Muse this Friday evening the 14th, and the following evening, Saturday the 15th, we hope to see all of our beloved hometown fans (you!) at the Grey Eagle in Asheville where our buddies Town Mountain will warm up the stage for us. We can’t wait to step back onto our favorite home stage and share some of our new songs and stories from the road with you. And as if that were not enough, you can also look forward to our hearing our fiddle player Anna Bauman-Smith make her songwriting and singing debut with us on Saturday evening. Wahoo!

Just giving you a heads up that January looks like it is going to be a very busy month…what with recording our new album and all…That’s right, you heard us! We will be going into the studio in January to record our long-awaited second album. Look for it later in ’09 and you can be sure that we will invite you to celebrate its release with us. Other things to look forward to in January are our New Years Eve performance at the White Horse in Black Mountain, as well as our show at Jack of the Wood on Friday January 9th, which also happens to be Miss Jane’s birthday. She especially requests your presence at this show and will accept gifts in the currency of whiskey ;)

-Ple www.barrelhousemamas.com or www.myspace.com/barrelhousemamas

Asheville Street Music

Quick pic of a musician playing in Downtown Asheville. See the video on www.youtube.com/askasheville