Calendar of Events
Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.
Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.
⭐ Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Asheville. Get your tickets now to discover the music of “The Nutcracker” and More at AyurPrana Listening Room under the gentle glow of candlelight.
General Info📍 Venue: AyurPrana Listening Room📅 Dates and times: select your dates/times directly in the ticket selector⏳ Duration: 60 minutes (doors open 45 mins prior to the start time and late entry is not permitted)👤 Age requirement: 8 years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult♿ Accessibility: this venue is ADA compliant❓ View the FAQs for this event here🪑 Seating is assigned on a first come first served basis in each zone🕯️ If you would like to book a private concert (min 15+ people), please click here🎻 Check out all the Candlelight concerts in Asheville🎁 To treat your friends and family to a Candlelight gift card, click here
Tentative Program
Holiday Medley – Various“Hark the Herald Angels Sing”“The First Noël”“Deck the Halls”“O Holy Night” – Adolphe Adam“Ma’oz Tzur” – Traditional Hanukkah Song“The Snow is Dancing” – Claude Debussy“The Seasons, Op. 37a” – Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyI. January. “By the Hearth”XII. December. “Christmas”“The Skaters’ Waltz, Op. 183 (Les Patineurs)” – Émile Waldteufel“Greensleeves (What Child is This)” – TraditionalHoliday Medley“Joy to the World”“Angels We Have Heard on High”“Away in a Manger”“The Nutcracker, Op. 71” – Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyMiniature OvertureAct I, Scene II: No. 2, “March”Act II: No. 12d, Divertissement. “Trepak, Russian Dance”Act II: No. 13, “Waltz of the Flowers”Act II: No. 14c, Pas de Deux. Variation II, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”
Performers
Opal String Quartet
Reviews of Candlelight Concerts💬 Angela Z. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: “Absolutely fabulous! Such talent and beautifully played. The musicians dispositions really made the night extra special.”💬 Dixie L. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: “Incredible talented and entertaining. The venue was beautiful:) so thankful for a beautiful experience.”💬 Elizabeth L. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: “absolutely outstanding. extremely intimate experience. 10 out of 10 will repeat”
DATE & TIME
Happens on the following Dates:
Dec 15, 2023, 8:45pm to 10:45pm EST
Dec 19, 2023, 6:30pm to 8:30pm EST
Dec 19, 2023, 8:45pm to 10:45pm EST
Dec 21, 2023, 8:45pm to 10:45pm EST
We have three opportunities for you to help Connect Beyond AND see some music! We need volunteers to assist with wristbands for three shows this summer at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Downtown Asheville, N.C. Shifts are roughly (3) hours and all participating volunteers will also receive (1) free ticket to stay after and watch the show. The following dates and shows are available:
- February 16-18: Billy Strings
- May 16: Amon Amarth
- May 20 & 22: Noah Kahan
- August 30: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Ticket price includes applicable sales tax.
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.
Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.
And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!
It’s the holiday season and one of the best ways to get into the spirit is with festive music. Join us for holiday music played on traditional Appalachian mountain dulcimers at the Enka-Candler Library on Saturday, Dec. 16 from 2-3:30 p.m. Under the direction of Mack Johnston, the 17-member Asheville Dulcimer Orchestra will perform a variety of seasonal music for all ages. This free concert is a family-friendly event and no tickets or registration is required.
Get ready to embrace the spirit of Christmas with Elf: The Musical, a heartwarming and hilarious adaptation of the beloved 2003 holiday film. This enchanting musical follows the journey of Buddy, a human raised by elves at the North Pole who embarks on a journey to New York City to find his real father. Through catchy, uplifting songs and zany comedic antics, Elf: The Musical serves a healthy dose of holiday cheer, laughter, and life lessons about identity, family, and the true meaning of Christmas. It’s a magical, festive spectacle guaranteed to light up the holiday season for all ages!
A talkback with the cast & crew of Elf: The Musical will be held following the performances on December 3rd and 10th.
Composed in 1741 by George Frederic Handel, the Messiah and its rousing ‘Hallelujah’ chorus is one of the most famous and identifiable pieces of Baroque choral music in history. It was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later.
Known as a Scratch, People’s, or Do It Yourself (DIY) Messiah, informal choral performances of Handel’s popular work began in 1749 and has continued for almost 300 years.
So it is with great fanfare that Tryon Fine Arts Center will present DIY Messiah under the direction of Brennan Szafron, with 4 soloists and Beth Child accompanying on piano. Community members will choose their spot as soprano, alto, tenor and bass and sing along with their favorite parts! Scores provided.
A reception will follow after the performance.
This is a free community event and everyone is invited to continue this centuries old tradition of singing and enjoying Handel’s masterpiece.
Songs From The Road Band
Songs From The Road Band is an Asheville, North Carolina based bluegrass supergroup featuring Mark Schimick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Epstein (banjo). The band takes flight with virtuosic picking, singing, and grammy award winning songwriting. Several of their most recent singles have gone to the top of the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart. They have 6 studio albums available at all musical outlets.
“The Western North Carolina quintet is this band of melodic pirates, roaring down the highways and backroads of Southern Appalachia in search of a stage to play, perhaps another kindred spirit to collaborate with in the sacred art of songwriting and creating something (beautiful and permanent) from nothing (thin air and momentary inspiration).”- GARRET K. WOODWARD, Smoky Mountain News (Nov 24, 2021)
The Wilson Springs Hotel
The Wilson Springs Hotel are rooted in folk music and hail from all parts of Virginia.
“The Wilson Springs Hotel are currently on tour with their second album “Old Thoughts & Memories”. It’s a collection of original songs that take you through a variety of influences; through slow & somber crooner country, to rippin’ honky tonk, to hard hitting folk influenced rock, thru almost psych-rock like guitar tones and back again, all while maintaining that watermark-like sonic fingerprint great bands possess. Their live show is not one to miss.”
Following the Outdoor Show (weather permitting) there will be a Super Bluegrass Jam in the taproom.
Songs From The Road Band
Songs From The Road Band is an Asheville, North Carolina based bluegrass supergroup featuring Mark Schimick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Epstein (banjo). The band takes flight with virtuosic picking, singing, and grammy award winning songwriting. Several of their most recent singles have gone to the top of the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart. They have 6 studio albums available at all musical outlets.
“The Western North Carolina quintet is this band of melodic pirates, roaring down the highways and backroads of Southern Appalachia in search of a stage to play, perhaps another kindred spirit to collaborate with in the sacred art of songwriting and creating something (beautiful and permanent) from nothing (thin air and momentary inspiration).”- GARRET K. WOODWARD, Smoky Mountain News (Nov 24, 2021)
The Wilson Springs Hotel
The Wilson Springs Hotel are rooted in folk music and hail from all parts of Virginia.
“The Wilson Springs Hotel are currently on tour with their second album “Old Thoughts & Memories”. It’s a collection of original songs that take you through a variety of influences; through slow & somber crooner country, to rippin’ honky tonk, to hard hitting folk influenced rock, thru almost psych-rock like guitar tones and back again, all while maintaining that watermark-like sonic fingerprint great bands possess. Their live show is not one to miss.”
Following the Outdoor Show (weather permitting) there will be a Super Bluegrass Jam in the taproom.
On Saturday, December 16, Juan Holladay will be performing solo singer-songwriter style, with a surprise guest or two. He will also share a sneak peek of new material from his forthcoming album, Bedside Lights. Free show!
Juan has been singing, writing songs, and playing in bands since he was twelve years old. In 2006, he relocated from Tucson to Asheville and formed an alternative R&B band called the Secret B-Sides. Since then, he has come into a more lo-fi, down-tempo, sample-based sound with the release of solo material and video content. The nature of Juan’s art is candid and personal, reflecting heavy collaboration with Asheville’s creative community. Juan’s daughter Ora is a member of LEAF Lights and is following in her father’s footsteps as a vocalist, songwriter, musician, and performer.
This event is made possible by SPARK THE ARTS, an awareness campaign designed to inspire public participation in the arts across North Carolina by highlighting the unique way the arts lift spirits, bring people together, and heal. Created by the North Carolina Arts Council in response to the pandemic, our goal is to ignite the resurgence of North Carolina’s arts sector from the pandemic by connecting residents and visitors to arts experiences across our state.
Wanna hear the best local music and drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.
A Rivertree Christmas continues to be a treasured holiday tradition for music lovers in Greenville. This award winning choir delights audiences with their tonal beauty, clarity and passionate singing.
For over a decade, this most popular concert has captivated audiences with its engaging and heartwarming messages of Christmas joy and hope. This debut concert in Gunther Hall will feature carols old and new and holiday favorites sure to lift your spirits!
In keeping with their mission of inspiring young singers, Rivertree Singers has invited the Christ Church High School Choir to open the concert and join them for several seasonal songs.
Come experience the enchanting ambiance of our sparkling downtown to enjoy good cheer and festive music this holiday season.
Order early to reserve the best seats for a joyful holiday celebration with family and friends!
Bask
North Carolina’s Bask have spent the last decade exhibiting their progressive blend of heavy psychedelia and soulful Americana across North America and Europe. Sharing the road and stage with artists such as High on Fire, Pallbearer and Guided By Voices. With releases ranging from the pastoral landscapes and country twinged doom of their debut album “American Hollow” 2014, to the cosmic storytelling of sophomore followup “Ramble Beyond” 2017, and the folkloric vibe-soaked odyssey of “III” 2019. Bask enters a new era of heavy riffs, world bending compositions and fanciful visuals sure to delight listeners and live audiences alike. Catch them live this winter on the North East leg of their ten year anniversary tour.
Zombie Queen (Reunion!)
Back from the dead and ready to Rock! Exclusively playing truck stop parking lots, it’s Zombie Queen! All four members are off of probation and in rotation. Fun for the whole Famdamily! Now booking monster truck rallies, baby showers, and craft nights near YOU!
Serrate
“Serrate, an Asheville-based metallic punk band, mines influence from the sonic worlds of skramz/screamo and hardcore, resulting in a sound that blends viciousness with melody.”
– No Echo
This is an 18+ event
Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor
You’ll be brimming with holiday cheer when you leave this annual seasonal celebration! Gather your family and friends for Greenville’s favorite Christmas spectacular, which always features your favorites combined with fresh, new themes. Whether you’re carrying on a yuletide tradition or feeling inspired to start a new one, this concert is the perfect way to get into the spirit of the holidays.
Join us for our final Revolve Sound event of 2023 with “Community Drone” on Saturday, December 16th from 8-10pm.
Bring an instrument, plug it into one of the mixers we’ll have on hand and join the drone in progress (or just come by and listen if you prefer)!
We will have a PA, tables and a few power strips— please bring your own instrument, a cable to connect a mixer and a backup power strip just in case.
Acoustic instruments (or voices) are totally ok! If you’d like to bring a (small) amp: go for it!
Cover is $10 which goes to keep the lights on at Revolve. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
All ages, always. Tell your friends and we hope to see you there!
Details:
Name: “Community Drone” audience participation drone concert
Date and time: Saturday, December 16 from 8-10pm
Ticket info: $10, tickets available at the door and ahead of time at: https://withfriends.co/event/17086128/community_drone
Venue info: https://www.revolveavl.org/
OLD GODS OF APPALACHIA PRESENTS FAMILY TRADITIONS: A LIVE HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE
Ages 18+
FULLY SEATED SHOW
Beginning with a bet between friends to see who could go viral, Odie Leigh’s musical journey has always been a bit unconventional. Hailing from suburban South Louisiana, where Lil Wayne and Tim McGraw carry equal reverence, Leigh’s musical influences are as contradictory as the area she grew up in. Singing in school choirs and church praise bands as a child, Leigh didn’t find her voice until 2020 gave her the solitude to create her own sound, free from the judgment and influence of the New Orleans music scene.
Once described as “folk-misfit,” Odie Leigh’s songwriting reflects an earnest and fervent search for identity through the confusion of growing up culturally-adjacent in an area with so much history, tradition, and faults. Guided by the classic folk, blues, and country music that floods the southern soundscape, and shaped by her self-taught finger-picking style, Leigh’s music is an eclectic glimpse into feeling stuck in all of life’s in-betweens.
KING STRANG
King Strang is the ragpunk, old-timey, and always fun one man band project of Michael Sinner, proudly represented by Portland’s Flail Records. Using influences of traditional folk music as well as 40’s jazz sounds, King Strang blends the old with the new in all of his music. Often playing a resonator guitar, stomp box, and kazoo, King Strang upholds a consistently jazzy barroom sound that remains unique from his work in incredible projects such as the Bridge City Sinners and Clyde and the Milltailers. King Strang’s music is nothing if not music to have a good time to. On his recent record “The Second Coming”, Michael Sinner is joined by Lightnin Luke on the fiddle, bringing even more old time vibes. With lyrics about religious folklore, love and longing, and apathy, King Strang brings a little something for everybody with a love for old time music and incredible jazz vocals.
We have three opportunities for you to help Connect Beyond AND see some music! We need volunteers to assist with wristbands for three shows this summer at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Downtown Asheville, N.C. Shifts are roughly (3) hours and all participating volunteers will also receive (1) free ticket to stay after and watch the show. The following dates and shows are available:
- February 16-18: Billy Strings
- May 16: Amon Amarth
- May 20 & 22: Noah Kahan
- August 30: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.
Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.
Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.
And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!
For more than 20 years, this beloved local holiday tradition has ushered in the winter season with a joyful infusion of performances by the best and brightest artists in our region. This year, the celebration welcomes the next generation of musicians to the stage to spread seasonal warmth, magic and cheer with Celtic, American-roots and world-influenced music, rousing dance and timeless stories — illuminating winter’s darkest day with wonder and peace.
The 2023 A Swannanoa Solstice features performances by:
-John Doyle
-John Goforth
-E.J. Jones & The Piper Jones Band
-Jane Kramer
-Becky Stone
-Zoe & Cloyd
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet
The beloved family tradition is back: NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet! Gather your loved ones for the warm-glow-nostalgia of America’s favorite Christmas celebration. Experience the extraordinary international cast and Ukrainian Principal Artists performing at the peak of classical European Ballet. Be transported by the magic of jaw-dropping acrobatics, larger than life puppets and stunning hand-crafted sets and costumes. Don’t miss this chance to experience the wonder of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet. Get tickets now!
Steve Lapointe’s nine years of classical piano as a youth grounded him in music theory. Jazz studies while in Ithaca, New York, opened his ears to extemporaneous improvisation and the music of Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Michel Petrucciani and the American songbook. Steve served as musical director of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship of Vero Beach, Florida, and occasionally performed at the UU Asheville congregation.
Get ready to embrace the spirit of Christmas with Elf: The Musical, a heartwarming and hilarious adaptation of the beloved 2003 holiday film. This enchanting musical follows the journey of Buddy, a human raised by elves at the North Pole who embarks on a journey to New York City to find his real father. Through catchy, uplifting songs and zany comedic antics, Elf: The Musical serves a healthy dose of holiday cheer, laughter, and life lessons about identity, family, and the true meaning of Christmas. It’s a magical, festive spectacle guaranteed to light up the holiday season for all ages!
A talkback with the cast & crew of Elf: The Musical will be held following the performances on December 3rd and 10th.
Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor
You’ll be brimming with holiday cheer when you leave this annual seasonal celebration! Gather your family and friends for Greenville’s favorite Christmas spectacular, which always features your favorites combined with fresh, new themes. Whether you’re carrying on a yuletide tradition or feeling inspired to start a new one, this concert is the perfect way to get into the spirit of the holidays.
Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Sundays
1 till who knows when?
Traditional Irish music is kept alive at Jack of the Wood with our unplugged Sunday session.
Jack of the Wood
95 Patton ave
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 252.5445
Local musicians, Tom Hudgens and Andy John, will present a concert
of classical compositions.
Both artists began playing the Baroque Recorder at a young age. Their careers have included
other instruments and styles of music, but they particularly enjoy introducing the recorder to
young and older students.
National Public Radio (NPR) has broadcast nationwide their selected arrangements of early
Christmas music using a variety of recorders and early percussion instruments. In addition,
they have played for religious, commercial and private venues.
Hudgins, who lives in Hendersonville, recently teamed up with Ashevillian John to combine
their skills and repertoire. They perform compositions by Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart
and more, plus Broadway and film scores.
Handicapped accessibility and free parking are available.
For more information call the church office at 828-693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet
The beloved family tradition is back: NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet! Gather your loved ones for the warm-glow-nostalgia of America’s favorite Christmas celebration. Experience the extraordinary international cast and Ukrainian Principal Artists performing at the peak of classical European Ballet. Be transported by the magic of jaw-dropping acrobatics, larger than life puppets and stunning hand-crafted sets and costumes. Don’t miss this chance to experience the wonder of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet. Get tickets now!