Asheville Blog Your Source for all things Asheville
Golden Shoals Gearing Up To Take Their Self-Titled Debut On The Road
Nashville, TN - Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski have toured on foot—gig to gig with backpacks and instrument cases—for we
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Moogseum Announces Google Arts Exhibit
The Moogseum is proud to announce its participation in Google Arts and Culture’s Music, Makers, and Machines, an interactive online resource highlighting the crucial role electronic music plays within wider culture, both past and present, which launches today. The online exhibition features exhibits from 55 partner museums and non-profits from around the world, sharing historical and education artifacts from their vast collections. The Moogseum created 13 exhibits, sharing over 275 pieces of material from the Bob Moog Foundation Archives. Music, Makers, and Machines can be found here: g.co/musicmakersmachines, while the Moogseum’s exhibits can be found here: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/moogseum.
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SoundSpace @ Rabbit’s Now Open Inside Historic Rabbit’s Motel
A three year revitalization project taking place inside of Asheville, North Carolina’s historic Southside neighborhood has come to fruition with the opening of SoundSpace @ Rabbit’s, the city’s first public access music rehearsal facility. The studio space, which will soon include a soul food eatery and mixed medium artist amenities has taken residence inside the now-defunct Rabbit’s Motel, a Green Book site for African-American travelers which operated from the late 1940s until the turn of the 21st century. Repurposing the building to accommodate the influx of creatives who call Asheville home, co-founders Claude Coleman, Jr. (of the rock outfit Ween) and Brett Spivey hope to carry the legacy of the historic construction by providing functional practice quarters and an accessible gathering place for artists of all mediums.
Established in 1948 by Fred “Rabbit” Simpson, Rabbit’s Motel was considered a crown jewel of Black-owned tourist courts in the segregation-era South. The inn provided lodging and dining for Black visitors, including such prominent figures as Chitlin Circuit entertainers, soul singer and performer Jackie Wilson, comedian Richard Pryor, race car driver Wendell Scott and baseball star Willie “Pops” Stargell. At the heart of Rabbit’s Motel was Lou Ella Byrd’s beloved soul food kitchen, a town favorite dining establishment which was famously known for its “pork chops the size of bibles.” Mrs. Byrd’s café operated for over half a century and was cherished by a cross-section of Asheville’s communities up to 2003. In late 2021, local chef Clarence Robinson (also known as The Flavor King) will bring his culinary chops and signature “Cooking With Comedy” flair to the SoundSpace facility. A lifelong Asheville resident and relative of Rabbit Motel’s original owner, Robinson is set to recharge the vacated kitchen space with a new soul food café that will pay homage to the accomplishments of Mrs. Byrd while informing a new vision for Western North Carolina’s rich food scene.
In addition to providing a vital service to Asheville’s rapidly expanding music sector, SoundSpace will soon boast a series of workshops, events, and programs to foster the arts in underserved communities. Future plans include a livestream series called SoundSpace @ Rabbit’s Live which will feature Afro-centric performances broadcast directly from inside the facility, and a multi-artist mural project that will reinvigorate the building’s exterior. With equity and collaboration at the forefront, co-founders Claude Coleman, Jr. and Brett Spivey — both lifelong musicians and passionate community stakeholders — hope to establish SoundSpace as a longstanding resource that embraces a model of diversity through music, art, food, and collaboration.
For more information about SoundSpace, visit www.soundpaceavl.com. For a brief history of Asheville’s historic Southside district, see below.
For media inquiries and interview requests, contact Danielle Dror (danielle@teamvictorylap.com) at Victory Lap Publicity.
Southside: Lost Communities of Black Exceptionalism in Asheville
Rabbit’s Motel sat in the heart of Southside, a flourishing African-American neighborhood that was one of many Black communities burgeoning in Asheville, North Carolina. Southside contained a vital business district for the African-American community as much as The Block in the center of downtown, which was a nexus of Black commercialism and one of the largest Black-owned business districts in the South. The Block was adjacent to East End, home of Stephens-Lee High School, the only public African-American school in North Carolina.
Southside was a mixed district of businesses ranging from funeral homes and drive-in diners, and was an entertainment hub of hotels and bar-clubs frequented by Chitlin’ Circuit groups as well as supporting a robust local music scene of Black bands.
Municipal neglect to these communities allowed widespread blight. The practices of Urban Renewal upended these historic communities over a period of 30 years. Entire neighborhoods were dispossessed, roads were redrawn, and communities and their sense of belonging and connection were dismantled. In just the East Riverside area alone, “we lost more than 1,100 homes, six beauty parlors, five barber shops, five filling stations, fourteen grocery stores, three laundromats, eight apartment houses, seven churches, three shoe shops, two cabinet shops, two auto body shops, one hotel, five funeral homes, one hospital, and three doctor’s offices.” (Reverend Wesley Grant) During the East Riverside Redevelopment Project, an urban renewal effort targeting 425 across was completely demolished. Read More »
Established in 1948 by Fred “Rabbit” Simpson, Rabbit’s Motel was considered a crown jewel of Black-owned tourist courts in the segregation-era South. The inn provided lodging and dining for Black visitors, including such prominent figures as Chitlin Circuit entertainers, soul singer and performer Jackie Wilson, comedian Richard Pryor, race car driver Wendell Scott and baseball star Willie “Pops” Stargell. At the heart of Rabbit’s Motel was Lou Ella Byrd’s beloved soul food kitchen, a town favorite dining establishment which was famously known for its “pork chops the size of bibles.” Mrs. Byrd’s café operated for over half a century and was cherished by a cross-section of Asheville’s communities up to 2003. In late 2021, local chef Clarence Robinson (also known as The Flavor King) will bring his culinary chops and signature “Cooking With Comedy” flair to the SoundSpace facility. A lifelong Asheville resident and relative of Rabbit Motel’s original owner, Robinson is set to recharge the vacated kitchen space with a new soul food café that will pay homage to the accomplishments of Mrs. Byrd while informing a new vision for Western North Carolina’s rich food scene.
In addition to providing a vital service to Asheville’s rapidly expanding music sector, SoundSpace will soon boast a series of workshops, events, and programs to foster the arts in underserved communities. Future plans include a livestream series called SoundSpace @ Rabbit’s Live which will feature Afro-centric performances broadcast directly from inside the facility, and a multi-artist mural project that will reinvigorate the building’s exterior. With equity and collaboration at the forefront, co-founders Claude Coleman, Jr. and Brett Spivey — both lifelong musicians and passionate community stakeholders — hope to establish SoundSpace as a longstanding resource that embraces a model of diversity through music, art, food, and collaboration.
For more information about SoundSpace, visit www.soundpaceavl.com. For a brief history of Asheville’s historic Southside district, see below.
For media inquiries and interview requests, contact Danielle Dror (danielle@teamvictorylap.com) at Victory Lap Publicity.
Southside: Lost Communities of Black Exceptionalism in Asheville
Rabbit’s Motel sat in the heart of Southside, a flourishing African-American neighborhood that was one of many Black communities burgeoning in Asheville, North Carolina. Southside contained a vital business district for the African-American community as much as The Block in the center of downtown, which was a nexus of Black commercialism and one of the largest Black-owned business districts in the South. The Block was adjacent to East End, home of Stephens-Lee High School, the only public African-American school in North Carolina.
Southside was a mixed district of businesses ranging from funeral homes and drive-in diners, and was an entertainment hub of hotels and bar-clubs frequented by Chitlin’ Circuit groups as well as supporting a robust local music scene of Black bands.
Municipal neglect to these communities allowed widespread blight. The practices of Urban Renewal upended these historic communities over a period of 30 years. Entire neighborhoods were dispossessed, roads were redrawn, and communities and their sense of belonging and connection were dismantled. In just the East Riverside area alone, “we lost more than 1,100 homes, six beauty parlors, five barber shops, five filling stations, fourteen grocery stores, three laundromats, eight apartment houses, seven churches, three shoe shops, two cabinet shops, two auto body shops, one hotel, five funeral homes, one hospital, and three doctor’s offices.” (Reverend Wesley Grant) During the East Riverside Redevelopment Project, an urban renewal effort targeting 425 across was completely demolished. Read More »
ACMS PRESENTS THE CALIDORE STRING QUARTET
The Asheville Chamber Music Series (ACMS) will present The Calidore String Quartet in virtual concerts aired Friday, November 20 at 7:30 PM, Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, November 22 at 3 PM. All the programs can be viewed on the ACMS website and YouTube.
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Bob Moog Foundation Announces Trifecta Raffle
The Bob Moog Foundation is excited to announce its 2020 Trifecta Raffle featuring three vintage Moog synthesizers: a Moog Rogue, a Moog Prodigy, and a Moog Source. The synthesizers being offered have been fully restored and are in excellent technical and physical condition. Together their collective worth is nearly $7,000.
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CITIZEN VINYL RECORD PRESSING PLANT TO OPEN IN ASHEVILLE, NC THIS SEPTEMBER
A full circle revival is underway for Asheville, NC’s Citizen-Times building. Once home to the daily paper’s printing facility and offices, the historic site will soon be unveiled with a new identity as a boutique vinyl pressing plant, record store and bar/cafe (and a new name): Citizen Vinyl. Founded by veteran music producer Gar Ragland and supported by a dream team of industry professionals and craftsmen, Citizen Vinyl is slated to become North Carolina’s first on site pressing plant, though its mission goes beyond just manufacturing great quality records.
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Diverse Group Of North Carolina Musicians Join Local Progressive Organizations in Launching VoteNC.org
At 6:30 PM EST on Sunday, July 12th, Down Home NC, Equality NC, Mijente, Poder NC, and RuralOrganizing.org will host a digital concert to launch a voter turnout campaign in the battleground state of North Carolina.
The online event will be a musical representation of the diverse communities of North Carolina and will feature hosts Joe Troop of Che Apalache and Shana Tucker and performances from The Hamiltones, Tatiana Hargreaves and Reed Stutz, Los Guanajatenses, Shirlette Ammons, Alexis Raeana Jones, and Javier Montano.
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Downtown After 5 Goes Live Stream, Immediate Support for Area Music Professionals
The Asheville Downtown Association (ADA) and Foundation (ADAF) today announced that they’re taking Downtown After 5 virtual, as well as a new program to directly support Asheville music professionals.
Based on state and local guidelines regarding public gatherings, the May 15 and June 19 Downtown After 5 events are going online. Through a partnership with IamAVL and The Orange Peel, Downtown After 5 will be live streamed to YouTube and Facebook.
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Montford Music & Art Festival Announces Early Info for 2020 Event
The Montford Music & Arts Festival, the longest-running and only free-to-the-public festival in the greater Asheville area, has announced early commitments for its music lineup and food truck or booth service for the 17th annual event on Saturday, May 30. The festival also has unveiled a new logo for 2020 and beyond.
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Fireside Collective Album Release Party
Fast rising Asheville progressive bluegrass band Fireside Collective partnered with North Carolina-based label Mountain Home Music Company in August 2019.
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