The Asheville Downtown Association is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series, made possible through a generous partnership with the Trina Mullen Foundation, City of Asheville Parks and Recreation, ArtsAVL, and Explore Asheville. This summer series will run from May 28 through August 30, featuring exciting activations every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.

Mondays: Pickin’ in the Park

Enjoy performances by local singer-songwriters in an intimate and relaxed setting. Experience the rich musical heritage of Asheville as talented musicians share their stories and songs.

Join us for an evening of music and community conversation with Dani Cox, LEAF’s Spark the Arts Artist in Residence for June. The event takes place on Monday, June 17, at 6 p.m., and is free and open to the public!

Dani Cox is a local musician and active community member. She is a teacher and a student, a passionate performer, and accomplished vocalist. With a background in dance, theater, and writing she has a lot to offer our community both creatively and professionally. A former member of Secret Agent 23 Skidoo and founding member of the Women to the Front Music Festival, Dani is beloved by so many in our community.

We welcome her to the stage of LEAF Global with open arms and heart. We know we will have the opportunity to not only hear beautiful music, but we will experience lively conversation, some big laughs, and an opportunity to learn.

In 2014, a group of Vietnam combat veterans began meeting at the Charles George VA Hospital in Asheville to participate in a unique creative writing program. The focus was capturing their stories through essays and poetry to find the voices war had taken from them. The hope was to reclaim a sense of their shared humanity, build camaraderie and find some degree of healing.

To continue this work, the NC Veterans Writing Alliance Foundation will be offering free creative writing classes at the East Asheville Library in June and July. The goal is to provide healing through the art of creative writing to all veterans in our community.

Join other veterans for this series of classes on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. from June 11-July 30 at the East Asheville library. To sign up, please e-mail Ron Toler at [email protected].

The Asheville Downtown Association is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series, made possible through a generous partnership with the Trina Mullen Foundation, City of Asheville Parks and Recreation, ArtsAVL, and Explore Asheville. This summer series will run from May 28 through August 30, featuring exciting activations every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.

Tuesdays: Hoop Jam

Join the fun with hula hoops and a live DJ. Whether you’re a seasoned hooper or a beginner, this vibrant event invites everyone to dance, spin, and groove to the music in a welcoming and energetic atmosphere.

Sing songs that celebrate Peace & Community, with Resident Teaching Artist Melissa McKinney. Sing, play, drum, and dance while learning songs from the Justice Choir Songbook.

Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
$15 drop-in class
All ages welcome.

Karaoke Night at Hickory Tavern

Presented by Horizon Heating & Air, Rhythm & Brews Concert Series brings together live music, local craft beverages, and the community! These FREE shows take place on the third Thursday of every month from May-September, closing part of South Main Street to make room for all the fun. Local food trucks will line the street cooking delicious eats from kettle corn to pizza to barbecue. Each show begins with an opener at 5:30 p.m. followed by the headlining performance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.

2024 Rhythm & Brews Concert Series Lineup:

June 20: Queen Bee And The Honeylovers [[Swing/Blues/Jazz]] with Peggy Ratusz & Daddy LongLegs [[Blues/Swing]]

Opening acts will kick off each evening at 5:30 p.m. followed by the headliner performance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.

Presented by Horizon Heating & Air, Rhythm & Brews Concert Series brings together live music, local craft beverages, and the community! These FREE shows take place on the third Thursday of every month from May-September, closing part of South Main Street to make room for all the fun. Local food trucks will line the street cooking delicious eats from kettle corn to pizza to barbecue. Each show begins with an opener at 5:30 p.m. followed by the headlining performance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.

2024 Rhythm & Brews Concert Series Lineup:

June 20: Queen Bee And The Honeylovers [[Swing/Blues/Jazz]] with Peggy Ratusz & Daddy LongLegs [[Blues/Swing]]

Opening acts will kick off each evening at 5:30 p.m. followed by the headliner performance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.

For this year’s Pritchard Park Songwriter Series, the Asheville Association is teaming up with Paloma Madre who are best known for bringing Asheville the wildly successful, international concept, Open Folk. Each week will feature two world class songwriters from our community playing introspective and honest tunes about life in the 21st century. Pritchard Park will once again be filled with the sweet sounding songs of heartbreak, true love, heavy loss, and lots and lots of goofin. It’s a guaranteed good time that won’t cost you a dime!!

Celebrate the light of Summer with a one hour Summer Solstice Sound Bath! A sound bath can cleanse your soul, restore your balance, surround you with peace and tranquility and stimulate healing.
For the meditation, we will feel the warmth of the sun on your skin as you bask in the suns gentle rays imagining the light penetrating your body with healing energy.

Note: Please bring a mat/blankets/pillow since you will be lying on the floor.
Wear comfortable and flexible clothing.
Choose your space starting at 6:15 pm, doors close promptly at 6:30 pm.

NOTE: Accessible parking is available in the Center for Spiritual Living Asheville upper parking lot. The entrance to the upper parking lot is off of S. Bear Creek Rd between Science of Mind Way and Sand Hill Rd. (see map in comments).
There is a boardwalk walk way from the upper parking lot to the building entrance.

JAZZ Jam is a special part of the LEAF Community. Meet us every Thursday at LEAF Global Arts from 7-10 P.M. for a night of smooth jazz that you can participate in or simply enjoy.

At this point, the Menzingers are an absolute institution. The Philadelphia punk legends’ multi-decade reputation as road warriors with an unbeatable catalog is cemented as hard truth—and their seventh album, Some Of It Was True, stands as their most immediate-sounding and energetic record to date. The follow-up to 2019’s sensational Hello Exile accomplishes the daunting task of capturing the Menzingers’ distinctive live energy in the confines of the studio, resulting in a sound that’s both rich, raw, and complementary to the group’s increasingly prismatic songwriting approach. More than 15 years in, the Menzingers are still holding their listeners square in the immediate present, and Some Of It Was True documents that power in thrilling fashion.

Some Of It Was True comes after the longest gap between Menzingers records to date—a gestational period brought on by the Hello Exile-era tour schedule’s delays due to the COVID-19 tour industry shutdown. “We weren’t really writing new music yet,” Greg Barnett explains. “We were talking about it, but we were honestly just happy to be out and touring again.” The acoustic reworks of 2020’s From Exile followed, as well as Barnett’s solo record Don’t Go Throwing Roses at My Grave from last year, which was when Some Of It Was True started to come together.

“We turned down any offers at that point because we needed the time to write,” Tom May explains while discussing the writing and recording process, which technically started while on the road and continued in intensive fashion while the boys were back home. “We’d go out on tour, come home, and be in the practice space writing our asses off five days a week,” Barnett says. We had to learn to trust our instincts, which is the hardest thing to do when you’ve been in a band like this for so long. You get caught in your ways! It took a while to trust ourselves, but when we did, it was an amazing feeling.”

Making the process easier: Grammy-nominated producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, the War on Drugs, Waxahatchee), who joined the Menzingers in El Paso’s legendary Sonic Ranch studios and lent his incredible ear for raw, immediate sound to help the band achieve Some Of It Was True’s in-the-room live feel. “The Menzingers are as real as it gets,” Cook says on his time in the studio with the band. I had an absolute blast working with these guys and was moved to tears many times. They are truly dedicated to artistic growth, and to each other, in ways I found both refreshing and beautiful. I am now a lifer.”

“Brad massively changed the way we were approaching the record,” May says. “We were able to bust out a ton of songs during the last part of the recording process as a result. We’d talk about music and develop a vocabulary about how to work together, and that made us embrace chasing the feeling instead worrying about locking in things immediately.” “We wanted to make a fun record and write songs that we wanted to play live, and that’s exactly what we did,” Barnett adds. “We’ve always said that we want every album to sound live, but we never recorded an album live before. This was the first time we committed to that idea. We wanted to sound like how our band sounds onstage.”

Lyrically, Some Of It Was True is a showcase for how the band’s songwriting has expanded beyond their own personal experiences, drawing from what’s happening around them and the lives of those who keep this world’s lifeforce pumping. “Not everything has to derive from your own life,” Barnett explains. “We have the creative license to look around at our friends and family and write through their perspective. Everyone’s gone through so much.” “We started this band when we were teenagers, and we’ve been at it for a while—and we’re a punk band, which usually represents a lot of youthful energy,” May adds. “We’re getting older now, so the last thing we wanted to do was re-do anything we’ve tried in the past.”

Case in point: The anthemic burn of first single “There’s No Place In this World For Me” clicked into place after Barnett met several fans during a European tour stop who fled from Russia in opposition to the war. “They were the epitome of the song—they had nowhere left to go,” he remembers. “They were my main focus when it came to finishing the song, it was really inspiring.” More broadly, the song addresses the push and pull of life on the road, and how growing older plays into that evolving dynamic: “It’s about that feeling of sitting at home and thinking, ‘How much fun would it be to be in Berlin with your friends right now?’ And you get there and think, ‘Man, I just want to be home.’ The older you get, the more you feel that way, and this song is about trying to find that balance when it comes to where you are in life.”

Elsewhere, “Try” swaggers with a slight power-pop influence, while the May-led “Nobody Stays” soars with a hard-driving edge, as his bell-clear vocals dig deep into the feelings that accompany watching things—and people—disappear over time. “We’ve lived in this city for a long time as we’ve seen people come and go,” he recalls. “Some people, you’ll never see again—or, maybe, even know what happens to them again. Instead of yearning, we’re approaching acceptance of those changes in our lives. I miss a lot of those people, but it’s OK that they’re gone, too.”

The passage of time and how things change are, of course, topics that are always on peoples’ minds—but when it comes to Some Of It Was True, the Menzingers are kickstarting a new era in their already illustrious career by tapping into the energy that brought the band to life in the very beginning. “This record just feels different for us,” Barnett explains. “It’s a really important one in our catalog, and a pivotal moment in our history. We have the liberty of our fans growing with us now, and after writing these lyrical songs about where we are in life, we decided to take other peoples’ stories and make something bigger out of it.”

“It brought us back to our energetic side as a band,” May concurs. “We got to let loose, which is what drew us to the energy of being in a band in the first place. This is a live band—why shouldn’t we record live songs? As a result, we’re back to why we started this band in the first place.”

Plan to collaborate with other musicians at Sideways Farm & Brewery in Etowah. Bring your instruments and voices and enjoy making music and networking with other artists, while enjoying the beautiful scenery. Food truck is on site and beverages available for purchase from Sideways (small
batch craft beers, hard jun, ciders, wine, and non alcoholic drinks). Family, fans, friends, and leashed dogs are all welcome!
During winter months enjoy playing under the covered, sheltered, heated porch! And during the summer months enjoy
collaborating in the fields, on the stage, or under the patio

Downtown After 5 has become a staple of Asheville’s cultural calendar, offering residents and visitors alike a chance to experience live music in the heart of our vibrant city. This year, each event is centered around highlighting a nonprofit partner with a theme that celebrates diverse musical genres, food and beverage offerings, local makers, and community initiatives. Each Downtown After 5 event draws an enthusiastic crowd of between 5,000 to 6,000 attendees to North Lexington Avenue, transforming it into a vibrant hub of music, dance, and community.

June 21 | Juneteenth
In a special collaboration with the MLK Foundation, we celebrate Juneteenth with the soulful Sierra Green & the Giants headlining and Lyric setting the mood.

July 19 | AVL Fest Kickoff
The official kick-off to AVL Fest, in support of Asheville FM, we’re bringing to the stage Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast as headliners, with The Greenliners opening.

August 16 | LEAF Downtown
In collaboration with LEAF Global Arts, we’re excited to bring back LEAF Downtown at Downtown After 5. Tito Puente Jr. will be headlining the event, with the LEAF Kono Band opening.

September 20 | Outdoor Rec Fest
Closing out the series is September’s Outdoor Rec Fest with Riverlink. Featuring headliner Oliver Hazard and opener Paul McDonald. Celebrate Asheville’s outdoor lifestyle by engaging with our outdoor recreation partners and vendors.

Downtown After 5 is more than just a concert series; it’s a community staple that celebrates the diversity and creativity of Asheville. Each event is free to the public, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and partners. Food and beverage vendors will be on-site, with a portion of proceeds supporting the nonprofit partners associated with each event.

The beats of the Friday Night Drum Circle have been rocking Pritchard Park for decades and the circle has become so popular that it is featured in magazines and TV commercials.

The Asheville Downtown Association is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series, made possible through a generous partnership with the Trina Mullen Foundation, City of Asheville Parks and Recreation, ArtsAVL, and Explore Asheville. This summer series will run from May 28 through August 30, featuring exciting activations every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.

Drum Circle

The Asheville Downtown Association is proud to facilitate the return of Asheville’s iconic Drum Circle. Feel the rhythm and join the beat as the community comes together for an evening of drumming, dancing, and camaraderie.

Call it Reckless Kelly’s Last Hurrah.

From its roots as a barnstorming Idaho outfit to its modern-day status as a torchbearer for
independent Americana music from coast to coast, Reckless has tied Austin rock and cowboy
poetry together seamlessly for more than 25 years. Now, the band is slowly winding down its
touring days.

Co-founders and brothers Willy and Cody Braun told Rolling Stone in late 2022 that Reckless
will pare its touring schedule back to roughly 35 shows a year from 2023-35 before retiring from
the road altogether. This alone is a major change for a group that has neared or exceeded 200
shows a year for most of its career. The reason for the long goodbye, according to the members, is to ensure fans have opportunities to catch more shows without the pressure a whirlwind farewell tour puts on both artist and the audience.

“The coolest thing about our fan base is, we got them one at a time,” Willy — Reckless’s
frontman, says. “We didn’t go out there with one big hit or music video or one big tour. We
literally got our fans on an individual basis. I’m pretty proud of that part: Once we got a fan, they
stayed with us.”

Cody — who plays fiddle and mandolin — and Willy grew up in rural Idaho, near Stanley, in a
family full of musicians. They are joined in Reckless by drummer Jay Nazz, bassist Joe Miller,
and steel guitar player Geoff Queen. Before wrapping up on the road, Reckless plans to release at least one more full-length album — a follow to the double album American Jackpot/American Girls, which was released in spring 2020 just as the pandemic shut down live music and scuttled a release tour — and the band intends to announce multiple projects, big and small, between now and 2025.

Opening Night sparkles as Keith Lockhart conducts Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, at once lyrical, boisterous, and ultimately optimistic—in the words of the composer, “a symphony on the greatness of the human soul.” Brevard favorite Joyce Yang returns to perform Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto, widely regarded as the most technically challenging in all the repertoire.

Brevard Music Center Orchestra
Keith Lockhart, conductor
Joyce Yang, piano

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5

Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1. To receive early access to tickets for this event, become a donor today! Donor presale begins March 25.

Visit LEAF Global Arts every Saturday for an in-house cultural exchange with Adama Dembele. Experience the Ivory Coast with our Culture Keeper from the House of Djembe.

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 Beyoncé at Asheville Masonic Temple under the gentle glow of candlelight.

General Info
Venue: Asheville Masonic Temple
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

“Love on Top”
“Hold Up”
“If I Were a Boy”
“Say My Name” (Destiny’s Child)
“Drunk in Love”
“Single Ladies”
“Sandcastles”
“XO”
“Irreplaceable”
“Halo”
“Survivor” (Destiny’s Child)
“Crazy in Love”

Performers

Opal String Quartet

Reviews of Candlelight Concerts
Aleks D. : “Beautiful location and amazingly talented musicians.”
Amber B. : “This was a beautiful event with wonderfully talented musicians. Would go again and would recommend to anyone!”
Angel S. : “Excellent concert…. they are masters…. We will be back again!!!!”

Fever Seating

The BRO Chamber Ensemble hails the arrival of summer with an enchanted evening of music at Souther Williams Vineyard. 

The Blue Ridge Orchestra presents Solstice Soirée, an alfresco chamber concert (with a WNC twist), at 6:00 pm on Saturday, June 22^nd, in the beautiful Souther Williams vineyard on Hoopers Creek Road in Fletcher, NC.

Stepping outside classical confines, Music Director Milton Crotts incorporates the popular music of local artists into an eclectic program anchored by the BRO Chamber Ensemble. Mozart, Vivaldi, and Albinoni are all represented, but not necessarily in expected ways. 

Fancy Marie and Craig Kellberg contribute the honky tonk, southern gothic vibes of Fancy and the Gentlemen. The Walker Family Trio shares the traditional, old-time, Celtic sounds of The Walker Family Band. 

Trombonists extraordinaire, Rienette Davis and Emily Songster perform vibrant and unexpected arrangements of classical and popular works. 

Table seating in the pavilion is accompanied by Souther Williams wine and Daphne’s Catering by Twisted Laurel. Seating on the vineyard lawn is available come rain or come shine — bring your own blanket, lawn chair, and umbrella. (No outside alcohol is permitted.) 

Sean of the South

A multi-instrumentalist, he started playing mandolin when he was seven, guitar at age eight, and played piano in church at age nine.

Having lived through enough heartache, joy, embarrassment, love, and renewal for several lifetimes, Sean condenses our human failures and triumphs into stories that make the Southern heart resound.
His wildly popular blog and musical podcast, “Sean of the South,” is suited for anyone with red clay on their car and sand in their shoes. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, Southern Living, Garden and Gun, and he has authored fifteen books.

His one-man shows have earned him a cult-like following in the southeastern United States and among closeted accordion players worldwide. Sean is a master storyteller in the tradition of Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and Lewis Grizzard. His brutally candid, laugh-out-loud, and sometimes painful tales remind us that we are not alone in our human experience. His tales of covered-dish suppers, camp meeting sing-alongs, funerals gone awry, and hounds that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge have audiences drying their eyes one minute and slapping their knees the next.

The concert begins at 6:30 PM. Beverages will be available for purchase.