Sat 9/5 Chuck Brodsky at White Horse Black Mtn

Saturday September 5
Chuck Brodsky
at White Horse Black Mountain
8pm

A down to earth musical storyteller, with adry, barb-witted social commentary combined with a deep underlying compassion, Brodsky knows that the best stories are the little things in the lives of everyday people trying to muddle through with some grace. His great gift as a writer is to infuse these stories with humanity and humor, making them resonate profoundly with his listeners. His spoken introductions to his songs can be as spellbinding as his colorful lyrics, which he brings to life with a well-travelled voice and a delivery that's natural and conversational. His groove-oriented strumming and fingerpicking draw on influences from the mountains of western North Carolina where he now lives, and from lots of different good old traditional folk stuff of all kinds.

Chuck has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, and Ireland for 12 years, playing at folk festivals such as Tønder in Denmark, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Kerrville, Philadelphia, and Strawberry, as well as the Lincoln Center Out of Door series in New York, among others. Some of the artists he's appeared in concert with include Arlo Guthrie, Janis Ian, Pete Seeger, Tim O'Brien, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, John Hartford, Greg Brown, Gillian Welch, Dick Gaughan, Tom Paxton, Ferron, Richie Havens, Patty Larkin, Steve Forbert, The Kingston Trio, and Christine Lavin. His influences include John Hartford, Mark Twain, Nic Jones, Bob Dylan, Lowell George, Jackson Browne, Steve Forbert, The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, and David Massengill.

www.chuckbrodsky.com
www.myspace.com/chuckbrodsky
www.whitehorseblackmountain.com

"He is an extroadinary talent in my opinion.
I would place him in the Dylan-Guthrie-Prine league without question.
His lyrics are drawn from the lives of everyday people and his acoustic guitar playing is quite amazing."
---BBC Belfast (Tony McAuley)


"One of the finest singer-songwriters in America.
There are alot of good ones, but when it comes to the
really great ones it boils down to a select few -- he’s one of them"
---Larry Groce - Mountain Stage (National Public Radio)

Fri 9/4 Shantavaani at White Horse Black Mountain

Friday September 4 2009
SHANTAVAANI
at White Horse Black Mountain
8pm

Shantavaani - the name roughly translates to "Peace through Music", and the group's tagline is "From Raga to Reggae'!

ShantavaaniAn ecletic group of musicians that create a mystical vibe through the soulful music traditions of the world. From roots Americana, jazz, to the far off traditions of India and beyond.

http://www.myspace.com/shantavaani
Only 6.00 cover charge.

Shantavaani is:

Jay Brown:
Jay Brown is a founding member of the classic blues, country and swing group, Lazybirds. He has played his guitar and harmonicas with the likes of Doc Watson, Etta Baker, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Jay has studied the roots of American music all across the south, traditional Ghanian music in West Africa, and Indian Classical music with his wife, Aditi. His original music is a regular feature on WNCW.

Aditi Sethi
Aditi began playing the harmonium, an indian instrument, and singing bhajans and shabads, spiritual songs of the indian traditions, when she was 5 years old. She first learned music from her grandparents in India. Her family moved to America from India in 1983. As a child, Aditi frequently performed at concerts with her father, who is an accomplished singer in the traditional Indian style.

Sarah Carlisle
Sarah's musical journey began at the age of 10 when she began to play the upright bass. She grew up playing classical music and attended the prestigious Peabody Conservatory on a merit scholarship. It was there, however, when she discovered the vast world of improvisation and began to study jazz under the guidance of Gary Thomas and Michael Formanek. She has been a sought after freelance bassist in the Baltimore/DC area ever since, playing at venues such as Blues Alley and The New Haven Lounge with great local musicians. Most recently, she has come to Asheville where she has been blessed by the talents of Luna Rasa & Shantaavani.

Matthew Cox
An extraordinarily sensitive and creative percussionist, Matthew's style of Tabla playing is melodic and expansive, adapting a unique form of modified tabla tarang to allow for chord changes and harmonies not found in Indian music. With over 25 years in music, he pulls from diverse backgrounds in classical, jazz, Native American sacred singing under the apprenticeship of Cherokee elder Ed Littlefox, and electronic music with the late Dr. Bob Moog followed by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He began in 2005 with his East Indian music teachers Samir Chatterjee, Kuntala Ray, and Kumar Das. He has accompanied the likes of music historian and virtuoso Gerald Trimble, Wynne Paris, Wynton Marsalis, the late Sean Layton of JFJO, the Carnatic Brothers, Durga Das, Tibetan sacred singer Yungchen Lhamo, Sangita Devi, and the world class female pioneer of the hansaveena Indian slide guitar, Kuntala Ray.

www.myspace.com/shantavaani
www.whitehorseblackmountain.com

Fri 9/4 Brushfire Stankgrass at Pisgah Brewing

Friday September 4

Brushfire Stankgrass

at Pisgah Brewing

8pm

http://pisgahbrewing.com/
www.myspace.com/brushfirestankgrass

Featuring eclectic live performances showcasing inventive songwriting, educated musicianship, and a knack for making people dance, Brushfire Stankgrass fuses old mountain music with new for a remarkably original sound. This "Stankgrass" sound has landed the group three sessions in western North Carolina's famed WNCW Studio B over the past two year and regular airplay on independent stations nationwide. Their live concerts, recorded in stunning multi-track clarity, are downloaded from archive.org at a rate of over two hundred downloads per week.

The remarkable chemistry and live experimentation in the music of Brushfire Stankgrass begins with its founding members, Ben & Will Saylor. The brothers began playing music in the Suzuki method at the age of three and picked up the banjo and guitar at 10 & 12, respectively. They still maintain their bluegrass chops today, but have added some Moog analog effects and "trance-mountain dub" rhythms to create a style which has moved beyond the traditional into truly uncharted territory; they call it Stankgrass. Along the way the brothers Saylor have found two outstanding musicians to round out the group. Bassist Bryan White hails from the land of Merlefest (Wilkesboro, NC), and is a veteran composer and performer on upright and electric basses.

Drumming virtuoso Ian Cunningham slides into the newgrass-style seamlessly, due probably to the fact that he comes from a bluegrass-picking family (his father was a founding member of Whitewater Bluegrass Co). Both Bryan and Ian are accomplished musicians in their own right, and they maintain a busy schedule playing music full-time with multiple groups. Brushfire Stankgrass believes it is their own task to bring southern Appalachian music one step further. John Hartford said that "Bluegrass music is a thing of the past and the same for rock & roll." As banjo player Ben Saylor stated in a recent WNCW interview, "We like to think that we picked up where Hartford left off."

Fri 9/4 Corduroy Road at Town Pump Tavern

Friday September 4
Corduroy Road
at Town Pump Tavern
8:30pm

Since its inception by Drew Carman and Dylan Solise in early 2006, The Corduroy Road has molded bluegrass, Americana, folk rock, and old-time country with the rawest of live performances. The two, born and raised in the Central Kentucky Bluegrass Region where they learned their craft, now reside in the musical gem of the southeast: Athens, GA.

With the addition of John Cable on drums and Elijah NeeSmith on bass, The Corduroy Road quickly gained a reputation in Athens as an up and coming band on the scene after sharing the stage with such notable bands including The Avett Brothers, Paleface, The Packway Handle Band, Ian Thomas, Langhorne Slim, Drakkar Sauna and more.

Athens Banner Herald called them “bluegrass rockers…influenced by old time country and Americana, while the live performances exude the energy of punk rock.”

Since its inception by Drew Carman and Dylan Solise in early 2006, The Corduroy Road has molded bluegrass, Americana, folk rock, and old-time country with the rawest of live performances. The two, born and raised in the Central Kentucky Bluegrass Region where they learned their craft, now reside in the musical gem of the southeast: Athens, GA.

With the addition of John Cable on drums and Elijah NeeSmith on bass, The Corduroy Road quickly gained a reputation in Athens as an up and coming band on the scene after sharing the stage with such notable bands including The Avett Brothers, Paleface, The Packway Handle Band, Ian Thomas, Langhorne Slim, Drakkar Sauna and more.

Athens Banner Herald called them “bluegrass rockers…influenced by old time country and Americana, while the live performances exude the energy of punk rock.”

www.myspace.com/townpumpllc
http://www.myspace.com/thecorduroyroad

"Athens, Georgia's The Corduroy Road has quickly become one of the finest roots rock bands in the Southeast. Carman and Solise are emerging as one of the strongest young songwriting duos on the Americana scene.”
-An Honest Tune


"Although rooted in classic Americana, with lots of foot stomping, banjo plucking and pedal steel, The Corduroy Road also has a knack for endearing pop sensibility. It just takes one verse of swaying to the acoustic rhythms before you are singing along the next time the chorus rolls around. It’s the kind of music that practically begs for a sing-along, with Carman and Solise’s rich, organic harmonies leading the way.....Fans of anything from country to bluegrass to folk to rock will especially enjoy The Corduroy Road's notoriously lively shows.”
-Flagpole


“The chatty banjo, rolling harmonies, the acoustic guitar and melodic, Southern vocals are the name of the game for the Athens quartet. The music is so damn, well comfy, that the quaint country and roots music peppered with folk rock sounds warmly familiar.”
-Creative Loafing

Thu 9/3 Chris O'Neill at Town Pump Tavern

Thursday Sept 3
Chris O'Neill
at Town Pump Tavern
8:30pm

Chris O’Neill is a veteran singer and songwriter who currently performs solo, as well as with artists who play the classic musical genres of country, blues and Americana. His knowledge, love and astute ear for music have resulted in his reputation as a professional whose output always earns acclaimed attention. His works and performances have captivated audiences from such mediums as albums and films to commercials and on-stage gigs.

www.myspace.com/chrisoneillsongs

He has garnered acclaim for numerous musical appearances and projects throughout New York City and around the country for his strong voice, musical arrangements, and ability to play a wide range of instruments. He was recently recruited to travel to Nashville, TN to finalize songs for musicians who require his musical prowess and professional touches in order to optimize their albums’ performances. For more than 25 years he has traveled to other countries, perfecting his use of such instruments as acoustic and electric guitar, harmonica, drums (drum sets, congas, African drums, steel), and many more.Chris studied african music with Pascal Young for 4 years and performed regularly with his ensamble.

Chris released the album Chris O’Neill and SteepCreek with the band Steepcreek in 2007, on which he and the band performed many songs he has written. The band has since opened for members of the Allman Brothers and Black Crows in NYC at Tobacco Roads on numerous occasions; and is currently being pursued once again to open for the Allman Brothers in the near future via the NYC Beacon Theater booking agent.

Films and Commercials – Two of Chris’s songs, including his hit “Southside,” were hand-picked by award-winning director Tommy Wood to be featured in Wood’s movie “Grilling Bobby Hicks” which was released in 2008 by Stimulus Films.

Some of Chris’s songs are also exclusively featured throughout the acclaimed kayaking film “After the Fall,” for which he performed with the band Steepcreek once again.

In 2008, Chris was hired for Country Music Television’s series “Big Break with Sara Evans” as a location manager, talent scout, and production assistant, in collaboration with Emmy winning Planet Grande Pictures.

Chris has also been featured as Eddie Bauer in commercials for Lane Furniture’s Eddie Bauer line, which has been one of their most successful lines since his performances in 2003. Other works include collaboration with – and features on - the Vegas Entertainment Network, and for Creative Network Studios. www.thev.tv http://www.cnsinc.tv

Thu 9/3 Queen Anne's Revenge at Pisgah Brewring

Thursday September 3

The Queen Anne's Revenge

at Pisgah Brewing

6pm

http://www.myspace.com/thequeenannesrevenge9
http://www.pisgahbrewing.com/

Fiesty mountain music that Nashville and your preacher warned you about. Rounders, miscreants and ne'er do wells welcome as well as their dogs.

Named after Edward Teach's (aka Blackbeard) commandeered pirate ship that wreaked havoc and mayhem along the South Carolina and Virginia coasts the and raises the dram glass to natives such as Charlie Poole, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Etta Baker, Tommy Jerrell, Benton Flippen, Frank Profitt and others who created the "Carolina Sound" that to this day defines North Carolina string band music. In addition to the ballads and fiddle tunes their repetoire includes both hokum and maritime tunes.