How do you get to know a city? Is it by reading the Lonely Planet on the plane ride there? Is it by hanging out in a dive bar down some old forgotten street? Or is it by fully immersing yourself in the society, taking in as much culture as you can from as many sources as possible?
The promoters of AVLFest 2024 seem to agree with the latter, returning for the festival’s second edition with over 350 bands playing nearly two dozen venues across town for four days. That sounds like a lot, and it absolutely was, so let’s dive in.
“We’re Not Living In That Old-Time Feeling”
Asheville is a historic community deeply rooted in traditions, but it is also coming into the possession of a new generation. The same could be said for Americana/folk/whatever word they’re using to keep from calling it “country,” and one of its rising singer-songwriters S.G. Goodman. Listen to Goodman’s music and you’ll hear the same honest lyricism from roots music but paired with shimmering guitars and drums that are more in line with John Bonham than Johnny Horton. Her headlining set at The Outpost on day one of AVLFest 2024 fluctuated from down-in-the-holler dystopian noise rock to swaggering dive bar honky tonk, all unified by Goodman’s squeaky tremolo voice and unguarded lyricism.
“We’re not living in that old-time feeling,” she sang to which the only response was “Damn straight.” Goodman’s prominent booking was indicative of the greater trend of neo-traditional musical styles both at the festival and around Asheville. Rather than living in that “Old Time Feeling”—the title track to her 2020 debut—the future belongs to those new voices who can choose to add droning overdrive guitars or to tear down monuments to slave owners. The future of Asheville and the future of Americana belongs to them.
S.G. Goodman — The Outpost — 8/1/24
[Audio: Asheville George]
Another voice shaping the future of folk is Asheville’s Red Clay Revival. The local grass-fusion band filled The Grey Eagle on Thursday with a packed, sweaty mass reflective of the close-knit community that consistently crowds Asheville’s oldest music venue. That community extended to the stage, where singer Melissa McKinney and guitarist Isaac Hadden sat in with Red Clay Revival. One can’t help but compare Red Clay’s singer/acoustic guitarist Doug McElvy to slamgrass vet Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon for the way he similarly commands the crowd with his intense and engaging vocal delivery. Under the watchful eye of Bill Monroe‘s mural on the wall, Red Clay Revival delivered their unique homebrew of folk, blues, bluegrass, and straight-up rock on a mix of acoustic and electric instruments.
But there’s no finer example of Asheville’s neo-traditional melting pot than Jon Stickley. The guitarist has been a local fixture of the community for years, and his influence reaches far beyond Buncombe County. Stickley has been a longtime friend of Billy Strings who admitted during a recent trip to Asheville that he used to crash on Stickley’s couch in the early days. Strings has more than returned the favor, inviting Stickley to join his 2022 Away From the Shire Halloween run as Bilbo Baggins and crashing Stickley’s pre-party on his most recent trip to Asheville.
On Friday afternoon, Stickley was the star at The Outpost’s outdoor stage where he performed with the Jon Stickley Trio. As the audience danced in a field of soggy woodchips in the thick Southeastern humidity, Stickley delivered a set of progressive instrumental bluegrass alongside bandmates Lindsay Pruett (violin) and Hunter Deacon (drums). Like any true master of their instrument, Stickley does not need the spotlight all to himself and is sure to shine it on his bandmates, which he did during Pruett’s menacingly titled “Death by Rainbow”. Deacon proved himself more than a metronome on a Béla Fleck & The Flecktones cover that the band outfitted with a drum solo of “Moby Dick” proportions. With Stickley at the helm, the trio powered through intricate instrumentals that carried on Fleck’s mission of displaying the versatility of traditional instruments—modernizing bluegrass with every frenzied run up his guitar.
Who’s Next For Asheville
To rewind a bit, my four-day AVLFest weekend started with what I thought was going to be a set by local artist, music teacher, and all-around champion of the arts Melissa McKinney. Instead of the LEAF Global Arts instructor and ever-present musical force, however, it was her daughter playing a set with her eponymous four-piece dubbed simply, McKinney (an honest mistake on my part). Few people embody all the good things about the Asheville music community more than Melissa, and there’s no better manifestation of her mission to bring music to the youth than playing alongside her daughter’s band. The sit-in personified everything good and wholesome about this scene and began the weekend with the most positive of intentions. If the younger McKinney decides to stick around her hometown, the culture would be fortunate if she used her voice to lead like her mom. And with her recently passing 7,000 streams on Spotify for her song “Casually“, it appears her voice may be starting to reach outside Western North Carolina.
McKinney (the daughter) was just one of AVLFest’s many rising local artists who would make great leaders for the next generation of musicians. Another prime candidate for the local ticket jammed South Slope’s sleek new club, Eulogy, on Friday night. Asheville’s Pink Beds were one of the scores of bands keeping up a .1000 batting average for AVLFest appearances, having staged a memorable late-night dance party at last year’s debut. What a difference a year makes, as this time last year Eulogy did not even exist and neither did the band’s sophomore album Spare Key to a Memory.
Whereas this writer described the band last year as “if Dawes was more into psychedelic mushrooms,” the Pink Beds of AVLFest 2024 were a refined operation. The four-piece displayed its musical multitudes by blending enough indie-pop elements to appeal to the masses and enough psych-rock qualities to appeal to jaded music critics—bridged together with catchy hooks and disco backbeats. Spare Key has clearly been getting some play around town, as the first few rows of fans knew just when to clap during the breakdown of album standout “The Word (DANCE)”.
Among Asheville’s devoted jam-rock audience, the frontrunner for the scene’s support is Isaac Hadden. The 21-year-old wily-haired guitarist has already made a name for himself in his adopted hometown of Asheville. Whether playing with his eponymous organ trio or sitting in with anyone who will have him, Hadden shows a tenacity to play as much as physically possible. So it was little surprise to see Hadden sitting in with Red Clay Revival immediately before wheeling in his road case to set up for his own set to follow.
Alongside drummer Iajhi Hampden (John Legend) and organist Bill Stevens, Hadden delivered frenetic, high-energy jazz-fusion compositions that left few spaces unfilled by his PRS. Hadden did attempt to slow things down with a cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Young Lust”, but the young man couldn’t help himself and became so enthralled in his playing that he fell backward, narrowly missing Hampden’s cymbal. The band, seemingly accustomed to their leader’s fits of passion, didn’t miss a beat as Hadden got up, strapped his guitar back on, and continued the guitar solo with even greater tenacity (perhaps a head injury is good for the young brain). Hadden’s duties were far from finished when he stepped offstage on Thursday, sitting in throughout the weekend with Natalie Brooke, Adam Chase & Friends, Josh Clark’s Visible Spectrum, and Jeff Sipe Trio.
“AVLFest really showcases how collaborative we all are and how cohesive our music scene is,” The Snozzberries singer/guitarist Ethan Heller told Live For Live Music while waiting to see Papadosio‘s set at Salvage Station. “Nobody’s trying to stab anybody in the back, there’s no real competition. We’re all supportive of one another, and it’s really cool to see that. You don’t see that in every music scene.”
If You Book It, They Will Come
The 350-plus bands are only part of what made AVLFest what it was. Twenty-two venues across town opened their doors for the festival and joined forces so attendees only had to purchase one wristband to partake in the musical marathon. One of Asheville’s favorite venues Salvage Station delivered a stacked lineup on Saturday that quelled the need for mad dashes from club to club and instead allowed for a tranquil Salvage Saturday. The sentimentality of that day at the hybrid indoor-outdoor venue was only heightened by Salvage’s ticking clock, with the business closing at the end of 2024 to make room for a highway expansion project.
What is it that makes Salvage Station so special to Asheville? Tucked along the French Broad River in the back of an old salvage yard, it feels like a local secret in a tourism-driven town where it’s hard to keep one (residents guard the hidden waterfalls they find with vigilance, yet still post about them on Instagram). In a town that is constantly commercializing what makes it unique—see the “beer can hotel” coming to the South Slope brewing district—Salvage is earnestly quirky but devoid of kitsch. More tangibly, the venue’s dual indoor club and outdoor amphitheater make it the perfect location for events like AVLFest or Papadosio‘s Summer Sequence where music can run non-stop. The community of local and national acts that Salvage has fostered made it one of the prominent musical forces in the region, one that will be sorely missed and leave a gap no highway expansion can fill.
Salvage’s Saturday lineup heated up along with the temperature on Saturday afternoon with Asheville staple Toubab Krewe on the outdoor stage. A quintessentially local pairing of artist and venue, Toubab highlights that spirit of carrying traditional elements into a modern context—only these traditions aren’t Appalachian but instead West African. Justin Perkins‘ use of the ngoni immediately sets the band apart, only for Drew Heller‘s jam-rock guitar playing to draw listeners in with familiarity. Terrence Houston‘s thunderous drumming makes the band an imposing live force, forming a critical rhythmic bedrock with bassist Justin Kimmel and Luke Quaranta whose encyclopedia of percussive instruments goes beyond that of most music stores. The band views its music as a sonic Pangaea, creating a cartography that bridges elements from around the world but made its home in Western North Carolina.
For the penultimate set of Salvage Saturday, LITZ got the jam-hungry crowd primed for the evening’s headlining set from Papadosio. Titular brothers Austin (vocals, keyboards, flute, saxophone) and Logan Litz (bass) reconnected on the indoor stage with their brother Billy Litz, an Asheville local who joined the band on trumpet.
LITZ — Salvage Station — 8/3/24
[Video: Iam AVL]
Papadosio’s Saturday set and last performance at Salvage happened to fall on drummer Mike Healy‘s birthday. The bombastic drummer took no time off to celebrate, powering the band through a nine-song set comprised almost entirely of songs written following the band’s migration to Asheville from Ohio around the time of 2012’s T.E.T.I.O.S. Though Papadosio was not born here, the band still fits into Asheville’s genetic makeup of musicians and people outside the lines, be that stylistically or societally.
Papadosio front-loaded its 90-minute performance with songs that highlighted its progressive crunch like set-opener “Shiitake” from 2020’s Microdosio. On the back half, the band waded into its improvised ambient electronica, presenting a more laid-back approach to jamtronica than other EDM-influenced bands. The band kept up the communal spirit of AVLFest with a sit-in from local singer Stephanie Morgan (a.k.a. Pink Mercury, who played earlier that day) to ad-lib vocals on “Who You Are” from the band’s album of improvisations inspired by the late Ram Dass. By the end of the show, Papapdosio’s jamming had become effortless as “Versicolor” naturally segued into the iconic “Find Your Cloud” to cap off Salvage Saturday.
Of course, there are plenty of other venues to highlight besides Salvage Station. The DIY aesthetic of West Asheville attracted a wide-ranging lineup of acts to One World Brewing, The Odd, and Fleetwood’s. When leaving hard rock power trio turned duo Zillicoah at famed dive bar/wedding chapel/thrift store/punk venue Fleetwood’s, this reporter had to walk hardly the length of a football field to be transported to Central America by Chikomo Marimba at One World Brewing. The battalion of marimbas created some of the most joyful music heard all weekend, with the band seemingly having more fun than anyone. That stylistic diversity in just a matter of feet highlighted why excursions to the Weird West are a must for AVLFest.
And it wouldn’t be a weekend of music in Asheville, NC without a trip to the famed Asheville Music Hall. The weekend came to a fitting close at the long-running downtown club with frequent guests The Snozzberries. The local prog-jam act has been a staple of the venue since forming in 2017, taking over the AMH one weekend every year for the band’s Psychedelic Circus soiree. The Snozzberries had the honor of closing down the Music Hall on Sunday evening, a fortunate shot at redemption following their rain-plagued Friday set at French Broad River Brewery. Though that performance was beset by intermittent showers, the band delivered a hard-hitting set that raged against the elements and was a worthwhile reason for many—including this reporter—to get soaked.
“It’s funny,” guitarist/vocalist Ethan Heller told Live For Live Music, “We opened with our new single, and it’s all about thunder and lightning, and the second we said ‘thunder’ the sky opened up and drenched everybody. And I was just happy it wasn’t like Woodstock ’99, nobody was pelting mud at us.”
Whereas Friday’s set leaned into some of the band’s dense compositions, Sunday’s much drier performance highlighted the recent addition of bassist Josh Clark. Another ever-present face in Asheville’s improvisation-friendly music scene, Clark has brought The Snozzberries into a new era with his dynamic stage presence and lead-style bass playing. His energetic performing somehow perfectly melds with Heller’s penchant for heavy metal shredding, as the band’s longtime frontman has found someone to match his onstage energy. With Clark on bass and Paul Gladstone landing in the drummer’s seat beside ever-present keyboardist Ian Taylor, The Snozzberries have found their missing pieces and are looking forward to releasing a self-titled album later this year.
The Snozzberries — Asheville Music Hall — 8/4/24
[Audio: Asheville George]
All good things must come to an end, and there was no better way to close out a celebration of all things Asheville than with Jeff Sipe Trio at Salvage Station. From Salvage Station’s garage-like interior, the setting sun shined on this early evening performance of high-energy progressive jazz by the former Aquarium Rescue Unit drummer and Asheville mainstay—a torchbearer best suited to bang out the final notes of AVLFest 2024.
It’s often the case with many festivals that, by the end, there’s at least a part of you that’s sick of seeing music. And I’m not going to say it was easy to peel myself off the couch and away from the Pete Rose docuseries for another day of music on Sunday, but AVLFest’s wildly fluctuating lineup was nothing short of invigorating, even after four straight days of music. To go from instrumental kaiju-themed surf punk (Daikaiju) to an improv comedy troupe (Reasonably Priced Babies) to a prog-jam band (The Snozzberries) to mind-blowing acid-jazz (Jeff Sipe Trio) reflects the overall mission of AVLFest: to highlight Asheville’s many split musical personalities.
In Asheville it’s easy to get locked into your bubble be it jam bands at the Music Hall, punk at Fleetwood’s, bluegrass at Jack of the Wood, or any of the city’s couple dozen venues and their unique identities. But AVLFest is as much a chance for visitors to be introduced to Asheville as it is for the local populace to walk through doors they normally wouldn’t pay a $20 cover for. In the end, AVLFest is a festival by Asheville, for Asheville, for the love of Asheville.
Check out a gallery of images from AVLFest 2024 courtesy of Fiasco Media and Hunter Rentz.
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