The A-List: See Hear's picks for arts happenings to experience, Sept. 17-20

Ann Dunn marks her 45th season-opening program as the grand dame of the Asheville Ballet, a company founded in 1963. For this annual outdoors tradition—once free, now with a paid ticket—Dunn has tapped a handful of choreographers to set a mixed program of contemporary and classical works.

When I just checked, the ticketing link once you get to the event landing page (link above, in the headline) hasn’t been updated since last year, but I think it’s a safe bet to assume you can walk up to Pack Square and buy your tickets on-site. Bring your lawn chairs and save some cake for me!

Are we so starved for international culture here that we’re ready to trek to Brevard (on foot, if necessary) to experience something that doesn’t have Appalachia in the title? Yes we are!

Africa Unplugged is an ensemble led by djembe master, guitarist and songwriter Atiba Rorie. The band uses traditional West African percussion in combination with guitars and bass to play traditional rhythms while drawing from influences across the world. Notice I didn’t say banjo? Let’s get there!

Oh, wait a sec—I can’t go to Africa Unplugged because I’ll be getting my Mastodon on.

AVL Yards sucks. It’s uncomfortable as f*** (seriously, who thought the sun-blasted asphalt of a former bank parking lot would make an optimal concert environment?). And the fallout of the owners with the people who run the Orange Peel made me extra-hate on this place. But my love for Mastodon far outweighs the hate, so I’ll hitch up my big-boy pants and be there.

“Marrow Deep” is their first album—and this their first tour—without co-founding lead guitarist Brent Hinds. You can Google the backstory of their parting and Hinds’ death if you like. It’s sad. But I dig their deep discography with Hinds and this new album without him.

As a sideshow, I want to see whether people living in the townhomes behind this venue protest from their balconies when the noise of Deafheaven hits them in all the sensitive places.

The hit-em-or-miss-em events at Little Animals are programmed for today’s ADD audiences—lively receptions, exhibitions often closing on the night they open, clearing out quick for the next one.

Here, founding curator Jeff Kinzel has invited Lydia Lake, an Asheville multidisciplinary installation artist who says her work for this evening will use photography, sculpture and fabrics to dig into themes of absence and grief.

I’m dropping by early on my way to the Mastodon show.

I interviewed Jane about her new album, Moon & Mother, and a whole lot more. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Jane’s music is deeply autobiographical, and imbued this album with stories around losing her mother to cancer, becoming a mother herself and of life in her mid-40s. The intimacy should work well at AyurPrana, where Jane is gathering her full band for this show.