Wondering what your weekend “get out” should be all about? Look no further than the A-List!
Adam Rose & the Mountain Jazz Quartet celebrate their new album with Saturday sets at Hotel Eve.
8 + 9:30p sets Saturday | Hotel Eve | 56 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville
First, if you haven’t been to Hotel Eve, go. That’s order #1. The speakeasy-styled jazz club opened earlier this year and, along with Little Jumbo, has become the city’s consistent home for top-notch jazz (some touring artists, but mostly local standouts). Adam Rose adds his name to Hotel Eve’s starlings.
Rose, who moved to Asheville four years ago, infuses his jazz with classical, indie-rock and Americana influences. This show celebrates his new album, Holler Serenade. As a bonus, his band for the gig features Cuban-American
Adam is joined by Brandon Blackburn on drums, Steve LaSpina on upright bass, and Iliana Rose on piano. Blackburn has toured throughout the US and Canada, performing at notable venues such as the Newberry Opera House, Carnegie Hall, and Town Hall in New York. Iliana Rose is a Cuban-American pianist Iliana Rose, a bandleader in her own right, who performs and teaches all over the country.
Friday-Sunday | various indoor/outdoor locales | downtown Asheville
There probably isn’t a more “Asheville” festival than Boomtown. First, it’s free. Second, there’s a lot of hippie, jammy music on the schedule. Performances at Pack Square and Pritchard Park by sunlight give way after hours to sets at the Orange Peel, Asheville Music Hall and a venue on Banks Avenue I’ve never been to called Nightshade. Go to the website (link above) to RSVP for free entry.
Most of the artists perform often across local stages, but I want to call your attention, in particular, to stephaniesid (4pm Saturday @ Pack Square). Stephanie Morgan is a force of creativity in this town, usually seen fronting her atmospheric improv band Pink Mercury. Here’s her first stephaniesid gig in who-knows-how-long. The band was a big deal in Asheville some years back, and the group’s lone vinyl record still holds up as catchy and creative.
She’s worth more than the price of admission, which is free, so you have no excuse. I’ll see you there!
Opening reception 5-8p Friday | Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave.
Asheville-to-Hendersonville artist Cynthia Brody has honed her style over four decades, combining digitally altered photography with oil painting. This body of work centers on women from varied cultures, with Brody striving to portray them with strength, beauty, contemplation and quiet resilience.
The exhibition includes early iconic work alongside more recent works, with the connecting thread as Brody’s commitment to women’s empowerment. Can you see Brody’s 35 years as a psychotherapist in her work? You be the judge.
2:30p Friday-Sunday | 35 Below, Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St.
Want to beat the midday heat through the power of comedy theater? Check out the matinee performances of “The Curious Savage,” written by John Patrick.
It’s billed as a comedic play about Ethel P. Savage, an elderly woman whose husband recently died and left her approximately $10 million. Contrasting the kindness and loyalty of psychiatric patients with the avarice and vanity of "respectable" public figures, it calls into question conventional definitions of sanity while lampooning celebrity culture.
The play premiered in October 1950, with Lillian Gish in the role of Ethel. No word one who’s filling her shoes for this three-performance run byt ACT’s Autumn Players.
The A-List publishes every Thursday with my personal picks for weekend happenings. Have something you’d like me to consider for the A-List? Send all the info to matt(at)podavl.com