Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall

Band of Horsesnew

Band of Horses members Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett, Tyler Ramsey, and bassist Bill Reynolds recently spoke to Mountain Xpress.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 06-10-2009 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: indie rock, Band of Horses

Indie Phenoms Band of Horses on Playing to the Home Crowdnew

Band of Horses returns to Asheville and frontman Ben Bridwell talks about going commercial, traveling abroad and almost going to jail in Muscle Shoals.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 06-10-2009 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: On the High Horse, indie rock, Asheville, Band of Horses

Eco Folk-Pop Trio Bowerbirds Grow Their Music Career and Their Gardennew

Raleigh, N.C.'s Bowerbirds find their off-the-grid, back-to-the-land lifestyle at odds with their rising indie-folk career.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 05-07-2009 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Nesting Instinct, folk music, Bowerbirds

The Afromotive's New Sound, New Lineup, New Visionnew

Asheville, N.C.-based Afrobeat ensemble The Afromotive, now in its fifth year, is no stranger to change. After restructuring, the group returns with an upbeat sound and positive mission.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 04-01-2009 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: afrobeat music, Asheville, The Afromotive

Ron Rash's Darkly Riveting 'Serena'new

Asheville author Ron Rash’s sweeping, big screen-worthy tale is far more than a gruesome account of the human and environmental costs of large-scale logging.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 02-18-2009 | Fiction

Tags: fiction, Ron Rash, Serena

Annuals Tend the Future of Indie Popnew

Raleigh, N.C.-based indie-pop act Annuals started as a side project of Sunfold, but now the percussion-heavy sextet is the main attraction. And, though the group's members are now only in their early 20s, they're touring in support of their sophomore studio album as well as discovering and producing up-and-coming bands along the way.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 02-04-2009 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: indie pop, Annuals, Such Fun

Legendary Installation Artists Visit Asheville, N.C.new

Legendary installation artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude discuss their life's work, including their final tow projects, still in the planning stages.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 01-28-2009 | Art

Tags: North Carolina, art installations, Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Family Jewels: Debut Novel From the Owner of Greenville Music Clubnew

Greenville club owner John Jeter releases his debut novel -- a fictional work about fading Southern culture and family legacy told through the eyes of cynical wheel-chair bound music columnist Randol Duncan.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 01-22-2009 | Author Profiles & Interviews

Tags: fiction, John Jeter, Southern lit, The Plunder Room

Southern Folk Art Looks at Race and Civil Rightsnew

Two folk art exhibits focus on race relations in the South. One exhibit includes works by a group of artists from Alabama.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 01-14-2009 | Art

Tags: race relations, the South, visual arts, folk art

North Carolina Musicians Celebrate the Other New Yearnew

Every year a crew of Western North Carolina-based musicians heads to Negril, Jamaica, for a week of community-building, service work and jamming. The unlikely occasion? Chinese New Year.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 12-31-2008 | Travel

Tags: travel, North Carolina, Jamaica, Andy Pond, Chinese New Year

The Avett Brothers Herald Fame with a Rick Rubin-Produced Albumnew

Acoustic roots-rockers the Avett Brothers are poised for their big break, but even as they look forward to the coming year, band members seem unwilling to make any predictions.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 12-23-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: The Avett Brothers

Inside Western North Carolina's (Re)burgeoning Woodworking Scenenew

After WNC's mass-production furniture industry has all but faded, artisans and crafts peopled are reviving the area's tradition with handmade, gallery-quality one-of-a-kind furnishings.

Mountain Xpress | Alli Marshall | 12-23-2008 | Culture

Tags: North Carolina, crafts, furniture