Sweeping music and dance

Music is a simple, lovely affair in Weaverville. Live performances can be heard at two of the town’s excellent dining possibilities, Blue Mountain Pizza and Jack of Hearts Pub and Restaurant.

Downtown Buskers keep much of Asheville's Music scene going

In Asheville, catch supper before or after one of the city’s many musical choices. The professional Asheville Lyric Opera hires famous vocalists from all over the country. The Asheville Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Daniel Meyer, would be considered excellent in a far larger city. The Asheville Choral Society is known for energetic direction and impassioned performance. For chamber music lovers, there’s Pan Harmonia, a festival held throughout the area in May and June. 

 

The Orange Peel Social Aid & Pleasure Club is a respected and sought-after stop for national pop, rock and jazz acts traveling from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. If you love traditional music, book rooms at the inn for the Sandburg Folk Music Festival, which honors poet/author Carl Sandburg and his preservation of traditional folk music.

Consider also the Bascom Lamar Lunsford music and dance festival, held every fall at

Mars Hill College to honor Lunsford, a folklorist who dedicated his life to collecting and promoting the music of the Southern Appalachians.

In its 2011-2012 season, the annual Asheville Bravo! Concerts series has scheduled performances by violinist Joshua Bell, the Soweto Gospel Choir, the National Acrobats of China and the Moscow Festival Ballet. The Brevard Music Center brings a summer’s worth of orchestral, chamber and operatic performances to nearby Brevard College.

Dance fans find lots to love in Asheville. Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance stages original, daring modern dance often set to fairy tales and ancient fables. Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre is a supporter of the avant-garde, as well as a participant in Asheville Fringe Festival. Asheville Ballet stages elaborate productions of favorites that have included “Swan Lake,” “American in Paris,” “The Firebird” and “The Nutcracker.”